The Glittering Life of Evie Mckenzie Page 10

  The only good that came from the evening was when a very drunk young man at the bar had leaned over and began talking to her as if they were old pals.

  ‘See that girl over there?’ he had asked, pointing to a woman who was practically lying across a tabletop near the dance floor. Her short dress was hiked up unnaturally high, and one strap of her dress had fallen from her shoulder. Evie felt sorry for her. She was clearly drunk. She nodded.

  ‘That’s Annabelle Fairlead,’ her new friend continued in a slur. ‘She debuted this spring and then ran away and changed her name to Sadie Hatton. She’s been singing and dancing on Broadway, living with whatever man will support her.’

  Evie was shocked. She stared at the girl, who was being roused by a much older man with small eyes and a malicious thin smile. He looked familiar. ‘Who’s her friend?’

  ‘That,’ said the gentleman beside her, swaying into her shoulder as he spoke, ‘is Lucien Paramour. He’s a big-deal producer from the movies. Not a very nice guy. Don’t matter, though. Sadie follows him around like a puppy. But she’ll be like all the other girls.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ As she asked this question, two younger men took the girl’s arms and hoisted her to her feet. They dragged her toward the stairs behind Lucien, who appeared to be leaving for the evening. Evie knew she’d seen Lucien before – more than once, but she couldn’t figure out where. The girl tried to walk, but her legs seemed to be failing her miserably. She smiled and laughed as she was removed up the stairs. The scene made Evie feel sick.

  ‘He goes through ‘em like water. There’ll be another one next week, an’ Sadie’ll be back on the streets.’

  ‘She has nowhere to live?’

  ‘Her parents don’t want her anymore,’ the man said.

  ‘Who are you, if you don’t mind my asking?’

  ‘I’m James Tosh,’ he said simply.

  ‘I’m sorry, should I know your name?’

  A blush crept up the man’s cheeks. ‘No,’ he shook his head. ‘Of course not. I’m an actor.’

  ‘Movies?’ Evie asked.

  ‘That’s right,’ he said. ‘But you haven’t heard of me.’ He sounded disappointed.

  ‘I don’t get to see many pictures,’ Evie said quickly. She didn’t want to make her friend feel embarrassed.

  ‘That’s all right,’ he said. ‘Sadie there, we were … well, she used to be with me.’

  ‘Oh, I see.’

  ‘It’s nothing. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. I just … you have a friendly face, I guess.’

  ‘Well, you do, too, James. I wish you luck in the pictures.’

  ‘Thanks,’ he said, and then swayed in the other direction.

  *****

  By the next morning, Evie had a plan. It wasn’t a plan, she knew, as much as a weakness. She’d remembered where she had seen Lucien Paramour.

  If Roger was going to disappear and give her reasons to be suspicious, then she could do the same thing. If she were honest with herself, she’d been looking for a reason to visit Jack’s club anyway. She went as the Mouse, hoping to find Lucien again, or at least turn up something that would result in more fodder for her column. It had been so political, but after meeting James Tosh the night before she hoped to pull up more movie star grit to feature.

  She didn’t delude herself too far. She knew that she had ulterior motives for visiting Jack’s club. She was angry at Roger and mystified at his silence. Plus, if she were honest with herself, she missed the feelings that Jack had always inspired in her – dark illicit feelings that seemed just a little bit dangerous.

  This time Buck had agreed to go inside with her, since Tug was wrapped up at Evie’s and Janie had already boarded a ship bound for Europe.

  ‘I can’t say that I like this much,’ he told her as they walked to the entrance of Jack’s club.

  ‘You don’t have to like it,’ Evie told him. ‘Just come with me.’ She knew that if Buck was there, watching, she would not be tempted to slip into Jack’s back office or allow his hands to find their way to places she still felt them when she closed her eyes. She just wanted to see him, talk to him.

  They were allowed inside, and the doorman greeted Evie like an old friend. ‘It’s been a long time,’ he said.

  She smiled and waved Buck toward the bar where the bartender greeted her, too.

  ‘We used to come here a lot,’ she told Buck.

  He nodded. ‘I figured it was more than just the one time I drove you.’

