Song in the Dark

Woke up on the dot of sunset, about one minute later than the previous evening. The year was turning, the days getting longer. Shorter nights. Lucky me. Less time to be in oblivion.



The rose scent was much faded by now. That had been... spooky. Okay, it had thrown me, but I could figure that Myrna had again been trying to give comfort, that's why I chose to remain on the office couch rather than retreat to my other bolt-hole under the tiers in the main room. How I'd actually been able to feel her as a physical presence was something else again. Maybe it was because I was on her side of the veil half the time. Dead.



I'd have given a shiver, but wasn't cold. Now that was good news. The radiator had been chugging away for hours; the place must be jungle-hot by now.



I got up to turn it back to normal and listened to familiar activity going on below. Lady Crymsyn was waking, too.



She'd started the process earlier, but for her it took more time. A dame's privilege.



Someone had been and gone. Escott, probably. A stack of newspapers lay on the desk like a no-nonsense message.



He'd have made a connection between my uncharacteristically spending all evening at another nightclub that was now violently minus its star act. Certainly he'd want to know the real story. The papers sure didn't have it.



The evening headlines were big and harsh, their theme murder-suicide. Apparently after Caine's body was found the cops went to question his ex-wife and in turn found her. Facts were thin, with no mention of Evie Montana or gambling debts. There was no official verdict yet, but Jewel was getting the blame for Caine's death.



My heart sank. Jewel deserved better than that. How the hell could they be so stupid? If Kroun and I could figure out she'd not killed herself-and how could they screw up so badly about the faked crime scene in Caine's flat? Was this some kind of misdirection to throw off the killer, make him think he was safe?



I phoned the Nightcrawler and got Derner. Mindful that the line could be wired, I was as vague as could be managed. "How did things go today?"



"A little rough, but it turned out all right," he cautiously told me. "Everything's fine here."



"What about our guest and his pal?"



"Haven't seen either of them today."



"What about that party I want found?"



"Nothing yet. They're being scarce."



Damn. "Is my car ready?"



"Not yet, Boss."



"What d'ya mean? It's just changing tires."



"Uhh, well, the tow truck guy didn't understand exactly and took your car to Cicero."



I considered that one a minute before asking, in what I was certain was a very reasonable tone: "Why?"



"Uhh, they're gonna fix it up for you."



"In what way?"



"Like the way the Caddy's fixed up."



"What?" I had visions of my humble Buick outfitted with steel armor, thick glass, and a motor that should be driving a battleship, not a car. "Call it off! I just want new tires!"



"They're doin' them, too, Boss."



"Don't give me a 'too,' just get my car ba- what are they doing?"



"Well, seein's how your tires were cut up like that, they're puttin' on the solid rubber kind. No more flats. You'll love 'em."



"Derner."



"Yeah, Boss?"



"Get my car back. No fancy stuff like the Caddy, nothing special. Just put on some tires and get it back to me."



He almost sounded hurt. "Okay... I'll talk to 'em."



"Good. If you need me over there tonight, you'll have to send a driver to pick me up."



"You mean you don't have the Caddy?" His voice went up a little.



"Our guest has it. Seems to like it a lot."



"Oh, well, that's okay, then. You still want some extra muscle for your place?"



"Yeah, send 'em over. Just find that other party." As soon as I cradled the receiver the phone rang.



"Fleming!" It was Kroun, sounding cheerful.



Now what? "Yeah?"



"You finally warmed up yet?"



"Mostly. What's going on?"



"Thought I'd come by your club, see if you turned up anything interesting on that business last night."



"Not really, no. Been sleeping all day."



"All day? You lazy bum! Your place open tonight?"



"Yeah, in about half an hour."



"Save me a good table, I'll be coming by sometime later."



"No problem. Have you seen Mitchell?"



"He's been out gallivanting with old friends. Still is."



Mitchell had friends? "Shouldn't he be watching your back?"



"I'm safe enough. Besides, he always turns up." Kroun rang off. Wonderful. Why come and hang around my club?



I'd have to stop giving away booze.



As I walked downstairs Wilton was getting bowls of matches, ashtrays, and cocktail napkins ready on the lobby bar.



