An Agent for Penelope Read online

It shouldn’t have surprised Penny that Alice wasn’t under the covers. Instead, she found Alice’s pillow with a note laying on top of it.

  She glanced at the words on the paper and anger tore through Penny.

  How could she? How could Alice do something so stupid?

  Penny picked up her skirt and ran back to the dining room, the note clenched tightly in her fingers.

  “She’s run off.”

  Marmee turned and looked at her. “Who’s run off? Alice?”

  Penny nodded her head. “She left a note.”

  “Well what does it say?”

  “She ran off to get married to that boorish Mr. Benson.”

  Marmee jumped from her chair and shrieked at Penny. “Married?” Marmee fretted her hands. “I didn’t think it would come to this.”

  “You knew?” Penny asked.

  Marmee stopped and glared at Penny. “Absolutely not. I knew she was fascinated by Mr. Benson. I just didn’t realize to what level.”

  “So, if he was going to run away with Alice, why did he propose to me?”

  Marmee looked sheepish. “I knew you would say no. I was hoping he’d just leave after that.”

  Penny thought for a moment. “You were hoping to dissuade her by turning his affections elsewhere?”

  Marmee nodded. “Did the note say where they had gone?” Penny shook her head. “Read it to me.” Marmee pointed at the note.

  “Dear Marmee and Paw,” Penny began. “I know you are going to be surprised when you come into my room and I am not here. I don’t want you to worry, however, I’ve found my calling and I’m leaving to marry Silas Benson and support him in his ministry.”

  Marmee blinked for a moment, then she started to wail. “My baby is gone!”

  Penny patted her mother’s shoulder. “Shush now, Marmee. We don’t know exactly what happened.”

  Marmee looked at Penny with shock on her face. “Yes, we do. They ran off. She will be ruined. All that talk of marriage and I thought it was just a silly phase.” Marmee paused for a moment, wiping her nose on a handkerchief before shoving it back up her sleeve. “Did they actually get married yet?”

  Penny scanned the letter. “It doesn’t say.” Penny slid in the seat next to her mother and put the papers down on the table. “If she went to see Reverend O’Brien then I would think he’d be sending her right back here, or at least sending someone to get ahold of us.”

  Marmee nodded and picked up the papers, scanning them before wiping her eyes with her handkerchief. “You’ll need to go get your father.”

  Penny nodded. “You know the boys will go after him.” She was referring to Silas Benson.

  Marmee nodded. “I know. I can’t believe she did this, just as the cattle sales are happening.”

  “I’ll get them to come to the house and we can figure out what to do.”

  Penny grabbed her shawl and headed out to the barn to saddle a horse and ride to the far pasture where her brothers and father were rounding up cattle for auction.

  She thought about what needed to be done as she rode towards the pasture. There was no way they could find Alice before something terrible happened. She shuddered to think if Alice wasn’t already married. Her reputation would be in tatters.

  Penny shuddered more thinking if Alice was married. There was no way she could think of Silas Benson as part of her family. She knew that her family didn’t have the time or resources to send the boys out to find their sister, so she came up with the only solution she had. She needed to find Marianne and put the Pinkertons on the case.

  Chapter 2

  South Platte River Valley, CO

  Angus Hightower could hear the shouts of the crowd surrounding the square area that had been roped off. Most were miners from the gold mine that lay in the north corner of the area. They had money to burn and wanted to get in on the action of an illegal bare-knuckled fight.

  As the crowd pressed closer to the ring, some of them even reached over the ropes and tried to tear at his clothes, spilling drafts of ale over him in the process. Great. Now he smelled like beer and sweat. Angus grimaced. He was ready for this assignment to be over.

  What had he been thinking when Archie Gordon talked him into this assignment? Angus knew exactly what he had been thinking. He was thinking of how quickly he could get away from the Denver office before the next round of women that were husband-hunting came through.

