As they pulled in front of the hall, Jericho hopped down easily from the carriage and held out his hand to help her. The skirt was so snug, it was hard to step down gracefully. She let out an ‘oof’ of surprise as he picked her up around the waist like she was nothing and set her down in front of him.
“My angel,” he murmured softly, staring at her regardless of the people walking nearby to enter the hall. Clementine glanced sideways at him, unsure how to react. Part of her wanted to run into his arms and kiss him senseless- the other part wanted to remind him of the dangers being in town brought. At her hesitation, she assumed he remembered the latter.
“Let’s get off the street and head inside.” Jericho held out his arm towards her politely and bowed slightly. Clementine laid her gloved hand on top of his, ignoring the goosebumps that touching him gave her.
“Excellent idea.”
Stepping through the doorway, they were bombarded with a series of things that assaulted the senses. The smell of perfume and alcohol drifted on the breeze. It was early and people were already being plied with libations to loosen their pocketbooks. The sounds of a band playing was nearly deafening as a loud, plucky, quadrille of old was played. She felt the music seep into her soul and felt herself hopping along as she stepped with Jericho.
“So, my little bride does like to dance?” he grinned tenderly, looking at her. “I’d be happy to indulge you and then take you for a refreshment, if you’ll allow me the pleasure of being your partner.”
“You already are my partner,” she reminded him pertly as his hand crept around her waist.
“Clementine,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. “You wound me, love. I suppose we’ll have this conversation another time.”
He snatched her free hand and swung her into the throng of dancers with grace before she realized it. Laughing aloud, she moved lively to keep from tripping and fell into step with him. He was a beautiful dancer and she felt like the world was falling away from the two of them.
As he spun her around, she saw a lock of his hair fall onto his forehead reminding her of the playful way he acted when they were alone. It would be so easy to love this man if he could settle down and be sincere about things. As it stood, she felt that he cared but was fickle. One moment he claimed to care for her and the next, he would give her the brush off. Was love something he could turn off and on like it was nothing?
“May I have this dance?”
John Kilgore stood there beside them and they’d not even realized that he’d walked up to them. Clementine had been so focused on thinking of Jericho that she’d been caught completely unawares.
“Oh Mr. Kilgore! What a pleasure,” she said smoothly, putting her back to Jericho and pushing him behind her protectively. He may not care for her but it would break her heart if something happened to him. “Is your wife attending tonight?”
“Yes, Sarah is off having a glass of brandy with the girls.”
“I hope she is having a wonderful time?”
“She doesn’t care for these events. Sarah doesn’t like to dance as much as you seem to,” John said smoothly, looking at Clementine and then to Jericho. “Would you mind if I had the next dance, Jerry? If not, I guess I’ll forgo the festivities since Sarah won’t dance.”
“Certainly. I promised my wife a bit of punch,” he said with a feigned politeness. Leaning down to her, Jericho kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear.
“I’ll be right back- I promise.”
She nodded and accepted John Kilgore as her dance partner for the next song. She felt slightly ill as she realized it was a waltz. The slow, haunting melodies made her yearn for Jericho’s arms to be around her on the dance floor.
“I understand you visited my home and Sarah was a poor hostess?”
“Excuse me?” Clementine said baffled at how bluntly the conversation turned. She felt his grip tighten perceptibly as he led her deeper into the dancers.
“So how do two Pinkerton agents come to be in my town and in my very domain?”
“Pinkerton? I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” she stammered, feeling her heart beat nervously as it danced in her chest. He knew! She needed to get to Jericho and away from this man!
“You think I must be a fool, don’t you? That I don’t have any connections? I’m like a spider, sweet Clementine,” he said quietly, his eyes locked with hers. “I have a web you’ll never comprehend and all I have to do is pluck one strand to find out the information I need.”
Clementine froze and couldn’t breathe.
“I know you both are agents and here for me. I also know that you two were betrothed for years on end. I want those pages you ripped from the ledger back.”
“I don’t have them.”
“Does Jericho? Don’t think I won’t put a bullet between his blue eyes. I’ll make you a widow so fast it will make your head spin faster than these dancers around us. Do you understand me?”
She couldn’t speak. Clementine only nodded once he squeezed her hand painfully to get an answer. What was she going to do?
“Who has the pages, Clementine?”
“They aren’t here.”
“Where are they?”
“We hid them in our hotel rooms.”
“I don’t think so, because I’ve already had your rooms checked. No,” he said maliciously. “They are either on your person or with your husband. Now, which one of you is it? Or shall I just guess which one gets shot first?”
