Longarm left the club, hoping that Millard would follow through on those precautions they had discussed. To tell the truth, he really was tired, and he wanted to get out of his dirty clothes. A hot bath, a few hours' sleep, and a fresh outfit would go a long way toward making him feel like a new man.
He hailed one of the hansom cabs and headed for the St. Charles Hotel.
By the time he returned to the Brass Pelican that evening, he did indeed feel positively human again. Well rested, dressed in a clean suit and shirt, he felt as if his adventure in the bayou country was now nothing more than a memory.
But a sweet memory in a lot of ways, he thought as an image of Claudette floated in his mind for a moment.
Now it was time for him to get back to work. There was a new doorman at the entrance of the Brass Pelican, replacing the unfortunate Luther. This man wore a fancy uniform too, but since he was about half Luther's size, Longarm knew it wasn't the same outfit.
The club was busy, though not as packed as it had been two nights earlier before the raid by Royale's men. Such an incident would hurt Millard's business for a time, before everyone forgot about it. Royale might not allow anyone to forget what had happened, thought Longarm. There might be a recurrence at any time.
Paul Clement was bucking the tiger at the faro table tonight, and as usual, his sister Annie was at his side. Her face lit up in a smile as she saw Longarm making his way across the room toward them. 'Look, Paul,' Longarm heard her say as she clutched at her brother's arm. 'It's Custis.'
'So it is,' said Clement as he looked up with his customary sardonic half-smile. He greeted Longarm by saying, 'How are you, Custis? Annie here was quite worried about you last night. She expected to see you here again. She's been pestering Jasper about you all evening.'
Annie blushed and looked down at the floor. 'Really, Paul, you make it sound as if I was being silly,' she protested. 'Last night, I simply asked Mr. Millard where Custis was, and I've barely spoken to him this evening.'
'What did Millard tell you?' asked Longarm.
'He said that you were handling some business for him, and that he hoped you'd be back tonight.' Annie smiled again. 'And here you are!' She sounded a little giddy, and Longarm suspected she'd had several glasses of wine.
'I'm sorry I missed you,' he said, only half-sincere. The run-in with Royale's men hadn't been any fun, but it had led to his meeting with Claudette.
'Well, you're here now,' said Annie, disengaging her arm from her brother's and linking it with Longarm's instead. Longarm thought he saw a flicker of disapproval on Clement's face, but he couldn't be sure about that. He knew that Clement regarded Annie as a lucky charm. She went on. 'Why don't we get a drink?'
'Sure... if it's all right with Paul.'
Clement flicked his wrist languidly. 'Go ahead. I'm afraid not even the good luck Annie sometimes brings me could make me a winner tonight.'
Longarm led Annie over to the bar. She chattered brightly in his ear along the way, but he didn't pay much attention to what she was saying. His eyes roved the room, searching for any sign of trouble, but everything seemed to be normal in the Brass Pelican tonight. He spotted Jasper Millard in his customary spot at the end of the bar. The club owner nodded to Longarm, smiling slightly. He wondered just how much of a pest Annie Clement had made of herself.
Annie drank several glasses of wine over the next couple of hours, and combined with what she had had before, it had quite an effect on her. Longarm had never cared for drunken women, but instead of getting sloppy and maudlin, Annie seemed to grow brighter and more animated the more she drank. She laughed merrily no matter what Longarm said to her. When she finally began to sway too much, he sat her down at one of the tables and continued to nurse his own drink, which was only his second. He wanted to stay clearheaded in case of trouble.
His thoughts never strayed far from the case that had brought him here. Earlier in the day, Millard had made that comment about alligators, but he had also responded with fervent disapproval to Longarm's question about voodoo. If Millard had been telling the truth about the way he felt, it was unlikely he had been responsible for leaving that half-doll on the doorstep of the chief marshal's office. He seemed not to want to have anything to do with such things, and he had scoffed at anybody who believed in them.
But had that ridicule been intended merely to cover up the man's own very real fear of voodoo? Longarm wondered. That was entirely possible.
Paul Clement wandered over and sat down at the table with them, sighing. 'Ah, well, cleaned out again,' he said. 'I allow myself to lose only a certain amount on each night of our visits to New Orleans, and tonight I have reached my limit.'
'Too bad,' said Longarm. He glanced over at Annie, saw that she was looking off at the other side of the room and humming to herself, then added quietly, 'I reckon your sister has just about reached her limit too.'
Clement's mouth tightened. 'Annie, have you had too much to drink again?'
She opened her mouth and stared at him for a moment before saying, 'Paul, whatever do you mean? Custis and I have been having the most wonderful time-'
'You know that you don't feel well later on when you drink too much,' said Clement, his attitude a mixture of solicitousness and impatience. 'Why don't I take you home-'
'No!' exclaimed Annie. 'I want Custis to take me home.'
'I don't think that's a good idea.' Clement glanced at Longarm. 'No offense, Custis.'
'None taken,' Longarm assured him with a slight shake of his head.
'Custis will take me home,' insisted Annie, 'and he will take me upstairs, and then he-'
'That's enough, Annie.' The hard edge of menace in Clement's tone made his sister fall silent. He reached across the table and took her hand. 'Come along now.'