  They ordered drinks and Evie stood leaning on the smooth edge of the bar and looked around. Jack’s club had something Evie’s still didn’t. For one thing, the space was larger. The energy felt less frenetic here at Maison, since people weren’t crushed up against each other. There was plenty of space for the band, the dance floor and the tables scattered about. Where Evie had once thought of Jack’s club as dark and seedy, she now saw it as refined and elegant. She wondered what that said about Roger’s club. She’d spent so much time there, she had barely noticed the dark dirty edges of the place. She made a note to mention it to Roger and Tug.

  Jack was nowhere to be seen, and Evie felt her disappointment like a heavy coat slung over her shoulders. After they’d finished a drink, she turned to the bartender. ‘Is Mr Taylor here tonight?’

  The man shook his head and shrugged. ‘He’s not here very often anymore,’ he said. He went back to busying himself behind the bar and Evie turned back around, watching the crowd and trying not to let her disappointment show.

  ‘That’s a sight,’ Buck said under his breath.

  ‘What are you looking at?’ Evie asked.

  ‘Over there,’ Buck said, nodding toward a far corner of the room.

  Evie’s eyebrows went up. ‘That’s Lucien Paramour,’ she said, feeling somewhat lighter that at least the evening wouldn’t be a complete waste. She’d been right about Lucien – he did frequent Maison. ‘I saw him at Evie’s last night.’

  The man had two girls at the table with him, one of whom was Sadie Hatton, looking no better than she had the night before. She was pale and limp looking, and her eyes were darting around her like she was searching for an escape. She looked more sick than drunk tonight, though. The other woman sat on Paramour’s lap and his attention seemed to be wholly on her, as his hand moved somewhere under the hemline of her dress.

  ‘He’s a movie producer,’ Evie told Buck. ‘Not a very nice man, I think.’

  Buck let out a low whistle and said nothing else.

  The evening was unproductive, both in terms of finding Jack, and in procuring more real dirt for the Mouse. Evie and Buck went home, slightly tipsy, before the bulk of partygoers had turned in for the night.

  *****

  ‘Evie, darling, wake up.’ As morning’s light made its way through the slit between Evie’s heavy shades, her mother bustled into her bedroom. Evie’s head rang as she sat up and squinted up at her mother.

  ‘Mother, it’s a bit early …’

  ‘It’s eight o’clock, dear. I can accept you going out later than you should, and interacting with that crass girl, Tug. But you must still maintain an air of civility in my home. And that means rousing yourself before lunchtime.’ Mrs McKenzie sniffed, her shoulders back, but then seemed to crumple as she sat down heavily on Evie’s bed. ‘Darling, look at this.’

  The older woman held out the morning newspaper and pointed a slim finger at the headline on the bottom of the front page.

  Evie read it aloud, her mind still not fully processing as she roused herself from sleep.

  ‘Dozens Sickened by Tainted Liquor at Illicit Club’

  Evie sat back in her bed.

  ‘I know, Mother, this happens sometimes at the smoke joints and clubs down in the slums. They use cheap alcohol, wood alcohol and other swill. It’s basically poison. No wonder people get sick.’ Evie stretched and then sat up straighter. Her mother was regarding her with something between pity and terror. ‘Wait, why are you showing this to
me?’

  Evie snatched the paper away and read the rest of the column.

  Evie’s, a popular speakeasy run by the son of attorney Allan White, is the latest illegal nightclub to suffer the repercussions of flagrantly violating the laws against serving alcohol – laws enacted to protect our citizens.

  Dozens of those who visited Evie’s this weekend have become sickened, suffering the effects of imbibing low-quality industrial alcohol, often served in seedier establishments. St Vincent’s Hospital last night reported more than fifteen new patients admitted with various degrees of illness. One man arrived completely blind, while several others are partially paralyzed and unable to walk. Many more are vomiting, suffering from gastric distress and weakness, as well as mental deficits.

  Potential Democratic party nominee William McAdoo spoke about the events, saying, ‘If citizens are unwilling to give up alcohol simply because it is illegal, perhaps this latest example of the inherent dangers of the stuff will scare them into abiding by the law. I’m just sorry that so many have had to suffer to demonstrate that Prohibition was enacted for the good of the people.

