He nodded slowly. “I did say that, didn’t I?”
“I remember it as clear as day. All we need to do is send a telegram to Mr. Collins, ask him to hire the Pinkertons and to request my help. Then I’ll go apply. They could say no, but what if they don’t? I could find her, Father. I feel it—I could actually find her.” Lucy’s heart was pounding. It was as though her destiny was finally calling her—she knew what she was supposed to do aside from being a daughter or a warehouse worker. “It says I’ll train with an existing agent. I’d be learning the ropes from someone who knows what they’re doing. I’m a little worried that I’ve missed the deadline because I only saw the advertisement today—this is an old paper that I found while I was tidying up the parlor—but they’d have to talk to me, wouldn’t they?”
“We can send the telegram in the morning,” Edwin said at last. When he looked up at Lucy, his eyes were wet. “Go with God, my dear. Go with God.”
***
Lucy tried to control her nerves as she looked up at the Pinkerton Agency building. She held the telegram from Mr. Collins in her hand, the one that informed her that he had been in touch with Agent Gordon and requested that Lucy be allowed to help on the case. All that remained now was for her to find Agent Gordon and finalize the details.
Unless, of course, he decided to toss her out unceremoniously and she landed in a heap on the sidewalk. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d ended up in a heap in a public setting, after all.
When she stepped into the building, she was greeted by a kindly woman with a confident air about her. “I’m Marianne Chapman, Agent Gordon’s secretary. Please have a seat, and I’ll let him know you’re here.”
Lucy took the chair she was offered and tried not to bounce her knee as she looked around. She was excited, but she was also nervous. What was she getting herself into, exactly? Was she crazy? Who in their right mind would wake up one day and decide to become a Pinkerton?
Someone with a good friend in danger. That’s who.
The more she thought about Mrs. Collins, the more Lucy was convinced that she was doing the right thing. If she turned her back, if she left the San Francisco police to figure it out, any number of things could happen, and even when she reined in her imagination, she pictured Mrs. Collins ending up dead. It was a logical conclusion as well as a hysterical one. No matter how she looked at it, the woman’s life was in danger—if she wasn’t already dead.
At long last, a tall red-haired man poked his head into the hallway. “Miss Haskell, thank you for waiting. Won’t you step into my office?”
Lucy rose and entered the next room, taking the chair across from the desk.
“I’m Archibald Gordon, lead agent here at the Denver office,” the man said as he sat. “I’m sorry for making you wait, but I needed a moment to decide what to do with you.”
Lucy blinked. “To decide what to do with me?”
“Yes. You’re fully twenty-four hours too early.”
“I didn’t realize I was supposed to be here at a certain time.”
“Yes—we asked our female applicants to arrive tomorrow. Miss Chapman should have asked you to return then, but she felt apprehensive about it for some reason.”
Lucy’s heart sank. “I’d really rather not come back tomorrow, Agent Gordon. I’d like to get this resolved as quickly as possible, considering that a woman’s life is at stake.”
Agent Gordon opened and closed his mouth a few times. “I beg your pardon. What woman?” he asked at length.
“Mrs. Delphine Collins.” This man was a detective—surely he wasn’t dense. “The woman who disappeared in San Francisco.”
When Agent Gordon didn’t look any more enlightened, she said, “Didn’t you receive a telegram from Mr. Abner Collins asking to hire your agency and to utilize my help as an agent?”
The man across the table sat up a little straighter. “I don’t believe I did. Who is this Mr. Collins, and why am I to hire you?”
This would certainly be easier if Agent Gordon had already been contacted, but Lucy supposed she could start at the beginning. She explained her connection to the Collins family, the fact that she spoke fluent Chinese, and also the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Collins’ disappearance in Chinatown. When she was finished, she sat back and looked at him expectantly.
“Miss Haskell, you must understand that the ladies we’re hiring have sent in their credentials, and we’ve looked them over carefully,” Agent Gordon said when she was finally done. “We aren’t just taking young ladies in off the street.”