"Hey, Mr. Fleming. Come in early?"



"Yeah. You seen Bobbi or Charles?"



"They're both here. Main room."



"I'll bring the tills down in a minute."



"Sure, Boss."



Somehow, when he called me that, it was perfectly fine. "Myrna around?"



"Not that I've noticed."



I went into the main room. A few early-arrived waiters were there talking with the bartender. Everyone straightened and found something to do as soon as I showed. I liked that and continued on to the backstage area.



Someone banged loudly on the stage door that opened to the back alley. I unlocked and let in the first band members. Five of them barged past out of the cold, smoking like farm trucks and talking a mile a minute and paying me no mind, I was only the boss. I yelled at them to douse their cigarettes, and most of them heard, dropping the stubs into a sand-filled fire bucket hanging next to one of the many extinguishers.



From the corner of my eye I saw Bobbi flit from the number three dressing room, rushing toward the stage like she forgot something. She wore a long silk dressing gown that flapped alarmingly wide as she moved. I caught up with her at the master lighting box stage right.



"Anything wrong?" I asked.



"Hi, sweetheart! Just checking." She absently went tiptoe and pecked my cheek, as normal as could be. But then she didn't know about the fit I'd had in my car after leaving her the other evening or any of what I'd been into last night.



That was good. We both had enough worries.



"I'll do this, you go finish getting ready."



"Okay-thanks." She shot off. Her feet were bare, and she scuffed along in quick little steps back to her dressing-room haven. She would be fully occupied putting herself together for the show, and I knew better than to follow after she slammed the door shut. The door didn't exactly slam so much as make a subdued whump; they were all fitted out with special rubber stripping on the inside edges to be less noisy. That had been Bobbi's idea when the place was being built. She maintained there was nothing more distracting for a performance than having unscheduled noises coming from backstage.



I looked over the settings for the light box and all seemed normal and unchanged. With Myrna around checking it was an ongoing chore we'd all learned to do. Of course, sometimes the lights played up while the switches were correctly in place, so we tried not to mind too much when that happened.



Roland and Faustine arrived next through the alley entry and seemed pleased with themselves. Maybe things were smoothing out in their marriage. He called a friendly hello; she gave me a regal nod, and said, "Zo pleeeezed" at me. At first I didn't think her Russian accent was real, but I'd come to change my mind. The way she looked she was a knockout in any language.



As the purposeful bustle seemed under control, I got out of the area so the showbiz juggernaut could continue bowling along without interruption from an outsider. The bartender and waiters were getting the main room ready.



Most of the chairs were properly on the floor again, and the table lights on. Chatter was up, everyone anticipating a better night for tips since we were one day closer to the weekend.



I returned to the front lobby, half-expecting to see Kroun walk in early just to be annoying.



"Tills, Boss?" Wilton reminded.



"Getting them."



Everything was so normal it gave me the creeps, as though last night's deaths had not happened. The papers with their headlines hadn't changed, though, as I saw when I returned to my office.



Escott was seated at the desk, hunched over the phone. He glanced up, nodded at me, then refocused on listening.



He seemed intent, but not in a bad way, so I walked around and swung open the false door front that hid the desk's safe. I had to try to ignore his conversation while spinning the combination, and it was hard. The guy was actually chuckling at something, and not the dry, sometimes ironic sound I was used to; this one was warm, sincere amusement.



It matched his low tone of voice, which at one point dipped even lower into something like a purr.



He wound his call up as I pulled out the cash bag for making change and relocked the safe. "Well, Vivian's sure got your head turned."



"How did you-oh, never mind."



"Hey, you don't talk like that to our booze supplier. If you did, we might get it for free."



His ears went red. When it came to Vivian, he turned into a schoolboy. "Was your evening out as horrendous as these seem to indicate?" He gestured at the papers.



"Yeah, it was tough."



"You didn't call me?"



"I thought you should stay clear. Kroun was all over this one, and he doesn't need to know what you look like. We had to do stuff; none of it made the papers, though."



"And what is the real story?"



I sighed and sat on the couch. "Someone strangled Alan Caine backstage between shows. We had to hide it, then move him to his hotel to take the heat off the club."



