Yet before Lily could reach him, a harsh alarm ripped through the piano music and quiet conversation. Irene looked round, but she couldn’t tell where it was coming from. Suddenly the waiters were all moving at once, removing any evidence of alcohol. They scuttled through the room, scooping up glasses and bottles, before retreating behind the bar. One waiter snatched up the drinks from Irene’s own table, moving with practised speed.
More of the servers vanished behind the bar than was physically possible. Irene could hear the distant sound of feet rattling down steps underneath the growing turmoil, and realized there must be a concealed trapdoor and stairs. The bartenders were hastily dragging metal shutters in front of their ranks of bottles, and fitting veneered panels of wood in place to cover them up. Other waiters were hurrying with bottles of water and fruit juice, distributing them together with fresh glasses.
Irene pushed her chair back to rise. ‘You knew about the raid . . .’
‘I wouldn’t move,’ Hu said. He was holding a gun in his hand, concealing it from the rest of the room, and it was pointed directly at her. ‘I really wouldn’t.’
‘You’ll be in real trouble if you shoot me.’ Irene knew she could use the Language to blow up the gun – but could she do it before he pulled the trigger? ‘Besides, you don’t want me dead.’
‘No, but injured is a perfectly valid option.’ Hu tilted his head as though listening. ‘We can both be arrested together, if you like.’
He’s playing for time, Irene suddenly realized. He just has to make me hesitate for long enough for the police to stop me escaping . . .
Then the door by the dance floor slammed open and cops came pouring through, jostling each other in the narrow space. The piano music abruptly stopped, and the dancers on the floor stuttered to a halt, exclaiming in overdone annoyance.
‘What’s going on here?’ George demanded loudly. He still held his cigar in one hand, and paused to take an arrogant puff. ‘Who’s responsible for this gross invasion of a private club?’
The ranks of the policemen broke, and Captain Venner stalked through. ‘We’ve received notice that there’s alcohol being sold in this establishment,’ he said. ‘Contrary to the Volstead Act, Mr Ross.’
‘My name is on the ownership papers,’ George said graciously. ‘But I’m entirely shocked at your accusation. All the gentlemen and ladies here are good, law-abiding citizens. Isn’t that so, people?’
Amid the raucous yells and raising of water-filled glasses, Irene counted exits and discounted them just as quickly. Which left the possible hidden exit behind this table, perhaps George’s own private way out. But she could be wrong. And even if she was right, how could she get through it without being noticed?
Hu had slipped his gun back inside his jacket and was watching her in a way that made the back of her neck prickle.
‘My men are going to be looking into just how law-abiding you all are,’ Captain Venner announced. ‘Boys, spread out. We’re going to be stripping this place down to see if there’s anything here that shouldn’t be.’
‘You’re taking a hell of a step, Venner,’ George said. ‘You know your bosses are going to be hearing about it if you make a mistake.’
Venner pointed a meaty finger at him, unconsciously echoing George’s own play with his cigar. ‘Yeah. Bosses. And some of us still think that the best way to deal with a boss of your sort is to put ’em behind bars. Whether they’re American or English.’ His gaze slid across the guests and came to rest on Irene.
Irene suppressed her instinct to hide, which at the moment was screaming for her to crawl under the table. This wasn’t the sort of situation where that would help. To be honest, very few situations were. Instead she raised her glass of water to Captain Venner in an ironic toast, aware that she’d only keep George as an ally if she played the part. ‘I’m fairly sure that’s what we call slander, over my side of the Pond,’ she said. ‘Harsh words for a woman who only came to New York to do some shopping.’
‘Book-shopping?’ Hu murmured, and Irene almost laughed.
Captain Venner stamped towards her table. ‘You! Jeanette Smith. You’re under arrest, lady, and you’ll be coming with us.’
Irene rose to her feet. Hu didn’t try to stop her this time, but then he didn’t need to. This was just what he’d wanted. She could hardly help Evariste from behind bars. Several of the cops lowered their hands to their holsters, but she raised her hands, showing they were empty. ‘This is really unnecessary. And what’s the charge, anyway?’
‘Trust me, we’ll have a whole lot of them before we’re done.’ Captain Venner came to a stop a few feet away. More quietly he said, ‘And don’t think you’ll pull that hypnotism trick on me again.’
Genuine anger twisted his jowls into a frown. Irene realized, with a pang of guilt, that his fury wasn’t just because she’d twisted his will. She’d offended his professional pride as a cop. From his perspective, she was a master criminal who’d posed as an FBI agent, hypnotized him, and was now sitting in the speakeasy run by one of New York’s biggest crime bosses. Perhaps it was unrealistic to expect him to go easy on her.
‘All right,’ she said, playing for time herself and taking a step back. She looked across to George. ‘Mr Ross, please excuse me for a little while. And perhaps you can recommend a lawyer?’
Captain Venner took a step towards her. ‘You can call one from the station,’ he snapped.
‘Don’t be like that, Venner,’ George called. ‘Let’s not be harsh to a poor helpless English visitor on her own in New York. She’s got the cutest accent, hasn’t she?’ he confided to the crowd, who laughed on cue. ‘I’ll be hospitable and send one of my lawyers to advise her.’
‘Sure you will,’ Venner said in tones of deep bitterness. ‘We all know that you’ve got every mouthpiece in town on a contract, Ross. You don’t need to tell us.’ He turned towards George, allowing Irene to back a few steps further towards the wall.
‘You know a lot about me, Venner,’ George said. ‘And you know we could help each other . . . Life could be a hell of a lot easier for you that way.’
‘Save your money for the cops on your payroll,’ Venner growled. ‘Right now I’m the one in charge. Boys! Let’s get this place turned over. Guns and booze, you know the drill. And you, Miss Smith—’
Irene could feel the wall at her back. ‘I’ll come quietly,’ she said. ‘I mean, what do you expect me to do? Snap my fingers and say,’ she switched to the Language and raised her voice, ‘lights out!’
And there was total darkness.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN