An Agent for Amey

by Laura Beers

  Amey’s eyes blinked open, and she met his gaze. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning.”

  She turned her head toward the window and asked, “What time is it?”

  “It’s time to get up,” he replied, moving to a sitting position.

  Amey sat up in bed and stretched her back. “This may be the most uncomfortable mattress I have ever slept on,” she commented.

  “That bad?” he asked.

  “It is rather lumpy.”

  “You’re always welcome to switch me spots,” he offered, rising.

  She shook her head. “I’m sure the bed is still more comfortable than sleeping on the floor.”

  “Most likely.” He took a moment to tuck in his red shirt and reached for his black vest on the sofa.

  Lincoln watched Amey rise from the bed and walk over to her trunk. She opened the lid and pulled out her tan trousers and a white shirtwaist.

  “You’re wearing trousers today?”

  Amey glanced over at him. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  He smirked. “Not at all,” he replied. “I find that I prefer you in trousers.”

  Ignoring his comment, she said, “It’s much easier to search the woods in trousers than in a dress.”

  “I’m not going to argue with you there.”

  With her clothes in her hand, she hurried across the room and stepped behind the partition.

  “We need to go speak to Jacob before we search through the woods.”

  “I agree,” she replied, lifting her white nightgown over her head. “I find it suspicious that he didn’t reveal that he and his wife were having marital problems.”

  “It makes me wonder what else he’s hiding.”

  She was silent for a moment before saying, “As of right now, the only person with a motive to kill Doris is Jacob.”

  “Perhaps we were too hasty to dismiss him as a suspect.”

  After she was dressed, Amey stepped out from behind the partition.

  “We’d better get to work,” she suggested. “We don’t have much to go on right now.”

  “No, we don’t,” he agreed. “Are you ready to go eat before we head off to question Jacob?”

  “Let me get my gun belt first,” she said, walking back over to the trunk.

  “I must admit that I’ve never known a woman to wear a gun belt before.”

  Amey buckled the belt around her hips. “I find it’s much easier to draw my weapon when it’s holstered in a belt.”

  “You are a fascinating woman, Mrs. Hoyt,” he said as he opened the door.

  She smiled as he hoped she would. “Thank you, Mr. Hoyt.”

  After they ate a quick breakfast, they headed out of the hotel and started walking down the boardwalk toward the livery. A thin man stumbled out of the saloon and ran straight into Amey.

  “Sorry about that, mister,” the man mumbled, taking a step back.

  “No harm done,” she replied.

  The man stopped and stared at her through blood shot eyes. “You ain’t a man. You’re a woman.”

  Amey smirked. “Thank you for noticing.”

  He whistled. “And a pretty one at that.” His eyes perused the length of her. “Why are you dressed like a man?”

  Amey opened her mouth to respond when a man spoke up from behind them. “Leave the woman alone, Charlie.”

  “It ain’t a crime to talk to a beautiful woman,” Charlie said.

  A tall, middle-aged man with broad shoulders stepped off the boardwalk and approached Charlie. “It is if you’ve had too much to drink.”

  “Fine,” Charlie muttered as he started backing up. “I’ll go, but only because I want to. Not because you told me to go.”

  They all watched as Charlie turned on his heel and stumbled down the boardwalk.

  Amey turned toward the man. “Thank you for your help.”

  The man glanced knowingly down at the revolver holstered to her hip. “I’m sure you had the situation under control, but I didn’t want Charlie to get hurt. He isn’t a bad guy, but he tends to do stupid things when he’s drunk.”

  “Don’t most men?” Lincoln asked.

  The man chuckled. “That they do, which is what I’m counting on.” He extended his hand toward Lincoln. “My name is Edgar Vance, and I own the saloon in town.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Lincoln replied, shaking his hand. “My name is Lincoln Hoyt, and this is my wife, Amey.”

  Edgar tipped his hat at Amey. “What brings you to the town of Longworth?”

  Amey spoke up. “We’re on our honeymoon.”

