by Aileen Fish
She called for the butler to have her trunk loaded on Ashton’s carriage, posthaste. A maid had brought her up some scones and tea, but Nicole could only eat a couple of bites due to her churning stomach.
This feeling inside her was not enjoyable, and if falling in love was what brought it on, she feared she’d never fall in love again. The pain was too real, and the sadness made her want to curl up in a ball and wither away—like a flower without sunlight. To her, Ashton was the light that had brightened her life. Without him, her world would be dreary and gray.
Finally, she left her room. There was no use staying and trying to convince Ashton that he could trust her. His mind was made up, and it appeared he wouldn’t budge.
As she neared the bottom of the stairs, voices rang through the hallway. Slowing her steps, she listened closer. Two men were talking with Ashton, but she didn’t recognize the others voices. After leaving the grand stairs, she stopped at the corner of the wall, pressing her back against the wood. Carefully, she peeked around the corner and then quickly pulled back.
Two policemen stood just inside the door. As she concentrated on their conversation, she realized they were discussing Mr. Nickerson.
“But Mr. Lee,” one of them said, “he has an alibi. Your partner was in Staten Island this whole time. He couldn’t possibly have taken the money yesterday.”
“But I saw him!” Ashton’s voice rose above the others. “Miss Bastian and I saw him on the train. We were running after him.”
“Sir, did you actually see his face?”
“Well…no, but—”
“Then perhaps it was a lookalike.”
Ashton grumbled. “You honestly want me to believe there’s another man out there who looks like Glynn? Forgive me, but I refuse to believe it.”
“But Mr. Lee—”
“Did you check his arm?” Ashton added in a rush. “Did you check his right arm to see if he had a bullet hole?”
“No, sir, but he didn’t appear to have a bandage around it, nor did he act as if he was injured.”
“This cannot be happening,” Ashton said. “Do I need to go with you back to Staten Island and have him checked out again? I assure you, it was Glynn on the train yesterday.”
“And I assure you,” the policemen said in a stern voice, “that there is no possible way it could have been Mr. Nickerson. He was at home the whole day entertaining a…um…a woman friend. Even his neighbors told us he’d been home all day yesterday. And Mr. Larson confirmed he’d been at the office that morning.”
“Did you even arrest him?”
“But of course, Mr. Lee. Mrs. Larson’s testimony is strong and should hold up in court.”
“He’ll lie, you know,” Ashton reasoned.
“We are aware of that, however, as long as Mrs. Larson’s friend can collaborate her story, Mr. Nickerson will remain in jail.”
“This still isn’t right,” Ashton snapped. “He did take the money from the train yesterday.”
Nicole’s head throbbed with confusion. Ashton was indeed correct. Something was definitely not right about any of this. It appears the case hasn’t totally been solved yet. Unfortunately, she couldn’t be around Ashton any longer. Her father and brother would have to assist him. Being so near to a man she would never get to love was too painful.
“Mr. Lee,” the policeman continued, “we are still investigating it. I assure you, this isn’t over.”
Ashton thanked the men and closed the door. He stormed right past her up the hallway, not stopping until he reached his study and went inside, slamming the door.
This was a most peculiar case, but she had faith in the agents that they would find out what was really happening. Without saying goodbye to Ashton, she slipped out the door, down the walkway, and to the carriage.
“Where to, miss?” the driver asked.
She sat in silence for a few moments. She didn’t want to return home. Not yet. She was too upset, and with a broken heart, that didn’t make for very good company. If only she had a friend she could confide in…someone with a listening ear that would understand her pain. But the only female friend she had was Mrs. Phelps.
Without a second thought, she gave Angela’s address to the driver, and within moments, the carriage took off. Mrs. Phelps was a wise woman—Nicole had always known that. But she didn’t think the woman had been in a relationship since her husband had died. Still, the other woman would certainly know what Nicole was going through right now, and she’d be able to give Nicole some advice.
