- Tony reconnects with a homeless old magician friend; the shelter where he's landed specializes in murdering the downtrodden for profit and it's up to the magician to rescue him before it's too late.
- Tony's magician colleague, Frank Denbo aka the Amazing Denbo, has become a down-and-outer due to turning to the bottle, he who has since sponged off people like Tony. However, Frank is turning his life around, working at a soup kitchen at the Brotherhood House run by Sister Janet. He asks Tony for a favor, to find his friend, Johnny McVey, who has gone missing. The authorities won't do anything because Johnny is another down-and-outer who has been sleeping most recently at another shelter, the Bentley Street Mission, its so-called head, Reverend Wally, who claims to have never heard of Johnny. As Tony follows leads, which takes him to a conglomerate called Horizon Enterprises which owns among others an abandoned restaurant, an extermination company, a travel bureau, a medical supply company and a dental lab, Frank may place his own life in danger by checking into the Bentley Street Mission against Tony's advice not to. Dominick's guess on why Horizon would want to abduct a man like McVey may be slightly altered when Tony reads a specific newspaper headline. As such, Frank may befall the same fate as Johnny unless Tony can find him before it's too late.—Huggo
- Tony is practicing his act at the Castle, and Dominick applauds him as he finishes. Frank Denbo calls for Tony, and Dominick offers to put him off so Tony doesn't have to deal with him. Tony takes the call, and Frank says that he's at least still on his feet and needs Tony's help. The former magician says that he doesn't want money or a job, but a friend of his is trouble and the cops won't do anything.
Reverend Wally Snider is preaching at a Skid Row mission, the Bendix Street mission, and two men come in the back. Snider notices them and wraps up his sermon, and then goes to the dormitory and tells the two waiting men to never come in the front. A man, Johnny McVey, is lying in bed muttering incoherently and clutching a bottle. Snider tells the two men to take McVey before the hymn is over and the homeless men in the front come back. One of the two men gives McVey a sedative.
McVey drifts in and out of consciousness, and sees a doctor examining him and another man peering at him while he lies in an operating room.
Later, Tony arrives at the Brotherhood House where Jack is, and helps Sister Jane with putting soup in a kettle. Frank comes in and performs some sleight of hand for Tony and Janet, and Janet says that all they've done is make Frank realize that there are people worse off than he I, who need his help.
Tony talks with Frank in the kitchen, and Frank says that a good friend of his disappeared the night before at the Bendix St. mission. Janet called Snider, who said he had never head of McVey. Tony points out that a lot of the homeless men just take off. Another cook, Joe Miggins, shows Tony a St. Christopher's medal and says that it belonged to another who disappeared a month ago at the mission.
Janet comes in and Frank has her tell Tony about Snider. She repeats Snider's claim, and Frank points out that McVey has been sleeping at the mission for a month. Janet figures that McVey deserves the dignity of their concern and he shouldn't be written off because society considers him a bum.
Tony next drives to a church where Snider is working with a man going through the DTs. Afterward, Snider talks to Tony and says that there's no need to take the man to a hospital because he's been taking care of junkies and winos for the last ten years. Tony claims to be McVey's son, and the janitor listens to their conversation. Snider tells Tony that McVey isn't there and doesn't recall that he ever was. Tony claims that Bendix said he was staying at the Bendix St. Mission, and Snider suggests that McVey stayed there anonymously. As Tony leaves, Snider points out the donation box and Tony puts a bill in.
Outside, the janitor, Joe Miggins, is working. He says that he'll meet Tony at a freight depot in an hour, and a man watches Tony and Joe talk from the church window. The man tells Snider, who calls Peter Hayden and asks what the situation is with McVey. Hayden says that McVey is already in processing, and Snider warns him that someone has been asking questions about the homeless man. He notes that Tony didn't bear any family resemblance and didn't have Indiana plates on his car even though he claimed to be from Indianapolis. Hayden tells Snider to handle it discretely because there's a lot at stake.
Tony goes to the freight depot and Joe leads him to a nearby freight car that he uses as his "office". Tony produces a bill as payment for Joe's information, and Joe says that McVey was taken out of the mission the night before. Two men in coveralls took McVey and put him in an exterminator's truck, and wasn't close enough to see the name of the company on the truck.
Two men show up with baseball bats. Tony disarms one, takes his bat, and fends off the other. He disarms the second man but the first one recovers, and he and his companion beat Tony. Tony recovers and the two men run off, while Joe heads the opposite direction.
That night at the Castle, Dominick puts together a list of exterminators and gives it to Tony, who is at the bar with Frank. Only six of them have trucks that match Joe's description, and Frank suggests that he go undercover at Snider's mission. Dominick agrees, but Tony figures that it's too risky. Frank points out that he looks like he belongs there, but Tony tells Frank that Frank doesn't believe it and neither does he.
Tony checks out the exterminators on the list and finds the truck matching Joe's description. The two men who took McVey come out, get in the truck, and drive off.
At Snider's mission, his assistant Emma takes Frank to a bed and then leaves.
The two exterminators drive to a manor and go in. Tony climbs out of a back compartment where he's been hiding, then goes to a window and peers in. The two exterminators are polishing the furniture, as the owner looks on. The owner then closes the drapes.
