Electronic Edition Copyright 2011 Fayrene Prestonwww.FayrenePreston.com Cover Design: www.TammySeidickDesign.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photography, recording or any information storage and retrieval system without written permission of the author. Chapter One Outside, the moonless night had wrapped itself around the city, sealing it in a cocoon of black midnight and hushed shadows. Inside, eddies of conversation swirled through the smoke-filled room that was Charlie’s Bar. Off to one side, the worn keys of an old upright piano were being pressed, sending the tinkling music of Duke Ellington’s ‘Satin Doll’ out into the room, where it met up with the conversation and somehow became a part of it. Charlie’s was a rundown bar located on a side street in the middle of downtown St. Paul. Back in the forties, Charlie’s had been an elegant saloon, catering only to the elite.