Seeing and confiding in another woman would help Nicole right now. If she had to do this on her own, she’d surely break.
Chapter 20
“You are very level-headed, Mr. Lee. I would have never figured you for someone who was intelligent as well as being a lady’s man.”
Ashton cocked his head at Gordon Bastian, not quite understanding what the man was saying. He supposed it was a compliment of sorts. “I thank you…I think.”
Gordon chuckled and peered out the window of the coach, his body swaying back and forth in rhythm with the wheels jutting on the road. “I can see now why you captured my sister’s interest so quickly.”
Ashton bunched his hands into fists on his lap. He really didn’t want to talk about this as they were riding to the jail to confront Glynn Nickerson. In fact, Ashton didn’t want Nicole’s name to come up at all. “Why do you say that?”
The other man leaned back in his seat, folding his arms over his chest. At times Gordon resembled his sister quite a bit, Ashton surmised. Both siblings had the same color of hair, and although Ashton thought Nicole’s eyes were more stunning, Gordon also had brown eyes with flecks of gold. Even some of Gordon’s expressions reminded Ashton of her.
“There’s something I think you should know about my sister,” Gordon began. “She’s had a hard life. She’s grown up without a mother to guide her in the ways of becoming a woman. Instead, she’s had a head-strong father who enjoys his job with the Secret Service so much that he’s rarely at home. Once our mother died, our father decided he always wanted his children with him, so he taught us how to be Secret Agents.” Gordon lightly tapped his fingers on the seat. “Nicole’s only close friends have been the agents, and our aunt, uncle, and cousin who live here in Staten Island. Never has Nicole let herself get involved with a man.” He briefly hesitated and then added, “Until now.”
“How sad for her.” Ashton didn’t know what else to say. Was Gordon trying to make him feel guilty? Unfortunately, it was working. He realized that Nicole had told him this story about her life before, so perhaps she hadn’t lied to him about everything. And if she hadn’t lied to him about that, perhaps her feelings for him were real after all.
“Now that I have gotten to know you a little,” Gordon continued, “I can see why she finds you interesting. You think like she does.” He nodded slowly. “I must admit, I didn’t think to have both Mr. Larson and Mr. Nickerson in the same room after the arrest, but now that you have suggested it, I believe it’s a brilliant idea.”
Ashton sighed. “Thank you. I’m certain they will talk more to each other if they think they are alone. Steve Larson is involved somehow, I just know it. He has never been very open with me since I became their partner in the railroad.” Frowning, he scratched his chin. “Steve has always been bitter. I figured it was just his personality, but now I’m thinking there’s a reason for his attitude.”
“And that’s the way an agent thinks.” Gordon pointed his finger at Ashton as he leaned forward in his seat. “My sister would have thought of something like that, which is why I realize she’s smitten with you.” He grinned.
Inwardly, Ashton groaned. He really needed to push the topic of conversation away from the temptress. “So your father is already at the jail with Nickerson?”
“Yes.” Gordon linked his fingers, resting them on his knees. “Father will hint to Nickerson that Larson is talking and naming names. Mr. Banks, the other agent, is visiting with Mr. L
arson telling him that Nickerson is blabbing his big mouth to the police. It’ll be up to you,” he motioned his head to Ashton, “to carefully listen to the two men when they are finally put together. You’ll know who is telling the truth and who isn’t.”
Ashton blew a gush of air between his lips. “I certainly hope so. I’m tired of this waiting game. I want it over.”
“As do I.”
Not far from the jail, the coach stopped. Ashton and Gordon climbed out and walked toward the jail. The palms of Ashton’s hands moistened with nervousness the closer he came to the building. He prayed his partners would be able to say something to help the Secret Agents and the police solve this crime.
Mr. Conrad Bastian, the father, leaned against the brick wall, waiting for them outside the jail. When he saw them, he crossed the lawn and met them halfway. He clapped Ashton on the shoulder and nodded.
