the generous dimensions of hallway and stairway the drawing room to the right the dining hall stretching around to the left the foyer was familliar round with a high ceiling but the wood floor was dull turned gray in the windowless lighting hero sighed and walked over to the light switch she flickered it up and down several times but produced nothing more than an irate clicking sound applesauce she muttered then went to the ned of the stairs and called up hey mags a pretty black girl appeared over the railing above them her long arms folded up in angles and a rest of wild hair well look who it is you get the stray? her eyes found beatrice in the dimness and widened amusement she looks this side of crazy hero ignored her we need two dollars to pay the power bill and im broke as of today she said got any? hold on the girl disappered and returned a minute later one sixty chuck it down please are the boys back? not yet a shout cam from outside heros mouth pursed and she set beatrice's suitcase on the floor i better help him no dont even think about it youre the guest she huffed out the door and beatrice caught sight of a photograph hangiing on thenearby wall the scene looked to be a bar half a dozen people dressed in finery pale ribbous twirling from the ceiling sloshing coctails in most hands the faces were caught mid laughter and all were looking at a woman standing on top of a piano she was dressed in sequins and positively glowed even in monochrome as if there were a spotlight shining from inside her her hip was cocked her hands were out and extended her face manifested joy a happy freedom that stirred beatrice right to her center someone had scrawled in the white border hello suckers anna stahr and hey nonnny nonny 1925 two years ago beatrice's eyes narrowed at the title either the owner o f the bar had realy liked aunt anna and uncle leo enough yo name it after their house or else aunt anna and uncle leo were the owners already the idea fit unclelep like a glove some of the girls from miss nightinagles used to sneak ino speakeasies in the city and there'd been rumors one of the stepfather's farm hands running a still in an underused shed but until now prohibition had felt largely distant and irrelevant to her life something told her it had just gotten close enough to ask for a dance maggie stood beside hero while she buttoned her fathers collar as if she were sending a boy off to school hero tucked an envelope into his vest pocket there's the extra money we need for the lectricity this weekend dont leave until you know it will be turned on before tomorrow papa say what you like but it was always the girsls who allied first yes dear leao tried to tug her ear but she moved out of reach dont forget either maggie said holding up a piece of stationery you have to pick up tommy and jez from the station at five twenty i wrote down the time for you that was more than five hours away and dealing with the electricity shouldnt take half that time but there was guarantee leo wouldnt ake a few hours to detour on his way there or back he still had friends among flower hills estates and most of them ket decanters of unaltered whiskey imported straight from the caribbean behind locked cabinets leo had kept some himself before anna died maggies first real drink had been a finger pourd after her solo debut downstairs he forbid we toast your career with brackwater moonshine hed said maggie put paper in his pocket sorry she mouthed this weekend was the first masquerade without anna that truth hung around like a too ight necktie early this morning theyd discovered leo singing annas favorite ragtime tunes on the porch slurring the words hed used the last of his personal hoard and there wasnt a drop of extra booze in the house on the outside he looked like hells dirty laundry skin sagging but soon the lack of juice would begin to crack and splinter him inside too edges that cut hero had stashed all the rest earlier if hed tried to whedle some out of her she hadnd been successful hero loved her papa but she loved hermaams seakeasy too thanks mr stahr maggie added leo he correted her with a sigh dont mister me now ill get your boys picked up on time girls he said to both of you youve done a lot of work getting this weekend ready and im grateful he put his hat on and touched the brim a diluted win to his old charm and energy you can count on me i know paapa drive carefully hero kissed his cheek only after the lambda was puttering down the road did hero turn to maggie onl tommy and jez? wheres your string instrument? geez that girl hero was sharp as a tac and like anna knew the temperature of the speakeasy at any minute with her eyes closed and standing on her head maggie held up her hands couldnt find one everbody knows the pay is lousy tommy and jez only come out of loyalty nd even that was wearing thin maggie had been hey nonny noony headline entertainment for a year and a half she and her three man band tommy on the piano jez on drums and the third whoever had given into her begging for that particular nnight sometimes a sax sometime a trumpet but most often a guitar tommy and jez did far more gigs in harlem and were always on her to do the same in their eyes you could make a speakeasy stage hot but sitting down to breakfast with the whie owners of the joint the next morning was not part of the deal never mind if they'd become family the past few years hero put a finger to the center of her valentine mouth mmm what about that girl we saw last month in harlem? you even said how good she was the girl with the cello? hero had sent the evening with some princeton boy whom shed eventually suckered into fooling the bill for their may day shindig maggie remembered because shed been irritatd at their presence there wasnt a finer girl in new york to hit the cliubs with than hro but sometimes maggie needed those nights to herself with tommy and jez and the other musicians wiithout having to excuse the white couple as cool and with her one of the best members of the night hd been a girl whod whipped out a jazz solo on an instrument nearly the same size as she was i never met her i definitely dont remember her name id say there's a good chance she doesnt have a gig tomorrrow night maggie frowned or maybe shes in high demand hero waved a hand she knew she was right maggio only wished hero was wrong most female instruemntalists had to join an all girl band if they wanted their due and a cellist would have it worse since it took a lot of uscle to twirl one of those suckers through an improvised jam number i dont suppose that cousin of yurs has any useful speakeasy skills maggie asked shes studying to be a doctor which will be useful if any of us get shot great now who knows were prepared maggie knocked on one of the wooden columns of the porch did you tell her yet? no hero sighed dragged a hand down her face she waas still dressed in smart clothes from picking beatrice up as though she were about to trot off to a typing job i told her she should unpack and take a nap maybe a nice bath thatll give me some time to get evrything sttled and give her a proper unalarming introduction proper and unalarming sure tat describes hey noony nonny perfectly hero turned on her heel and sauntered back into the house none of your sass margaret she said not until you get me a third member for your three man band maggie rolled her eyes but nonetheless went to the drawing room where the ivory handled phone was kept she asked for the nuber to tommys apartment building and waited for what seemed like thirty rounds of hollering back and forth before he was loacted hello sugar his rich voice came over the phobe couldnt wait until tonight to talk to me? do you remember that cello player last month at goldgraben's she asked i guess he was annoyed wouldnt shed ignored his question think you could finde her before you and jez catcg the train in? what for? what do you think what for/ she play with us there was a long silence you want me to play with a girl? i want a cellist who happend to eb a girl.