by Megan Besing
“As I said, you’re the only ones I’ve seen today.” He shrugged. “Perhaps if someone comes in, I could alert you? For whom are you looking?”
Her gaze swept the small space and then returned to the watchmaker. “No need,” she told him. “I must have been mistaken.”
Pressing past Jeremiah, she walked back out into the morning sunshine. Jeremiah caught up to her and matched his pace with hers.
He stepped in front of her, halting her progress. “We’re a team, remember.”
“Yes, I remember,” she said, “but this was personal, not anything that has to do with our case.”
He nodded. “All right. Since we’re just around the corner from the wholesale grocery, why don’t we leave the buggy where it is and walk?”
“Yes, that’s a good idea.” Walking would help her to return her focus to the case. Still, she wondered, did she see the man she thought she saw?
Impossible. And yet…
So intent on puzzling out the mystery was she that May kept walking as Jeremiah turned. She only realized this when his hand jerked her back a moment before a wagon team of mules nearly ran her down.
“You’re distracted, Deputy,” he told her. “Either focus or tell me why.”
“I choose to focus,” she said. “Maybe later I will tell you why.”
“Fair enough, but remember we’re partners.” At her nod, Jeremiah gestured toward a cluster of buildings straight ahead. “We’re here. Now before we go in, I suggest we devise a plan.”
He led her around to the side of the building into an alley. May forced her attention away from her runaway thoughts as they stopped in the cool shade.
“I’ve been thinking about this, and you’re the only one who can identify our suspect, May.” Jeremiah looked away. “I’m just trying to figure out how to keep you safe if the suspect sees you first. I know time is of the essence, but I’m reluctant to proceed right now.”
“Nonsense.” May walked over to stand in front of him. “My guess is anyone I might know is someone who probably would not know me.”
He reached up to tuck an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “And if you’re wrong?”
“I am not wrong.” She smiled. “Face it, Detective. You’re not in charge right now. I am.”
Jeremiah laughed. “The deputy detective is never in charge.”
“We can debate that,” she said lightly, “or we can go in and get our man.”
“After you, boss,” Jeremiah said.
“All right. I will go in first with you following a few steps behind. If our man is in there, I think there’s power in him believing I am alone, don’t you think?”
“Not happening,” he said. “I won’t give our suspect any opportunity to harm you. Besides, we are a team.”
“All right, then,” she said, stifling a smile. “When I have identified our man, how do you want me to let you know that?”
“If you can tell me without drawing his attention, then that’s plan A. If you can’t, then walk out and I will follow.” He paused. “Either way, once the suspect has been identified, you will proceed back to this alley until I tell you the situation is under control. Understand?”
She quirked a brow and looked up at him. “What happened to us being partners, Jeremiah?”
“Partners work together using their expertise to get the job done,” he said. “Unless you have training I do not know about, then we’ll rely on mine to get us out of any potentially dangerous situations.”
“I will concede your point this time,” she told him. “But we do not move from this spot until you promise me that once this case is over, I will get the same training as you.” Jeremiah hesitated. “I promise,” he finally said.
Chapter 8
Jeremiah’s promise stung. He’d have to figure out some way to make that training happen. In the meantime, he had work to do, although watching the determined deputy march across the sidewalk and into the entrance of the grocer’s felt like anything but work.
As soon as she disappeared inside, however, his instincts kicked in, and he hurried to catch up to her. The building’s interior was vast and decently lit, owing to the windows that marched along the tops of the brick walls on two sides.
Long expanses of glass counters filled with items for sale ran along either side of the space, and low shelves filled the center of the room. Along the backs of the walls behind the counters were more shelves. Several dozen employees stood behind the counters, and another half dozen milled around interacting with customers.
Thus, their man could be one of more than twenty people, possibly more if those who worked behind the scenes were taken into account. By habit, Jeremiah touched the stock of the pistol he kept hidden beneath his coat and then followed May as she blended in with the other customers.
When she froze, he immediately looked around to determine the cause. Three men, two that were no more than Jeremiah’s age and another much older, stood together in the back corner. The two younger men appeared to be arguing while the older fellow merely watched.
Though May had gone back to an appearance of browsing, she continued to sneak covert glances at the men. One of the younger men broke away from the other two and walked toward May, causing Jeremiah to move in closer.
“May I help you?” he asked her.
He took note of the younger man’s well-cut suit and expensive gold watch chain. If he had to guess, Jeremiah would take him for a partner in this enterprise.
“Thank you, no,” May said, turning her back on the stranger.
Jeremiah tipped his hat and hurried to follow May. “Was that our suspect?” he whispered against her ear when he was certain the man was out of earshot.
“Him?” She shook her head. “I have never seen that man or any of the others at Mrs. Baronne’s home. That was her accusation, right?”
“Yes, I think it was.” He shrugged. “I believe we’ve seen everyone here. If you don’t believe there is someone who could be the missing suspect, then we’re left with staking out the docks tomorrow and hoping you see him before he gets on the ship.”
