“Didn’t Bea tell you—”
“She did. But I want to hear what you saw, too.”
Vivian narrowed her eyes. Ms. Huxley wasn’t looking at her, and she wondered whether that was for her own sake or the club owner’s. She suspected the second—anyone who ran a dance hall had plenty of secrets to keep, and Ms. Huxley wasn’t known for showing delicacy about the feelings of others.
For a moment, Vivian was tempted to refuse to answer, just to show that she couldn’t be pushed around. But there was no point in that, really. Bea had likely already told her boss everything she saw. And it wasn’t as if Vivian cared one way or another how Ms. Huxley ran her business, so long as the Nightingale was able to keep its doors open to the men and women who wouldn’t find a welcome elsewhere.
So she sighed and answered. “There wasn’t much to see when we first came out. Bea propped the door open a little, and we heard someone over there.” She gestured toward the opposite end of the alley from where they stood. “Figured it was someone out for a bit of petting, so we didn’t pay any attention. But that’s when I noticed…” She glanced at the dead man, swallowed, and filled in the rest of the story.
Ms. Huxley nodded along, glancing once or twice at the bruiserswaiting by the door. She didn’t say anything until Vivian trailed off. “And you didn’t see anyone else out here?”
“No.” Vivian hesitated. She had seen Roy come inside only a few minutes before she and Bea stepped out. He certainly hadn’t acted like a man who’d just committed murder. But then, what did she know about how people acted after shooting someone? With the door closed, he’d certainly had the opportunity. And she couldn’t resist the urge to show that she knew a thing or two. “There’s a fella named Roy, handsome when he’s not in a bad mood, goes around with a brunette named Margaret?” Ms. Huxley looked up sharply, meeting Vivian’s eyes at last. “I saw him coming inside a few minutes before Bea and I came out here.”
“Know how long he’d been out here for?”
“No idea. Looked like he’d just been out for a smoke.” Seeing Ms. Huxley glance at her bruisers, Vivian immediately tried to take it back. She didn’t want to be the reason someone got roughed up by those two pairs of fists. “I’m not pointing fingers, you know—it’s dark enough out here, Bea and I almost didn’t notice anything either. But I did see him, so…”
“Got it.” Ms. Huxley glanced down at the body once more, then shrugged, herding Vivian back toward the door as she gestured to the still-silent men. “This sorry fella looks like he’s been dead more than a few minutes, so unless Roy was out here for a while…” She shrugged again. “But he might have been.” She stepped close enough to lay one finger lightly on Vivian’s cheek, her lips lifting in a slow smile. “Thanks for letting me know.”
Vivian could feel heat spreading across her face from the touch. It was a struggle to look away from those curving lips, but she managed to meet Ms. Huxley’s eyes. In the dim light of the alley, it was hard to tell what color they were, but the amusement in them was easy to see. Vivian swallowed, but she didn’t step back as she answered. “I hope that thanks at least comes with a free drink.”
Ms. Huxley’s smile grew. “Get back inside, pet. We’ll handle it fromhere. And Vivian—” Ms. Huxley caught her arm as she was about to turn away. “You’re a smart girl. I don’t need to tell you not to spend your time worrying over what you saw tonight.”
“Clearly you think you do,” Vivian said. The words didn’t have quite the bravado she meant them to, but she managed to meet the other woman’s eyes, at least.
But Ms. Huxley only grinned. “Tell Danny your next drink is on the house, then, smart girl, and forget you saw anything out here. I’ll see you around.”
Vivian squared her shoulders to walk past those silent, suited men and down the long hallway, and she kept her chin lifted as she paused at the door to the main room, letting the music from the bandstand wrap around her senses, familiar and reassuring. They were playing a foxtrot, the dance that almost anyone could be halfway decent at, and the floor was crowded with couples. That meant the bar was emptier than usual, so Vivian made a beeline for Danny. The sideways look he gave her while he finished up with another customer told her immediately that he knew something had happened, even if he didn’t yet know what.
“What’s the word from Hux?” he asked as soon as the other patrons were far enough away.
“That my next drink is on the house,” Vivian said, forcing a playful smile as his eyebrows shot up, though it took more effort than she wanted to admit.
“You’re learning to play it pretty cool, kitten,” he said, his eyes lingering on her for a moment before he turned back to the rows of bottles and glasses.
Vivian shivered as soon as he looked away. “Did you see where Bea ended up?”
Danny’s hands were busy pouring, but he gestured with his chin. “Back at work.”
Vivian’s bravado lasted until she met her friend’s eyes across the crowded dance floor. And then it slowly began to crumble as sheremembered the animal smell of the alley, the blood on the dead man’s shirt, the cigarette burning a hole through those stupidly expensive pants of his. Vivian hadn’t been lying when she said she had seen dead people before. But tonight was the first time she had been face-to-face with one who had been murdered.
For a moment she felt like she was going to be sick, and she quickly gulped down half of the drink Danny handed her. Even from a distance, she could see the warning shake of Bea’s head. She didn’t want to have anything more to do with whatever had happened in that alley, and Vivian knew she should be putting it behind her too.
Forget you saw anything out here,Honor Huxley had said, her cold smile unreadable.
Vivian held back another shiver. Whatever had happened, it was nothing to do with her.
“Danny, find a girl a partner, will you?” Vivian looked over her shoulder to give him a smile. “I need a dance something awful.”
“Feeling jittery, kitten?”
She was, her whole body tingling with nerves, but she would never admit it. “Just like this song, is all.”
Danny knew all the regulars, and they knew him; a moment later, a stylish young man with tidy brown hair and a forgettably handsome face was beaming at her as the band slid seamlessly into a quickstep. “Up for a spin, doll?” he asked, holding out his hand.
Vivian tossed back the rest of her drink, unconsciously imitating Honor Huxley’s slow smile as she put her hand in his. “I hope you can keep up.”
Forget you saw anything out here.