  The owners of the club, Roger White and Charles Merriweather Tate, have both been brought in by police for questioning regarding this tragedy.

  Evie put the paper down, horrified. ‘Oh my God.’

  ‘I hate to say I knew that this would happen, but …’

  ‘Not now, Mother!’ Evie sprang from her bed, her mind running circles around what this would mean for Roger. She turned to face her mother. ‘Have you spoken to the Whites?’

  ‘No, of course not, dear. They have bigger fish to fry at the moment, and we may not be able to associate with them anymore anyway …’ She broke off, her eyes misting. ‘You will have to break off your engagement, darling.’

  ‘Mother!’ Evie spun on her heel, rushing to the phone downstairs, where she dialed Tug.

  ‘Hello?’ Tug sounded angry when she answered.

  ‘It’s me, Evie.’

  ‘Oh, Evie.’ Anger turned to desperation, and Evie could hear tears in her friend’s voice. ‘This is all my fault!’

  ‘I’m coming over. We’ll figure out what to do,’ Evie said.

  She dressed as her mother clucked around behind her, working to prevent her from becoming anymore involved, but Evie ignored her, and burst from the house, practically running to Tug’s. Her mother was left wringing her hands on the doorstep.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Tug

  Tug waited just behind the door for Evie to arrive, feeling more desperate than she could remember feeling before. ‘What am I gonna do?’ she wailed as Evie pulled her into a hug.

  ‘I don’t know, Tug. We’ll figure it out. Tell me what happened.’

  ‘It’s a short story. I got a load of cheap booze through Derek’s connection, and mixed up a ton of fancy cocktails. We made a killing this week.’ Tug realized the irony of her words. ‘But maybe we were just killing people.’

  ‘No,’ Evie said, a comforting hand on Tug’s arm as they sat in the shabby parlor of Tug’s house. ‘No one has died. Have you spoken to Roger? Or Chuck?’

  ‘No,’ Tug said, guilt turning circles in her stomach. ‘That’s the worst part. They didn’t want to sell the cheap stuff. It was all my idea, and now they’re both in jail.’

  ‘I don’t think they’re in jail,’ Evie said, looking thoughtful. ‘They’re being questioned, from what I read. And Roger’s father is a very well-respected lawyer. He won’t let anything happen to them.’

  A cold fear clenched Tug. ‘Do you think they’ll get Derek in trouble?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Evie said. ‘They might have to name someone.’

  ‘Well, they’d better not name him,’ Tug said with a sinking feeling. ‘Oh God.’ Nausea overtook her with the next thought. ‘Do you think they’ll name me?’

  Evie shook her head. ‘Roger would never do that. And I don’t think Chuck could bring himself to hurt you.’ Her blue eyes shone as she looked at Tug. ‘You do know that he’s in love with you, right?’

  Evie’s comment pulled Tug from despair for a brief moment. ‘What? No he’s not.’

  ‘Tug. Anyone can see it. It’s in the way he looks at you.’

  Could anyone see it? Could anyone see when you were in love with someone just by the way you looked at them? Tug stared at Evie, but she was sure Evie had never had an inkling about her feelings for Roger – or at least the feelings she’d believed she had. And she could never find out. She shrugged and blew out a breath. ‘Doesn’t matter, as long as none of us is in trouble.’

  ‘Someone’s in trouble here, Tug. It’s just a matter of who.’

  They talked all morning, and finally Evie left, telling Tug that she’d be in touch as soon as she’d spoken to Roger.

  Tug spent the rest of the day fretting and pacing circles on the twisted rope rug on the floor. Her father banged some furniture around upstairs at one point, but otherwise left her alone with her guilt and fears. What had she done? She wanted to show people a good time, give them a place to blow off steam. And instead, she’d put them in danger. Tug wanted to climb out of her own body and run away.

  When she could stand being cooped up no more, Tug drove herself to the club, parking far down the block and watching the door from a distance.

  No one seemed to be around, but she wondered if someone might be watching the door. It seemed unlikely, since Roger and Chuck were known to be the owners, and they’d already been taken in. She left the car and wandered down the sidewalk. Just as she neared the stairs leading down to the front door, a familiar deep voice boomed behind her.