In the back of the abandoned Country Village Restaurant, Dr. Reston shows Hayden x-rays of a man's chest and head, and says that's where the majority of the impact damage is. He warns that Wallenstein is running behind on the dental and he can't operate until Wallenstein is finished. Hayden says that he doesn't want to postpone and tells Reston to keep the sedated McVey comfortable.
The exterminators drive to the restaurant, park outside, and go in. Tony emerges from hid hiding spot.
At the mission, Frank is waxing an organ when Snider checks on him. The reverend notes that he hasn't seen Frank around before, and asks if he can take a photo of him claiming that he's a camera bug. Frank agrees and poses for the camera.
Tony breaks into the restaurant and sneaks inside. An elevator comes up and Tony hides, then runs off as the exterminators emerge. The corridor Tony enters is boarded up at the other end, and the exterminators look in a minute later but see nothing. Tony is hiding in an air duct, and once they leave, the support Tony is holding breaks. He falls into the main shaft and grabs a cross support, hanging over the ventilator blade. Tony swings over to a side shaft, peers in, and sees Rendon in a store room getting supplies. Tony swings up to the cross support next to the vent he entered from.
Later at his penthouse at the Castle, Tony is practicing card sailing when Dominick arrives with coffee. Dominick hasn't heard anything from Frank, and has confirmed that a conglomerate, Horizon Enterprises, owns the restaurant and the exterminator company. They also own a dental laboratory in Hollywood, a travel bureau in Beverly Hills, and a medical supply house in Sherman Oaks. The mission isn't listed on the corporate holdings but the board of directors has Hayden, Reston, and Wallenstein as members. Dominick figures that the conglomerate is using the Skid Row bums they abduct as living transplantees, and Tony cuts off the top of a candle with a card. Dominick confirms the card is metal, and Tony says that card-sailing is a skill.
In his office, Hayden looks at Snider's photo of Frank and figures that it's a near-match for one of the conglomerate's "customers". Snider is there, and says that he can keep Frank there for the whole day. As Snider leaves, Hayden calls the client, Ralph Reiden, and says that he has a donor for him.
As Snider leaves, he sees Tony at the reception desk, asking to see Hayden. As the receptionist buzzes Hayden, Snider enters Hayden's office and tells him that Tony is the guy who was asking questions about McVey. Hayden tells his receptionist to send Tony in, in a minute, and tells Snider there's nothing he can do but see Tony. The businessman has Snider wait outside, then meets with Tony.
Tony asks about Horizon Enterprises and the restaurant, and says that he's interested in buying it. Hayden tells him that it's not for sale, and Tony explains that he and other magicians want to buy it as a club. Tony distracts Hayden with a magic trick while taking cards from Hayden's Rolodex. Once Tony leaves, Hayden calls his henchman Jack and tells him to follow Tony and find out everything he does.
As he drives, Tony looks though the cares and find one for the Bendix St. Mission. Dominick calls and mentions the name E. Norman Caplow, an electronics magnate who was under indictment for stock fraud. Tony passes a newsstand with a newspaper headline declaring that Caplow died in a car crash,.
Later at his penthouse, Tony reads the article to Dominick. He figures that Horizon is offering people a new existence after being pronounced legally dead. Caplow's body was burned beyond recognition, and since Wallenstein is a dentist both men figure he altered the body's dental records to match Caplow's. Dominick tells Tony that he checked with Janet, and she hasn't seen Frank all day.
That night, Tony breaks into the abandoned restaurant and finds Hayden and Jack waiting for him. Hayden explains that he had Tony followed, and shows Tony around. Tony wonders how they manage the fingerprint, and works out that the conglomerate wipes clean the fingerprints from the client's house, and then Jack plants fake fingerprints that they lifted from the victim, so the coroner has a perfect match.
Jack is tied up in an operating room, and one of the exterminator and Wallenstein are also there. Tony greets Frank, who gives him a secret thumbs up signal. Tony goes over to Frank and points out that his friend used to be an escape artist as well as a magician... and Frank is clenching his fists to increase his muscle tension so that he can slip his bonds whenever he wants.
Frank asks for a cigarette and Tony produces one for him using sleight of hand. He reaches for a light, takes out a lit candle, and after lighting the cigarette sets the candle down near a gas pipe juncture. Tony steps away, produces a card, and throws it into the juncture. The gas leaks out, bursting into flame as it hits the candle flame.
Frank frees himself, and escapes out into the hallway with Tony, while the flame holds Hayden and the others back. Jack and the exterminator go after them once Hayden cuts the gas, take the elevator up, and tackle Tony and Jack as they run past. Hayden arrives as Tony struggles with the two thugs. The thugs beat up Tony, and Dominick and the police arrive behind Hayden. Hayden prepares to shoot Tony, and Dominick tells Hayden to stop. The businessman has no choice but to do so, and the police take him and his thugs away.
Later at the Castle, Frank is performing on stage. Afterward, Tony and Dominick congratulate him and Dominick assures Frank that he has a spot anytime he needs one. Janet is there, and Frank says that he'd like to stay on at the mission with her. She agrees, and Dominick calls Tony up to the stage to perform. Tony tells Frank that there is also magic in helping charity, then takes the stage.
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