“I have made Mr. Nickerson nervous. He truly thinks his partner, Steve Larson, is going to confess.”
“Did you check his right arm for the bullet wound?” Ashton wondered.
The older man heaved a sigh and raked his fingers through his grayish-brown hair. “Yes, and the man wasn’t shot in the arm, which means there is another man out there who did this and is trying to frame Mr. Nickerson.”
Ashton shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense. If all of this is Glynn’s plan anyway, why would someone go to the trouble of making him look guilty when he’s already guilty?”
“That is something I would like to know, as well.” Mr. Conrad Bastian turned toward the jail and walked beside Ashton. “Mr. Nickerson is in a room waiting for Mr. Larson to visit him in his cell. I’ve suggested that Mr. Larson is probably going to pay the money to get him out of jail. There is a secret room that connects to this main room, and that’s where you will be listening. You’ll need to go in through this back door. A policeman will direct you to where you need to be. Good luck.”
“I really appreciate all the help your family has given me.” The men shook hands.
Taking a deep breath, and saying a quick prayer, Ashton headed into the jail. Just as Mr. Conrad Bastian had mentioned, a policemen met him and showed him into a small room. There were no windows, so he wondered if he’d be able to hear anything at all. He sat on the single chair by the far wall. Perhaps this was the best place to hear what went on in the next room.
Ashton didn’t dare make a sound, just in case Glynn could hear him as well. As Ashton listened closer, he detected heavy footsteps moving back and forth in the next room. It was probably Glynn being impatient as he waited for Steve.
The few minutes that passed, seemed to take forever, but finally he heard the squeak of a door opening, and just as quickly, the pacing stopped.
“You have a visitor, Mr. Nickerson,” a guard announced.
“Oh, Steve, it’s you!” Glynn exclaimed.
It surprised Ashton how well he could hear what was being said in the next room. Once the door shut behind the wall, footsteps knocked heavily against the floor in a hurried pace before suddenly stopping.
“Are you insane?” Steve’s voice growled in the silence.
“Me?” Glynn whined. “I know not of what you’re referring to, because you are the one insane.”
Steve released a bitter laugh. “I’m not the one who got myself thrown in jail.”
“Well, they have nothing on me,” Glynn grumbled. “All they have are the incoherent slurs of your Opium-induced wife. And you know as well as I, a woman like that cannot be taken seriously.”
Steve laughed again. “What makes you think they aren’t going to believe her?”
“Because you are going to convince your wife that she was dreaming this whole story. Then she will go to the police and apologize for her Opium ramblings.”
Ashton arched his eyebrow. Steve knew about his wife’s habit? Interesting…
“You think you have this all figured out, don’t you?” Steve said, his booming footsteps moving across the floor once again.
“Of course I do. I’m always in control.”
“Not this time. In fact, I’m a little relieved to see you behind bars. Now perhaps I’ll get to run the railroad the way I want to.”
“Ha!” Glynn’s bark echoed through the room. “High and mighty Ashton Lee won’t allow that.”
“Well, if you had stopped him like you were supposed to do, we wouldn’t be arguing.”
“I did stop him!” Glynn huffed. “But you were the one who messed everything up.”
“And where did you obtain that false information?”
“From the police.”
Steve chuckled. “And what, pray tell, kind of information could I give them that they don’t already have?” There was a brief pause, and then he continued, “Oh, I know. I could tell them about what you did during the war—about how you were robbing the train even back then just because you thought the U.S. Government was wasting their money sending it to the Union soldiers.”
Ashton sucked in a quick breath. Good Heavens! Glynn couldn’t possibly have done that.
“The Government was wasting their money,” Glynn snipped.
“Or maybe,” Steve went on, “I could tell them about how you used the train to sneak messages to your Confederate contacts during the war.”
Glynn grumbled. “Little use that information will do now, considering the Union won the war.”
“True, however you would still be considered a traitor, and you could be hanged for your crimes.”