  Smiling, Edgar remarked, “Ah, newlyweds. I believe congratulations are in order.”

  “Thank you,” Amey murmured.

  “Welcome to our small town, and if I can be of any assistance, don’t hesitate to ask,” Edgar said, his eyes lingering on Amey. “You can always find me at the saloon.”

  Lincoln placed his arm around his wife’s waist and said, “Thank you. We appreciate your kindness.”

  Edgar gave him a brief nod before he opened the saloon door and stepped inside.

  Once the door closed, Amey stepped out of Lincoln’s arms and resumed her walk to the livery. Lincoln easily matched her stride, and they continued to walk side by side.

  After they entered the livery, Amey walked up to her horse’s stall. “How are you doing today, Jasper?”

  The horse nickered in response and leaned into her.

  “I missed you, as well,” she said, affectionally patting Jasper’s neck.

  The older livery owner, Tilford Larson, stepped out of his small office in the corner of the building. He was dressed in trousers and a red shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He approached Lincoln and asked, “Are you looking to borrow a horse for the day again?”

  He nodded. “I am.”

  “Would the same horse work for you?”

  “It would.”

  Tilford stepped up to the stall that housed a black gelding and asked, “Want me to saddle him for you?”

  “I can do it.”

  Tilford bobbed his head. “I don’t blame you. I don’t let anyone else saddle my horse, either.” He pointed toward Jasper. “You have an unusual horse, ma’am.”

  She turned to face him and asked, “Why do you say that?”

  Tilford chuckled. “Last night, when I went to bring him in, your horse fell to the ground, and I thought he was dead. Once I stepped away from him, he got back up and started running around the corral. I reckon he wasn’t ready to come inside yet.”

  Amey started petting Jasper’s nose. “He does have some interesting quirks.”

  “You could say that, ma’am,” Tilford said in an amused tone. “Where are you folks headed today?”

  Lincoln had just placed a saddle on top of his horse when Amey answered, “We are going shooting in the woods.”

  “Shooting, huh?” Tilford asked. “Be careful of bears and mountain lions.”

  “We’ll be diligent,” Amey replied as she stepped into the stall.

  Tilford watched her for a moment before asking, “I have been meaning to ask you, did you find the Tiners’ cabin all right?”

  “We did. Thank you for the directions.”

  “No problem,” Tilford responded. “However, I would caution you against associating with Jacob Tiner.”

  “And why is that?” Amey asked as she placed her saddle onto Jasper’s back.

  Tilford stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Because he went and killed his wife.”

  Amey’s brows shot up. “You don’t say.”

  “It’s true,” Tilford replied. “Doris was planning on leaving Jacob, and he refused to let her go. So, he killed her.”

  Lincoln tightened the saddle to the horse’s back. “How do you know Doris was planning to leave him?”

  “It wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret,” Tilford explained.

  Opening the stall door, Lincoln led his horse out. “If that was the case,
then why hasn’t the sheriff arrested him?”

  Tilford chuckled. “The sheriff would never arrest his own kin.”

  “Do you mean to tell me that the sheriff and Jacob Tiner are related?” Amey asked in disbelief.

  “Yes, ma’am. They’re cousins.”

  Amey’s eyes shot to his, and Lincoln knew they had a whole slew of questions they needed to ask Jacob Tiner.

  Amey pulled back on the reins, bringing her horse to a halt in front of Tiner’s cabin. She was about to dismount when Lincoln reined in his horse next to her.

  “I must admit that Jasper is exceptionally fast,” Lincoln praised as he dismounted.

  “He is a good horse,” she said, then paused with a smile. “When he wants to behave, that is.”

  Amey dismounted and secured her horse before she stepped up onto the porch. Lincoln knocked and stepped back. After a long moment, he tried knocking again, but they were met with silence.

  “Do you think Jacob is out tending to his cattle?” she asked.

  “Possibly, but let’s check the barn first,” he said, pointing at a barn a few yards away. “It’s still early, so he might be busy doing his chores.”

  “Good point.”