"Was it a murder-suicide, as the papers said?"



"No." I gave Escott got the short version of events, and it still was too much bad news.



"You and Mr. Kroun seem to be getting on, then."



"That or he's just responding extra well to my telling him we're friends. He's coming by here soon. I think he wants to talk about this mess. I don't trust him, though."



"Very wise. He could be protecting his man, Mitchell."



"Thought of that, though why Mitchell would want to bump Caine is anyone's guess. My money's on Hoyle. He's a guy who holds a grudge."



"You put him as being behind the flat tires, too?"



"Him or Ruzzo. It wasn't just about trying to make a flat; someone did a real Jack the Ripper job front and back.



Rubber ribbons. Lot of anger there."



"Dear me. What about Ruzzo strangling Caine? A possibility?"



"Ruzzo don't have the brains to act on their own, though they might have been put up to it. They're good at anything to do with intimidation, have a natural instinct for it, but need direction and specific simple instructions.



They could have gotten away clean on blind luck."



"And Miss Montana?"



"Have to find her." I shrugged. "Women. Who can figure?"



"Indeed. Well, Shoe called me today and passed on the news he was looking after Gordy at your instigation."



"Yeah, he'll kill himself if he doesn't get some rest. I figured Shoe was the right man to keep him safe for it. Any news?"



"Gordy was sleeping a lot. Dr. Clarson is supervising and seems to think that is quite the best thing."



What a relief. Something was going right.



"Was any undue influence applied to assure Gordy's cooperation?"



"It was only for his own best good, I swear."



"And how are you doing?" It wasn't a casual health query.



"No shakes tonight. So far."



Escott was giving me a look. One of those kind of looks.



"I'm fine!" For a while I'd almost felt like my regular self. I resented the reminder that he still saw me as ailing. It had the effect of dragging me back into the sickroom.



He made an innocent "hands off" gesture and quit the chair. "Shall we open, then?"



We divvied money up between the tills, ten bucks and change for each, more than enough for the night. We carried them down. Escott took one to the main room, I gave mine to Wilton. "Got what you need?" I asked.



"A little short on lemons. Hard to get this time of year."



"Then we do without. It's time."



The extra bouncers from the Nightcrawler were smoking in the lobby and greeted me with respectful nods. Derner must have handpicked them to avoid sending anyone who was personally hostile toward me. They knew who they were to look out for and would be hanging around front and back, two to a door, inside and out, eyes open for trouble.



My regular staff seemed a little walleyed about the tough newcomers, or so Wilton confided when he motioned me over to the side.



"Ain't the people we got enough?" he asked.



"You read the papers today?" I countered. "That club singer who got bumped?"



"Yeah..."



"These guys are to make sure that doesn't happen here."



He gave an exaggerated nod of understanding and flashed a welcoming smile toward the toughs. "Gentlemen! If you need coffee, just ask!"



That's what I liked to see. Cooperation. I ascertained that the doorman had his fancy red coat buttoned and that the hatcheck girl was ready for business, then turned on the open sign and the outside lights of the canopied entrance. No crowds were waiting to flood in just yet, but soon.



Before leaving I said, addressing them all, "There's a guy turning up later tonight, forties, lean, has a white streak of hair on one side-"



"That movie star?" chirped the girl, eyes bright. "He was cute!"



Not my word for Kroun, but she'd obviously responded to his brand of charm in a big way. "He's no movie star, but he is important. Give him the royal treatment when he shows and take him up to my table. He gets whatever he wants."



"And how!" she agreed. The men merely nodded, and I went on to the main room.



The band was running late, still more drifting in and tuning up. When the leader spotted me he snapped at the others to put some hustle in it, knowing we were officially open. Just over half came to attention and began playing at his signal. The music was thin at first, then gradually surged and filled out as more of the guys joined in on their usual warm-up number. By the time I was seated at my third tier table they were in full swing.



Opening was always a little sweat-making with them playing to an empty house. The worry was that it would remain empty for the evening, but usually within half an hour we'd have enough of a crowd to justify the endeavor. I sat well back in the shadows of my booth, watching, going over details in my head in case I missed anything.



