An Agent for Claudette (The Pinkerton Matchmaker Book 4)

by Christine Sterling

  “I’m fine. Thank you. I was just asking Sam here if he knew anything about the missing women.”

  “I don’t know a thing. If you ask me, the Apaches got them. Women shouldn’t be walking around by themselves. It only takes a minute for one to swoop in and grab a lady.”

  “Did you see horse tracks? The Apache have unshod horses, so the prints would stand out between the shoed horses.”

  “I saw a few.”

  “Have you called in the marshals?”

  Keith Morrison tightened his jaw. “Son, those women are probably either squaws or in Mexico by now. Top me off again, Sam.” The bartender took the mug and refilled it.

  “Sheriff, I need to show you that rifle I just purchased. Bring your drink and let’s go back to my office.”

  The sheriff lifted his mug in salute to Bronco. “Well, son, I guess we are done here.”

  Bronco nodded and left the saloon, slapping his hat against his leg before putting it back on his head.

  Claudette was upstairs talking to Patty, the soiled dove who was the last one to see Maria, one of the missing women, before she disappeared. He wondered how their conversation went. He settled down on one of the benches to wait for her to come down.

  He couldn’t believe he kissed her. He had been very careful not to do anything since the train ride to Santa Fe. He wanted to keep it as professional as possible and allow her to really enjoy the experience of becoming a detective.

  And he had to destroy that by mentioning his possible retirement and kissing her. Stupid fool, he chided himself. If he didn’t know better, he would think that Claudette wanted to remain married. And not just to have a mystery-solving partner. He’d look forward to seeing what happened when they return to Denver. Perhaps he could talk her into leaving the agency and beginning again as a bounty hunter’s wife.

  “Either they know something, and they aren’t saying. Or they truly don’t know anything.” Claudette was pulling her gloves out of her reticule. “My guess is they know something and just aren’t saying anything.”

  “Ya think?”

  “Don’t be sarcastic, Bronson. It doesn’t make the situation any better.”

  “What did Miss Patty say?”

  Claudette stepped off the boardwalk and onto the dirt road. “She said that the Apache’s must have taken them. We need to head to the governor’s house.” Bronco stepped down and offered her his arm. She took it and they walked along towards the big house in the center of town.

  “That is the same song and dance I got from the sheriff and the bartender.”

  “Really? It is implausible that all three would have the exact same story. Normally there is some deviation if they are telling the truth.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I have two sisters and a brother. We see someone do something, we wouldn’t have any problem telling my parents about it. So, if my sister did something she wasn’t supposed to you better believe they’d find out through one of us.”

  “You were a tattle-tale? I can’t imagine that.”

  Claudette looked chagrined. “We were children. We just knew that we didn’t want to be the one to go pull a switch off the bush in the back yard.”

  “So, it was a defensive measure?”

  “Exactly. But here’s the thing – my Poppa would ask each of us children to explain what happened. He would do it individually. Small details might be different, but that is just human memory. Perhaps she threw a ball that broke a window. Where she was when the ball was thrown might be a little off in each story, but the main premise is the same. She was next to the tree, to the left of the tree, in front of the tree. Similar but just slightly different. It doesn’t make the story any less true, though. In this case the stories were identical. Almost rehearsed.”

  “I guess we’ll have to see if we can press them anymore. I still think there is a piece of the puzzle we are missing.”

  “I was really hoping this was going to be an easy case. Like we open a closet and there they are. I guess we aren’t any closer to solving the case, now are we?”

  “Take each step one at a time. We are still moving and building on the case.”

  They arrived at the Governor’s house. The sun was starting to set and a cool breeze was stirring the dust on the ground.

  “I should go get my wrap. I think it is going to be a bit chilly sitting outside tonight.”

  “Let’s walk there together.”

  “Honestly, Bronco, it will be fine. I’m just going to run to the cottage and run right back. This way you can go update the Governor on what we have found out so far. Do you want me to send a telegram to Archie?”

  “If you have any trouble it can wait until we get home.”

  Claudette nodded and headed back to the cottage.

  Arielle and Caleb were sitting on a bench talking when Claudette walked by. She waved to them.

  “I thought you were going to be at the party this afternoon?” Arielle called to her.

  “I just have to grab my wrap. I’ll be headed back there in a minute.”

  Arielle nodded. She saw Caleb get up and head towards their cottage across the courtyard area.

  Thinking it would be best to wait until Bronco was with her to send the telegram, she decided to just grab her wrap and head back to the party. She opened the door and slipped inside the cottage.

  Chapter 9

  “Hey, Wauneka, someone wants to speak to you.” Sheriff Morrison called to Bronco. They were at a garden party at the Governor’s house and he was waiting for Claudette, so they could update him on what they found.