“Yes, all right,” she said, though her words didn’t quite match her expression.
He linked arms with May and led her away from the grocer’s. “Since we have the rest of the day free, how about a few Pinkerton training lessons?”
She looked up at him with those jade eyes and almost smiled. “Yes,” she said with a little more enthusiasm. “What is my first lesson?”
Jeremiah thought a moment. “A Pinkerton detective must practice situational awareness and learn how to take evasive action should the situation call for it.” He paused to give his lofty statement the proper effect. “For example,” he said as he gathered May close and then gestured to the busy street in front of them. “What do you see when you look that direction?”
May seemed to consider the question a moment. “People, carts, buildings.” She looked up at him as if asking for his response. “A Pinkerton agent who should be more specific?”
“All right. What specifically do you see when you look with a detective’s eye? Look at the details, for example, that wagon. What could be under the tarp? Supplies, maybe? Or something else? And what about that building over there? See the second-floor window where two people are having a conversation? A detective would wonder why they chose to stand by the window. He might wonder what they were up to.”
“Or she might read the sign hanging above that window that indicated the owner of that office was a dentist.” May grinned. “Which might also account for the fact that one of them appears to be looking into the mouth of the other.”
“Good job, Deputy,” he said. “What else do you see?”
She grinned. “Your sister.”
“Where?”
Stella tapped him on the shoulder. “What did I miss?”
“The question is, what did your brother miss?” May said. “And that would be your approach.”
Stella shook her head. “I do
n’t understand.”
“How did you do that?” Jeremiah asked her.
“I looked at the details,” she said with a grin. “Namely, our reflection in the window below the dentist’s office. The window acted like a mirror, making it easy for me to see your sister approach even though she was behind us.”
“Oh, you’re very good at this Pinkerton detective thing,” Stella said. “Isn’t she brilliant, Jeremiah?”
He had to admit she was. She was also distracted by something.
“What is it, May?” he asked as he searched the perimeter in the direction where she appeared to be staring.
“Nothing. Or maybe something.” She looked up at him. “Are we done here for now?”
“Yes, I suppose,” he said. “Why?”
“I need to do something.” May paused. “Alone.”
“No,” he said, still looking around to see what she might be considering. To his trained eye, nothing looked amiss. And yet something had caught her interest.
“Yes.” He looked down at May, her expression defiant. “You need me to identify our suspect tomorrow. If you want me to do that, then you have to let me do this.”
“Do whatever you need to do, May, but I will not let you go anywhere alone. It isn’t safe.” He reached over to capture her hands. “Let’s not forget you were meant to go up in flames along with the Baronnes’ home. If they’ve gotten word to their operative here, then you’re still in danger.”
Everything Jeremiah said was true, and yet May wasn’t worried. Not this time. “I appreciate your concern,” she said as she tried to ignore just how nice it felt to have this man appoint himself as her protector. “But this is personal. And I won’t be a minute. I promise.”
“Oh, let her go, Jeremiah,” Stella urged. “I’ve been wanting to speak to you in private anyway, but you always seem to be with Miss Conrad.” She grinned at May. “Not that I am not extremely happy that the two of you have developed such a close relationship.”
“We are partners,” May said.
“Indeed,” Jeremiah responded. “And as your partner, May, I cannot allow this.”
“Jeremiah,” she said gently, “as your partner, you have my word I will not jeopardize our case and I will not do anything dangerous.”
He looked over at Stella and said, “Go back to the carriage and wait for us, please.”
Stella looked as if she might argue and then smiled. “Of course. Take your time.”
When they were relatively alone, given the crowd milling around them, Jeremiah took May into his arms. “If something were to happen…”
She smiled. “It won’t. Trust me, please.”
Jeremiah seemed to consider this. “All right. I trust you.”
He took a step backward as if to watch her go, but she shook her head. “Back to the carriage with you.”
“May,” he told her. “Be careful.”
She forced a laugh. “You’re worried for nothing, Jeremiah.”
But even as she watched him reluctantly walk away, May wasn’t so sure. Once Jeremiah disappeared around the corner, she turned and walked the opposite direction until she came to an alley that ran behind the buildings.
Ducking into the alley, she counted the storefronts until she reached the one she sought and stepped inside. There she found a gray-haired gentleman hunched over his work at a table strewn with watch parts. His hands moved deliberately, his head bent to his work beneath the glow of a brass lamp.
May stilled her racing heart. “Mr. Sheridan?”
He paused in his motions and then turned around slowly until he faced May. “I wondered how long it would take for you to find me.”
Streams of sunlight slanted across a face that was timeworn but still so very familiar. “Where did you go before here?” was all she could think to say.
His laughter held no humor. “Anyone else would ask why I left.”
She stilled her shaking hands by lacing her fingers together as she walked toward him. “That is not how you and Mama raised me, Papa.”
“Your mother completed what I abandoned.” Her father’s gaze swept the length of her then returned to her eyes. “And a fine job it appears she’s done.”