Once I finally admitted to myself that all was well I started chewing over Jewel Caine's murder. Whatever reason someone had had to kill Alan Caine, I couldn't think why they'd go after Jewel, too.



Unless she'd seen them. She'd been smoking out in the alley. It was very possible. If the killer had left by that route-the fastest exit was the stage door-she could have been right there. She might have said or done something to set him off, or maybe it was enough for her to be in the wrong place just then. He'd have to shut her up as a witness; he lured or kidnapped her away, then staged the fake suicide. And as great good fortune would have it, the cops, or at least the papers, had fallen for the sham.



I wasn't going to leave it like that for her. The right person would take the rap for this. All I needed was five minutes with him.



But was I up to doing hypnosis yet or in for another crippling migraine leading to a seizure? The constant chill that had plagued me last night was somewhat mitigated. I wasn't shivering in my overcoat and hat. My day sleep had accomplished some healing after all, but did it extend that far? I wouldn't know for sure unless I tried, and I wasn't inclined to try.



Escott had been backstage and now emerged from the side exit door on the left. He had a word with the bartender, got a brandy, then began the climb up to my table. Several couples had come in, and the tables were gradually filling up. It was early, but looked like we'd have a good crowd.



"May I?" he asked, ever polite, even when there was no need.



I waved him in on the opposite side, and he took a load off. "Charles, I know you're curious about Kroun coming in, but you've been doing two jobs. It's okay if you head home and rest."



"Rest? My dear fellow, gadding about here is rest for me. I always look forward to abandoning my office to enjoy this glad escape." He lifted his snifter. "And a free drink."



"Okay, if you're sure." That was my way of being polite. "But where he's concerned I think you should be invisible."



"That shan't be a problem. I agree with you on the anonymity point. I'd rather not be anyone he knows."



"Did you look up more on him today?"



"Oh, absolutely."



"And ...?"



"There is a remarkable lack of material on him. Now and then his name popped up in the New York papers in connection to certain acts of violence, but he's avoided any arrest and prosecution. One day he's the focus of someone's official attention, the next they've never heard of him."



"He must bribe or threaten them away, then." Another half dozen customers came in. Good. Kroun wasn't one of them. Better.



"What's odd is that reporters seem to lose interest in him. Walter Winchell had the start of what promised to be a very juicy piece connecting him to a murder, then it simply never happened."



"You think he bribed Winchell? He'd have boasted about turning it down."



Escott shook his head. "You'd have to ask Winchell that. You're former colleagues. Write him a letter."



I almost laughed. Sure I'd been a reporter, but so far down the journalistic totem pole as not even to exist when compared to Winchell. "Why don't you write Helen Hayes, and ask if she'll put you in her next play?"



"Because I prefer Chicago over New York," he replied.



"Don't tell me you know..."



He bounced one eyebrow, very deadpan.



"Ah, never mind."



The band went into a fanfare, and Teddy Parris launched onto the stage, taking charge of it as easily an experienced trouper twice his years. He introduced himself, welcomed everyone, and promised them all a great evening. It was almost how I glad-handed people in the lobby, but without the whammy-work.



He swung his way into "Christopher Columbus" with enthusiastic help from the band. It was a great song; people responded, clustering on the dance floor. During an instrumental interlude Teddy bounded from the stage, cut in on a couple in a comic way, and took the lady around some fast turns. He deftly handed her back to her date and continued to spin, making like he'd gone dizzy, artfully ending up at a table sitting on a guy's lap. Wide-eyed Teddy tickled the guy's chin, then mimed mortified horror and switched laps to flirt with the girlfriend instead. Fortunately they thought he was funny. I'd seen that gag not work in many a spectacular way.



He dropped to one knee, gave the lady the red carnation from his lapel, then made a fast exit, cartwheeling back to the dance floor, managing not to hit anyone. Up onstage again, he was in perfect time to resume singing, but breathless, so he made a business out of that, mopping his brow and purposely wheezing out the words. He miraculously recovered enough to deliver a strong finish. It went over well, with laughs and applause.



"You'll have to start paying him more if he keeps on like that," Escott observed.



"Don't give him ideas."



