What a fool he had been. All Pearl’s talk of dreaming about buying a house and settling down had made him give thought to staying in Denver and not returning to Texas. He even thought about courting Pearl properly. Granted it would have been a bit awkward given they both worked for the same agency, but he had a plan for that as well.
Bronco Wauneka had mentioned about a new law enforcement organization coming to Denver to replace the Vigilance Committee. It seemed that Denver was going to get its first police department and Bronco was considering taking on the assignment. He invited Zeke to come with him. Granted nothing was confirmed, but if Zeke wanted to stay in Denver, there was an option for him.
However, all thoughts of courting Pearl were erased the moment she lied to him about Thomas and when he saw that small tin of poison in her recipe box. If Thomas was there, why hadn’t he seen him?
The carriage pulled up in front of the Victorian mansion that served as the Pinkerton Office. Zeke paid the driver and climbed out, slowly walking up the path to the house.
“What are you doing here?” Marianne asked, opening the door.
“How did you know I was here?”
“I saw the carriage from Archie’s window.”
“Has Pearl returned?”
“Pearl? Why would Pearl be here? Isn’t she cooking today?”
“No. She dropped out of the competition.”
“Whatever for? Did something happen?”
Zeke ran his hand down his face in frustration. “Is Archie here? I need to see him.”
“No. He left yesterday to go see Judge Hotchkiss. I think he is trying to talk some sense into him.” The Judge was smitten with the woman that had held him hostage. When she was arrested for her part in the kidnapping of the judge and keeping the Bolton family hostage, he insisted on following her from Denver. It was strictly professional, he insisted, but the agents that worked the case realized there was more to that story than he let on.
“Who is the agent in charge?”
“Everyone is out on assignment.”
“Everyone?” Marianne nodded.
“Conner is here, but he is on leave from the Denver office.”
“It’s alright. I would rather speak to Archie about it.”
“Jacqueline just made breakfast. We will be eating in a few minutes.”
“I need to go to Pearl’s house and see if she is alright.”
“Is everything alright? Is Pearl in some kind of trouble?”
“I don’t know, Marianne.”
“What happened yesterday? I heard a woman burned her hand.”
“Some of the food was poisoned.”
“Poisoned?”
Zeke nodded. “I can’t say anything more than that right now. Pearl is missing.”
“You think she poisoned the food?”
“I don’t know. That is what I want to find out.”
Marianne nodded. “Let me know if you find Pearl.”
Zeke walked the distance to Pearl’s house. Her mother answered the door, but Pearl hadn’t been home since she left with Zeke a few days prior. Zeke thanked her for her time and walked back to the office.
Jacqueline was doing the breakfast dishes. She spied Zeke. “I saved you some breakfast.”
“Thanks, darlin’,” he said, grabbing a piece of crisp bacon from the plate. “I’ll eat later, but thanks for this bacon.”
Zeke walked through the garden into the dormitory. He quickly changed into some clean pants and a shirt that didn’t require a tie before grabbing his papers and walking to the common area. He poured himself a cup of coffee from the small kitchen and sat down on the settee looking at the initial case file that had been sent to the office.
He had been reading for about five minutes when Thomas came in the room. Thomas took a seat on the settee closest to the door. “Everything calm at the cooking competition?”
Zeke shrugged. “I guess you could say so.”
“Did they name a winner?”
“No. They cancelled the competition.”
“Why did they do that?”
“There were some concerns regarding the safety of the contestants.”
“Is Pearl alright?”
“I don’t know where she is.”
“What do you mean?”
“She disappeared last night.”
“Maybe she had something to do with it?”
“Pearl? I don’t think so. It doesn’t seem like something she would do.”
“But she was determined to win. Maybe she thought that it would be easier if there was less competition.”
“I don’t think so. You know, Pearl mentioned she saw you at the hotel. Said that Archie sent you over to have a look around.”
“Me? I was never there.”
