Doppelgangster - Laura Resnick [121]
Elena’s eyeballs rolled back in their sockets. Her head fell backward. Her whole body quivered. There was a small explosion, and a tower of feathers, bird bones, pebbles, and clumps of dirt collapsed all over the chair where, only a moment ago, the doppelgangster had been tied up.
“The token used to create the doppelgangster is the only part of the creature that’s real,” Max explained. “Remove it, and the illusion disintegrates.”
“Is there any more of that sherry?” I couldn’t stand sherry, but I had felt the distinct need for a soothing beverage, and sherry was all that Max had. “Pour me another glass.”
He did, saying, “Try to sip this one slowly.”
“Lucky’s going to be upset when he finds out we killed it.”
“We didn’t kill anything,” Max said patiently. “We deconstructed a convincing illusion.”
“Well, at least we didn’t have to behead it.” The second glass of sherry was helping my hands stop shaking. With a grimace, I sipped a little more of the revolting stuff. We were back upstairs, sitting at the big walnut table, still surrounded by the filth of Lopez’s former doppelgangster. I added with some relief, “So I guess we don’t need to carry a machete around the city.”
“No, I think not,” Max agreed. “From now on, when Nelli identifies a doppelgangster, we merely need to determine what mystically imbued personal token it possesses and remove the object. That will banish the illusion.”
“You mean make it explode into messy crap,” I said.
Max said thoughtfully, “My reading in recent days led me to ponder the possibilities of psychic transformation, soul possession, animation of physically altered corpses—”
“Animation of what?”
“There were some theories I felt it best not to share with you unless I found confirmation of them in our actual experiences,” he admitted.
“Good call,” I said faintly.
“But this . . .” He made a little sound of admiration. “This is unprecedented in the annals of doppelgängerism!”
“How thrilling.”
“As is the use of doppelgängers to facilitate—nay, to ensure—the success of assassination!”
“Remarkable.”
“And at the same time, it’s so absurdly simple!’
“It is?”
“Our adversary combined vastly different traditions—competing schools of thought, you might say—to enact his plan. Doppelgängerism is an abstract, elusive, and isolated mystical phenomenon. But the use of personal tokens in the practice of magic is common and widespread among multiple disciplines—all of them entirely unrelated to the highly esoteric mystery of doppelgängerism!” He shook his head in wonder. “I am forced to congratulate our foe on his imaginative practice of his art.”
“Max, if we could cease the thunderous applause for a moment, I’d like to point out that our imaginative foe is trying to kill me.”
“Oh! Yes, of course. How thoughtless of me, Esther.” He pulled himself together. “Do forgive me.”
“Let’s look at motive, means, and opportunity,” I said, using Crime and Punishment as my tactical guide. “The motive is evidently to destroy—or at least severely damage—the Gambellos and Corvinos by manipulating them into a new mob war when both families would much rather avoid that.”
“Agreed.”
“The means is innovative, devious, and mystical. So the person behind this is someone who combines a shrewd intellect with the ability to conceal his true nature from others.”
“I’m convinced of it.”
“Which brings us to opportunity,” I said.
“Indeed. We must determine who has had the opportunity to steal tokens from the known victims.”
“Someone who’s a good pickpocket, I suppose.” A moment later I gasped as I realized what I had just said. “A pickpocket.”
“Esther?”
My heart was pounding. “The day I saw Chubby Charlie’s perfect double.” My God, had it been a week ago? How time flies when you’re fighting Evil. “Now I know!”
“Know what?”
“Which one was the duplicate!” I turned to Max.
“Charlie thought of himself as a sharp dresser, and he paid special attention to accessorizing. He always wore matching socks, tie, and pocket handkerchief. The evening that two of him came to the restaurant, the first one had all his accessories.