Teddy's set continued through several more lively songs, and he used his long, expressive face to play up the humorous delivery, sometimes adding in comments, but he included a plaintive love song to prove he had a voice. The women ate it up.



Escott pulled out his pipe and tobacco pouch and prepared a smoke. He didn't seem to be in a contemplative mood.



It was strangely very much like any other evening.



"Thought you preferred cigarettes," I said.



"Used to. Vivian prefers the smell of pipe tobacco."



Ho-ho. "So how's the date for Saturday? You sounded pretty happy about it."



"Yes, Bobbi and I had an additional planning session when I drove her in tonight. All is progressing extremely well." Escott looked kind of odd. Pleased and bemused and nervous at the same time, but it didn't seem like a bad feeling to have. It cheered me up seeing him like that. "Vivian gladly accepted your invitation, and Sarah is looking forward to going out to a grown-ups' event. She doesn't know you're the one who actually rescued her, but has picked up from her mother that you're a cross between the Lone Ranger and Gangbusters. She may want your



autograph."



"Son of a-" I broke off, almost laughing. "What a kid."



"You know she plays the piano?"



That hauled me short. "But I thought she wasn't..."



He shrugged. "Well, gifts of talent and intellectual development do not necessarily walk hand in hand. She doesn't read music, but she can play whatever she's heard. She's quite amazing."



"Huh. Who'd a thought it?"



"Actually, Vivian did. She read somewhere that doctors had determined Albert Einstein to be so backward that they recommend institutionalization. His parents got him a violin instead. Vivian encourages Sarah in a similar direction.



Seems to give the girl comfort, too."



"Oh, yeah?"



He lifted a hand. "She has nightmares about her kidnapping. Has to have the lights on all the time. Doesn't like to be alone."



That sounded uncomfortably familiar.



"Vivian told her that day or night, whenever she felt frightened or sad, she was to go to the parlor and play the piano and she would feel better. It seems to work."



"You dropping a hint?"



"I believe you already understand the merits of music in healing a damaged spirit. You have the radio on nearly all the time."



"That's just to keep me from thinking too much."



"Exactly."



Teddy made his big finish and took his bows, then began Roland and Faustine's introduction. The tone of the band changed dramatically, the drums coming in strong.



"I can't make music," I said. "Can't carry a tune in a bag, and Ma gave up trying to teach me piano when the rest of the family said my practice would lead to a hanging."



"What do you mean?" His pipe went out. He gave it an irritated look.



"If I kept trying to play, one of them was going to kill me. That last lesson was a relief to everybody, especially myself."



"And here you sit, owner of a nightclub full of song."



The lights went out so Roland and Faustine could take their places. Clearly Bobbi had changed the ordering of the show again, leaving out the anniversary duet with Teddy. Perhaps none of the couples here tonight were celebrating.



The music built upon itself, horns and drums filling the space right to the walls, thundering into the tango.



"I don't paint but can appreciate art. You saying I need to hang around here more?"



"Yes, of course. The rest of the time you could indulge in expanding your record collection. I would strongly suggest acquiring some of the pieces from the Baroque period. They have a most soothing effect on the nerves."



I knew that stuff; it all sounded alike to me. "Fats Waller is more my style."



He relit the pipe. "Whatever does the job."



We watched the dancers, though I was sure Escott was keeping at least one eye on me and my reaction to the show.



He didn't have to; I was worried enough for both of us.



"Any new problems, past or pending?" He was talking about my fits again. Great timing. Keep me distracted as the music reached its apex and the lights changed for the bloodred finale.



Shutting my eyes, I leaned on the table, head low. Bracing. Just in case. "Not tonight. Knock wood."



"Hm. Sounds hopeful."



Closing my eyes made it work. Not long after, a roaring burst of applause told me it was safe to look again. I held up a nontrembling hand. "Maybe there's something to it."



"Then congratulations. Every step forward is for the better." He'd finished his smoke and tapped the dottle into the ashtray. Only then did I notice a shiny leather pouch that had his initials stamped on it in gold.



"That's new," I said.



He smiled a little self-consciously. "A gift from Vivian."