“Hmmm. I didn’t think so, but I had to ask.”
“She wasn’t that great of a cook.”
“Who?”
“Pearl. Makes sense though. She probably thought that no one would suspect cyanide poisoning. Looks just like sugar.”
Zeke stopped. He lowered his cup and looked at Thomas. “What did you say?”
Thomas rubbed the carpet with his boot. “I said Pearl thought no one would suspect cyanide...”
Zeke clenched his fists. “How did you know that?”
Thomas looked startled. “I-I guess Marianne must have mentioned it.”
“That’s impossible.” Zeke leaned forward as if to pound on Thomas. “I never mentioned what substance was used.”
Thomas turned and quickly jumped over the back of the settee towards the door leading to the garden. Zeke was right after him.
Thomas ran out the door and across the lawn. Zeke could see him rummaging in his pocket as he ran. Zeke caught up with Thomas as he passed the front porch of the Victorian mansion. Tackling him to the ground, Zeke flipped the man on his back and raised his fist.
“What do you know?” Zeke said. “Where is Pearl?”
Thomas opened his lips to show Zeke the small pill between his teeth. “You’ll never find her,” he said swallowing the pill. Zeke jumped back as foam started flowing from the agent’s mouth. With a sputter, Thomas was dead.
Zeke looked around at the folks starting to gather on the sidewalk. “Everyone get out of here,” he yelled.
Marianne came running to the porch. “What’s going on here?” She saw Thomas lying in the grass. “What happened?”
“I think he may have killed Pearl.”
Chapter 9
She was so cold. He left her outdoors without a coat or any protection. Pearl felt the pebbles digging into her cheek. She couldn’t see anything as her eyes were covered.
She tried whimpering but he had tied her scarf around her mouth, preventing her from making a noise. Her hands and feet were bound as well. How had she gotten into this predicament? She knew exactly how.
She remembered Zeke leaving her room the night before. He accused her of poisoning the food at the competition. But it wasn’t her! Zeke insisted that she stay in the room until he returned. She tried, honestly, she did.
She paced back and forth until she remembered where she had seen the tin Zeke pulled from her box. She had seen Thomas with a tin just like that when he was buffing his pocket watch. She never questioned the powder he spilled on the table, she simply wiped it up when he was done.
She needed to find Zeke. She ran and opened the door, and instead of finding an empty hallway, Thomas was standing at the door with a wicked grin on his face.
“Going somewhere, Pearl?” he asked.
“You!” She tried to close the door, but he was too quick. He shoved his boot in the door and gave it a shove, pushing Pearl back in the room. “What are you doing here? Zeke will return any minute now.”
Thomas approached Pearl and raised his hand, bringing it down on her cheek. Pearl cried and fell to the bed. “You stupid woman. You couldn’t just become an agent and marry me. Instead you had to humiliate me in front of that stupid Pinkerton agent. Prest
on thought he was so smart. Getting Mr. Gordon to reassign the case to him, just so he could be close to you.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“You were supposed to me mine, Pearl.”
“Yours? I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“I had my sights on you, but all you could see was that stupid Preston. You pretended you didn’t like him, but I knew better. It was confirmed when you had him walk you home that night.”
“You were in a meeting. I needed to get home.” Thomas raised his hand again. Pearl covered her face with her hands. “Stop it! Please!”
“I don’t know why you are resisting my advances, Pearl.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” She peered over her finger. Thomas looked at her with a wild gaze in his eyes.
“All those times I sat in the kitchen with you. I watched you work in the garden. Couldn’t you see that I wanted you?”
“You never mentioned anything.”
“You could tell, Pearl. I know you took this assignment with Zeke to make me jealous. And look at you now. Dressing like a tart. I knew that you weren’t as prim and proper as you seemed. You’ve had your fun. But now it is time for us to go.”
“Go? Go where?”
“When the judges start dying after tasting the food, they will think you poisoned it. After all, you had plenty of chances to tamper with it.”
