As I entered the small venue, music pounded along the wooden walls and doors. I watched as women adorned in vibrant dresses danced along to the music. The beads that draped along the edges of their dresses bounced along with their bodies. As the heavy door shut behind me I was greeted to a tall man with a greasy smile. He bowed and extended his long arms toward me. I nodded to him and began to take off my coat and hat. The tall man took them from my hands and turned away from me. I stepped into the small dance floor and watched as people danced and spun around me. They became blurs in my eyes as I watched them pass by. Once my feet stepped off of the energetic dance floor my eyes began to search the room for my next client. I looked down at the note she had left on my door just hours before. It said she would be wearing a yellow dress. Except for the urgent meeting and her attire that was all the letter had left me with. I looked up from the note and scanned the room. I noticed people of all ages sitting and laughing beside one another. It made me almost happy to watch people have a good time with one another. They never realized the true horrors and mysteries that lie within their city. As I turned my head I noticed a young girl dressed in a pale yellow dress. Unlike everyone else in the room, she looked distraught and scared. I passed through the oncoming cloud of smoke that rose along the air and walked toward her. Once I made it to the table she lifted her head. She looked shocked but relieved when she noticed who I was. Her skin was fare but her eyes were dark. They seemed warm and welcoming and almost seemed like you could get lost in them. Her hair was light brown and it was pulled back. Curls outlines her face and a small flower burette glistened in the faint light. She looked like most women of the time and her dress was covered in elaborate buttons that extended all the way down to the hem. She looked younger than I expected. Despite my own youth I usually had older clients but she was about my age, maybe younger.

“Well thank goodness you came.” She said softly and stood up. She eyed the room as if she were looking for someone and then looked back at me.
“Since you left this at my doorstep I presume you know about me. I guess introductions aren`t necessary.” I said showing her the piece of paper.

She leaned in close to me so I could hear her whisper. “I heard you can solve any mystery. Is that true?”

“Let`s just say I haven`t come across a mystery I wasn`t prepared for.” I said. She nodded and returned back to her seat. I followed her motions and pulled out the chair. I sat down and adjusted my tie. She began to tug at the tips of her gloves and I thought I saw tears begin to glisten in her eyes.

“Now why don`t you start telling me why you brought me here.” I said. I was ready to hear what she had to say and get down to business.

The music in the room began to slow and the sound of the saxophone hummed along with the dancers steps.

“Well I`m afraid I have found myself in a jam.” She said. She tried not to make eye contact with me and continued fiddling with her gloves.

“My name is Eileen Montgomery. I recently just finished up school and was planning on visiting some universities before the fall. My father thinks I should just stay home and find a husband. He`s old-fashioned that way. Well at least he was.” She looked away and I saw her once again bat away tears.

“Your note sounded urgent?” I asked trying to get right to the point.

“Yes, sorry. I find that I get off topic a lot. Especially, when I don`t want to address the bad news. You see my father was killed in his study a few weeks ago. You see, he dealt a hand in law after the war ended. My mother was the one who found him. Oh, my poor mother. I had left early in the morning to wish my dear friend Nellie goodbye. She was moving this summer to California. She wanted to become an actress.” Eileen smiled and paused as she thought about the memory of her dear friend. I watched intently as she wiped away tears.

“Well when I returned home there were police surrounding it. I found my mother crying on the porch and she told me about daddy. This was very hard on my mother, you know. You see my brother Gab lost his life in the war a couple years back and she never quite got over it. This just put her over the edge. At first when she talked about some business associates threatening father and killing him I thought she was just crazy. In all my years, I had never witnessed one of my father`s clients or business associates hating him. Everyone loved my father. I guess you really never know someone until all their secrets are laid out in front of you.”

“So, you`re saying your father didn`t just deal in law?” I asked.

“He did just not the honest kind.” She said.

“So I’m guessing you suspect who killed your father then?” I asked. Her story was intriguing no doubt but if I was going to help I needed more than just a bunch of angry men playing with guns.

“They found the murder weapon in my father`s study after the police investigated my house. It was your average hand gun. The only problem though was it was the same hand gun my uncle owned. He lived with us for a while to help my father and console my mother. He moved out a year ago because my father and he had a falling out. They found his fingerprints and his initials on the gun. They arrested him shortly after but I knew he would never have killed my father. Despite their argument, they had always been close. He never would have done it. Soon after they arrested him I remembered what my mother had said and looked through my father`s files. He had helped some bad people get off for murder and fraud charges. They paid him handsomely.”
The music began to pick up again and I turned my head to see the band playing hard on their instruments. Men and Women who were sitting before began to make their way to the dance floor. I turned my attention back to Eileen who was also watching.

“My father wasn’t a bad man. He just liked to live life to the fullest and we were struggling with money for a while. I checked over my father`s cases after he died and saw that someone had filed for an appeal on the murder and fraud case. I`m guessing my father wasn`t taking care of it and the men involved killed him. I tried telling this to my mother but she was too distraught to care. That`s when I went to the police, but they just said there wasn`t enough evidence to prove anything. Then when I was walking home one afternoon I noticed a letter taped to my front door. It was addressed to me and it said if I continued to mess around with the old case files I would be sorry.”

That`s when I noticed the fear begin to make its way back into Eileen’s eyes.

“So you think that they framed your uncle, killed your father because of the appeal, and threatened you because you were beginning to find some dirt on them?”

She nodded.

“There`s something else.” She said.

Once again my interest in the case began to peak and I leaned in closer to her. This was beginning to get interesting.

“In the papers last week a woman was killed when walking home from her job. I believe the same men who killed my father killed that woman.”

“Why do you say that? I asked.

“Because I found this letter in my father`s study after he was killed. The police said it wasn`t proof. To be honest I think they thought I was just some noisy girl but what else was I suppose to do.”

She handed me the letter and I squinted my eyes to try and read the small print in the dim lights. It read:

Mr. Montgomery

You have a week to fix this or every day we sit in court someone will pay. Don`t be surprised if we start with you.

“No one signed it.” I said rereading the letter.

“That`s another thing the police said. They thought I made it up to save my uncle since it was written out on the type writer.”

“So you think they are going to kill someone every so often until they are out of trial?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I nodded and pondered the case. This wasn`t your straight forward mystery I was use to but boy would this be a challenge. A part of me felt thrilled at the challenge but I had to think over details some of the before I accepted.

Suddenly Eileen grabbed my hands and leaned in close to me. I was taken aback but looked into her soft eyes.

“Please will you help me? I`m desperate! I just can`t let my uncle go to jail or let innocent lives be at stake. Will you please take my case?” The sound of the music in the background faded and it almost felt like we were the only two in the room. I looked down and noticed she was still grasping my hands. I realized she was waiting for an answer and I pulled away and focused my attention back on her answer.

“I`ll do it. I`ll take your case.” I said. She suddenly jumped up from the table and shook my hand vigorously.

“Thank you! Thank you so much Mr. Colt.”I let go of her hand once again and stood up from table. I pulled a card from inside of my jacket and handed it to her.
“You can call me Carson.” I said.

She smiled and took the card from my hand.

“You`ll hear from me when I find out anything regarding the men and your uncle. In the meantime stay close and try not to draw to much attention to yourself.” I said. “If there is an emergency give me a call on that number.”

“I will. Thank you again Mr.….I mean Carson.” She smiled at me again and I nodded to her.

“See you soon.” I said and with that I made my way to the door to retrieve my things and begin the case of Eileen Montgomery and the framed gun.