  The Sheriff was into his cups again, as Claudette called them. How that man could wear a badge, Bronco had no clue. No imbibing was part of the Pinkerton code. This man disgusted him.

  “To me? Who is it?” Bronco put the cigar out in the ashtray and placed his brandy snifter on the desk. He hated the smell of smoke, but it was just a part he was playing right now. He would be happy once this case was over and they could return to Denver. He hadn’t talked to Claudette about what would happen once they returned, but he hoped that she wouldn’t opt for the annulment.

  He was getting antsy. He hadn’t seen her, but he was sure she was here somewhere visiting with the wives.

  “I don’t know … some colored man. Says he needs to talk to you immediately.”

  Bronco’s head went up – it must be Caleb, but why would he be coming by? Perhaps he needed some help on his case or was having trouble using the telegram.

  “Where is he?” Bronco asked.

  “I sent him to the back door.”

  Bronco went out the front door and walked around to the back. No point in walking through the house, he wanted to make sure that he could speak in private if it was Caleb. He saw the quiet giant waiting by a bench near the kitchen. He was slumped over his knees with his hands folded as if he was praying. He must have heard Bronco’s approach as he stood to greet the other agent.

  “Caleb,” Bronco said, shaking his hand. “Let’s go talk over here by the garden. I don’t want us to be overheard.” They walked through the garden area. Caleb looked like a boy whose puppy was taken away. This couldn’t be good. Bronco looked around to see if anyone was around.

  He saw Mrs. Clements and gave her a nod, before asking in a low voice, “What’s going on, man?”

  Caleb drew a heavy breath. “Claudette and Arielle are gone.” He kept his voice low in case they were overheard, but Bronco could hear the thickening of his voice as he spoke the words.

  “I’m not following you. What are you talking about?”

  “Just what I said. They are missing. We saw Claudette go in to get her wrap.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because she stopped by to see Arielle when we were in the garden. They talked in French. I didn’t understand any of it. She mentioned she was going back to get her wrap and she headed to your cottage. That was the last I saw her. Arielle was still in the courtyard. I had t
o go to my cottage to get my shirt for tonight when I heard the scream. Arielle shouting.” His words were coming out in ragged breaths. “I ran as fast as I could, but they are both gone. Her wrap is on the bed, along with her reticule. I found this, too.” He held out a white arabette pin. It was a gift from Arielle’s father. “I thought it was best to come and get you.”

  “Everything alright, gentlemen? It sounded like you are excited about something.”

  Bronco looked at Caleb and back to Mrs. Clements. “We were. We were just talking about Mr. Blackburn. It is exciting that he is heralding in a new era here in New Mexico. Don’t you think so?” He placed himself between Caleb and the nosy older woman.

  “Yes, it is. Mr. Wauneka, I was hoping to see your wife here today.”

  “Well she is … ill at the moment.” He turned to Caleb. “In fact, Sam, here was just coming to fetch me. Mrs. Clements, may I ask you for the inconvenience of letting Governor Wallace know that I was called away.” He lifted her hand and gave a quick peck to the back of it before releasing it.

  “Of course, Mr. Wauneka. Please tell your wife that I send my best wishes.” Bronco called out his appreciation over his shoulder as he and Caleb walked back to the house. He just hoped that something nefarious hadn’t happened to her.

  Claudette heard the slight movement of something around her. She opened her eyes, but everything was dark. Her cheek was pressed against the cold floor. Curling her fingers, she felt the dirt give way under her scratching. She was on a dirt floor in a dark room.

  There! She heard it again. The sound of movement coming from … where? She couldn’t tell direction in the dark. Why didn’t she listen to Bronco when he said they needed to stick together? No… she had to do things her own way and head back to the room to get her wrap. Her stubbornness was always getting her in trouble and now here she was with no way of knowing where she could be.

  She pushed herself up. She tried to stand but hit her head on the roof above her. Letting out a yelp, she knelt back on the ground.

  “Are you ok?” a soft voice asked in the darkness. Claudette recognized the voice as a woman, probably rather young.

  “Where am I?”

  “Far as I can gather we are in a root cellar. It is too bright when the door opens to really see anything.” That was a different voice. So, there were at least two women down here with her.

  “How many women are down here?”

  “I think six, but I’m not sure. Eight, now that you are here.”

  Claudette reached her hand out in front of her but felt nothing. The room had to be fairly large to house six women without them touching each other. “Can we do a count? Tell me your names. I’m Claudette. One.”

  “Claudette? Is that you? Where are we?”

  “Arielle! How did you get here?”