"Well-well, quite a girl you got there." I was going to razz him some more, but Teddy reappeared to introduce Bobbi. She took center stage and seemed to glow all on her own. It hurt to look at her.



Roland and Faustine melted into another exposition dance to complement her opening song. There was a spotlight on Bobbi and a traveling spot on them. The effect was great. While some club owners might object to Bobbi's constant changing of the bill, I welcomed it. She kept the place out of the doldrums of repetition. The regular customers liked it, and the performers stayed interested.



End of number, lights up, bows, plenty of applause, graceful shift as Roland and Faustine broke away to take new partners. This time an impatient guy, still in his hat and overcoat, got to Faustine first, and he wasn't half-bad squiring her around the floor.



Bobbi sang, others danced, and the rest were caught up in her voice as she did a plaintive but not overly sentimental version of "Pennies from Heaven." The arrangement had one of the trumpets doing something that sounded reminiscent of falling water, which was echoed in places by a clarinet. I'd not heard that part before. They must have come up with it during daytime rehearsal.



Faustine's partner maneuvered them close to the stage until they were just below Bobbi, then he held in place, not doing much of anything but looking up at her. Smiling.



What the hell... ?



I abruptly recognized Mitchell.



He was waiting for Bobbi to see him. The lights would be in her eyes; maybe there was still time to head him off. I suddenly vanished and shot right over the heads of everyone between, going solid just as suddenly on the dance floor only steps from Mitchell. I didn't care who saw.



But I was too late. Mitchell sidled close enough so she caught the movement and looked his way. Grinning, he waved up at her. She didn't react, singing on, then did a kind of slow double take and froze in sheer horror. I thought she would dislike a reminder of the bad old days, but didn't expect this. It required a hell of a lot to get Bobbi to miss a line, and she did just that, dropping several words and stumbling through the start of the chorus. She pretended to have a throat problem, pulling away from the microphone, hand to her mouth as though to cough. The band continued. Singers forgetting words were part of the job.



Mitchell just kept grinning.



I clapped a hand on his shoulder from behind, grabbed his right arm so he wouldn't go for his gun, and turned him before he quite knew what happened. His baffled surprise turned into a snarl when he saw my face, but I chivvied him along as quick as any of the bouncers. I'm a lot stronger than I look, and where the hell were they?



"Lay off, pretty boy!" Mitchell started.



I clocked him smartly, rapping his skull with my knuckles as though knocking to get in. As mad as I was the force was the same as if I'd blackjacked him. His legs ceased to hold him so well, and I had to take his weight to keep him moving.



By now we were a spectacle. The joker running the traveling spot picked us out from the crowd on the dance floor and followed, much to everyone's amusement. A few applauded, thinking this was part of the show. So far no one was screaming in reaction to my magical appearance out of thin air.



I veered to the right, going toward the door that led to the backstage area. It had the closest exit. I glanced over my shoulder at the stage.



Bobbi made it to the end of the chorus, but her tone was wrong for the mood she'd set, her face fixed, eyes staring at nothing, like a mannequin. She threw a jerky signal to the band leader, and he muttered a song title to his people.



The music shifted and changed key. Out of sequence, Bobbi hastily introduced Teddy Parris, calling him up again. He must have been ready in the wings, for he bounced forward and took over as though this was business as usual. The spotlight shifted to him, so Bobbi's hasty departure went mostly unseen.



Mitchell and I blew through the door. Just within was a wide service area with the alley entry at the end and a smaller hall to the right leading to the dressing rooms. To the left were the basement stairs. I wanted to bounce Mitchell down them, but instead slammed him against the backstage wall, my forearm under his chin, his feet dangling free. He recovered enough to put up some fight, so I rattled him again, taking a lot of satisfaction from the rotten-melon thump his head made on impact. The wall was brick.



Then Escott got between us and pushed me back, shouting my name. It was just enough to keep me from a third try, which would have probably killed Mitchell. He slithered to the floor. Escott shot me a loud "What the devil is going on?"



I wasn't in a mood to explain. "Go check on Bobbi. This creep..."



Escott instantly got the idea she'd been threatened in some way, but didn't leave. "Jack... ?"



