City, owned by a Mark Weiss. For some reason, the name sounded familiar to her.
Later that morning, Mara and her parents took a taxi to the magic shop. When they walked into the shop, Mara recognized the owner as Mark the Magnificent. Without his cape and makeup, he seemed much older. Mara guessed that he was in his late fifties.
“I loved your show last night,” Mara told Mr. Weiss. “Is it okay if I ask you some questions?”
“Of course!” said Mr. Weiss, “Anything for a fan.”
Mara pulled out the list of advice for young magicians, out of her purse. “Who gave this list of advice to your father?” she asked.
“His uncle, the Great Harry Houdini, himself” said Mr. Weiss.
“Wow!” said Mara. “You mean that Harry Houdini was your great uncle?” She suddenly knew why the name Weiss was so familiar to her. Harry’s last name at birth was Weiss. He later changed it to Houdini.
“Mr. Weiss, did your father inherit anything from his uncle?” asked Mara.
“Just a few magic props and an old desk” said Mr. Weiss. When Mara heard that, she got very excited. “Where is that desk now?” she asked.
“It’s in my office.” Mr. Weiss replied. “Would you like to see it?”
“Yes, please!” replied Mara.
Mr. Weiss escorted Mara and her parents, to his office. Mara recognized the desk as the one in her dream. “Mr. Weiss” she asked, “Did you or your father ever find anything of value in the desk, such as papers, or notes?”
“No” he replied, looking curious. “Why do you ask?”
Mara began to explain. “Over the past four years, I have solved several mysteries around the country. Recently, I have begun having psychic visions and dreams that have helped me to solve puzzling mysteries. Last night, when I shook your hand, I had a vision that involved you and Harry Houdini. Last night, I had a dream, in which I talked to Mr. Houdini. He gave me some answers to help me to solve a mystery.”
“When Mr. Houdini originally made that list of advice for your father; his nephew, he also left a hidden clue for him. This morning, when I woke up, I studied the list of advice and discovered the hidden message. The first letter of each sentence, put together, spell out the following message: ‘Look in my desk, behind the drawers.’ Do you mind if I look there?”
Mr. Weiss helped Mara remove the three drawers from the right side of the desk. Mara noticed that the desk was deeper than the length of the drawers. The difference in depth was almost a foot. Since Mara was the only one small enough to reach back into the desk, she used a flashlight and stuck he head into the opening. She noticed that there was a back panel held in place with four screws, one in each corner.
Mr. Weiss brought out a screwdriver and Mara began to remove the screws. When Mara lifted the panel out, she saw several papers and notebooks held in place with leather straps. Mara pried the straps loose, and removed ten notebooks, and several sheets of paper. She handed them to Mr. Weiss.
As Mr. Weiss looked through them, he was speechless. He had to sit down, because he felt dizzy. When he was able to speak, he said; “These are journals written by my great uncle, Harry Houdini. They tell his life story, his memoirs. There are also secrets to some of his best tricks. These journals and papers are priceless, and have a very special meaning to me. Mara, how can I ever thank you?”
“I think that Mr. Houdini wants you to publish his memoirs,” said Mara. “He also wants you to build a museum that will tell the story of magic over the centuries.”
“I think that when his story is published, it will be a best seller and the money can be used to build the Houdini Museum of Magic,” said Mr. Weiss.
Mara made Mr. Weiss promise not to mention to anyone that she was the one who solved the mystery. Mr. Weiss agreed, and then he asked Mara; “How would you, like to be my assistant in tonight’s show?”
Mara looked at her Mom and asked; “Could I, Mom?”
Mrs. Louis laughed and said, “I think that you have earned it.”
That afternoon, Mara and Mr. Weiss rehearsed for over three hours, with Mr. Weiss sharing the secrets of some of his tricks. Just before the show, Mr. Weiss presented Mara with her own black cape, that he had a seamstress friend of his make on very short notice. On the back of the cape were the words; ‘The Remarkable Mara’.
Mara had a terrific time doing the show. She was not a bit nervous. Doing magic tricks in front of a live audience, was more than she could have hoped for.
