“Oh my darling Maggie,” Jen said. “Be a dear and open up.”

“Not without the password,” she said. “Tony was caught up last week in his business and hasn’t been seen since.”

“But you know it’s me.”

“I don’t know you from Adam if you haven’t got the right word. Don’t make me evacuate my business just because you got yourself an ego problem.”

Jen smiled and leaned in closely so her eyes were an inch away from the porthole.

“Woodrow.”

“That’s a good girl.” The door parted just enough for Jen to slip through, and she did, finding herself face to face with Maggie “The Mint” Montgomery, Irving City’s queen-bee of all things forged. Papers, money, death certificate, it didn’t matter. Everyone knew you went to The Mint.

“Someone got Tony, huh?”

“Oh, don’t waste your tears on him, babygirl,” Maggie said. “Come give me a hug.” Maggie squeezed Jen tightly around the shoulders. Maggie’s hugs always felt her illegal liquor: warm at first, but likely to get you into trouble.

“Can I get a glass of your famous Wallflower Bubbly tonight, Maggie?” Any other night, this would have not have been the problem, but from the way that Maggie looked at Jen, she knew something was wrong.

“Any other night, lovely, and that would not be a problem. But my shipment has not come in yet. And my customers are getting mighty ticked off.”

“Need my guy on the force to look into it?” Jen asked. “Johnny’s real good about looking after me.”

“And what am I supposed to do about it?” Maggie had a hint of a smile on her face, and Jen never liked this particular smile on her.

“Let’s just say that I need someone of with certain…” Maggie eyed the hem of Jen’s dress, stopping well over her knee. “…delicateness. I heard something’s going down at the docks tonight, but it could also be worth checking out Seedy Pete’s and keeping your ear to the ground. What do you think?”

GO TO THE DOCKS
OR
GO TO SEEDY PETE’S