An evil laugh escaped Glynn’s throat. “And what about you? Were you not the one who paid the foreigner to rob the train?”
Ashton scrubbed his face. What foreigner?
“Only because you found him first,” Steve grumbled.
“Listen here, you little slip of a man…” Glynn’s voice turned cold and harsh. “You will keep your mouth shut or I will tell the police exactly how the elder Mr. Lee died.”
Ashton sucked in his breath, but his heartbeat hammered in a different rhythm. What were they talking about? His father had a heart-attack, didn’t he?
“You wouldn’t dare…” Steve growled.
“Try me. I think it’s time Ashton learned how his friend, Steve Larson, strangled his father.”
“Now see here…”
A clanging noise came from the other room, sounding like the bars were being rattled somehow. Ashton’s breathing accelerated, and he didn’t know quite how to react.
“I wasn’t the only man Mr. Lee had been cheating. If you remember correctly, it took both of us to strangle that deceitful, selfish, banker. He was a large man. I wouldn’t have been able to kill him by himself,” Steve shouted.
Groaning, Ashton closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. Oh, Lord in Heaven…keep me from killing these men myself! Bile rose in his throat, but he gritted his teeth to keep from vomiting.
The door opened to the small room where Ashton sat as a policeman poked his head inside. “Have you heard enough?” he asked with a tight expression. “Because I have. I’m ready to string both of them up by their neck until dead right this very minute.”
“You can hear them, too?” Ashton whispered.
“More than I’d like. Now, let’s go arrest some criminals.”
~*~
Nicole couldn’t stand the silence any longer. Earlier this morning when she’d gone to Mrs. Phelps’ house, the woman wasn’t there. Figuring her friend was doing some investigation, Nicole came home to an empty house. She had no idea where her father or brother was or when they’d get home. But she couldn’t stay in an empty house any longer without screaming. All she seemed to do was sleep and cry, and she was tired of doing both of them.
After refreshing herself, she left the house and walked to Mrs. Phelps’ place again. By now the older woman would have returned from her errands. At least Nicole hoped so. She really needed a shoulder to cry on and a good listening ear.
When she reached the agent’s townhouse, she knocked on t
he front door. This time, she heard shuffling noises from inside. After a few seconds without Angela answering, Nicole knocked again, but harder. “Are you in there? It’s me, Nicole,” she called out.
Finally, the door opened. When Nicole got a good look at her friend’s face, she gasped. “Oh, my dear. Are you all right?” She hurried into the house and took Angela by the hand. Her friend was pale and wobbled as she stood next to the door. She wore a nightgown and wrapper, and her hair was covered by a white bob-cap.
“I’ve been under the weather. I’m certain I’ll feel better tomorrow,” she said wearily.
“Well, let me help you to bed. Have you had something to eat? If not, I’ll fix—”
“Nicole, really.” Angela shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I assure you.”
Nicole frowned. “Now see here. You are not fine, and I’m here so I might as well help you any way I can.”
She turned and closed the door, then took her friend by the arm to lead her into the sitting room. Once she’d closed her fingers around Angela’s upper arm, the woman winced and jerked her arm away. Confused, Nicole stared at her friend, wondering why she’d act in such a manner. But then something sticky coated her fingers, and she glanced down to see what it was.
Blood.
She hitched a breath and snapped her attention back to Angela’s arm…her right arm. No, this couldn’t be…
Nicole moved her focus up to the cap covering Angela’s dark brown hair. Nicole had never seen her friend with her hair down, it had always been wound tight in a bun, but now she was very curious to whether the hair was long—or short. Considering, the person they’d been chasing yesterday who had stolen the money, had short hair.
Without another thought, Nicole yanked the cap off Angela’s head. Short hair sprung free in disarray. Nicole’s stomach churned. “Angela…what have you done?”
The woman swayed, so Nicole grabbed hold of her arm again and walked her to the nearest chair to help her sit. “Angela, have you been to see a doctor about your wound yet?”
