Songbird Serenade

David moved through the crowd at The Pawn Shop to find a corner table in the back. The place certainly was crowded for a small town gin joint. He wondered to himself if that was because it was the best place in town, or if Gold just made sure to take care of any competition that might pop up. Robin had mentioned he suspected possible ties to the Boston mafia.

The place was obviously trying to model itself after a Hollywood nightclub with its leather backed chairs and linen covered tables surrounding a stage and dance floor area with opulent marble columns, flecked with gold, placed in the corners. The bar was carved wood with similar columns lining each end and the same marble top. In spite of the effort, the place still had a rather seedy quality. The room was so filled with smoke that everything had a dingy, dirty haze to it. The air smelled of a mixture of cheap cigars, booze, and perfume from ladies who had obviously fogged themselves enough to attract the entire State of Maine. The wall decorations looked like maybe they had been left over from when the place actually was a pawnshop where people sold off their tacky, unwanted goods.

David ordered a drink and then called the cigarette girl over to his table. He handed her a bill, "I'm looking for a girl who works here, maybe you can help me?"

She eyed him with disdain and tried to hand his money back. "Buddy, I don't know what you're playing at, but we don't have those kinds of girls here."

"No, you misunderstand me. I met her today at the diner in town. She was a rather attractive...," Wait, what did he just say? He didn't even know where that thought came from. He broke eye contact with the girl as embarrassment overtook him. He was certainly not interested in the broad. He just wanted his money clip back. He tried to backtrack, "...I mean...some might find her kinda nice looking, I guess."

The girl started laughing and David didn't blame her. "You might want to get some better material before you meet up with her again. What's her name Prince Charming?"

"Mary Margaret. She has dark hair and green eyes." He told himself that he remembered the color of her eyes, because he's a detective and it's his job to notice these things. It was definitely not because when she locked eyes with him in the diner, they had reminded him of a deep green ocean whose beauty made you want to discover the secrets within their depths.

The demeanor of the girl changed immediately upon learning who he was looking for. "I would suggest you stay away from Mary Margaret. There's plenty of other girls out there who would love to find themselves on your arm, I'm sure. Trust me, unless you want trouble, stay away from her." She dropped a pack of cigarettes on the table and promptly turned and walked away.

Well that was certainly interesting. He briefly wondered if her thieving tendencies were known around town. He made a mental note to ask Robin if he knew a Mary Margaret. Maybe the waitress at the diner could help him with a last name. He had just gotten up to exchange his table for a seat at the bar, hoping to possibly get more information from patrons there, when the band leader showed up onstage and the band began setting up. He didn't really pay attention to him as he announced a singer named Snow, other than to think what an odd name that was. Snow?

He took a seat at the bar to order another drink, and hopefully get a moment to converse with the bartender, when his attention was completely taken by the rich, smooth tones coming from the stage area and a voice he thought he vaguely recognized. He turned in his chair and his breath caught as he took her in. She looked quite different from how he had seen her just a few hours ago. Earlier, in the diner, he would have described her as attractive, and obviously flirty, yet still with an air of innocence. The woman onstage right now looked anything but innocent. She oozed sex appeal, confidence, and sophistication as she lowered her eyelids and sang in whispered, breathy tones about falling in love. Her jet black hair hung in loose, slick waves that just touched her chin, and was parted so that it hung slightly covering one eye. She had been wearing very little makeup at the diner, but now flaunted long black eyelashes, rosy cheeks, and dark crimson lips that accentuated every syllable in her song. But it was the dress that completely did him in. It was shockingly scandalous, even for a nightclub singer. It was pure white silk that hugged every curve on her body, such that he found himself wondering if she could even be wearing underwear. The front managed to be high enough to not show too much in the way of cleavage, thank goodness...but then she turned around. The back, what there was of it, left her entire back exposed for all to see. It draped so far down that a hair more would've been too much. He felt a compelling desire to run up there and cover her with his jacket and pull her off that stage. Not because he had any interest in her personally of course, he just didn't like the way all these men were looking at her. They were like parched dogs with their tongues hanging out, and she was the only water for miles around.

