Just After Midnight: Historical Romance (9 page)

“Baby boy, come on in here and visit. Get down, Brainless.” The woman attempted to control the yellow puppy as it tried to climb Alex’s leg.

“I see you’ve found a name for my gift. I hope he’s not too much trouble, Geraldine.” Alex made himself at home in a chair and glanced around the one-room building. He tried not to flinch at the knowledge that Joanna had spent her last days in such squalor. He had met Geraldine the first day he had come looking for his sister.

“The pup’s no trouble,” Geraldine said. “Though he eats like a horse. I enjoy the company. What brings you here so soon after your last visit?”

“Discouragement. I’ve been up and down Paradise Alley again, and no one knows anything about Joanna or Brian Daily. Someone, somewhere, must have seen them together. Or if not him, then another man. I can’t understand how I keep coming up with nothing, no matter how many people I question.” Alex dropped his head into his hands, and Brainless promptly slobbered all over his face.

Geraldine knelt and pulled the pup into her lap, then she sat on the floor in front of Alex. “I’m sorry as can be about Joanna, but don’t you think it’s time you admitted she’s gone? You can’t change that fact. Get on with your life.”

“You know I won’t rest until I find out why she left home and how she could have committed suicide.”

“I can’t tell you any more than I already have. I moved into this place a week after she was buried. She kept to herself and did her job from what I heard. Hell, no one found her until one of her customers got curious and walked in. She could have been swinging for a day or more.”

Alex winced at Geraldine’s words, and she put her hand out to gently touch his knee. “Sorry. My mouth gets away from me sometimes. Forgive?”

Alex sighed and covered her hand with his own. “Of course. You’ve been the best kind of friend, Geraldine. I’ll never be able to repay you for all your help.”

She shrugged her thin shoulders and smiled. “Forget it. Having you visit and talk to me like a human being keeps me from going crazy.”

“I’ve told you before, I’ll give you the money to leave here.”

Geraldine withdrew her hand from his and stood. “No, I am what I am. Can’t change a tiger’s stripes, and you can’t change me no matter how hard you try.”

Alex stared at her for a long moment, then got to his feet. “I’ll come back when I can.”

“You’re always welcome. Just don’t bring me any more pets, you hear?”

“I won’t. I found myself saddled with that one despite my better judgment.”

“I heard how you saved the pup—and Meggie O’Day, too.” Geraldine’s searching gaze swept his face.

“What, exactly, did you hear?”

“The girls tell me you’re been keeping company with her. I’m not surprised. She’s the belle of the ball, as they say.”

“Well, you can tell the girls I’m not keeping company with anyone. Our encounters are strictly business.”

The memory of Megan’s soft, enticing curves pressed to his body flashed through his mind, but he pushed the traitorous thought away and refused to entertain any others.

“Strictly business, huh? I’d heard she wasn’t in that kind of business. Look but don’t touch, she says, and that wolf makes sure the men toe the line.”

“That’s right, and I can toe that line as well as anyone.” Alex pulled open the door and stepped into the evening sun.

“Don’t get your back up. I was just curious.”

Geraldine sounded hurt, and Alex turned back, putting his hands on her shoulders and leaning down to kiss her quickly on the mouth. “I know and I’m sorry. I don’t want to talk about Meggie O’Day right now.” He patted the pup where it slept in her arms. “I’ll have our cook send over some scraps for Brainless.”

“Thanks. Don’t be a stranger, hear?”

Alex waved and nodded, touching her gently upon the arm before turning in the direction of his barracks.

Megan watched in disbelief as Alex Carson emerged from a hovel on Paradise Alley. When Damon would have run forward to greet his new friend, she told the wolf to stay and be silent. Ignoring the animal’s reproachful look, she peeked from the alley at the scene in front of her.

A woman emerged from the house. Alex seemed to be angry at first, then Megan’s mouth fell open when he leaned over and kissed her. He patted the golden puppy in her arms, and Megan’s lips tightened when she recognized the dog they’d rescued on the night of the fireworks. He said he’d given the animal to a friend. Megan wasn’t so naive that she didn’t know what kind of friend he was talking about now. Before he walked away, Alex touched the woman tenderly on the arm.

“Lying, hypocritical, bast—” Megan muttered through her teeth. “And he has the nerve to preach to me.”

Spinning on her heel, she snapped her fingers to Damon and marched back to The Celebration, reciting what she would say to Lieutenant Alex Carson the next time he showed his face at her door.

CHAPTER NINE

Three o’clock on a Saturday morning and the patrons of The Celebration were in full swing, making merry before the enforced day of rest. Over the past weeks, the dancers had come to accept Megan—if not as one of them, then as someone to be trusted to keep their best interests at heart.

She sat at a table in the dance hall and watched the show. Several young miners hovered around her in hopes she would consent to dance with one of them that evening. She never did. Megan knew that part of her allure lay in the fact that she wasn’t like the other girls. She didn’t dance—no matter what they said, no matter what they offered. And she knew that even if a young, handsome face with the gold to back up his lies tempted Meggie, Megan Daily couldn’t dance a step to save her soul.

In the middle of an animated conversation with the miner to her right, she felt the crowd stir. As she turned her head slowly toward the door, her eyes met Alex’s, and he smiled as though he were genuinely glad to see her.

And he calls me an actor
, she thought before turning her attention back to the man beside her.

Alex strode up to her table and within minutes dispersed the circle of admirers with a few well-aimed scowls.

“That’s better,” he said, as he took the seat closest to hers.

“For whom?” she asked coldly. “I was having a pleasant conversation until you showed up.”

“With that group of infants? I never thought you had the makings of a governess, Megan.” Alex smiled and took her hand. “I wanted to apologize for the way I acted the last time we were together. I’m sorry I didn’t come to tell you sooner. Can we pretend that never happened?”

For a moment Megan thought he’d seen her spying on him outside the hovel on Paradise Alley and her shoulders tensed. Then she realized he meant the kiss at the claim. She hadn’t thought of the incident in two weeks. Well, maybe only once or twice.

“Certainly, Lieutenant. I can easily pretend it never happened since I’ve already forgotten the incident.”

She must have put just the right amount of nonchalance into her voice because he removed his hand from hers. The loss of his warmth saddened her for a moment, until the image of him kissing that woman came to mind. Gritting her teeth against her damned attraction to Alex Carson, Megan resolved to give him a piece of her mind.

“I came looking for you that Sunday,” she began.

“You did?”

“Yes, I had something important to tell you.”

“Did you come to the office?”

“I was on my way, but an interesting sight sidetracked me.”

“What?”

“You—and a friend.”

Immediately his eyes became cold, his face distant. “Oh? I don’t have many friends here.”

“I distinctly remember your telling me you gave the puppy to a friend. I saw you with a woman, and she had the puppy. Interesting coincidence, don’t you think?”

He didn’t answer but stared at the dancers on stage as they finished their last show of the evening.

“Lieutenant, I’d love to know why you’re so against a woman earning her living as a—” She paused and put a finger to her temple as though searching for the appropriate word. “—a soiled dove, shall we say? Then I see you kissing a bird of the same feather on the street in broad daylight.”

“It’s always daylight here at this time of year,” he grumbled, still staring at the stage.

She waved her hand in the air. “Oh, so you couldn’t help but kiss her in daylight then. You, sir, are a hypocrite.”

Alex didn’t answer and Megan felt a twinge of unease. She had been hoping to goad him into telling her the truth, certain he had an excellent explanation for his whereabouts and actions of the afternoon in question. But his continued silence and cold demeanor made her wonder if she had pushed him too far over something that was truly none of her business.

After several more moments of silence he turned and grabbed her hand in a tight clasp. Megan stifled a cry of pain, her gaze riveted on the anger mixed with anguish in his blue eyes.

