Page 54 of If Looks Could Kill
I kept my gaze glued to Mother Rosie’s pistol and inched my way along the table.
“Well, dog my cats,” Mother Rosie said, noticing our uniforms, “if you ain’t a pair of Hallelujah girls.” She let out a whistle. “Salvationites. Always said your racket weren’t good for business, but actually, I thinkyoutwo could be.” She nodded in Pearl’s direction. “What’s with her? Is she shot?”
Two of the stunned men on the floor were moaning in earnest now. One tried to sit up.
“We’re sorry to have disturbed you,” I told her. “We’ll be on our way.”
“Going so soon?” inquired our hostess. “I won’t hear of it. Now, tell me. How does a couple of females waltz in here and take out all my guys? Really, girls. That’s impressive.”
The men were stirring more and more. I kept sliding my way along the table away from Pearl.
“I could pay you, see, to go break up my competition.” Mother Rosie frowned at my obvious confusion. “Since you’re so good at infiltrating.” She snapped her fingers. “The fella who ran to me just now said something about asnake,” she added, as if this might jog our memories. “Or a witch. He ain’t too bright. You got some kinda hocus-pocus going on?”
“We’d like to leave, please,” I said, for lack of a brighter idea. “Once my friend has, er, revived, we’ll just take Freyda and Cora and be on our way.”
She turned to examine me, and I cursed my stupidity. I needed her attention elsewhere.
“Oh, they’re staying,” Mother Rosie said. “I’ll keep the pretty blonde, if she wakes up. And you’ll do. You’ll be surprised at what I can do with you. A little rouge, the right frock.” She smiled. “I’ve got a client who’d pay extra for a Salvation Army girl.”
A horrible heartbeat followed this suggestion.
“Pearl,” I called loudly, “wake up.”
Pearl sat up, blinking at the scene without recognition.
“Morning, Pearl,” Mother Rosie said cheerily. “Nice to meet you.”
Stand up, Pearl; stand up.I tried to make eye contact with Freyda to say,Get her up.
“We have friends,” I told Mother Rosie. “And families. They’d come looking for us.”
“How sweet.” She beamed at me. “Thing is, there’s looking, and there’s finding.”
A string of curses from one of the waking men provided the distraction I needed.
“How was your nap, Minkin?” Rosie asked him. “Get your beauty sleep?” She turned back toward me. “Aw, hell. Put that down, chickie. You’ll blow your hands off.”
I gripped the pistol with both hands to stop it from shaking. I’d made it to the weapons, and now I moved to stand between Pearl and the brothel madam.
“Pearl,” I called, “can you move?”
“Tabitha?” she whispered in terror. “Where are we? What’s happening?”
“Shake a leg, Joe, and earn your pay for once,” Rosie ordered. “Get those girls.”
“Run,” I told my friends.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Freyda sidle toward the table where the other weapons lay. Why wouldn’t she run? I took a step toward Mother Rosie to draw her gaze away from the others.
“You ain’t got the guts to shoot me,” she drawled.
Freyda took another step.
“Does it take so much guts, really,” I panted, “to pull a trigger?”
A flash of annoyance crossed Mother Rosie’s expression—as in,How could this Sally be such an imbecile?—and that was all it took for Freyda to bring the lead pipe she’d collected from the table smashing down upon the pistol in Mother Rosie’s hand. It fell, discharging a bullet into the buttocks of one of her men, who screamed.
Cora seized Pearl’s hand and practically flew over the strewn bodies toward the stairs. Freyda followed after. I tried to bring up the rear, still keeping my gun pointed at Mother Rosie.
