An Oshin of Trouble

An Oshin of Trouble

The Great Oshin in a green tuxedo stepped through the curtain and into the spotlight on the stage of his nightclub The Pier.

He raised his hands to silence the applause, “Tonight ladies and gentlemen my assistant weighs five hundred pounds.”

As laughter rippled through the audience, the curtain parted, revealing Claws, a full-grown Bengal tiger inside a heavy steel cage. At Oshin’s hand signal the tiger let loose a terrifying roar. Some of the ladies let out a gasp.

“Don’t worry, she only eats critics,” Oshin said as he scratched the large tiger behind her ear.

The jeweled collar around her neck blazed beneath the stage lights. Large diamonds spelled CLAWS, and rumor had it the collar was worth more than a house.

Oshin grabbed a heavy cloth and covered the tigers cage. One of Oshin’s glamorous assistants brought his trident that he used as a magic staff. Oshin took the device and all the gems encrusted on it flashed brightly.

Every light in the theater dimmed except for the spotlight on the shrouded cage. The audience leaned forward.

He passed the trident in front of the covered cage three times and said, “By Poseidon’s will.”

The trident’s gems flashed a bright blue-green and the cloth dropped to the floor as the caged tiger disappeared. At the same instant the caged tiger appeared in a spot light on a on a platform behind the audience. On cue the tiger roared. There was an audible gasp as most turned to see the ferocious beast.

Oshin bent over and placed the trident on the floor. In one smooth motion he picked up the heavy cloth off the stage and flipped it in the air as he commanded, “Return!”

In an instant the caged tiger and spotlight disappeared from the platform. You could hear the platform creak as the weight vanished. The trident flashed, and the cloth now dropped on to a solid object. Before it finished settling The illusionist whipped the cloth off to reveal Claws in her heavy steel cage. For a heartbeat the theater was silent. Then the room erupted in applause as Claws threw back her head and roared once more.

After The Pier closed for the night, Oshin and his assistant, Victor Whistler—known to everyone as VW—settled into the office to sort through the day’s mail.

Most of it was predictable: bills, advertisements, fan letters, and requests for bookings.

One envelope stood out.

It was thick, cream-colored, and simply addressed:

The Great Oshin

There was no return address. Three first-class stamps covered the corner—far more postage than the envelope required.

“That’s odd,” VW said. “Who overpays for a single envelope?”

Oshin slit it open with a letter opener.

He turned the envelope upside down.

A small brass safety deposit box key dropped onto the desk with a metallic click.

Nothing else.

No note.

No bank name.

No explanation.

VW picked up the key and frowned and handed out to his boss.

“Either somebody has an unusual sense of humor…”

The illusionist took the key from him.

“…or someone expects us to know exactly what this opens.”

Oshin looked at the key and studied the tiny number stamped into the brass. “We’d better put this somewhere safe until we figure out what it opens.”

“I know just the place,” Oshin said.

The magician took the key and walked through the backstage corridor to the animal holding pens. Unlocking Claws’ enclosure, he stepped inside with the full-grown Bengal tiger.

Claws padded over, her striped head brushing against Oshin’s shoulder. Oshin clipped the brass key onto the heavy collar around her neck.

The tiger rumbled with a deep purr, then flopped onto her back like an oversized housecat. Oshin knelt beside her and scratched her belly.

Watching from outside the bars, VW shook his head.

“You know,” he said, “most people use a safe.”

Oshin smiled. “Most safes can be cracked. Anyone trying to steal that key has to convince Claws to give it back.”