With all the threads of the investigation he had picked up, anxious to follow them to their source, this problem with Claudette was an unwelcome distraction. But then, most of life was a distraction, and a hell of a lot of it was unwelcome, he reflected. He'd just have to make do as best he could, and by the time he wrapped up the case and left New Orleans, maybe Claudette would be ready to go back home.
While Claudette waited anxiously at the table, Longarm went over to Jasper Millard, who was standing at the end of the bar, and said, 'Boss, I've got a favor to ask of you.'
'I'm not sure you've been working for me long enough to ask favors, Parker,' said Millard. 'But then, you seem to figure you've got some special privileges.'
Clearly, Millard hadn't forgotten about finding Longarm in the office. Longarm said, 'I told you, that won't happen again.' He shook his head. 'Lord, the trouble a man gets into sometimes just because he wants a smoke.'
In spite of himself, Millard chuckled. 'Go ahead, Parker,' he said. 'Ask your favor. I'm not promising anything, but I'll listen.'
'Thanks. You see that lady over there at the table, the one who came looking for me?'
Millard glanced over at Claudette, then looked again. 'She's a good looker. Friend of yours?'
'You could say that. She's trying to find a job.'
'And she wants to work here? She must really want to spend time around you, Parker.'
Longarm gave a slight shrug. 'I told her I'd ask you about it.'
'Let me see...' Millard studied Claudette for a long moment, then said, 'At first glance, she doesn't seem the type. But if she was cleaned up a little more and borrowed some dresses from the other girls... I suppose I could use her. If that's what you really want, Parker.'
Longarm wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. 'I'm much obliged, Boss,' he told Millard. 'I'll tell her she's got the job.'
'Why don't you let me do that?' asked Millard, surprising Longarm. Without waiting for Longarm's reply, he sauntered over to the table where Claudette waited. Her eyes got big as he approached.
'Welcome to the Brass Pelican, my dear,' Millard said as he came up to the table. He leaned over, took Claudette's hand, and brushed his lips across the back of it. It would have been difficult to say who was more surprised, Claudette or Longarm. Millard went on. 'Our mutual friend Mr. Parker tells me that you'd like to work here. As it turns out, I'm in need of another hostess, so if you'd like the job...'
'Oh, Lordy, I sure would, me,' said Claudette breathlessly. 'Thank you, Mr.?'
'Millard, Jasper Millard. I'm sure we'll become very well acquainted while you're here, my dear.'
Longarm's hackles rose at the suggestive tone in Millard's voice, but he drew a tight rein on his temper. Claudette was a grown woman, and she hadn't been a virgin when he met her. So she wasn't completely unaware of the ways of the world. He would look out for her as best he could, but she would also have to take care of herself. Besides, no one had appointed him her guardian.
Millard crooked a finger at one of the hostesses, a blonde in a tight red dress. 'Tessie, this is... I'm sorry, I don't know your name, my dear.'
'Claudette,' she supplied with a smile.
'This is Claudette, Tessie,' continued Millard. 'Take her upstairs, get her settled in, and see about arranging for the temporary loan of several gowns. Claudette's going to be working here, and since she's a friend of Mr. Parker's, I want her treated right.'
The blonde glanced at Longarm, shrugged, and nodded. Clearly, the fact that Claudette was his friend didn't really mean anything to her, but she would do whatever Millard told her.
'Come on, honey,' she said to Claudette. 'I'll take care of YOU.'
Claudette stood up, smiled nervously at Longarm and Millard, and followed Tessie upstairs. Millard turned to Longarm and asked, 'Satisfied, Parker?'
'I reckon we'll see,' said Longarm.
Tessie came back downstairs a little later and told Longarm and Millard, 'This is going to take a while. I've got her soaking in a hot tub, and she doesn't act like she wants to get out. I think this might be the first real bath she's ever had!'
Longarm figured that was possible. Since it was still fairly early and the crowd in the club was still small, he said to Millard, 'I think I'll go get a bite to eat, if that's all right with you, Boss?'
Millard waved a hand. 'Sure, go ahead. Just don't get lost. If Annie Clement's in here tonight, I don't want her spending the whole evening asking me where you are.'
Longarm grinned ruefully at the thought of Annie and Claudette being in the same place at the same time. That was a definite likelihood. He might be wise to keep them apart as much as possible.
As if reading Longarm's mind, Millard chuckled and said, 'Didn't think of that when you asked me to hire her, did you?'
'Well, to be honest, no,' admitted Longarm. 'But I reckon I'll just have to make the best of it now. I'll worry about it after supper.'
He left the club, but he wasn't looking for something to eat. Instead, he headed for the docks. That notebook he had discovered in Millard's desk earlier in the day still bothered him. Or rather, not the notebook itself, but the information he had found written down in it. He was still intensely curious about those ships that had left New Orleans bound for Saint Laurent.
Gallatin Street was only a block away from the river, but the levee area was around the great curve of the Mississippi that gave New Orleans its nickname of the Crescent City. Where Canal Street met the waterfront was the hub of the shipping industry. Longarm spent the next hour roaming through the area. Ships were docked two and three deep at the wharves. Loading and unloading began before dawn and went on by torchlight until well after
