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time.”
    â€œI keep my ears and eyes open,” said Brack.
    â€œSomeone is putting on a show,” said Charlie. “Like the shows in the olden days.”
    â€œIs that so?” Brack said, a twinkle in his eye.
    â€œYes,” Charlie said. “You know all about it. Thursday was invited to be part of it. Mr. Madagascar, up on the thirteenth floor, is planning on his comeback.”
    â€œSo I’ve heard,” Brack said.
    â€œI’m guessing Mr. Madagascar is probably going to be in the magic show too,” Charlie said.
    â€œPerhaps he is,” Brack said.
    â€œAnd who better to plan a magic show like the old days than a magician from the old days? And who better from the old days than the greatest magician of them all?”
    â€œWho indeed,” Brack said.
    â€œAbracadabra,” Charlie said.
    Brack smiled. “You would make a good magician yourself, Master Hitchcock,” he said. “How did you solve this mystery?”
    â€œLots of little things,” said Charlie. “But I really started thinking about it when you told us you saw the ghost here in your elevator. You pointed, and I looked at where you pointed, at the shiny doors.”
    â€œAha,” said Brack. He smiled.
    â€œI saw my reflection in the doors,” Charlie explained, “and that’s when I started to put the pieces together.”
    â€œOf course,” said Brack. “I am impressed, Master Hitchcock.”
    â€œWhen you look at your reflection, you see a ghost from the past,” Charlie said gently. “You see Abracadabra.”
    â€œYes, yes,” said Brack. “It’s the eyes. Hair turns gray and falls out, ears grow bigger, wrinkles attack your skin. But a person’s eyes stay the same.”

    â€œJust like the painting in the lobby,” said Charlie. “That was my final clue.”
    â€œI could never leave the hotel,” said Brack. “It’s my home. And I feel protective of the other magicians here. We don’t have many places left, magicians. Not the ones from the old days, anyway. So I decided on this new disguise, this new identity.”
    â€œAnd a new name,” Charlie said.
    Brack smiled. “Yes,” he said. “And a new name.”
    â€œBrack is short for Abracadabra,” said Charlie. “I guessed that, too.”
    â€œYou guessed very well,” said the magician. “And you seemed to have solved all the puzzles. Well done. So I guess this is for you.”
    Brack pulled a gold card from his uniform pocket and handed it to Charlie. Charlie looked down at it.
    â€œThank you, Mr. Abracadabra,” said Charlie, holding the golden ticket.

    â€œMy pleasure, Master Hitchcock,” said Brack.
    The elevator stopped.
    The doors slid open.
    Beyond, Charlie saw the roof of the hotel. Trees bloomed in concrete planters. Flowers were planted in careful paths. There was a stone walkway that led to a stone house, with small, warm windows and odd-shaped towers.
    Charlie knew without being told that it was Brack’s house.
    â€œWould you care for a cup of hot cocoa?” asked the magician.

    â€œBut who’ll operate the elevators?” asked Charlie.
    â€œIt’s all automatic,” said Brack, smiling. “I don’t think anyone will mind if the hotel’s two puzzle masters take a short break.”
    Charlie opened his umbrella, and the magician and the boy walked toward the house.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    MICHAEL DAHL grew up reading everything he could find about his hero Harry Houdini, and worked as a magician’s assistant when he was a teenager. Even though he cannot disappear, he is very good at escaping things. Dahl has written the popular Library of Doom series, the Dragonblood books, and the Finnegan Zwake series. He currently lives in the Midwest in a haunted house.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
    LISA K. WEBER is an illustrator currently living in Oakland, California. She