After the show, Mr. Weiss asked Mara for her address, so that he could mail her an autographed copy of his book when it was printed. He also let Mara come up with the title; “The Magical Life of Harry Houdini”
That night, Mara had another dream about Mr. Houdini. In the dream, Mr. Houdini was performing his magic show on stage, but Mara was the only person in the audience. When the show was over, Harry bowed to Mara, and thanked her for her assistance in making his memoirs available to the world. Then, with a puff of smoke, Mr. Houdini disappeared.
When Mara woke up the next morning, there was a knock on the door. When Mara opened it, she was handed a large bouquet of flowers and balloons. The card said “Thanks Mara” and was signed “H.H.”.Mara thought that they were from Mr. Weiss, but when she called his store; he had no idea what she was talking about.
Mara had read a lot about Mr. Houdini and knew that he had always believed it was possible to communicate between the living world, and the afterlife. Mara was convinced that Mr. Houdini had proved his theory, as he had sent her flowers from beyond the grave.
The Mystery of the Indian Maiden
It was about two months later, when Mara had the opportunity to solve her next mystery. It all started in early December. When Mara got home from school, one afternoon, she took the mail out of the mailbox and unlocked the front door. Her mother would not be home for another hour, as she was still at school, where she taught science. Mrs. Louis had always been a science teacher, but she had put her teaching career on hold when Mara was younger. Now that Mara was in the eighth grade, Mrs. Louis started teaching seventh grade science at the middle school.
Mara’s father was the regional sales representative for a major pharmaceutical company and often traveled around the country as part of his job. Currently, he was in Ohio on a business trip.
As Mara looked through the mail, she noticed that there was a letter addressed to her. There was no return address on the letter, but it was postmarked: Los Angeles. Mara got excited. “Maybe it was from Ryan and Jason Davis,” she thought. She had already received a few letters from them over the past two years.
When Mara opened the letter, she was disappointed that it was not from Ryan or Jason, but as she began reading the letter, Mara got excited.
“Dear Miss Louis,” the letter began. “You don’t know me, but I know a lot about you. Recently, when my family and I visited my mother in Florida, I found a scrapbook filled with articles about you and the mysteries that you have solved. When I asked my mother about it, she informed me that you were the girl who had helped her when she fell and broke her hip two years ago, in the parking lot of a Florida mall. You probably remember her as Mrs. Carter.”
“My mother had never told me your name before this, because she knew that you didn’t want any more publicity. However, now that I do know who you are, I want to repay you for your kindness that you showed to my mother, when no one else would help her.”
Mara thought back to that incident which happened over two years earlier. She had just turned eleven and she was line to see Ryan and Jason. Mara continued reading the letter.
“I am the CEO and president of a corporation that owns much real estate around the world. Currently, my company is involved in a project in Hollywood. We are a major investor in a new film that is being produced by Mr. Gene Fisher, whom I believe you are acquainted with. He to
ld me all about the mystery that you solved at his residence.”
“My family would like to invite you to be our guest over the winter break, if it is okay with your parents. Mr. Fisher would like to see you again, as would Ryan and Jason Davis.”
“My mother told me that you are very interested in history. Well, my wife is an archaeologist and our family is planning a trip to the Grand Canyon in Arizona during winter break. We have three children; twin daughters, Heidi and Bethany, who are fourteen and one son, Nick who is twelve.”
“Please accept our invitation, as we will be very hurt if you don’t come. We will pay all of your expenses. Enclosed you will find my cell phone number if you or your parents have any questions.”
The letter was signed; “Sincerely, Jeffrey Carter”.
When Mara’s mother arrived home, Mara showed her the letter. Mara told her mother that she really wanted to go to California and the Grand Canyon.
That evening, when Mara’s father called from Cleveland, he and Mara’s mother discussed the invitation. The both decided that Mara could go. Mara was very excited. She called Mr. Carter and accepted the invitation. Mr. Carter gave Mrs. Louis all of the information and told her that he would send the airline tickets by express mail.
That night, Mara had a hard time falling asleep, because she was so excited. It was December tenth and winter break