“I did no such thing.”
“I know you were left alone in the kitchen. And you poured the milk in the containers.”
“That milk was fresh when I put it in the pitchers.”
“I know. You never thought to look inside though. I had put a bit of powder in each one. I even mixed it into the sugar and salt. You can thank Preston for that one. He gave me the idea.”
“You are insane.” Pearl felt her head snap back as Thomas struck her again.
“If I can’t have you, no one can have you, Pearl. But I’m going to make that Preston agent suffer. I see how he looks at you. You’ve been leading him on. Teasing him with those little looks.”
“I’ve not been looking at anyone.”
“Don’t lie to me!”
A knock sounded on the door. “Everything alright in there?” a voice called. “It is late, and you are keeping everyone awake.”
Thomas glared at Pearl. His eyes deep bottomless orbs. He looked truly demonic as he stood over Pearl. “It’s alright,” he called. “Just a fight between me and the missus. Sorry we disturbed you.”
Pearl tried to jump from the bed and run to the door, but Thomas grabbed her by the arm and threw her back on the bed. She flipped on her belly and scrambled towards the top of the bed. Thomas grabbed her foot and pulled her back. Pearl kicked as hard as she could. When he released her, she crawled to the far corner of the large mattress.
Thomas clawed at her skirt. She heard the fabric rip as the skirt tore away from the blouse. Thomas crawled on the bed and grabbed Pearl pulling her closer to him.
He crawled on top of her and attempted to place a cloth over her face. Pearl reached out blindly and dragged her fingernails over his skin.
“You stupid woman,” he said, pressing her deeper into the bed. He held Pearl’s head still as he covered her mouth and nose with a cloth. A sickly-sweet smell invaded her nostrils and she didn’t remember anything after that.
Where was she?
Pearl listened. She could hear the fountain. She must be near the courtyard. Everything was pitch black so it must still be night. She thought she heard someone calling her name, but her head hurt so much she thought she must have imagined it.
A tear leaked out from her eye. This is not how she expected things to end. She still had her own life to live. She wanted to have her own home. A husband. Children.
Oh, what a fool she had been. She knew Zeke married her just for this case, but why couldn’t it have been real? Why couldn’t he love her?
Pearl shifted her position. She couldn’t move much because of her bindings. She closed her eyes and waited for the end to come.
Her skin was burning and her mouth was so dry.
Had she died?
Momma always said she was going to hell; is this where she was?
Pearl listened. It didn’t sound like the version of hell that her momma read from the bible. She could hear people talking, the sound of silverware clinking against dishes. Her skin felt so warm.
She couldn’t open her eyes. She tried to move her arms and realized they were bound. The memories flooded back, and she sobbed. Not a sound could be heard from the fabric stuffed in her mouth.
The ground underneath her was now warm. She tried to move, and the stones scraped her skin. Think, Pearl! Think! She admonished herself.
Feeling the drool that had dried on her chin, she rubbed her skin against the stones beneath her face. She felt the blindfold move!
She moved her head harder, ignoring the pain from the rocks cutting her skin. The blindfold loosened a bit more. Finally, she was able to move it down enough so she could open one eye.
She cracked it open and a blinding light pierced her vision. She quickly closed it, squinting to block the stabbing light. When she was accustomed to the light, she hesitantly opened her eye again, allowing everything to come into focus.
Her sight was still partially blocked due to the fabric, but she could make out some of the shapes around her. She was in the courtyard. She could see that there were large bushes in front of her. That is probably why Zeke didn’t see her last night. She was hidden in one of those small spaces, blocked by foliage.
The greenery did nothing to protect her from the sun, however. She could feel the sun beating down on her skin. That was the burning she was feeling. She only ever had a sunburn once before and it took her weeks to recover. Since then she limited her time in the sun or made sure she was clothed with no skin showing.
