After another hour passed, she was ready to move on. Apparently, nobody wanted to talk about a large amount of money that might be coming into town – or the injured train robber who’d been shot in the middle of town for everyone to see. Surprisingly, nobody had noticed who shot him, either. Maybe they just didn’t care.
If Hope was a betting person, she’d put her money on Kate as the shooter. After all, Hope still suspected that Kate was only doing the man’s bidding just to keep food in her belly.
She collected her cards and stuffed them in the overcoat’s pocket, when out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a lanky kid stepping into the saloon. Immediately, she recognized Robert, the outlaw’s son.
Hope wondered if Kate had come to get her son before leaving town, but it looked as if that’s not what happened. Why else would Robert still be here?
The young man walked up to the saloon’s long counter and ordered a whiskey. He stared at the tin cup for a few minutes before lifting it to his mouth and tossing it back. He ordered another one and repeated the exact same process of drinking it. Robert didn’t speak to anyone, but when he was finished drinking, he turned and left the saloon.
Hope quickly stood and followed but made sure not to get too close. There was something very suspicious about the kid, and her gut feeling told her that keeping an eye on this one would finally get her some answers.
Robert walked toward the end of town before making a quick turn in between two buildings – a bank and a barbershop. Slipping her hand into the pocket of the overcoat, she wrapped her fingers around the handle of her knife. She’d be prepared for anything this time.
When she reached the alleyway, she stopped and leaned around the corner of the barbershop, peering down the alley. It was empty.
Her heartbeat quickened and she hurried down the alley. She hoped she hadn’t lost her only lead in this case. When she reached the edge of the building, she stopped again and peeked around – first toward the bank, since she suspected that particular business had something to do with Robert’s visit in town. As she turned her head to look in the other direction, a two-by-four board came toward her face, smacking her.
Pain exploded in her head and she crumbled to the ground. Her vision was disappearing fast, but she was still able to hear the man’s voice laughing. Why did it sound like Frank?
EIGHT
Slowly, pain like no other filled Hope’s body as she came to awareness. The throbbing rhythm from her head pulsed through her, letting her know she was indeed, alive. A warm, sticky substance coated the side of her face and ear. She didn’t need to touch it to know it was blood. She lay on something hard, but she didn’t want to open her eyes to see where she was, and she definitely didn’t want to move her hands to feel what was beneath her. It was best to let her captors believe she was unconscious, anyway.
As her mind started to clear and sounds became more recognizable, she heard voices... very familiar voices, in fact. One of them was definitely Kate Hinchee, and the male voice sounded too much like Frank to be anyone else. So, if he was here, did the Pinkerton agent guarding outside his hospital room know the outlaw had escaped? If not, the doctor would come and check on the injured man and surely then, the agents would be alerted to Frank’s escape.
However, the question was – would anyone know that she had been taken and come to find her?
Silently, she groaned. If only she had let Jesse know what she’d planned on doing today and what disguise she was in. If only she hadn’t wanted to be by herself as she walked through town asking questions. If only she had wanted to be Jesse’s wife in all sense of the word, they would have been together and worked side-by-side to find those answers about Frank’s mother lode. If she had only allowed herself to love him, she wouldn’t be in this situation, not knowing if Jesse would be able to find her and rescue her.
When Frank’s voice said the words train and gold, Hope became more alert, even though she still pretended to be unconscious. From what she could tell, he was plotting the robbery with the others in the room.
“Pete, I want ya on top of the freight car. If anyone tries to sneak up on us from the roof, shoot them.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Kate, when ya cause a distraction inside the passenger car, I’ll sneak out and break into the freight car. When I’m done fillin’ the burlap sacks with the gold, I’ll head to the caboose where I can jump off. Pete, ye can jump off with me. Nobody will suspect Kate, and she can leave the train when it stops at the station.”
The other male voice in the room chuckled. “Old Dalton will never know what happened to his gold, will he?”