"It'll be all right. I promise not to kill him." Not here, anyway.



"Who is he?"



"I'll tell ya later, go to Bobbi!"



He went.



Where were the damn bouncers? But they were on the lookout for mugs like Hoyle and Ruzzo, not Whitey Kroun's top lieutenant.



Mitchell had a thick skull and had roused himself back to alertness. The first thing he did was reach inside his coat for his gun.



Only I'd taken it off him. It weighed down my coat pocket.



Some guys can't handle being without their heat, but he wasn't one of them. He shot to his feet and went after me, fists flying. Very bad move. I got inside his first punch, taking it on the flank under my arm and gave him two sharp ones in the breadbasket left and right. Mitchell gagged and dropped and spent the next few moments trying to get air back in his lungs.



He was vulnerable as he ever would be. I thought of hypnotizing him, my first choice for solving the problem he'd become. It wouldn't take much to give him both barrels in the face and see to it he forgot Bobbi ever existed. But even thinking about the attempt seemed to make a steel band tighten around my head. In my current state I'd either send him insane, send myself off into another damned fit, or both.



However, my second choice-beating the crap out of him-was entirely acceptable. I impatiently paced side to side, waiting for him to get up so I could knock him over again.



"What's your beef?" he gasped, staying down. "I only wanted to say hello."



"Try again, and you'll do it without teeth. She doesn't want to see you."



"Huh. Ask her, wise guy. Think she rolled and spread 'em just for you? She'll wanna-"



I hauled him up and threw him across the room.



He hit the brick wall on that side hard but didn't quite lose enough balance; he staggered and kept his feet. "You're gonna pay, you stupid-"



I was too fast for him to see the move and too angry to stop. Not knowing quite how, I got hold of one arm and yanked the wrong way. For that I had an earsplitting howl in response, followed by some truly foul cursing.



"Ya busted my arm!" he informed me.



"Dislocated," I said. I sounded calm as a doctor diagnosing a cold. How could I be this furious and speak so softly?



He tried another swing with his undamaged arm. I stepped back out of range plus a few steps. I'd promised Escott there'd be no killing. Mitchell was making it hard to remember.



That's when the alley door swung inward. One of the bouncers, I thought, finally reacting to the commotion inside.



Except he wasn't a bouncer. Rawboned and face red from the cold, Hoyle shouldered past Mitchell, raising the gun in his fist until the muzzle was level with my eyes. Hoyle's gleamed with unholy delight. He had me square.



"Kill 'im!" Mitchell yelled.



Hoyle seemed barely aware of him. "Payback," he said to me, grinning. He still looked worse for wear from the pounding I'd given him. "Outside, Fleming. Now."



Mitchell, apparently figuring to have a front row seat, darted clumsily through the door, holding his arm close.



Were they working together, or was it just glad coincidence that put them on the same team tonight?



"Outside!" Hoyle repeated. "Or I'll drill you here, you-"



His gaze abruptly snapped to the side, toward the hall leading to the dressing rooms.



Faustine Petrova stood not ten feet away. She was out of her tango dance costume, wrapped in a blazing scarlet silk kimono, a look of fascination on her exotic face.



"You are hav-ink important beeznuss meet-ink, yesss?" she asked brightly.



My guts swooped. "Faustine! Get out of here!"



But she stood her ground staring intently at Hoyle. He glared back at her, and his gun muzzle wavered in her direction. Then his eyes went wide.



Faustine made a small, elegant shrugging motion, and the kimono suddenly fell from her shoulders. She was completely naked except for her lipstick. "Daunce wit' me, beeg boy!" she sang out, spreading her arms.



Holy mackerel.



Hoyle's eyes got even wider, and his jaw sagged. He had to have seen a naked woman before, but Faustine possessed a unique electricity, and it always turned heads.



Including his, for just long enough.



I launched a full-body tackle on him. Being stronger, I could cover more distance in a leap. I slammed into him, and down we went. Hoyle's reflexes were too good, though. His time in the boxing ring made him quick to recover. He fired, and I felt the sear as the bullet grazed my side. It was a scratch, nothing to sweat over...



But Faustine dropped, giving a little cry.