Chapter 3

Grand Welcome

"Rocky! The Lackadaisy's up ahead! What in the blazes are you looking back for?" Freckle called.

"Don't worry about it," Ivy said, as they turned around a corner. "He's waiting for a special someone." She grinned maliciously.

"Who?" Freckle asked, opening the door to the Little Daisy Café, where the Lackadaisy was hidden below in a perfectly formed limestone cavern.

"I dunno," Ivy lied. "He wouldn't tell."

They both entered the café to find a sizable line leading into the false cellar where the Lackadaisy was.

"We could wait for him," Freckle suggested.

"Nah," Ivy said, dragging him to the window. "I wanna see his partner arrive."

Meanwhile, Rocky was anxiously waiting for Amanda to show up. The minutes had slowed into an agonizing crawl as he checked and rechecked his watch.

Dadgumit. He was feeling nervous again. He looked at himself in the mirror to see if there was anything out of place. There wasn't.

He took a deep breath, and then another, stemming the adrenaline in his veins. He was about to call it quits and join Ivy and Freckle in the line when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Rocky? You look great," a soft voice said. He turned around, and what he saw next reminded him that he wasn't ready for tonight.

Amanda looked gorgeous. So gorgeous, in fact, that the streetlights seemed dim to him, like she sucked out all of their light and put them inside her. She was wearing a black satin dress with a gold sash around her waist, and her licorice black hair had been combed back. Her hazelnut eyes glowed brightly in the dark, and seemed to bore into his. She also wore a fluffy scarf around her neck, and a necklace of emerald beads around her neck. God, she looked pretty.

He was so entranced in her beauty, that he didn't notice her slip her paws around his.

"Let's go in, shall we?" she whispered in his ear.

"Uh," he said, trying to break the spell. He shook his head frantically. "Uh, yeah. Let's."

He linked his arms around hers, and together they walked into the entrance to the Lackadaisy, pausing to hold the door for her. He swore he saw something flash by as he watched Amanda catch up to him.

"What a gentleman," she said, flashing her eyes at him. He chuckled and followed her in.

As the door to the café shut and cool air enveloped them both, Rocky was continually fighting down the urge to whoop. They managed to find a spot in the line, right behind…

"Hey, Rocky!" It was Ivy. Great. "Glad someone could make it!" She smiled at her own joke.

"Yeah," Rocky said, glancing at Amanda next to him.

"I see you've brought someone," Ivy said, finally noticing Amanda. "Hi, how are you?" she said, sticking a paw out to Amanda. "And, oh my! You are so pretty!"

"Thanks," Amanda said, taking Ivy's paw and shaking it. "I'm Amanda. What's your name?"

"Ivy Pepper," Ivy said. "Nice to meet your acquaintance."

"My name's Freckle," Freckle said, reaching over and shaking Amanda's hand as well. "I'm Rocky's cousin."

"Oh," Amanda said, shaking Freckle's paw briefly. "What interesting folk you have here," she said to Rocky as Freckle returned to chatting with Ivy.

"You can say that," Rocky said. "Ivy's the finest flapper for miles, and Freckle…well, he's more on the soft side. He's more into baseball."

"Oh," Amanda said, as the line moved up. "Interesting."

The line moved ahead, descending a considerable flight of stairs until they were at the entrance to the hallowed speakeasy, and they were having their badges checked at the front door by a cat Rocky knew.

"Hey, Mordecai!" he called, seeing the Lackadaisy's chief financial and business officer. "How's welcome duty going?"

"Going well," Mordecai said, eyeing Amanda up and down. "So, this is your guest. You sure she is not affiliated with…any other groups?"

"Yes, I'm sure?" Rocky asked, annoyed at the question. "Have YOU seen her before?"

"No, haven't" Mordecai replied curtly, still eyeing her from behind his glasses. "She could be involved with a crime syndicate that I haven't heard of, or some other group operating outside of St. Louis."

"She owns a bar on the waterfront, by herself," Rocky snapped. "Is this good enough for you? Or do I have to buy a Glennfiddich from there to prove she doesn't have a bunch of hired guns in the storage cupboard waiting and wanting to put a bullet through you?"

"Fine," Mordecai said, blowing a sigh. "Your choice of words…confuses me." He waved them through the door and into the crowded confines of the speakeasy.

"Who was that?" Amanda asked, dodging a pair of waitresses as they carried glasses of champagne throughout the floor of the club.

"Mordecai," Rocky said. "He's the business guy. Knows every single crime organization here in St. Louis, down to the day-to-day operations required to run a speakeasy of this size. Although, he will get his hands dirty if the situation demands it."

"He sounds like an important member of your group," Amanda said, watching as Mordecai attended to the next pair of guests. "Looks like it too," she said, noting his formal wear.

"He is," Rocky said, plucking two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter and handing one to her. He pointed to a bulge in his suit, undoubtedly where Mordecai kept his Mauser C96 pistol. Amanda looked uncomfortable for a moment, so Rocky decided to switch the subject.

"Anyway, enough business talk. Shall we both enjoy a night, then?" he said, easing his glass toward hers. The bubbly liquid swirled around inside.

"To a night filled with fun, then," Amanda said, smiling widely and clinking her glass against his, ready to begin the night.