“And I didn’t wander in off the street,” she rejoined. “I’ve brought you a client, I have the skills necessary to help with the investigation, and I’m eager to be of service. What more would you like to know about me? I’ll fill out an application this moment. I’m educated, I’m in excellent physical health, I’m frightened of practically nothing, and you did hear me say that I speak fluent Chinese, didn’t you? That must count for something.”
“Yes, yes, indeed it must.” Agent Gordon sighed. “You seem like a very good candidate for the position, Miss Haskell, but I do have my reservations.”
Just then, a knock sounded on the door, and Miss Chapman stepped in. “I’m sorry for interrupting,” she said. “This telegram just arrived for you.”
Agent Gordon took it, read it over, and then glanced up at Lucy. “It would seem that everything’s in order, Miss Haskell,” he said. “This is the missing telegram from Mr. Collins. Yes, I will take the case, and yes, I believe your help will be invaluable. Welcome to the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Please come back tomorrow when all the other female applicants arrive, and we’ll get you started.”
Lucy was immediately filled with questions. Why had the telegram been delayed, and what did it say that changed Agent Gordon’s mind? For that matter, why wasn’t her word good enough for him? She opened her mouth, ready to ask, but then she closed it again. She was getting her way, and she should be grateful for that without complaining.
When she exited into the hallway, she found Miss Chapman waiting near the front door. “Bring a bag with you,” the woman said. “You’ll likely be leaving from here.”
Lucy nodded. “I can do that.” It was so exciting to think of being on her way, and even more exciting to think about locating Mrs. Collins. She’d focus on that and ignore the pit of fear in her stomach. Fear never did anyone a lick of good.
She returned home and packed quickly, bringing along the things she thought would be the most sensible to have. A trunk would be entirely out of the question, so she couldn’t bring as much as she liked, but when she was finished, she was satisfied that she’d done a decent job of it. Then she went over to the warehouse and sought out Smitty Hancock, her father’s second-in-command, and told him that once again, he’d be taking up the reins.
“I thought those days were over when you came back, Miss Haskell,” he said good-naturedly. She knew he didn’t mind running the place, and he was certainly compensated well enough for it.
“I trust that you’ll keep the place from burning down while I’m gone. Take care, Smitty.” She told the other employees goodbye as well and then left, tingling with the realization that this was actually happening.
It was much, much harder to say goodbye to her father. She prepared his favorite meal and had it waiting on the table when he came home, and for the most part, they ate in silence. What could she even say? She was leaving him, something she’d vowed not to do. She hated knowing that he’d be here by himself—she had arranged for the housekeeper to come back, so she supposed he wouldn’t be entirely alone, but he still hadn’t quite regained his strength after the voyage, and she was worried about him.
“You mustn’t worry about me,” he said, breaking the silence and reading her mind at the same time. “By helping Abner, you’re helping me. He’s my dearest friend, after all, and I won’t be quite right until I know that he is right as well.”
“I’ve been so confident up until now, b
ut I’m suddenly doubtful. What if we can’t find her?” Lucy gave voice to the thoughts that had been circling around in her mind. “This could all be a mistake, a very costly mistake.”
“I’m sure everyone has such doubts before heading off on an undertaking such as this,” Edwin said, reaching over and patting her hand. “You were so sure before—you even convinced me. This is the right thing, my dear.”
“I hope so. I most certainly hope so.” She would cling to his words for the strength she needed to take the first step. She felt as though all her confidence had been washed away with the tides of the ocean that had brought her home from China.
Chapter Six
Jed flexed his fingers while he listened to Wyatt talk. It felt so strange to be out of his cast. His arm almost felt like it didn’t belong to his body anymore. He’d been told not to do anything strenuous with that arm for a few more weeks, and that was certainly inconvenient, but he was grateful to have the cast gone at long last.