  Not that the South Platte River Valley was far away from Denver, but it allowed him to be away from the vicinity of the main office. In addition, he had never been north of Denver, nor had he been written up in the paper, so it was a perfect assignment.

  He couldn’t believe the agents that had been cajoled into marrying their partners just so they could train them. He understood it though – a young lady traveling unaccompanied with one of the Pinkertons. It wouldn’t look good for the young woman’s reputation.

  Just because he understood it, did not mean that he agreed with it. He had known Archie for over thirty years; since they were young lads in Scotland. He had never known Archie to come up with such a crazy scheme before.

  It didn’t matter anyhow. Angus would just bide his time and make sure that there weren’t any women waiting for an available partner before he headed back to Denver. But right now, he had to focus on the man before him.

  Angus was a big man – both in height and breadth. Standing well over six feet, his broad shoulders and large arms made him a natural choice for this assignment. That and the fact he used to fight for money in the bare-knuckle underground rings in New York.

  However, he still wasn’t any closer to solving this crime. The Pinkertons had been hired to find out who was behind a string of murders in the pugilist circle. It wasn’t just the boxers that had lost fights who wound up dead, there was also one of the more recognized and beloved prize fighters that was found beaten in an alley.

  There appeared to be no rhyme or reason as to why these men were chosen. So, Archie sent Angus to become part of the close-knit fighting community to see what he could find out. It helped that he already had a reputation from his fighting days in New York, and no one knew of his connection to the Pinkertons.

  Angus stood in the corner waiting for the referee to give the signal to proceed to the center of the square. He looked at the man across the way.

  John “The Mountain” Green, was someone Angus didn’t want to fight. The Mountain had a reputation for showing little mercy to the men going up against him. Tonight, it was Angus’s turn.

  The Mountain was six and a half feet, just a hair taller than Angus. He had a square face, with a dimple in his chin. His nose sat off at an odd angle, which told Angus it had probably been broken several times over. There was also scarring on his cheek close to his eye.

  His dark hair was short and plastered to his head with perspiration. His arms and chest bulged with muscles.

  Angus stifled a chuckle as The Mountain’s knees were knobby pushing through his linen breeches. His legs were so thin, they remind Angus of the storks he once saw at a lake in New York. The upper and lower halves of the man were in complete contrast.

  The referee directed both men to the center of the square and Angus moved in front of The Mountain, who was staring at him with cool steel eyes.

  Angus open and closed his hands, feeling the bandages around his hands open and constrict. Boxing gloves were fairly new and required by most professional boxing establishments. However, there was nothing professional about this establishment.

  Money was riding on who would win or lose, so the patrons gave no quarter when supporting their chosen favorites. This was all out bare fisted fighting. It didn’t end until one of the boxers was knocked out or gave up in defeat.

  Angus was surprised to see several women in the audience. This was not a sport for ladies, as most men fought without shirts and there was enough violence and blood to turn the most delicate of stomachs. Angus vowed that his woman would never be at one of these events.

&n
bsp; He gave a little sigh. Keeping that vow would be easy to do, because he didn’t have a woman, and the one woman he would even consider was unavailable. It wasn’t that she was married, engaged or even courting anyone. It was obvious that she was in love with someone who was oblivious to her feelings.

  Angus pushed those feelings aside and focused, instead on the man in front of him.

  “I’m not going to make this easy on you, Scotsman,” he told Angus with a southern accent. Georgia, maybe? Angus wasn’t sure. He lifted his hands and spread his feet slightly apart, not taking his eyes from the tall man in front of him.

  Angus didn’t see or hear the referee make the signal to begin before his head was snapping backwards and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. The man didn’t give Angus a chance to recover before hitting him again. The sound of knuckle meeting bone reverberated in Angus’s ears.

  He put his hands up to block the next shot and jabbed, hitting The Mountain in the chest, before going for his face when he lowered his arms to his chest.

  Angus hit his opponent square in the jaw, followed by a second one right next to his eye.

