Read Online The Great West Detective Agency by Jackson Lowry - Free Book Online Page A

well-wishers at bay. Lucas slid past, letting the burly man shove back a cowboy immediately behind him.
    The stage was familiar territory for him. Lucas frequently romanced the singers coming through Denver who performed here, but he had not gotten a bouquet for Carmela or even some small, expensive gift. Hunting for Tovarich had distracted him to the point that even retrieving his patched coat from the laundry had almost gone by the wayside.
    He went to the dressing room where Carmela’s name had been crudely painted on the door above a more permanent gold star. A few scrapes at the paint had finally convinced someone it was paint and not real gold. With a deep breath and a quick brush of dust from his coat, he knocked.
    â€œCome in, Lucas!”
    He hesitated, then went in, flustered. Carmela always seemed a half pace ahead of him. That robbed him of his normal suave demeanor.
    â€œWho’s the biggest star in Denver?” he asked. “After that performance, who can doubt it is a fascinating young chanteuse named Carmela Thompson?”
    â€œNo roses? I am at a loss for words, Lucas darling.”
    He went to her to plant a kiss on her lips. At the last instant, she turned so he hit a cheek instead. In true European fashion, he kissed her other cheek. This lacked the thrill of tasting her lips but kept him in the race, stealing a kiss she had not allowed him to bestow.
    â€œWords, perhaps, but not lilting melodies. You held them all in thrall tonight, my dear.”
    â€œAnd you, Lucas? Were you also smitten?”
    â€œBy your beauty, by your wit, and certainly by your talent.”
    She turned from him to look into the mirror. The old, cracked one had been replaced with a newly silvered glass plate chased with delicate gold cobwebs.
    A knock at the door irritated Lucas, but he left staring at Carmela long enough to see Claudette had a bottle of Grand Monopole and glasses. He blocked her entry and took them. She started to protest. Women as well as men wanted to hobnob with Carmela.
    â€œThanks for bringing the wine,” he said. Before Claudette could protest, he kicked the door shut with his heel and held out the bottle and glasses.
    â€œFor me, Lucas?”
    â€œThe finest champagne in all Denver.”
    â€œHow thoughtful.”
    â€œI am sure it is not up to your usual standards, but we are on the frontier. I wanted to get you only the finest—for the town, this is it.” Lucas popped the cork and let the bubbles froth out before pouring the sparkling wine into the two glasses. He handed Carmela one and lifted the other in toast. “To the most beguiling songstress on either side of the Mississippi.”
    â€œWhat? On either side? Not on the river, too?” Carmela laughed easily, touched glasses, and sipped. Her nose wrinkled slightly. When Lucas tried his, he knew why.
    â€œI have an entire evening of sumptuous feasting planned,” he lied. “Oysters fresh from the Coast.”
    â€œAgain? I so tire of them. Why not something different? Buffalo jerky or pemmican perhaps?”
    Words failed him again. Then she laughed. The magical sound reminded him of her humor.
    â€œI know of a tiny café where only the toughest meat is served with plenty of water to wash it down.” He returned the joke but had to wonder as he saw her eyes change slightly. Before there had been mockery, but for that flash in her emerald eyes, there was something else. Respect? Surprise?
    â€œI am so tired from my inaugural performance, Lucas. Another night.”
    The woman’s tone shut him out entirely. Whatever her plans for the evening, he was not part of them. He brushed off a dog hair from his coat, remembering the cur presented to him as a wolfhound by the drunk.
    â€œA pity, since I wanted to introduce you to a rather important man in Denver. He is quite an admirer.”
    â€œImportant? How important?”
    â€œVery,” Lucas said. If he built Little Otto