“We’re going to be completely overrun with females starting any time now,” Wyatt was saying. “What are we supposed to do with a flock of females? Take them hat shopping?”
“You’ve been going on about this for days, Wyatt,” Val said, leaning back in his chair. “It’s about time to move past it, don’t you think?”
“How can he move past it when it’s still in the offing? Seems to me, you can’t move past something until it’s over,” Broderick said. Jed supposed he was trying to be a voice of reason, but his comment only seemed to make Wyatt agitated.
“I just don’t understand why Archie didn’t tell us beforehand,” Warren said. “And it would have been nice to have some say in the matter.”
“Exactly,” Rick chimed in. “I trust Archie and I know he only wants what’s best for the agency, but bringing in women without letting us weigh in? That’s . . . well, we’re the ones who will have to deal with it.”
Reece nodded. “We’ll be the ones scooping them off the floor when they faint,” he added. “Which will be often, I’m betting.”
“I’m not in favor of female agents either, but I don’t think they’ll be fainting right and left,” Jed said. “Not all girls are the fainting type, and I don’t think Archie would hire those who were.” He hoped. He most definitely hoped.
Caleb and Stephen weren’t participating in the conversation. Instead, they leaned against the wall at the back of the room, and Jed wished he could read their faces. Not that their opinions really mattered in the long run—it seemed that none of their opinions mattered.
“I guess I can see the reason for bringing in some women,” Seth said. “They can get into places we can’t.”
“On my last case, I had to wait outside a ladies’ clothing shop for my witness to come out before I could speak with her,” Sam added. “I was there for two hours. It would have saved a lot of time if I could have asked a female agent to go in and talk to her. I almost missed nabbing the culprit before he hopped a train out of town.”
“But you did nab him,” Reece pointed out. “You still did your job.”
“Because I’m very talented,” Sam replied, and the men laughed.
Jed looked out the window toward the main building, glad they could meet out here in their dormitory where they wouldn’t be overheard. “None of you are thinking about quitting, are you? We’re going to see this thing through, right?”
Bronco was fiddling with the handle of his knife. “No, I’m not quitting. I think it will liven things up around here to have some women in our midst.”
“You and women,” Maverick said under his breath, and Bronco laughed.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Caleb said at last. “I’ve worked too hard to get where I am, and I plan to roll with the punches. Pinkertons don’t back down when things get tough.”
“That’s how I feel too,” Jed said. “We’ve all done harder stuff than this, right? And maybe it’ll turn out better than we’re thinking. The ladies could be a genuine asset.”
“You don’t look like you really believe that,” Steven said.
Jed laughed. “I have my doubts, but I trust Archie too.”
“And I trust Marianne,” Warren said. “You know Archie wouldn’t do a thing without Marianne’s input.”
The men nodded.
“All right, let’s try to make the best of this and get some sleep,” Jed said, standing up.
“Yeah, I have a feeling we’ll need to be on our toes once the ladies start showing up.” Luke stood up and pushed his chair back into place at the table. Val helped with some of the others, and when the room was set to rights again, the men filed off to their beds.
Jed stared at the ceiling for a long time before he finally closed his eyes. What was the agency getting into? Were they setting these women up to get hurt—or worse? Hopefully they’d be sent on the daintier cases—or put in charge of the paperwork. He could definitely go for that.
***
Lucy waited in the gardens outside the Pinkerton office, waiting to hear whether she’d officially been accepted. Her interview had been fairly short as she’d essentially already been interviewed when she first came to meet with Agent Gordon, but she knew she was still being scrutinized. Agent Gordon didn’t have to hire her just because Abner Collins asked him to—she could be turned away at any minute. As she looked around the garden at the other young ladies waiting, though, she figured she had as much chance as any of the rest of them—some looked too delicate for this sort of career. She’d worn her brown traveling dress, trying to look as professional and dependable as possible, and she hoped she’d made a good second impression.