  Blood and spit arced through the air as The Mountain’s head snapped against Angus’s fist. The man staggered for a moment, leaning back on his heels before falling backwards onto the mat. The referee pushed Angus out of the way and began to count.

  One. The Mountain raised himself up on his elbows.

  Two. Angus saw him roll over and get up on his knees.

  Three. The Mountain shook his head and pushed up from his palms.

  Four. Five. Six. The Mountain was now back on his feet, looking at Angus with hardened eyes. He slowly opened his mouth to give Angus a blood-filled grin, before raising his fists and approaching Angus once more.

  “Ready to go again, Scotsman?” The Mountain asked. Angus didn’t even bother answering before he jabbed his fists towards the hulking man. Not even the feel of his skin breaking open stopped him from punching.

  The Mountain let out a roar and charged Angus, grabbing him around the neck and tucking Angus’s head under his bulky arm. Angus felt his airway constrict as The Mountain applied pressure, pinning Angus between his triceps and body.

  “Ready to die, Scotsman?”

  He couldn’t breathe.

  Angus felt his eyes start to roll into the back of his head. He needed to loosen the grip on his neck. He let his body go slack a bit and when The Mountain shifted positions, Angus struck.

  He pressed his fingers between The Mountain’s rib cage and pushed as hard as he could. The Mountain roared in pain and released Angus enough for him to wiggle out of the big man’s grasp. Angus danced around the ring, moving out of the way of the flying fists.

  The sound of a woman’s scream was heard through the crowd and The Mountain turned his head to see where the noise came from. That momentary break was the moment that Angus needed to pull his fist back and let it fly with a roar.

  The sound of bone breaking silenced the crowd. Angus could see the side of his opponent’s jaw protruding against the skin. The man raised his hand to his mouth to stem the flow of blood. When he spat on the ground, several of his teeth fell out of his injured face.

  Angus watched the color leave The Mountain’s face as he staggered to the side of the ring and grabbed the referee.

  “Forfeit,” he mumbled. A few more teeth fell as he tried to talk. A man pushed through the ropes and put his arm around The Mountain, guiding him out of the square.

  Angus stepped forward to assist them going back to the rest area, but the manager put his hand up, blocking Angus. Angus watched them walk away, the manager speaking to The Mountain.

  The announcer came and grabbed Angus’s arm, lurching it upwards. “Your new champion,” he cried to the crowd.

  Angus looked at the sea of faces before him. Somewhere out there was a killer and Angus prayed he hadn’t just signed The Mountain’s death warrant.

  Angus inhaled the strong scent of witch hazel as he watched Marianne turn the bottle several times to drench a piece of linen cloth.

  He thought back to the previous evening after the fight. The fight organizer asked if Angus was going to participate in the next round of fights, which were happening in San Francisco. Angus told him he’d let him know and tucked his prize purse of $200 into the lining of his vest. He did a quick cleanup of his wounds in the lavatory before hitching his horse and heading back to Denver.

  It took Angus three hours to make the ride back to the headquarters. He made sure no one saw him leave, so he wouldn’t be followed. By the time he arrived, it was too late to wake up anyone in the main house, so Angus headed straight to the dormitory.

  Marianne scolded him when he knocked on the back door the following morning. The cuts and scrapes were already starting to dry out, but Marianne insisted that they should be cleaned thoroughly, and at least every few hours.

  There was a newspaper on the porch and Angus glanced at it. He half-expected for The Mountain to show up dead as the others had done before him, but there was nothing in the paper.

  Angus hissed as the cold antiseptic touched his skin.

  “Hold still, Angus,” Marianne said as she dabbed the cloth against his split lip. She had already doused his knuckles with the wretched stuff.

  They were in the sitting area of the dormitory behind the main house. Angus didn’t want to go into the main house lest he run into any of the women that popped in and out of the office, so he insisted Marianne come to the dormitory.