“That is what makes this plan perfect. Dalton thinks he’s hidin’ the gold in the wheat barrels, and so when the barrels arrive at the station, Dalton will believe everythin’ is normal.”
Kate Hinchee laughed. “And what makes this robbery even better is that there ain’t nothin’ that Dalton can do about it, since he stole the gold from Butch and he doesn’t want to get caught.”
The others in the room laughed heartily. Hope had heard these other names before – Butch and Dalton. In fact, she recalled hearing either Graham or Evelynn Morgan mention that they were on the case of one of these outlaws.
From what Hope gathered, the mother lode was stealing already-stolen gold from another train robber. She just prayed that she’d be able to stop them, but her head injury made her weak, and who knows how much blood she’d lost.
“What are we goin’ to do about the Pinkerton agents?” Kate asked. “They always seem to get in our way.”
“Don’t ya worry about them. I have plans in motion that will keep them from stoppin’ us. If Mrs. Slade ain’t dead in twenty-four hours, she just might be able to save her husband’s life, and in doin’ so, will keep her away from us.”
Panic engulfed Hope, squeezing her heart. Jesse was in trouble? She had to save him. He was more important than these foolish outlaws. She must fight the pain pounding in her head. Jesse needed her as much as she needed him. Together, they were unstoppable, and they would eventually capture Frank’s gang. But first, she must think of her husband, and especially, a way out of this place... wherever this place was.
As the three people in the room continued to discuss their plans, something odd struck Hope, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Something was not right. Perhaps if the pain in her skull would diminish, she’d be able to think better.
From another room, she heard the tinkling of a bell. The scraping of a nearby chair’s legs on the wooden floor was the next sound she heard, followed by everyone suddenly going silent. Several seconds had passed, and Hope wondered if they had left the room, although she doubted it.
“I’d better head out front and help my customer,” the second man in the room said. “I don’t need anyone suspicious of my actions these next twenty-four hours.”
“I agree,” Frank said. “Go cut his hair, Pete. We’re not goin’ anywhere soon.”
Cut his hair? The last place she remembered being at was in between the bank’s building and the barbershop. Pete Hastings was the barber. At least she knew where she was being held. If Hope hadn’t heard for herself that Pete was in on this train robbery, she would have never believed it. Mr. Hastings had been such a nice man and had many friends in town. He didn’t even look like a criminal, let alone act like one.
Frank and Kate’s voices moved away from Hope and were quieter now, but they were still in the room with her. This was when Hope needed to start gaining her strength and praying that the Lord would help her through this because she couldn’t do it without Him.
It was a struggle, but she blinked her eyes open. Thankfully, there wasn’t a lot of light in the room with the curtains pulled over the windows. The pain in her head was fierce, but she fought it. Now wasn’t the time to think of her problems. Not when Jesse would be in danger soon – if he wasn’t already.
The figures of the other two were still blurred, but something wasn’t right. Ho
pe recognized Kate just fine, but why was Robert here, considering she hadn’t heard him during the conversation with Pete and Frank. And... where was Frank? Could he have snuck out to return back to the hospital and she not hear him?
Kate and Robert were talking about something, and Hope strained her ears to try and hear them. The more she knew about their plans with Jesse and the train robbery, the more she’d be able to help.
Kate wrung her hands against her middle and shook her head. “I still have a bad feelin’ about this, son. What if things don’t go as planned? What will we do next?” She shrugged. “I know this is the perfect time to take Dalton’s gold, especially since yer father is still in the hospital.”
Confusion filled Hope’s head, making it pound harder, but she continued to listen to their words.
Kate scratched her head. “Frank has been tormentin’ us all for too long. I should have killed him when I had the chance, but I wanted to see him hang for his crimes.”
“Don’t worry, Ma. Things will work out. I’ve been studyin’ Frank for a while now, and I know how his criminal mind works. Our plans for stealin’ the gold are perfect. I have no doubt we’ll pull it off without a hitch.”