  Together, they walked the short distance to the barn.

  As Lincoln opened the door to the barn, he shouted, “Hello? Mr. Tiner?”

  “Morning,” Jacob replied as he sat on a stool, milking a cow. “What brings you two by this morning?”

  Amey walked further into the barn and scrunched her nose at the overpowering smell of manure and hay.

  “We have a few more questions for you,” Lincoln said, appearing to be unaffected by the stench.

  Jacob glanced over his shoulder. “Go ahead and ask them, then.”

  Lincoln’s alert eyes scanned the large barn before asking, “Was it true that your wife was planning to leave you?”

  Jacob’s hands stilled on the teats, and his next words were low and hesitant. “Where did you hear that?”

  “It doesn’t matter who told us,” Lincoln replied. “We only care to know if it’s true.”

  Dropping his hands to his lap, Jacob rose and turned to face them. “Yes, it was true,” he replied dejectedly.

  “Didn’t you think that was important for us to know?” Amey asked with an uplifted brow.

  Jacob placed his hand on the backside of the cow. “I loved my wife, dearly, and I didn’t want her to leave. But I couldn’t force her to stay.”

  “A few people in town think you killed your wife because she wanted to leave,” Lincoln remarked.

  “That’s absurd!” Jacob exclaimed. “I would never hold my wife prisoner on the ranch. I’m not that sort of man.”

  “Is it true that you fought all the time?” Amey asked.

  Jacob frowned. “You spoke to Mrs. Willow, didn’t you?”

  “We did,” she replied, seeing no reason to deny it.

  “She is the town’s busybody,” Jacob revealed.

  Amey stepped further into the barn. “She claims to have witnessed a fight between you and Doris in the dining room of the hotel.”

  Jacob sighed. “That is true,” he admitted. “We fought after Doris told me that she intended to visit her family for an extended time. She told me that she wasn’t happy living in Colorado, and she needed time to think a few things over.”

  “Which were?” Amey pressed.

  He shrugged. “I suppose she needed to decide if she wanted to stay married to me.”

  “Why wasn’t she happy here?” Lincoln asked.

  Jacob lifted his eyes up to the rafters and said, “She said she missed her family, and she was tired of the never-ending work of living on a ranch.” He shook his head. “I tried hiring a housekeeper to help with her chores, but that wasn’t good enough. No matter what I did, Doris was still unhappy.”

  “When was she planning to leave?” Amey questioned.

  He winced as he met her gaze. “The day after she turned up dead.”

  Lincoln grew solemn as he asked, “Did you kill your wife, Jacob?”

  Jacob’s mouth dropped open. “Didn’t we already go through this?”

  Amey placed her hand on the butt of her revolver. “We did, but we need to hear it from you again.”

  Tossing his arms up in the air, Jacob shouted, “No! I did not kill my wife! Even though she didn’t love me enough to stay with me, I loved her!” His eyes grew moist with unshed tears.

  A long silence descended over them before Amey lowered her hand from her revolver. “I believe you.”

  Jacob huffed. “I’m glad, especially since the townsfolk are convinced that I murdered my wife.”

  “You must admit that the evidence is stacked up against you,” Amey replied.

  “I’m well aware of that,” Jacob stated dryly. “Every time I go into town, I worry that a lynch mob might try to hang me.”

  “Why didn’t you reveal that the sheriff is your cousin?” Lincoln asked.

  Reaching down, Jacob picked up the bucket from the ground. “I suppose it just didn’t come up.”

  “If Doris was leaving so soon, why did she buy fabric from the general store?” Amey inquired.

  “My wife was planning to sew a blanket as she traveled to Boston,” Jacob said, shifting the bucket in his hand.

  “A blanket?” Amey questioned.

  “Yes.” Jacob started walking toward the barn door. “I know Doris loved me, but she was just confused. I have no doubt that she would have eventually come back to me.”

  “And if she hadn’t?” Lincoln questioned.

  Jacob’s steps faltered as he answered, “Then, in time, I would have sold my ranch and moved to Boston to be with her.”