  “Beat it all, Marianne, that hurts!” Angus said, pushing her hand away. He took the rag soaked in witch hazel from her and gently placed it against his lip before moving to the grazes on his cheek. After a few seconds the sting wasn’t so bad.

  Marianne began to put her supplies away. Angus studied her for a moment. She really was the most beautiful woman Angus had ever seen. Her curly red hair clashed against the bright green dress she wore. She had pale alabaster skin with a pattern of freckles across her nose and she was beautiful on the inside as well.

  It was no wonder most of the agents were half in love with her; or at least they were until they got married. But Marianne held a special place in all of their hearts. She looked after each of the agents and made sure they had everything they needed to complete their assignments.

  Too bad, she couldn’t help him out on this one.

  “Archie is going to want to see you before you head out on your next assignment.”

  “It is the same assignment,” he said, placing the rag down on the table.

  Marianne shrugged. “Same assignment then.”

  “Are there any women at the main house?”

  Marianne gave a little laugh. She was used to the agents avoiding the parade of women coming through the front door. Some wanted to be agents and help solve cases. Others just wanted to find a husband. “You are safe today, Angus. No one has come by.” She picked up her bag and hugged it to her belly. “Try to not get beat up this time,” she said somberly.

  It was Angus’s turn to give a laugh. “’Tis the nature of the beast, lass.”

  “I don’t know what kind of case you are on, but you return back here for a day, looking like you were dragged behind a cart and then disappear again for a week.”

  Angus nodded. Marianne didn’t have a clue what type of case he was working on. It was unusual as she normally had her finger on everything that was occurring in the agency. It was just when the club organizer contacted Archie, he asked for everything to be kept in strictest confidence, which meant no one knew. Not even Marianne.

  “I’m headed back out in a week, so you have a bit of reprieve before you have to bandage me up again.”

  Marianne sighed. “It is going to be longer than that, I’m afraid.”

  “How so,” Angus asked looking at her.

  “I’m leaving Wednesday morning to head to Chicago.”

  “Chicago?” Marianne never left the office. She lived and worked in the big house out
front. He didn’t even recall her leaving for social visits or to go to the shops.

  Marianne nodded. “Allan had a stroke, and I’m going to help in the main office until he recovers.”

  “What about the agents out here? What about Archie?”

  “You will be just fine without me.” She looked around the room and Angus followed with his own eyes. The walls were a mix of large prints and knife marks. Angus knew that the knife marks were courtesy of one of the agents who stayed in the dorm. “I seriously doubt I’ll even be missed.” Sadness laced her voice.

  Angus coughed. “How long will you be gone?”

  Marianne’s green eyes moved back to him. “I don’t know. I’m thinking about three months. I should be back before the holiday, unless I decide to take some time and go back to visit my family.” Angus didn’t know Marianne had a family. She never talked about them.

  “Where’s that?” he asked.

  “Nebraska. I’ve not been home in seven years. I would like to see everyone again.” Angus didn’t know what to say. Marianne picked up the discarded rag with two fingers and headed towards the door. “Archie doesn’t have anything on his schedule this morning, so when you are ready, just be sure to stop in and see him,” she called over her shoulder.

  Angus nodded as Marianne headed out of the dormitory back towards the main house. He heard her call to Pearl in greeting and then their voices were muffled as the door closed behind her. Pearl was the cook who made sure all the agents were fed.

  Each agent was given the option of staying in the dormitory behind the office or renting a living space on their own. The benefits of staying in the dorm was that something was always happening in the sitting room, and Pearl was always cooking up some new and delicious dish for the agents to try.

  Angus rubbed his belly; he had gained fifteen pounds from Pearl’s cooking over the past year. Fortunately, he burned it off just as quickly when he was in the boxing square.

  So, Marianne was leaving. Angus wondered if it was truly about wanting to help with the Female Detective Division, or if there was something else causing her to leave. He thought it might be the latter.