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once the bigger dogs got a look at it.
    Now that I was thinking about it, I realized there had been a chill between Irene and Chloe over the last few days. Perhaps they’d had a falling out. Maybe I could cut Chloe loose while Irene was angry with her.
    Soon a hush settled over the room; the audience knew what was coming. It was time for Irene’s first song. She slipped onto the stage hidden behind two enormous crimson fans carried by two crouching dancers, who looked rather silly doing so. Only her feet, clad in satin slippers, were visible, but as one, the men sighed with delight. The music of the five-piece orchestra rose to a crescendo, the crimson fans were swept to one side with a flourish, and Irene stood in centre stage, her face hidden behind a smaller version of the two fans. The men roared. The fan was lowered slowly, provocatively, and Irene peeked out. She was well into her thirties and somewhat stocky, but still pretty despite a face scarred by the effects of bitterly cold winds and a hard life. On stage and on the dance floor, she conveyed such a cheerful enthusiasm that all the men loved her. She was easily the most popular dance-hall girl in Dawson, which did wonders for my business.
    Unfortunately, my business partner, Ray Walker, also loved Irene. Too much, I feared.
    She flicked her fan back and forth across her face, and the men went wild.
    â€œYou know how to play with fire, Mrs. MacGillivray.” Constable Richard Sterling moved so quietly, even in his heavy boots, I hadn’t heard him come up beside me. Although I knew full well he only wanted to speak to me without everyone in the room hearing, I took an involuntary step back. At a good deal more than six feet with the bulk to match, Sterling always seemed to stand too close for comfort. He smelled of pipe smoke, boot polish and the mud of the streets.
    â€œMy son found you?” “We settled the lady in a room overhead. Mrs. LeBlanc’s
    gentlemen employee tried to talk Mary out of leaving. I suspect you’ll find Mrs. LeBlanc on your doorstep tomorrow; she recognized Angus.”
    We have a rather awkward relationship, Constable Sterling and I. I am, of course, not attracted to him at all, but somehow early in the morning, which is when my mind struggles towards sleep, I find myself thinking about him more than might be considered reasonable, and when he stands near me, my heart skips a beat or two, before wisely settling back into a sensible rhythm.
    â€œI don’t waste my time worrying about Mrs. LeBlanc,” I said, concentrating on the activities on the stage, where the girls were flittering about behind Irene. Definitely time to get rid of Chloe—she tripped and barely avoided a collision with Ellie, who tossed her a filthy look. “You realize the situation the poor girl finds herself in?”
    â€œNot that she said a single word to me, or even looked me in the eye. Angus didn’t understand why they needed a police escort. I sent him home, by the way.”
    â€œThank you. I have offered her my protection, for what it’s worth.”
    â€œIt’s worth a good deal, Fiona.” Sterling straightened his perfectly straight wide-brimmed hat in a gesture I recognized as meaning he was about to take his leave. “If removed, it would be much worse than never given. Good night.”
    He took a step towards the door, hesitated and turned back. “That is a striking dress. Most becoming. Excuse me.” And he was pushing his way through the crowd.
    If I were an imaginative woman, I might believe that the proper Constable Sterling had actually blushed.

Chapter Four
    At closing time, the girls trooped upstairs to my office to be paid for the drinks they’d convinced their “dance partners” to purchase. The bartenders gave them a small disk to mark every drink sold, and the girls stuffed the disks into the tops of their stockings. By the end of a good night, the legs of