The selection process certainly seemed to be taking a while. She knew they had to be careful with their choices, but the longer this dragged out, the more nervous she became. What if they sent her on her way—what if Agent Gordon didn’t take the Collins case after all? She could try going to Chinatown on her own to see what she could find out, but she knew so very little about sleuthing and investigating. She’d probably make an awful mess out of it on her own. She needed a partner—someone who could lead up their team and teach her everything she needed to know.
She’d been chatting with a few of the applicants, and one in particular had caught her attention. Her name was Claudette, and she was a Civil War widow. She was fluent in four languages and seemed incredibly intelligent. She’d already developed an interest in one of the male agents, and Lucy wondered how that would complicate things. Surely they couldn’t have the male agents and the female agents consorting with each other.
As she rounded the corner of the garden, she noticed that Agent Gordon had come out of the building and was chatting with the two girls she remembered as Arielle and Charity. He gave them and nod and headed back inside, and the girls rose and headed Lucy’s way.
“It’s time for us to go in,” Arielle said, motioning toward the house. “We’ve been sent on our first mission—to round you all up.”
Lucy smiled and tried to look calm, even though her heart had begun to beat triple time. It was the proverbial moment of truth.
The girls gathered in the dining room, some chattering, others as silent and solemn as Lucy felt on the inside. She didn’t think there were as many as twenty of them in the room, but there were well over a dozen. She was just about to count them for curiosity’s sake when Agent Gordon and Miss Chapman entered the room.
Agent Gordon wiped his forehead with his handkerchief, and for the first time, Lucy wondered if this had been a difficult day for him. She’d only been considering her own nervousness, not the ramifications for the others involved. She felt a little guilty for being so self-centered.
“Ladies, thank you for coming in today. Those of you who are gathered are our final selections, and we would like to offer you the opportunity to become agents for the Pinkerton Detective Agency.”
Lucy nearly gasped with relief, and the murmur that arose in the room told her that the other girls were reacting in much the same way
.
“There is one matter we need to discuss before we proceed, though.” Agent Gordon looked over at Miss Chapman as though steeling himself for whatever he was about to say. “We’ve already discussed your salary and the other things the agency will provide, including your training. Part of that training . . . well . . .”
He swallowed, and Lucy was becoming even more anxious. What was he leading up to? It must be quite terrible if he couldn’t even find the words.
“This job is demanding, and in some circumstances, dangerous,” he went on. “We have promised you the best of training with an established agent, and all of our established agents happen to be male. To that end, we have decided that each female agent . . . should be married to her trainer.”
Lucy felt as though all the wind had been sucked out of her lungs. She could hear shocked gasps all around her, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Agent Gordon. He couldn’t be serious. He couldn’t possibly be serious. Yes, she wanted to get married someday, but she assumed she’d have a choice in the matter, and that she’d actually know him beforehand.
Agent Gordon held up both hands. “The marriages may be annulled after your training is complete. We’re making this requirement not only for your physical safety, but to avoid compromising situations.”
Lucy slowly raised her hand. “But if we’ve been married, and that marriage has been annulled, that puts us in a difficult situation for future relationships, doesn’t it?”
Agent Gordon looked uncomfortable, as well he should. “This solution isn’t entirely without its drawbacks, but we believe it’s for the best.”
The cacophony in the room grew a bit louder, some of the candidates stood up and left immediately, and one of the girls even fainted. Oh, this wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.
Lucy closed her eyes, trying to think matters through. If she stayed, she’d be able to help find her dear friend, and that was the most important thing to consider. On the other hand, to be married to a complete stranger . . . She shuddered. It would be a marriage in name only, of course. There was no indication that anything more would be expected. The Pinkertons abided by a strict code of conduct, and they would never ask their agents to do anything so . . . She shuddered again. This would be all right—it had to be.
An Agent for Lucy Page 4