“I have them,” she whispered fearfully. “Just leave him alone.”
“We are leaving right now and you’ll give me those pages. If you play nice, then I’ll leave you on the edge of town to walk back. That will give Sarah and I time to get away.”
“Jericho stays here?”
“Yes, unless you’ve lied to me?”
“No. I haven’t.”
“Then you’ve nothing to worry about for very long. The pages, and then you’ll be free of me. Now, shall we go?”
Clementine nodded jerkily and allowed herself to be led down a hallway nearby. They walked through several doors and exited the building. He must have known for some time because a horse stood nearby waiting for them. John mounted the horse and pulled Clementine up in front of him, making her skin crawl in disgust as he leaned in towards her to gather up the reins.
“It won’t be long, my dear, and this will all be over with.”
Jericho scanned the dancers again looking for Clementine’s brilliant red hair or the soft hues of her gown. He saw several couples, but none were his woman. His eyes met Sarah Kilgore’s across the room and he felt a sink in his chest. She held up a glass of claret in a mock-toast to him, her eyes clear and sharp… not drugged or sedated. He set the cups of punch down on the table and strode across the dance floor towards her.
“Where is she?”
“I’m right here and I hate dancing, Jericho,” Sarah said smoothly, taking another sip of the red alcohol. Her eyes were taunting him silently, goading him into getting angry.
“Where is my wife?”
“With my husband,” she retorted. “The town shall talk about our spouses leaving the party alone. Do you feel jilted yet? I certainly do.”
“She wouldn’t do that.”
“Oh, and John would? You know, you can’t steal from us and get away with it. She betrayed us in our own home. The nerve of it! My husband’s gone to make right what your treacherous wife did to me- to us.”
“You aren’t drugged,” he hissed flatly. “Was it all an act?”
“Oh possibly,” Sarah claimed in an airy sing-song voice that chilled his blood. “But it suits me better to have people think I’m not a threat or a simpleton. They look me over like I’m nothing, allowing people to talk in front of me.”
“I won’t have John hurting my wife. She’s my everything,” Jericho breathed in disbelief and shock at the difference in the woman before him. Her eyes grew hard as ice and her lips disappeared in a hostile snarl directed at him.
<
br /> “And I won’t have you destroy what little I have.”
“You are under arrest,” Jericho announced, feeling sick to his stomach, and said a prayer that Clementine could hang on until he got to her.
“If you don’t find your wife, the arrest will never hold up. They will release us with nothing to support the arrest. Now, the clock is ticking away, agent, and she’s got your evidence you’ll need against us- doesn’t she?”
Jericho saw the coldness in her eyes and knew they were nothing to her- a gnat to be dealt with. He realized that not only John was a threat, but Sarah was too. She was just as cold-blooded as her husband… potentially more so! He had to get that evidence and get Clementine to safety before returning to arrest them both. Archie would just have to understand his decision- if he ever found out! Running out of the event, Jericho saw several men nearby.
“You! Have you seen John Kilgore come this way with a woman?”
They all looked at each other and a few snickered. Each one denied it and Jericho knew they were lying. He’d deal with them too when he returned. Clementine would always come first to him. Seeing a dark figure across the way, he headed across the street to the town drunk.
“Have you seen Kilgore tonight, Bertie? You’ve been paid well to stay sober for a bit and keep an eye out for me. Now it’s time to earn your money.”
“He went that way, towards the river. Gimme my money.”
Reaching into his pocket, Jericho threw down the bills and took the horse closest to the man. The money he gave him would be enough to keep him drunk and fed for weeks on end- and pay for the horse he stole- in exchange for the precious tip that could save Clementine’s life and their mission.
Jericho rode out west towards the river. John was alone with a single woman on horseback, or so he hoped. He knew then that his Clementine was in real danger. In the file he’d built on John Kilgore, he’d discovered that out of the seven dead men that had been reported over the last six months- five were drowned and two were missing. Jericho knew exactly how John planned to get rid of Clementine: he was going to throw her in the river and let the accident be discovered later on, leaving him presumed innocent.
The Mississippi River was turbulent this time of the year. Torrential, heavy rains farther north had caused flooding along the tributaries that fed into the large river. It wasn’t unusual to have the banks crest or come close when they’d had as much weather as of late. He rode like the hounds of hell were on his heels and prayed that he got to his wife in time.