“I think it’s time you learned some truths about your father, Megan.”

“I know all I need to know. He’s dead, Lieutenant; why do you hate him so?”

“He may be dead, but his passing was much too painless to suit me.” Alex pulled her hand so she had no choice but to lean toward him. His next words were but a whisper, yet she heard them very clearly. “Brian Daily murdered my sister.”

Megan wrenched her fingers from his and stood, knocking the chair over in her haste. “You must be mistaken.”

“You’re perfectly welcome to prove me wrong.” Alex smiled without humor, leaning back in his chair to look at her.

Megan drew in a deep breath and glanced around the room. Several of the young miners had seen their heated exchange and frowned at Alex. Not wanting trouble or an audience, she forced a smile and resumed her seat.

At his puzzled glance she whispered, “You’d do well to keep up appearances while we discuss this or
we
might have a brawl on
your
hands.”

His eyes swept the room, taking in the angry looks from the throng. His gaze returned to her face and he nodded his understanding.

“Now,” she said, “start explaining.”

“My sister Joanna ran away from home two years ago. I wasn’t there at the time.” Pain haunted his eyes before he took a deep breath and continued. “My parents said she had a misplaced notion of becoming a singer. I tracked her to San Francisco, where she had sung in a saloon.” Alex yanked at the collar of his uniform with his free hand. “By the time I got there, she was gone. The owner of the saloon said she met a man, and when he went off to the Yukon, she disappeared along with him. One of the bartenders told me the man’s name— Brian Daily.”

“And what did Brian Daily look like?”

“Tall, thin, scholarly. With red hair and a blonde mustache. Always wore a pencil behind his ear, mumbled a lot, and scribbled in a notebook.”

Megan’s heart thudded in time with every word he uttered. Alex described her father exactly as she remembered him—always full of ideas and always afraid he’d forget the best one if he didn’t write it down immediately.

She shook her head against the memories. “Just because my father was seen with your sister doesn’t mean he murdered her. Did anyone see them leave San Francisco together?”

“No. But they were on the same steamer to Seattle and arrived in Dawson City the same month.”

Megan made an impatient sound deep in her throat. “So what, Carson? That’s nothing.”

“I’m not through yet. Once she got to Dawson City, Joanna continued to sing.” He paused and looked directly into Megan’s eyes. “At The Celebration.”

“And then?”

“Then things get complicated. No one seems to remember when or why she left here, but she turned up next as a prostitute on Paradise Alley.” He gazed at a place above and to the left of Megan’s shoulder. “She hanged herself two weeks before I arrived.”

Megan swallowed and reached for his hand. “How awful for you. I’m sorry.” She was silent for a moment, thinking of how horrible he must have felt, arriving too late but so very close to saving her. “But if she killed herself, my father couldn’t have murdered her.”

“From what I can piece together after talking with some of the women on Paradise Alley, she had just found out she was expecting a child. When she told the father of the child, he immediately took her to that hovel and disappeared.”

“Then look for the father.”

“The only man she was ever seen with was Brian Daily. He disappeared the day after she showed up in Paradise Alley, and then he was reported dead in the avalanche shortly after. Joanna killed herself the day after word of the avalanche reached Dawson City.”

They sat in silence, thinking about his words. Finally, Megan spoke. “I think you’re allowing your grief and your anger to guide you, rather than the facts. I know my father. He wouldn’t hurt anyone. If he were involved with Joanna, I’m sure he planned to return and take care of her.”

“Then why did he take her to that—” Alex grimaced with disgust. “—that place? Why did she kill herself? Why did she leave a note saying life wasn’t worth living without the father of her child?” He put his head into his hands and muttered, “Why, why, why?”

Something tightened in Megan’s chest as she witnessed his pain. She smoothed the auburn hair fall
ing over his forehead, letting the strands play through her fingers, relishing the softness as she fought the urge to pull his face to hers and . . .

