Celebrity cook Rachael Ray ripped the three-of-clubs card into eight pieces and handed them to magician Justin Kredible.
In a flash, he made them disappear — all except a corner piece, which stuck to his palm.
Grab a grapefruit, he told her, and she snatched the pinkest one in the bunch of four. With a large knife, she scored it down the center, then twisted it in half.
Sticking out from the center was a tightly rolled card. Ray unfurled it; it was the three of clubs, in one piece, sans the missing corner!
Just incredible! she exclaimed.
Oh, we get it — Justin Kredible!
So just how did the buzz-worthy 26-year-old magician who hails from St. Louis do it, you wonder?
"Oh that's a simple matter of none of your business," he explained ever so politely.
OK, so what about that trick with the wedding ring and the keys?
"Pretty much the same as the grapefruit. I'm not going to tell you," he said during a quick call from California.
Actually, if he told us, it would spoil the fun.
"You would just be let down. It would just not be as good as you want it to be," he said. "That's why straight across the board, I just can't tell you."
If you look really closely, you might catch a glimpse of the feat's inner trickery when Kredible comes back to Tucson's Gaslight Theatre on Monday.
Kredible has been a regular on Tucson's Gaslight stage since his first appearance there in 2002. He likes Tucson's diverse magic community, and he combines the trips with visits to his grandparents, who live in `SaddleBrooke.
Kredible has been exposed to magic most of his life. He got his first magic kit at age 5, but he didn't have the attention span to stick with it. By age 12, he revisited it and found his calling.
His mom gave him his stage name; his real name is Justin Willman.
His magic is mostly sleight of hand — now you see it, now you don't. He peppers his 90-minute shows with comic jabs under his breath and family-friendly one-liners. As you're gasping in amazement at what you see and fail to see, you'll be curled over in your seat laughing.
"It's very high-energy. I'm always adding new things to the show," he said.
In addition to his regular appearances with Ray, Kredible also has done several commercials, including doing magic tricks for one with Cingular.
• When: 7 p.m. Monday.
• Where: Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway.
• Tickets: $13; $11 seniors, students and active military; $8 kids.
• Details: 886-9428.
• Online: See video samples at www.myspace.com/kreds or www.justinkredible.com.