She felt panic rise in her. Breathe, Pearl, she said to herself. She closed her eyes again until her breathing returned to normal. Before she knew it, she fell asleep.
She didn’t know how long she had been asleep. She opened her eyes and she could see the sun was starting to lower in the sky. She had been outside baking in the sun most of the day.
Suddenly she heard a giggle. “We really shouldn’t be doing this,” the voice said. Pearl moved her head to see a pair of black shoes moving backwards into the brush followed by a pair of small heels and a wisp of lace at the bottom of a dress. The woman giggled again. Pearl would know that giggle anywhere. Sissy! Who was the man with her? Pearl’s thoughts didn’t want to go there.
As the man walked backwards, pulling Sissy with him, he bumped into Pearl’s legs. Pearl wanted to cry with pain.
“What the --,” the man said. “There’s a woman back here!”
The face of Sissy Williams came into view. “Oh, my goodness!” Sissy exclaimed. “It’s Miss Bolton! Someone! Please someone, fetch help!” Pearl felt a shawl being placed over her. “Where is her dress?”
“It appears it was used to bind her hands and legs. Are you alright, Miss?” the male voice asked. Pearl breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn’t Zeke’s voice. Whomever Sissy had snuck away with; it wasn’t Zeke.
Pearl tried to shake her head, but the man was busy untying the bindings around her eyes and mouth. When the binding around her mouth was free, Pearl tried to swallow, but her mouth was so dry.
The doctor pulled her to a sitting position as Pearl tried not to hiss against the feel of her skin being abused. Sissy reappeared in front of her with a glass of water.
“Let me give her a few sips, John,” Sissy said. She held the cup to Pearl’s mouth and Pearl let the cool liquid run down her throat.
“Th-thank you,” Pearl said softly. Her voice sounded hoarse. “Find Zeke Preston.”
Sissy pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and wet it with the water remaining in the glass. “We’ve already sent for him.” Sissy pressed the cool rag against Pearl’s face.
&nbs
p; “Sissy, pass me the scalpel from my bag, these knots are too tight,” the doctor ordered.
“I brought his doctor bag over.”
Pearl could see Mrs. Williams standing over her daughter. Could her humiliation be any more complete?
Pearl closed her eyes as Sissy applied the cool compress once more to her face and neck. “Her skin is bright red, and bruised,” she said out loud.
“That is sunburn,” the doctor explained. Pearl could feel him cutting through the ropes that bound her. The rough fibers cutting her skin with every movement of the knife. She gave a little cry. “She has no pigment, so there is no protection from the elements. I’m surprised she is still alive. Whoever did this wanted to make sure she suffered and died.”
“The poor dear,” Mrs. Williams said. “We should get her out of here and into somewhere more private. A crowd is starting to gather.”
“Move!” a voice commanded.
Pearl heard footsteps running towards where she was sitting. Finally, the rope snapped, and Pearl reached up to lower Sissy’s hand that was holding the cloth. A large shadow loomed over her. Pearl released a sob as Zeke kneeled next to her.
“I am so glad you are alive, darlin’,” he said, pulling her close to him. Pearl hissed as his hands touched her skin. “You don’t know how out of my mind I was with worry.” He gently kissed her hair. He placed his arm around her back and the other underneath her legs, gently lifting her into his arms. “Let’s get her out of here,” he commanded to the doctor.
Pearl leaned her head against Zeke’s chest. She could hear his strong heartbeat beneath his shirt. She lifted her eyes to look at him. “It was Thomas,” she croaked.
“I know, darlin’,” he whispered as he carried her through the hallway and between the onlookers. “He’s dead.”
The words took a moment to register in her brain. “He’s dead?” she repeated.
“Yes. He took his own life. He was never Pinkerton material.”
“I saw him with the tin,” Pearl whispered.
“I know. I am sorry I doubted you. Please forgive me. I would never intentionally hurt you.”
An Agent for Pearl Page 7