His head came up and he stared into her eyes. The blue of a tropical ocean had become a river in winter and she withdrew her hand from his hair.

“I’ll find out if Brian was the one; and if he was, I’ll make sure The Celebration is dismantled board by board.”

Staring into his eyes, she knew he meant to carry out his threat. But she also knew her father, knew he wasn’t capable of the kind of deception this man accused him of. Now all she had to do was prove it.

Pretending to ignore his threat, Megan asked calmly, “Doesn’t Queen know anything about this? She seems to know everything about everyone else.”

“Queen isn’t talking, at least not to me and not about Joanna.”

Megan frowned. “She has to know something. She’s worked here since the place opened. She must have known Joanna.”

“She knew her. But according to Queen, Joanna kept to herself and talked to no one except Brian.”

“I’ll talk to her. Maybe she’ll tell me something.”

Alex looked doubtful. “Why would she?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t plan to let you condemn my father and take away my place without a fight. Whether you like it or not, Lieutenant, you’ve just acquired a partner.”

July gave way to August and the air turned frigid. Megan had a seamstress make up several dresses in heavier fabrics, although still in the same revealing styles. She compensated for this by ordering heavy shawls as well.

The Celebration was busier than ever with the miners trying to get in as much fun as they could before ice and snow bound them to their cabins for weeks or months on end. Megan rarely found time to pursue her questions regarding her father, Joanna Carson, and the claim on Bonanza Creek. She saw little of Alex, who was also kept busy with the increased traffic in town.

In her free time, Zechariah taught Megan to play poker. She found she had a natural aptitude and spent a good portion of her evenings dealing in the gambling room. Her presence there increased their take on the tables, and she found the nights passed more quickly with something to occupy her hands and mind.

On a cold, damp night in late August, Megan dealt the last hand of her turn at the tables. So intent was she on the game that she failed to notice the man behind her until he slapped her on the back and roared in her ear.

“Little girl, you look mighty fine. Who dressed you up for the party?”

Megan jumped at the stinging slap and the volume of Big Ian McMurphy’s voice. She had hoped that with the obvious improvement in business at The Celebration, he wouldn’t bother to darken her dance hall again. But her luck in that regard had run out. Glancing quickly at her cards, she threw them onto the table.

“Gentleman, I fold. It’s been a pleasure.”

When she stood, all the men around the table jumped to their feet. Smiling, she collected her winnings and handed them over the bar to Zechariah. Only then did she face Ian.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Mr. McMurphy?”

Ian guffawed and slapped his knee. “The pleasure of my company. Ain’t that rich?”

The gambling hall had gone quiet as each man strained to hear what was being said while pretending to continue his game. She stared at Ian without smiling. After a moment he stopped laughing and cleared his throat.

“Well, I’ve decided this place doesn’t suit me after all. I plan to take over Jerry’s Place down the street real soon. Givin’ you some competition, little girl.”

Megan hid her wince at the mention of competition, though she knew her dance hall could hold its own with the likes of Ian McMurphy. Keeping her face blank and her voice light, she answered, “The Celebration doesn’t suit you? Or maybe it’s just too rich for your blood now that I’ve made the place a success?”

“I have to admit business has picked up real fine since the last time I came by. You look a mite different, too. If I’d’ve known you looked so womanly under those drab fixin’s, I would’ve grabbed you for myself.” Ian frowned. “Heard that Mountie’s been sniffin’ around your skirts.”

Megan opened her mouth to refute his crude statement, then thought better of it. If the rumor that she was seeing Alex Carson kept Ian away from her, all the better.

Megan sighed. “Why are you here, McMurphy?”

Ian’s gaze had wandered past her and focused on the dance hall. He seemed not to have heard her and Megan called his name, none too softly.

The big man’s attention returned to her momentarily. “Just thought I’d be neighborly.” He straightened his shirt and swept the coarse, black hair from his eyes. “Um—aah—might you know where Queen is?”