Crossword Mysteries: Abracadaver

The film opens with Tess Harper, a crossword editor, taking magic classes at the prestigious Magic Manor to research a new puzzle. During her birthday celebration at the club, she is invited on stage by the 'Amazing Alistair' to sign a bullet for his infamous Bullet Catch trick. When the trick is performed, Alistair collapses and dies in front of the audience. Detective Logan O'Connor, a friend of Tess, takes the lead on the case and discovers that Alistair wasn't shot, but poisoned with tetrodotoxin—a potent fish toxin found on the bullet and a scotch glass. Tess begins her own investigation, interviewing Alistair's assistant Bianca, who reveals that Alistair was becoming increasingly secretive and had recently started performing high-end private gigs alone. Tess's aunt Candace mentions a series of thefts at these parties, including an antique snuff box and a priceless jade bowl. Tess tracks down Sinclair, a mysterious prop maker who provided Alistair with the wax bullets for the trick, and learns that magicians are a 'jealous lot.' Meanwhile, Logan discovers that the woman who identified Alistair's body at the morgue, claiming to be his sister Claire, was actually Julia Marquez, Alistair's ballroom dancing partner. The mystery deepens when a second murder attempt occurs: Alistair's former partner Cormac takes over the show, but the sword cabinet trick is sabotaged to trap Bianca inside. Tess intervenes just in time. Through dental records, Logan realizes the man in the morgue isn't Alistair at all, but Julia's husband, Scott Harrington. Tess finds original 1921 blueprints of the Magic Manor, revealing a 'trap room' and secret passages not shown on modern fire maps. She and Logan explore the hidden basement and realize Alistair used a trap door and a gurney to swap his 'poisoned' body with Scott's pre-deceased corpse during a momentary blackout. Alistair, who is very much alive, had been using his magic skills to rob wealthy patrons and staged his own death to escape with the loot. In the climax, Tess and Logan find Alistair and Julia at a hideout in the Bowery. After a brief confrontation with an armed associate, the criminals are apprehended. The film concludes with Bianca finally getting her own headlining show and Tess and Logan sharing a celebratory meal, acknowledging their growing partnership.