  “It’s evident you loved your wife very much,” Amey stated.

  “I did,” Jacob replied.

  Amey watched him closely as she questioned, “She was pregnant, wasn’t she?”

  Jacob placed the bucket on the ground and sighed. “She was,” he replied. “That’s why she was leaving. She didn’t want to have a baby in this ‘godforsaken place’.” He winced. “Those were her words, not mine.”

  “Had she told anyone yet?” Amey asked.

  Jacob shook his head. “No one,” he shared. “Doris was only a few months along, and she grew increasingly worried about how there was no doctor in Longworth. She was convinced that she was going to die during childbirth.”

  “Why was that?” Lincoln asked.

  “Because her mother had some complications during her pregnancy, but she was under the care of a doctor in Boston,” Jacob explained. “Doris wanted the same care as her mother.”

  “That’s understandable,” Amey said.

  “It was,” Jacob agreed. “Which is why I knew I had to let her go, albeit temporarily.”

  Lincoln came to stand next to her. “Now this is making more sense,” he remarked. “But why didn’t you let the townsfolk know about Doris’s pregnancy?”

  A despondent look came to Jacob’s face. “I suppose if I said it out loud, it would become real. And I didn’t want it to be real. Not only did I lose my wife that day, but I lost my unborn babe,” he murmured. His words were laced with sadness.

  “Did Sheriff Manley know all of this?”

  Jacob nodded. “He did,” he confirmed.

  Amey placed her hand on her hip. “I don’t approve of your secrecy, but I understand the reasoning behind it.”

  “Thank you,” Jacob said, reaching down to pick up the bucket. “Are you hungry? I could whip you up some pancakes.”

  “We just ate at the hotel.” Lincoln walked over to the barn door and opened it. “But thank you. We won’t keep you any longer.”

  Jacob gave him a weak smile as he started to walk out the door. He stopped and spun back around. “One more thing,” he started, “my wife was actually going to make a baby blanket out of the fabric. If you find the fabric, may I have it back?”

  Amey nodded. “Of course.”

  “Thank you,
” Jacob said. “I know it’s something inconsequential to you, but—”

  Cutting him off, she stated, “You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  Lincoln spoke up. “We intend to leave our horses tied out front while we search the woods, assuming that’s all right with you.”

  Jacob nodded. “I wish you luck.”

  As they watched Jacob walk toward his cabin, Lincoln asked, “How did you know that Doris was pregnant?”

  “By a few comments he made. Jacob was so adamant that she was going to come back,” she replied. “It made me think there had to be a reason.”

  “Well, I’m impressed.”

  She smiled. “You’ll find that I can be quite useful.”

  “I have no doubt.”

  Lincoln grew silent before saying, “I wish Jacob had told us the truth before now. It could have saved us a considerable amount of time.”

  “I agree, but I believe he has finally told us everything.” Amey turned to face him. “Shall we search the woods now?”

  “I think that’s a splendid idea, agent.”

  “Good,” she replied. “Let’s get out of here. This barn smells like an outhouse with hay.”

  “It isn’t that bad.”

  “I disagree,” she said as she walked out of the barn. She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Even a cattle ranch smells better than the inside of a barn.”

  Lincoln chuckled. “Now you’re just being overdramatic,” he teased.

  They started walking side by side toward the woods and fell into a comfortable silence.

  Once they stepped into the cover of the trees, Amey asked, “Do you think there are bears in these woods?”

  Lincoln shrugged. “I suppose it’s possible.”

  “Have you ever seen a bear?”

  “I have,” he replied, “but I was smart enough not to stick around. I high-tailed it out of there and didn’t look back.”

  “That was a wise move.”

  “It was,” Lincoln said, puffing out his chest. “That’s why I am the lead agent on this case.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I seriously doubt it was because you were smart enough not to engage a bear.”

  “I guess we will never know,” he joked.

  “This is nice,” she said, waving her hand between them. “Two friends scouring the woods, looking for clues.”