He managed to sit quietly in the back for three songs when he spied a man at one of the front tables gesturing to her. He immediately recognized the man as Carlyle Gold. He saw a look of trepidation flash across her face as she gave an almost imperceptible head shake no, only to have him tap his cane and gesture again. David thought he detected a light tremor in her voice as she moved to the man sitting at the table with Gold and placed herself in front of him. David felt bile rise up in his throat as he watched her lean down to touch his shoulder, smile and wink at him, all the time continuing with the song. When the fellow reached out and pulled her into his lap and placed his hand low on her bare back he reacted without thinking. He had seen her distress as she was taken off guard by the man's actions. From that moment, it was like his movements were almost involuntary as he stood up from the barstool so fast that he bumped onto the gentleman next to him. Unfortunately, the gentleman didn't appreciate it, and was just drunk enough to do something about it.

"Hey Mack, watch where you're going," he said as he pushed David into a table, which flipped up spilling a drink on the lady who had been seated there.

David righted himself just long enough to glance in Mary Margaret's direction to find her watching him. He caught her eye, but she quickly looked away in fear. He knew she recognized him. That was when the date of the lady who had been splattered with gin took a swing at him. His police instincts kicked in and he was able to just miss getting socked in the face. That turned out to be the least of his worries though, as club security had been alerted to the skirmish and promptly arrived to escort him out of the premises.

David picked himself up from the asphalt parking lot. That certainly didn't go as planned. He had managed to get himself kicked out of the joint without getting any information on Gold or his organization. He'd have to pick that up later. Right now he needed to turn his attention to making sure that Mary Margaret was okay.

David hid himself in the shadows of the backdoor alley and waited patiently for her to exit from the club. It took about an hour before the door opened and she emerged on the arm of the man in whose lap she had been pulled into. David came to attention, ready to step out and protect her if need be. He remembered the waitress's words to her at the diner and had seen the look on her face in the club. He knew this man's advances were probably unwanted. He watched the man walk her around to the front of the building where a short conversation took place. He couldn't hear what was being said, but noticed as the man leaned in as if to kiss her. Just as he was about to step out, he saw her smile demurely and step forward as if she was going to reciprocate his advances, but she stepped on his toe instead. She pretended to almost fall as she jumped quickly off his foot, bringing her knee up and catching him right in the crotch. He almost laughed out loud at how she managed to make the whole thing look like an accident. The man let out a string of profanities at Mary Margaret. She apologized profusely before suggesting that they call it a night. She left and began walking towards town while the man frustratingly returned to re-enter the building. Clever girl, he thought as he watched her walk away.

As soon as the man disappeared back inside, David came out from his hiding spot and began quickly walking in the direction Mary Margaret had gone. It didn't take long for him to catch sight of her, but he stayed back about a block hoping to wait to confront her until she made it home. He didn't realize that she had sensed someone was following her. She turned down a side street and increased her pace in an effort to lose whomever was behind her. She made another turn going only a few steps down the street before crouching down behind a stoop hoping maybe they wouldn't see where she had gone and would move on. He turned down the street, but paused not seeing her, and looked back. He stood there for a moment searching all directions before deciding to continue on. He was headed in her direction so she began moving her hands along the ground desperately seeking anything she could use as a weapon. Finally she felt a rock, not as good as a stick or board, but it would do. Just as her follower reached the place where she was crouched, she jumped up and swung the hand holding the rock. She made good contact with his chin which caused him to stagger backwards. She pushed past him and took off running as fast as she could. She paid little attention to where she was going. Her only thought was to put as much distance as she could between them. She didn't even realize that she had been heading towards the docks until she was forced to a stop. She just barely managed to keep herself from running headlong into the water. She could hear footsteps pounding the pavement not far behind her. She took cover behind the nearest shrimp boat, just able to squeeze herself behind the dock post, balancing right on the edge between the dock and the boat.

The footsteps slowed to a walk. She couldn't see the man, but it sounded as if he was headed her way. A moment later the footsteps stopped and the only sound was the lapping of the water below her. She stilled her breathing as much as possible, straining her ears in the quiet.

"You can't hide from me. Wherever you are I will find you." His sudden shout startled her and she lost her balance. She screamed out as she felt herself falling and reached out for the boat to try and steady herself. She missed, but managed to grab the shrimping nets hanging from the side of the boat as she fell. The net actually stopped her fall so she didn't land in the water, but instead found herself hanging just a few feet above it. The fall had somehow twisted her up in the nets. Her efforts to remove herself only caused her to become more entangled.

Laughter rang out through the quiet night. Mary Margaret looked over just as he stepped into the moonlight and she immediately recognized him. She tried to infuse her voice with as much confidence as she could. "You! You scared me and now I'm caught up in this net. Instead of laughing, a little help would be nice." She momentarily hoped maybe he didn't know that she had taken his money.