  ‘Elizabeth!’

  She spun, and Derek stood there behind her, his navy uniform looking clean and pressed. His copper eyes twinkled in the slightly ruddy face as he grinned at her.

  ‘Derek,’ she said, relief clear in her voice.

  ‘I wondered if you might come wandering this way today, after everything that’s happened.’

  ‘I didn’t know what to do with myself.’

  ‘Well, this isn’t the place to be right now. I hung around to catch you.’ He took her elbow and turned her in the other direction, walking her down the sidewalk. ‘Honey, you gotta stay away from the club for a bit. That place is trouble. A stink like this don’t wear off easy.’

  She stopped and stared at him. ‘A stink? Derek, that was the liquor you hooked us up with!’

  Derek looked around quickly and then shook his head and shrugged. ‘Not sure what you’re talking about, Liz.’

  ‘Don’t call me Liz!’ Tug pulled her arm out of Derek’s grasp. ‘And don’t play dumb. You set me up with that connection last week. That was your cheap swill that made those people sick!’

  ‘Keep your voice down,’ Derek said. ‘And I think you know that a New York City police officer would have no such dealings, Elizabeth.’ He raised his eyebrows high, as if urging her to agree with him.

  She knew that he was acting, covering his tail in case anyone should hear them, but her anger and despair made her want to hear something real from someone. She stared at him, her blood rushing in her ears. Finally she tried another tack. ‘What will happen to Roger and Chuck?’

  ‘Ah, don’t worry about them. White’s pop is a bigwig lawyer. They’ll be fine.’

  ‘And the club?’

  ‘The club is done.’ He said it simply, not realizing that those words sent all of Tug’s dreams crashing to the sidewalk at their feet.

  ‘This was all my fault,’ she breathed. Guilt swirled within her and Tug wished with all her heart that she could rewind time, pull the world back a week and be content with all that she had, instead of pushing and striving so hard. It took everything she had not to let her thoughts run to the families of those who had been hurt at her club, drinking her cocktails. They’d been out for a good time, and now … she couldn’t bear to think of it. ‘I just wanted it to be great,’ she said, her voice a whisper.

  ‘Look, honey,’ Dere
k’s voice softened, too. ‘This is no business for a lady anyway. What say we settle down? Have a couple kids?’

  Tug stared at him. ‘I’ve only known you a few weeks,’ she said. He couldn’t be serious. ‘I barely know you.’

  ‘Well, I know you well enough to know that you’d make a swell wife and mother.’

  ‘I don’t want to be a wife and mother.’

  ‘Ah, you just think that because you’ve been so wrapped up in all this.’ Derek waved his hand, dismissing the club and all of Tug’s aspirations in one flick of the wrist. ‘Let’s get married. You’ll see.’

  Something in Tug was telling her to move away from Derek, to run away. She took a step back. ‘Can I think about it?’

  ‘That’s not really the answer a man wants to hear,’ he said.

  ‘Well, that wasn’t really a dream proposal, either.’

  ‘All right. I’ll come round tomorrow, Liz.’

  ‘Please don’t call me Liz.’

  ‘You’re gonna be my wife, right? I’ll call you whatever I like.’ Derek winked and something turned sour in Tug’s stomach.

  *****

  Tug sat in her car for a long while after Derek left. It was clear that he wasn’t going to take any responsibility for what had happened. She could hardly blame him, though. She wasn’t exactly stepping up, either. She didn’t know when she might see Roger or Chuck again, but she was sure one of them would come to her when it was safe to do so.

  She didn’t have anywhere to go, or anything to do. The club had been her home base, her work, and her life. She had nothing without it. And maybe that was for the best. Her new life had been constructed around the club, and in some ways she had thought of it as a fun diversion, a way to spend her hours. In many ways the club had saved her, but in the end it had hurt so many others. She’d been playing a game, flouting the law like so many others had done before her. She had never considered that there could be danger inherent in her diversion. That her excitement could change someone’s life forever. Regretful tears rolled down her cheeks as she considered those who’d been hurt. How could she live with herself?