Tiger Ragtime Read Online Free PDF Page B

neat row of slim black cigars.
    She took one. ‘Nice case.’
    ‘Nothing but the best.’ There was no trace of irony in his voice.
    She rolled the cigar between her finger and thumb and sniffed it appreciatively. ‘So, at the risk of being ignored again, how long are you staying in Tiger Bay?’
    ‘That depends on whether or not I find the right business opportunity.’
    ‘Such as?’
    ‘I’m thinking of opening a nightclub.’
    ‘That costs money.’
    ‘Really?’ He smiled. ‘I hadn’t thought of that.’
    ‘You always were a joker, Aled.’
    ‘How many clubs are there down here?’
    ‘A few.’
    ‘How many can hold between two and three hundred people, put on musical shows with chorus girls, singers, and entertainment and offer gambling? Roulette wheels, blackjack, poker …’
    She burst out laughing. ‘It is a long time since you’ve been in the Bay. I can think of half-a-dozen cellars and small private bars where you can get a drink out of hours. The biggest casinos around here are still the open-air ones on the street corners, which the police blow the whistle on when the mood takes them. Some of the local bands play in the pubs and clubs, but dancing girls.’ She shook her head and smiled. ‘Where do you think you’ve landed, Aled, Paris?’
    ‘Paris nightlife was probably dull before the Moulin Rouge opened. The right club could put Tiger Bay on the map, provided it was run by the right man. Where do you and your girls pick up most of your customers?’
    She drew on her cigar. ‘Same place your mother did when she was on the game: the street and the pubs that let us in. Although the bloody landlords take a cut. They demand a bob for every man they see us walking out of their door with. They keep a book and it’s pay up or get out the next time we try to work there. Friday and Saturday nights are our busiest. We all have our regulars but things aren’t what they were twenty or even ten years ago. Trade is bad, but enough crache have business that takes them in and out of the banks, shipping offices and coal exchange in Bute Street – and afterwards to my house for a little relaxation, to bring in a trickle of customers. And there are always the sailors – like yourself.’
    He knew she’d thrown out the last remark in the hope that he’d tell her more about what he’d been doing. ‘Any good buildings for sale, lease, or rent in Bute Street?’
    ‘One or two.’ She eyed him suspiciously. ‘What trade you aiming for in this club of yours, if it ever opens its doors?’
    ‘The idle and not-so-idle rich who like to drink out of hours and who don’t mind paying a premium for plush surroundings. Customers who want to be entertained by professional musical shows. Men who enjoy ogling pretty girls. The gamblers who enjoy a flutter on the horses, dogs, and roulette wheel. Plus serious card players in search of a straight game with high stakes.’
    ‘The first thing I learned when I moved to Tiger Bay is that there’s no such thing as a straight card game.’
    ‘I’ll invite you to play with me and my boys some time, Anna.’ Aled flicked the ash from his cigar into the tray on the table.
    ‘Your boys? You’re married.’
    It was his turn to laugh. ‘The ones I employ. They enjoy a game of strip poker.’
    ‘That will cost them if they want my girls to play.’
    ‘Do you do the negotiating for the girls who live in your house?’
    ‘If they ask me, but I don’t take a cut. I charge a flat rate of three pounds a week to cover all costs.’
    ‘What about special parties?’
    ‘It’s been a couple of years since I organised one of those. All the businessmen around here have cut back on entertaining.’
    ‘But you’re still in the market to run them?’
    ‘If someone offered me enough. You asking?’ she questioned bluntly.
    ‘I might be able to put some business your and your girls’ way?’
    ‘The last thing I or my girls need is a pimp to cream off more of our