  “I heard you scream and ran to the house. That is the last thing I remember. I have this terrible taste in my mouth.”

  “It should pass. I think that was chloroform. Let’s count again. We are two. Who is next?”

  “Maria. Three.”

  “Carmen. Four.”

  “Sarah. Five.”

  “Charlotte. Six.”

  “I’m a Maria too. Seven”

  “Laura. Eight.”

  “Gabriela. Nine.”

  No other voices called out from the dark. Claudette needed to get her wits about her. If her head just didn’t hurt so much. “Charlotte, you are the governor’s daughter, aren’t you?”

  A small sniff came from the dark. “Yes. I don’t know how long I’ve been down here. I miss my Papa.”

  “Okay. You disappeared about six days ago. Everyone has been looking for you. For all of you. My husband and I came in to town at the request of Governor Wallace to help find you. I just didn’t think it would be like this.”

  A voice Claudette recognized as one of the Maria’s spoke up. “I am not sure how long we’ve been here. I was the first one in the room and then the others came afterwards. I think they were going to move us, but something happened.”

  “Do you know where they were going to move you to?”

  “No,” Maria whispered. “They just mentioned getting us to the freight yard.”

  The freight yard. That must mean they were moving the girls to another location. But how were they getting them out of town without anyone seeing them? How could you not see a group of women being paraded through town? There were only seven women in the room, not including her and Arielle, but nearly two dozen have been missing over the past month. Claudette’s head hurt thinking about it.

  “Okay, ladies, I don’t want you to panic. I’m here as a Pinkerton Detective. We have several other agents in town and they will find us before anything happens. I’m sure of it.” Granted it was a small white lie. She wasn’t a detective… yet. She realized she might never be unless Bronco could find her.

  Bronco. She loved him with every fiber of her being. She was going to tell him once they solved the case, but it didn’t look like she would have a chance now. The thought shook her to her core. She had to get out of here. She had to. She needed to find the shared thread that all these women had in common.

  “What do each of you remember?”

  “I was walking when I was grabbed from behind. I didn’t see the person who grabbed me. He had a cloth with something sweet on it. I don’t remember anything after that.”

  “I was working in the back room of the saloon when I was taken. I didn’t see the person, but I think it was that new deputy. He had this cologne he liked to wear. I will never forget the smell of that. But, like Maria, he also put a cloth over my face and I don’t remember anything else.”

  The other’s stories were similar. All attacked from behind, not knowing who their attacker was. Apart from Charlotte. And Claudette.

  “I walked in on Sheriff Merrill going through my father’s papers. When I confronted him and threatened to tell my father he grabbed me. Next thing I know I’m down here in this dark room.”

  “The Sheriff appears to be at least involved somehow. He caught me unawares also.”

  Suddenly a door opened from the wall and a blinding light entered the room. Claudette couldn’t see anything but a silhouetted figure in the doorway. “We are moving you at dark. You better not give us any grief, or it will not turn out well for any of you. No food today, you can eat when we get to where we are going.”

  Just as suddenly the door was closed, and Claudette heard the loud sound of a bar falling in place. They were stuck. Even if Bronco could find where they had been hidden, she didn’t know how much time they had before the strangers moved them.

  Find us Bronco, please find us.

  Thinking of anything she could do, she finally had an idea. “Ladies, let’s move towards the center and hold hands and pray. I think I might have an idea.”

  Bronco ran back to the cottage with Caleb on his heels. He burst into the room and it was exactly as Caleb described it. Claudette’s wrap was on the chair where she left it along with her reticule. What Caleb failed to mention were the papers tossed around the room. Bronco picked up some of the papers and quickly scanned them.

  “These are our correspondences with the Denver office. If someone saw these, they would know that Claudette is a Pinkerton and not a museum curator.”

  “What do you think will happen?”

  “I pray they don’t find out, because if they do, I’m afraid they might kill her.” Bronco and Caleb continued going through the room, setting the furniture right and picking up the papers.

  “Should we get the sheriff?”

  “No,” Bronco answered. “There is something about him I don’t trust. Let’s keep looking.”

  They had been through every square inch of the cottage and didn’t find any other clues that would lead them to the whereabouts of Claudette, Arielle, or the person who took them.

  The only way out of the cottage was through the front door. So that means they either had to still be in the house, or the
y were taken out some other way. But how?

  “Let’s head back to the main house and see if we can find the Governor.”

  Caleb nodded, and they headed out.

  Even though he didn’t show it, Bronco was sick with worry. He could feel the beads of sweat forming on his forehead and his hands felt clammy. No matter how much he wiped them on his pants he couldn’t get them to feel normal.