He folded his arms across his chest and adopted a tone of superiority. "I'll release you when you return what you stole from me."

Her hopes dashed, she decided to go with denial. "I have no idea what you're talking about, and I'm quite insulted that you would accuse me of such a thing. Now let me down!"

"I don't have time for this. I want the money clip back. Now, you can either return it to me or I'll call the cops and let them sort it out."

Alarm rang through Mary Margaret as she worked to keep her tears at bay. Cops would only serve to complicate her life even more. "I would prefer you not call the cops...of course, unless you feel like you can't handle me on your own." Her taunting tone, and the smirk on her face was an effort to keep her true feelings hidden.

He tried to remain angry at her for having stolen from him in the first place but he was unsuccessful. He had a knack for knowing when people were in trouble and there was no doubt this dame was tangled in something more than fishing nets. Still he couldn't help but react to the obvious questioning of his manhood. "Oh, I can handle a girl, trust me."

"Woman. And we'll see if you really can handle me once you get me down from here."

"Ok, I'll get you down if you promise to give me back my money clip.

"What a gentleman you are, putting conditions on helping a woman out." There was a momentary pause as they eyed each other before she finally relented. "0kay, I promise." He could hear the relief in her voice, even though she was trying to appear unfazed. He went to work on untwisting the mess she had made of the nets to get her down, when they heard the sounds of someone approaching.

"Hurry, get me down, now! We can't get caught out here."

"I'm trying," he whispered, working frantically at the knots.

The footsteps were getting closer and both their hearts were racing. Finally she came loose, only to find herself falling towards the water. In a feat that could have only been fueled by a surge of adrenaline, his strong hands clasped her wrists and he heaved her up and onto the dock. Unfortunately, the momentum caused them both to lose their balance. As they fell he pulled her to land on top of him in an effort to break her fall and keep her from getting hurt.

She immediately recognized the intimacy of their position and tried to move, but he tightened his grip on her waist. "Shh, don't move." The footsteps were running now and he knew they would be caught. "Follow my lead," he told her. Before she could even answer him, he pulled their bodies flush, encasing her lips with his. Her shock lasted only a moment before she realized what he was doing and returned his kiss. She knew the kiss was just to hide why they were really here. She made every effort to keep from becoming too affected by it, but she had never been kissed quite like this. She found herself losing the battle as the sensations of their embrace began to fog her thought processes. David too found himself drawn in, momentarily thinking of nothing but the warmth of her body on his, and how she fit so perfectly in his arms.

They were both pulled abruptly from their thoughts by a flashlight shining directly above them. "What's going on out here? The two of you break it up."

They broke apart as David jumped up. He reached to help her to her feet, then stepped in front of her. He addressed the man, who appeared to be a port security guard, "We were just going for a moonlit stroll by the water."

"That didn't look like going for a stroll to me. You guys have no business being out here. The docks are dangerous at night. What's your name?"

Great, David thought. Robin was going to kill him. This was certainly not considered staying on the down low. Just as he was trying to decide whether to give his name or fight his way out of this, Mary Margaret stepped in front of him and out into the light. "Hey, Graham, it's me."

"Mary Margaret? I didn't recognize you. You know you shouldn't be out here. Does Mr. Gold know you're here?"

David took a move forward and she quickly reached out to grab his arm, giving him a warning squeeze. She then turned back to Graham as her voice took on a pleading, tone. "Look Graham, how about giving me a break? There really is nothing going on, I promise. I'm sure if we just go on our way, there's no need to even mention you saw us out here."

Mary Margaret could feel the muscles of David's arm twitching with adrenaline and what she was sure was a desire to step in and take over the situation. He obviously didn't understand how precarious their predicament was. Gold was a dangerous man and wouldn't take kindly to anyone he saw as a threat, and being in her company made him a threat. Graham eyed them warily before finally stepping aside and allowing the couple to pass. She kept her hold on David's arm, waiting until they were well out of sight of the docks to release it.

David found himself slightly disappointed when she removed her hand from his arm. Still he refused to acknowledge to himself what his thoughts and actions at both nightclub, and on the docks meant. He kept repeating to himself over and over that this girl meant nothing to him...that the kiss meant nothing to him...that the rush he felt was just from the threat of getting caught.

Mary's mind was reeling from its own crises of confusion. Why hadn't he turned her in? Why had he kissed her? Why had she kissed him back?

Each was caught up in their own thoughts as they walked back to town in complete silence. The tension of what had happened between them heavy in the air.