Bea’s sigh of relief was audible from across the room. “That’s her, sir. I’d like to pay her bail. How much is it?”
The sergeant’s eyes narrowed as he looked Bea up and down, and an unpleasant smile stretched out the corners of his mouth. “Bail is thirty-five—”
“Twenty-five dollars a person for imbibing,” the matron said sharply. The sergeant scowled at her, but since he had to look up at the tall policewoman to do it, the effect wasn’t as intimidating as it could have been. “I’m sure that’s what you were about to say, Mr. Morris.”
The sergeant seemed ready to argue, then apparently thought better of it. Instead, he jerked his head toward the door in the corner of the room where two men were just emerging. “Twenty-five dollars. You pay over there.”
“I’ll take you over, girl,” the matron said briskly. “You—” She pointed to Vivian, then to the bench by the wall. “Sit there until we’re back.”
Vivian obeyed, though she didn’t take her eyes from her friend as the policewoman escorted Bea to the office. She was watching so intently that she didn’t recognize the men until one of them stopped directly in the path of the two women.
“Fancy seeing you here, miss.”
Vivian started, recognizing Danny’s voice before she saw his face. Bea’s anxious posture relaxed a touch, and Vivian saw her flash a smile over her shoulder as the matron nudged her forward. “Familiar face waiting for you in the lobby,” Bea told him. “Be back in a jiff.”
Vivian started to rise, then thought better of it, not wanting to get on the matron’s bad side if the woman came back and saw that her instructions hadn’t been precisely obeyed.
Danny took the seat next to her, grinning widely. “Spent your whole night in the lockup?”
“Were you in, too?” Vivian asked, surprised. “I didn’t see you when they rounded us up.”
“Not me.” Danny jerked his thumb toward his companion, who was still standing. “Just finished bailing out my pal here.”
Vivian lifted her eyes. “Leo.”
He smiled at her. “Glad to see you made it out in one piece.”
“More or less.” Vivian glanced between them. “I didn’t realize you knew each other.”
“Grew up only a few blocks apart,” Danny said cheerfully. “Opposite sides of Bowery. I didn’t know he was back in the city until he said hello at the bar last night.” He gave Leo a playful punch on the shoulder. “Forgot to tell me you were coming back, but you remembered my number when you needed bail, hm?”
“I’ll pay you back,” Leo said easily, not taking his eyes from Vivian.
“Damn right you will.” Danny glanced at the office, his smile fading into concern. “You think she’s all right in there?”
His question was answered as Bea and the police matron emerged, the latter nodding stiffly as she pointed at Vivian. “She’s free to go.” She eyed the men and sniffed, then shook her head. “Go home to your parents, girls, or you’ll end up right back here again.”
“Yes, matron,” Bea said earnestly. “I promise, I’m going home to my mother this very day.”
It wasn’t until they were outside on the street, the door to the precinct shut behind them, that Vivian pointed out, “You go home to your mother every day of the week, Bea.”
Bea smiled, lifting her chin as she gave the bottom edge of her hair a careful fluff. “I never lie if I can help it.” She shivered as she wrapped her coat more tightly around her. “One of you boys want to lend Viv your jacket? She’ll freeze in that skimpy thing this early in the morning. And we’ve got somewhere to be.”
Vivian glanced down, almost surprised to see she still wore her evening dress and nothing else. There was an edge of hysterical relief to her laughter. It already felt like a week ago that she had asked Bea tostash her purse while she danced with the handsome stranger who was now standing next to her, asking Danny for a cigarette. “I’m too jittery to be cold. I didn’t know how I was going to get out of there. Thanks, Bea. Really. Thanks a million.”
“You’ll feel it in a minute,” Leo said, shrugging off his jacket and laying it over her shoulders. It smelled like sandalwood and smoke and whiskey, and Vivian tamped down an embarrassing urge to bury her nose in the collar and breathe deeply.
“Where in God’s name did you find twenty-five dollars?” she asked instead.
“Borrowed it,” Bea said. “Can we not stand around in front of the police station? They’ll start looking for a reason to give us trouble soon.”
“What happened to you last night?” Danny asked at last, glancing at Vivian as they walked.
“Me?” Vivian snorted. The panic of her night in jail was distant enough now that she could force herself to look back on it dismissively, though she knew the fear was still there. “I spent the night convinced I’d end up in a reformatory. What happened to you? Seemed like the folks who worked there disappeared pretty quick.”
“Trapdoor behind the bar,” Danny said, shrugging. “And a tunnel in the back. Helpful in our line of work. Hux doesn’t want her staff getting picked up. And we get out whoever we can.”
“Smart thinking,” Leo said, nodding approvingly. He rolled his shoulders and neck to stretch them out, but other than that he looked wide awake and perfectly at ease.