Ignoring the mention of her mother, May pressed her point. “You haven’t answered my question.”
“To answer would mean putting you and your mother in grave danger,” he said. “Keeping you and your mother safe was my reason for staying away.” His eyes narrowed. “You must believe there was nothing more than that.”
May searched his face. “I do believe that,” she finally said. “But there is no reason to fear for Mama’s safety. She is with Jesus now almost half a year.”
“Oh,” escaped softly as he looked away.
“And I cannot be in any more danger from something you tell me than I already am,” she added.
“What is this danger that has come to you, Mary Margaret?”
The sound of her full name in his voice sent her spiraling back to a time when her father was more than just the man who had left them. Unexpected tears threatened. She shrugged them away with a roll of her shoulders.
“I depended on the kindness of a friend who turned out not to be a friend at all,” she told him. “I’ll tell you nothing more until I hear your story.”
“Fair enough,” he said, “but will you come closer so I may better see you?”
May moved toward her father but stopped just outside his reach. Her fingers itched to touch him, to wrap her arms around the man whom she thought she would never see again.
“I, too, depended on the kindness of a friend,” he began, his voice soft but firm. “Your mother was ill and there was no extra money for medicine. Then just like that, my friend offered a solution. All the money I needed plus much more in exchange for one condition.”
“That you leave Mama and me?”
His eyes, so like her own, showed only sadness. “No, nothing like that. I sailed on ships that carried cargo. I only had to add their cargo to the ship’s hold. So I did. It was so simple. Until they asked again, offering more money. Soon I was ensnared in a trap of my own making. There were threats made against your mother.” He paused. “And against you.”
“So you disappeared rather than continue to ship whatever cargo they demanded.”
“A friend in Galveston needed help in this shop. The watchmaker taught me his craft, and I took over when he passed on.” He dipped his head, shoulders sinking. “I wanted to return, but I was afraid. She would have killed you both.”
“Mrs. Baronne?”
Papa looked up sharply. “How did you know?”
May told him everything, including the allegations Mrs. Baronne made against a man to whom she claimed to answer. She added her own guess that not only had the woman set fire to her own home, but she likely had done the same to the Conrad family home.
“What I don’t understand is why you purchased a ticket to New Orleans under a false name if you were planning to stay away.”
“He didn’t.”
May turned to see Jeremiah at the door. “Papa, this is Pinkerton Detective Bingham. How long have you been standing there, Jeremiah?”
“Long enough.” He moved toward her and placed a protective hand on the small of her back. “The Baronnes paid for that ticket to make it look like your father was coming back to New Orleans. According to Mr. Baronne, who apparently is having no trouble testifying against his wife, she wanted us to believe the man who ran things was coming back to claim control.”
“So even now I’m blamed for something that woman is doing?” Papa said.
“No, sir,” Jeremiah responded. “My employer had a tip that your name was among those given by Mrs. Baronne to the men who complained when she did not provide a bride after payment.”
“Of all the nerve,” Papa said, his expression indignant.
“She and her husband are in jail. The information you’ve given May regarding shipments and coercion will be added to their list of
charges. Will you testify?”
“Of course. But I am to blame as well,” he said. “It would be their word against mine, and me a man who left his wife and daughter.”
“For a reason your daughter understands,” May said.
Papa rose and took her hands in his. “I have done nothing to deserve this of you, May,” he said. “Will you forgive the mistakes of an old man? Anything I did was done out of love.”
“I understand, Papa,” she said as she gave in to tears. “But I missed you.”
He closed the distance between them and captured May in his arms. “Oh, my Mary Margaret, I did miss you so.”
May melted into her father’s arms. She stepped back only reluctantly after she’d soaked his shoulder with her tears.
“How do we proceed, Detective?” Papa said to Jeremiah.
“With a Pinkerton detective for a daughter, you shouldn’t worry. You’ll find evidence to prove his story, won’t you, May?”
“Pinkerton detective?” She shook her head. “I thought I was just a deputy.”
“There’s a letter in my pocket from Mr. Pinkerton authorizing me to hire you on his behalf.” He shrugged. “As long as you don’t mind he’s assigned me to see to your training.”
“Stella will be thrilled,” May said to cover her excitement.
Jeremiah looked down at her, a smile on his handsome face. “I had rather hoped you would be too.”
Epilogue
Pinkerton Headquarters, Chicago
One year later
Jeremiah stepped into Mr. Pinkerton’s office and closed the door behind him. His boss looked up from his reading. “Trouble with the new recruit, Bingham?”
“Always,” he said, “although not professionally. She’s every bit as good a detective as I imagined she would be. As a future wife, I expect she will bring the best kind of trouble, however.”
Mr. Pinkerton folded his newspaper and gave Jeremiah his full attention. “So she has accepted your proposal.”
“Not yet, but I feel certain she will.” Jeremiah shrugged. “I’ve got her father’s permission and a plan. That should suffice.” He paused. “One question before I leave, though. I’ve always wondered why your telegram requested I ask May about her father.”