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

here, Marshal. Our guests insist upon it. What can I do for you?”
    â€œI’m looking for a lady.”
    The clerk nodded knowingly. “Yes, I’d heard about your, ah, romantic troubles, Marshal. You have my deepest sympathy and my hopes that the situation soon resolves itself.”
    â€œDad blast it!” snapped Longarm. “Word gets around this town too fast. Don’t you boys have anything better to do than gossip?”
    â€œI meant no offense, Marshal,” the clerk said hastily. “I’m sure one of the bellboys can find a lady who would be glad to keep you company this evening.”
    Wearily, Longarm rubbed a hand over his face, then put his palms on the desk and leaned forward. “That ain’t what I’m looking for,” he said between gritted teeth. “I’m looking for one certain lady, and it’s business I want with her, not pleasure.”
    â€œOh. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.”
    Longarm waved off the apology. “This woman I’m after would have arrived last Saturday night maybe. No earlier than that, but it could have been sometime since then. She’s about twenty years old, dresses well, and is mighty pretty.”
    â€œDo you know her name?” asked the clerk.
    â€œI don’t know what name she might’ve been using,” Longarm answered, which was true as far as it went.
    â€œWell, it doesn’t really matter, since I’m afraid I can’t help you, Marshal. We have no single female guests at the moment, and there haven’t been any since well before this past Saturday.”
    Longarm had been afraid of that. But this was only the first step on what might turn out to be a long trail. He nodded and said, “Much obliged anyway.”
    â€œDo you want me to keep an eye out for this woman, Marshal?”
    â€œI’d appreciate it. And if you could sort of pass the word along to the fellas who work the other shifts ...”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œBut other than that, keep it under your hat. Make sure the other clerks know that too.”
    â€œAbsolutely,” the clerk assured Longarm. “You can count on us for discretion, Marshal.” He gave a smile that was half-smirk. “After all, our profession demands it.”
    Longarm thanked the man again and moved on. There were several more hotels in downtown Denver that he intended to visit tonight. The boardinghouses would have to wait until the next day.
    For the next hour, Longarm walked from hotel to hotel, asking the same questions. In each case, he failed to get the results he wanted. Either there were no single females staying at the places, or they were too old to be the one he was looking for. By the time he gave up for the night and headed back to his own rented room, he was frustrated and ready to start wondering if maybe he was on the wrong track.
    Nothing said that Nora Canady had to have gone to a hotel alone, he told himself. Maybe she had a lover. Maybe that was why she had run off instead of marrying Jonas Palmer. She could be in a hotel room right now with some lucky fella, romping to beat the band.
    Or she could have disguised herself to look older, Longarm speculated. That was more far-fetched, but not beyond the realm of possibility. He had been asking about a twenty-year-old woman, when all along Nora might have made herself look twice that old. But why would she have done such a thing?
    That was the question that all the other questions came back to, he realized. Nora must have had a damned good reason to disappear. If Longarm could figure out what that reason was, he might be a lot closer to discovering where she was now.
    But he’d have to ponder on that tomorrow, he decided as he chewed on an unlit cheroot and crossed the wooden bridge that spanned Cherry Creek. His rooming house was close by. In the quiet night, his boot heels rang loudly on the planks of the bridge.
    A shape moved out of the