Robert’s words confused Hope more, and yet, it wasn’t really his words that didn’t connect in her mind. It was his voice. This wasn’t the mousy, squeaky-voice she’d heard when she and Jesse were kidnapped in Kate’s cabin. Instead, the voice coming out of Robert’s mouth was from a man... a man that sounded just like Frank.
What if the outlaw wasn’t involved in this upcoming train robbery? Maybe his son, Robert, was the one holding the reins. He was his father’s son, both in voice and in action.
Inwardly, she groaned. She was the only Pinkerton agent to know this, which meant Robert’s plan would indeed go off without a hitch. Whatever they had planned would happen within twenty-four hours. That didn’t give her much time to recover, but she’d do it. For Jesse.
JESSE STOOD INSIDE the barbershop, waiting for someone to help him. The bells jingle on the door should have announced him, and yet nobody had come out to greet him.
As he waited, his thoughts turned to Hope, and where he’d been all morning. He had been searching for her since he realized she wasn’t in her hotel room. As each minute of his search passed and not knowing where she’d gone, his heart wrenched tighter. He knew Frank didn’t have her this time, because the man was still guarded in the hospital room. Jesse doubted Hope would ride to the next town over to ask questions without telling him first. At least he prayed she would have thought to tell him before going.
It had hurt him deeper than he could imagine when she had told him that she needed a few days to herself to think about their relationship. After the steamy kiss they’d shared, Jesse thought for sure she’d want to be with him, but it was just the opposite. Perhaps he just needed to admit that their marriage was over – or that they really never had a marriage of love and trust in the first place.
Maybe it was time to contact Archie Gordon and have the marriage annulled, just like Jesse should have done a month ago when she first left him.
However, as much as his heart hurt, he knew he should find her first. His gut told him that he wouldn’t be able to cut the ties with her until he knew she was safe and happy – which was why he had looked all over town for her. He wouldn’t stop until he found her.
As he had wandered through town, he silently prayed for God’s help and guidance. Jesse’s faith was strong, even though his mind was weak, and he couldn’t stop worrying. When he walked by the barbershop, he felt impressed to stop and ask the barber if he’d seen Mrs. Slade. Pete Hastings knew many people in town, and Jesse felt that the middle-aged man would also know Hope.
Finally, the door to the back room in the shop opened, and out walked Pete Hastings. In the barber’s hands was a brown, dingy man’s scarf that he used to wipe his hands on. For a moment, the scarf appeared to have a spot of blood on it, but then Pete tossed the scarf on the counter, and the red spot was hidden from Jesse’s wondering stare.
The man gave Jesse a friendly smile and motioned to the chair near a large mirror. “Would you like a haircut?”
“Actually, not today.” Jesse stepped closer. “I’m here to ask a question.”
“About barbering?” Pete’s dark eyebrows lifted.
“No.” Jesse paused, trying to form a question in his mind. “I think we’ve only met once, and it was a few years ago, but my name is Jesse Slade. I’m in hopes that you are acquainted with my wife, Hope Slade.”
Pete’s eyes widened and his jaw tightened, which was an odd reaction to Jesse’s question. Because of the different reaction, something inside him clicked, and he was more alert to the barber’s facial expressions and what he said.
“Yes, I’ve met Mrs. Slade. She’s such a sweet woman – always giving and caring for others.”
Jesse held his tongue. Apparently, Pete didn’t know Hope at all. Giving? Caring? Jesse hadn’t yet seen that trait in her since they were married. She had always been more self-centered. On a few rare occasions, she sympathized with others, but he never witnessed firsthand her going out of her way to care for them.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. Something wasn’t right. Why would the barber lie?
“Um, yes.” Jesse tried not to show the other man his distrustful gaze. “Well, by chance, have you seen her today? I can’t seem to locate my own wife, as funny as it sounds.” Jesse forced a laugh, which made the barber chuckle.
