Longarm 245: Longarm and the Vanishing Virgin Read Online Free PDF Page A

here?”
    Longarm tried not to sigh. “There are two possibilities, the way I see it. Either your daughter is still here in Denver, or she’s not.”
    Canady nodded and said, “That makes sense.”
    â€œIf she’s here in town somewhere and lying low, she may be harder to find than if she left. I’ll have to put the word out and ask a lot of questions—”
    â€œDiscreetly, I hope,” Canady said, cutting in.
    â€œDiscreetly,” Longarm agreed with a nod. “I know folks at most of the hotels and boardinghouses in town. I can ask them about Miss Nora without mentioning any names. I’ll need to know what she looks like, of course, so I can describe her.”
    â€œOf course. I’ll give you a complete description, even a photograph. And if she’s no longer in Denver?”
    â€œThen she had to leave some way, which means she took a train or a stagecoach or rented a horse or a buggy. Again, that involves pounding a lot of boot leather and asking a heap of questions.”
    â€œWell, I’m sure you know what you’re doing, Marshal. All I care about are the results.” The railroad tycoon’s voice cracked a little. “I just want you to find my daughter.”
    â€œI’ll do my best, Mr. Canady,” Longarm assured him. “Now, you said you’ve got a picture of Miss Nora....”
    â€œOf course. Let’s go back downstairs.”
    Canady led Longarm back to the study, where he took a small, framed photograph from his desk. Longarm had seen the back of it earlier, but Canady hadn’t turned it around so that Longarm could see the subject of the picture. Now Canady handed it to him, and Longarm took it and studied it.
    The sepia-toned photograph was of a young woman in a high-necked dress, looking solemn as folks usually did when they had their pictures made. Her hair was thick and piled into an elaborate arrangement of curls on her well-shaped head. Her mouth was a trifle too big for her to be considered classically beautiful, but something about her—those large, dark, luminous eyes maybe—hit Longarm like a punch in the belly. Nora Canady was the most flat-out attractive female he had seen in quite a spell.
    Longarm swallowed and asked, “How old is your daughter?”
    â€œShe just turned twenty,” answered Canady.
    â€œMighty pretty.”
    â€œShe means the world to me, Marshal.”
    Longarm had already promised Canady he would do his best. He didn’t feel like repeating the pledge. Instead he hefted the photograph and said, “I’ll take good care of this and won’t show it to nobody unless I just have to. I know you want to keep this quiet.”
    â€œThank you, Marshal. I appreciate your understanding, and I know Jonas does too.” Canady must have sensed that the meeting was over, because he began showing Longarm out of the study. “When will you begin your investigation?” he asked as they walked through the big entrance hall.
    â€œRight away,” said Longarm. “It’s early yet. I’ll do a little work tonight.”
    â€œI couldn’t ask for a better effort than that.” Canady shook hands with Longarm again at the front door. “Good night, Marshal.”
    Longarm bid the railroad tycoon good night and started walking down the long drive toward the street. He might be able to catch a cab, he thought, but if he didn’t, he could hoof it back downtown. He’d done enough cowboying in his younger years, after his service in the Late Unpleasantness, so that he didn’t care much for walking, but the night air was pleasant and he didn’t mind the prospect of a stroll that awful much.
    O’Shaughnessy was waiting at the front gate, which had been closed since Longarm’s arrival. The guard swung the wrought-iron gate open and said, “Good night to ye, Mr. Long.”
    â€œGood night, Mr. O’Shaughnessy,”