Iron Cast(6)

“Giving you the key to his Ford and sending you off to an asylum with a fake uniform and the foolproof alias of ‘Nurse Salem’— how could he think anything would go wrong?”

“I’ll have you know that this brilliant plan was entirely my design,” Corinne said.

“Oh, I don’t doubt it.”

“Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?”

“You’re the wordsmith around here, Cor. I just play the music and look pretty.”

Corinne snorted but didn’t say more.

Johnny’s office was in the basement as well, at the end of a corridor by the stairs. Johnny didn’t live at the Cast Iron, in the sense that he had a house and bed elsewhere, but anyone would be hard-pressed to find a time when he wasn’t in his office or at his reserved table on the club floor, working through lines of visitors and petitioners like a king of old.

“There’s my girls,” he said, beaming at them from behind his massive oak desk.

There were a handful of people in his office, including someone Ada had never seen before. The stranger was sitting on the corner of the desk, his black shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had short, unruly brown hair, pale skin, and a look of suspicious amusement that belied his youthful features. His coal-gray trousers were neatly pressed, but Ada saw that his shoes were practical and well-worn.

The office cleared, with most of the visitors patting Ada on the shoulder. The exact circumstances of her absence weren’t widely known, but it was hard to keep a tight lid on something like that. No telling what the latest rumor was. No telling how much Corinne had embroidered those rumors herself.

Only the stranger stayed behind, standing and unrolling his sleeves with slow, careful movements. He hadn’t made eye contact with Ada or Corinne yet.

“Girls,” said Johnny, “this is Gabriel Stone. I hired him to help with security around here. After recent events, I want to make sure all avenues are covered.”

“Looks a little scrawny for a bodyguard,” said Corinne. He was nearly a foot taller than her.

“I manage well enough,” he said, his gaze flickering across the two of them for the first time.

“You a wordsmith?” Ada asked. He had that look about him. Perpetually smug and mildly sardonic. And he had obviously set Corinne on edge. She didn’t play well with people she considered competitors.

He shook his head but didn’t offer any more explanation.

“You can give him the rundown tomorrow,” Johnny said. “I assume you had a clean break from your little situation, Ada? I don’t expect Jackson back for another couple hours.”

“They’re going to take it pretty hard,” Ada said. “I was their favorite inmate.”

Corinne threw her arm around Ada’s shoulders. “You know our Ada, making friends, respecting authority, flipping tables onto doctors.”

“Sounds more like you,” Johnny said.

“What can I say?” Corinne shrugged. “I’m her role model.”

Ada rolled her eyes, and Johnny flashed a smile. He was striking rather than handsome, with a light, ruddy complexion, a dash of gray at the temples, and a brash grin that inspired confidence in even the wariest of business associates. Unlike some of his contemporaries, he stayed away from silk suits and flashy cuff links, opting for attire that wouldn’t look out of place on a horse ranch. Ada had asked him about it once, and he’d laughed and given a vague reply that didn’t really answer her question.

“Good to have you back,” he told her. “Corinne is unbearable without you. All she does is mumble obscure poetry and drink.”

“I can’t help that she’s the fun one,” Corinne said.

“You really all right, kid?” Johnny asked, looking at Ada. She wondered if there was something in her expression that told the tale of her sleepless nights huddled in the corner of that godforsaken cell. Everything was so much better here, surrounded by oak and pine and the pungent scent of cloves.

But that wasn’t something she would say out loud, not to Johnny. Anyway, Gabriel was watching her with his dark eyes and slightly raised eyebrows.

“Everything’s copacetic, boss,” she said.

Johnny’s lips twisted. He was fiddling with a pocketknife on his desk, which might have been ominous in any other context, but Ada knew that Johnny only ever used it as a letter opener. It had been a gift from his predecessor.

“You two up for a set tonight?” he asked. “We haven’t had a decent night’s run without you, Ada.”

Ada hesitated, thinking longingly of her bed. Her entire body was pulsing with exhaustion, and her violin hadn’t been tuned in two weeks.

“We’ve got Charlie on loan from the Red Cat,” Corinne said, nudging her.

Ada elbowed her back but couldn’t repress a smile. “Why not?”

“Perfect,” Johnny said. “You go on at nine. Gabriel, go tell Danny that I’m expecting Senator Jacobs and his wife tonight. Keep my table clear.”

Gabriel nodded and stood up. He followed Ada and Corinne out of Johnny’s office.

“You ever seen a show before?” Ada asked him.

“Hemopath shows are illegal,” he replied.

Corinne snorted. “Someone should tell the senator that,” she said. “He’ll be so disappointed.”