“She must be out socializing with her friends, and if I know women, they are making pies and taking it to the sick.”
Jesse held back a laugh. His Hope would never make a pie. And he wondered if she had many friends at all. “Indeed, that must be where she’s at. Well, if you happen to see her, please let her know I’m looking for her. I have a surprise for her back at our hotel.”
Pete nodded. “I will if I see her.”
“Thank you. I’d greatly appreciate it.” He turned toward the front door.
“Before you leave,” Pete said, stopping Jesse, “where will you be if I hear of your wife’s location and I need to tell you?”
“If I’m not still wandering the town looking for her, I’ll be at The Cliff House.” Jesse turned back toward the door and walked out.
The minute he stepped on the boardwalk, his chest felt empty – as if something inside the barbershop was purposely keeping him there. He stopped and glanced back at the closed door. His gut told him something wasn’t right, and why was he now thinking about the man’s scarf with the spot of blood that Pete had been wiping his hands on?
Suddenly, a flash of memory passed through his mind. He’d been married to Hope only three months when she had found a different disguise to wear. That woman was always trying to come up with disguises to help them find their criminals. But the disguise she found made her appear like a boy who hadn’t yet met his maturity. Jesse could picture her perfectly, from the messy, dirty blonde wig, down to the large boots on her feet. And around her neck...
Sucking in a quick breath, he recognized the brown scarf. That was Hope’s scarf for her disguise. So, why did the barber have it? And whose blood was on the garment?
The panic filling him let him know he’d stumbled onto something that might lead him toward his missing wife. Pete had come from the back room, which meant that was the first place Jesse would look.
He walked away from the shop until he reached the alleyway. Leaning against the side of the building, he slowly scanned the people moving from shop to shop or riding their horses and driving their wagons on the road. As long as he didn’t appear suspicious, he’d be able to slide behind the barbershop and sneak in the backdoor.
If he listened to the promptings of his heart, he might just be led in Hope’s direction. Jesse prayed that she wasn’t hurt, and if she’d been injured, he hoped that he would have the strength to rescue her again.
He had to do it no matter what the conseque
nces.
NINE
Hope wasn’t dead yet, thankfully. But what surprised her was that her captors were nursing her back to health. Maybe it was her head injury that made her think this way, but she felt as though they wanted her to escape. Although she was tied to a chair, they fed her and wrapped bandages around her head. She didn’t trust them, but they seemed to eat what they fed her, so she hoped it wouldn’t kill her.
Although Pete didn’t say anything, she knew he’d talked to Jesse earlier. When she’d heard Jesse’s laugh from the front of the building after Pete had gone to help his customer, Hope’s heart had jumped with excitement. She’d prayed that he could feel her presence in some way and come rescue her. So far, that hadn’t happened yet.
When night came, Kate untied her and let Hope lie on a blanket on the floor to sleep. Of course, Kate had tied Hope’s wrists to the boiler so she couldn’t escape. Not only had the snores echoing in the room kept her awake, but her throbbing head did, as well. It was difficult to plot out her escape when all she could worry about was if Jesse was all right. If he had felt her presence in the barbershop, he’d come for her sometime tonight, and she wanted to be ready.
Sadly, the sun rose in the sky and she hadn’t been rescued. That told her that Jesse had been injured or captured. Why else wouldn’t he have tried to find her? Doubts clouded her mind, but her heart told her to keep believing in him.
Weary and exhausted, she stayed on the floor pretending to be asleep while Robert, Pete, and Kate collected their supplies to rob the train. From their conversation, it sounded as if they’d ride out this morning first thing and hop on the train when it reached the halfway point between Denver and Colorado Springs. Hope wished they’d do it soon so that she could work on escaping this place.
She wasn’t a coffee drinker, but she’d drink a whole pot if it gave her the energy she needed to find her husband.
An Agent for Hope Page 6