14
Jericho crested a small ridge that formed a levee along the river. As he did, he saw Clementine’s bright hair in the moonlight. Immediately he screamed out her name in response to the sight he saw. John Kilgore had her off the horse and was pushing her towards the water’s edge.
“Where are they?” John said angrily, shoving at her shoulders with both of his hands. Clementine managed to keep herself steady on her feet but hearing Jericho’s beloved voice shout her name, she lost all control.
“Jerry! Here! I’m here, Jericho!”
Clementine felt a burst of pain as John’s hand slapped her across the face. Stunned, she met his eyes and felt real fear seep into her soul. She’d been scared before but now she knew she was facing death at the hands of John.
“I’m going to ask you one last time- where are the pages you ripped from my ledger? Are they with him or on you?”
“They are on me,” she whispered truthfully. She was terrified for herself and Jericho. She knew she couldn’t live with being the cause of his death and on the ride over, John had told her of different ways he’d killed people that crossed him- each story was more bone chilling than the last.
“Then you’ll save me some time,” John said with an eerie calm. “You’ll die with them.” He began shoving her in earnest towards the raging waters behind her.
Clementine tried slapping away his hands, screaming for help, and digging her boots into the muddy banks to stop her decent into the floodwaters. She saw Jericho jump off his horse and duck down behind fallen logs. He was trying to get close but watching the area around them too. If he was looking that meant someone else followed him. She was afraid Jericho would be shot by someone unseen hiding in the bushes before he could help her. Just then, Clementine lost her footing and fell hard into the mud.
Jericho lost his mind with fear for his wife. He ran out from his hiding spot towards the duo regardless of whether or not someone was staged in the bushes waiting to protect John. He grabbed John bodily by the nape of his jacket and waist band of his pants, pulling him away from Clementine. Slipping, Jericho went down on his side in the mud and watched helplessly as John began to shove Clementine forcefully towards the river.
Clementine felt the air whoosh from her lungs at the impact to her midsection. John was rearing back and shoving her towards the swirling waters of the river. She could feel the cold temperatures and the sucking sensation as it pulled at her skirts. She dug her fingers into the mud helplessly to keep from being swept away by the current.
“Jericho!” she screamed, terrified and losing her grip. Her body was still being sucked by the weight of her skirts into the water and her fingers were leaving dark trails in the mud as they pulled the earth back with her, carving it, in sheer desperation.
Her husband rolled over in the mud towards the water and grabbed her slippery hands. He gave a mighty yank, pulling repeatedly at her waterlogged dress. John Kilgore began to kick at Jericho angrily, making contact with his midsection, back, and legs. The entire time he was screaming curses down upon the couple that were clinging to each other desperately.
“No… one… betrays me! I… hate… the Pinkertons! No… one… touches my money! Do… you… hear… me?” Kilgore screamed at them; each word enunciated with a swift kick at them.
Kilgore’s boots seemed to be concentrating his efforts on Jericho’s body as he tried to protect her. As Jericho pulled her free, she gasped as John gave a massive kick to Jericho’s head. Her husband fell into the mud and she was horrified to see Kilgore stomp down on his precious blond head.
“NO!” Clementine screamed, her hand outstretched towards Jericho as she yanked her dress from the mud and moved towards him. She would protect him with every fiber of her being, she just had to get to him first.
As John Kilgore reared back for another kick, she flung her muddy, wet body at her husband. Jericho was bleeding from his ear and trying to push Clementine away from him. Her husband was afraid for her- trying to protect her from the brunt of the attack! When the kick of John’s boot never hit, Clementine looked up and froze.
John stood there with his gun aimed at them both. The pull of the trigger would end them both in this position. Clementine was draped over Jericho and hoped he couldn’t see the gun. Maybe he wouldn’t know what hit them if John pulled the trigger. A loud gunshot rang out and Clementine snapped her eyes shut, flinching and waiting for the sensation of pain to hit her.
Cracking open an eye, she saw Sarah standing nearby with a smoking revolver.
“Sarah, thank God it’s you,” Clementine began and Jericho stopped her.
“They are in it together.”
In disbelief, she stared as John Kilgore’s limp body dropped to the ground with a splat in the mud. Jericho sat up and weaved with dizziness, pulling Clementine into his arms. Her husband smoothed back her hair, ignoring the mud on them both. She could see the sadness and regret in his eyes.
“I always said I’d protect you,” he whispered to her. “I am sorry that I’ve failed you.”
“There’s nowhere I’d rather be,” Clementine answered truthfully.
“Don’t look, my soul. Just look at me, baby.”
Clementine knew then for certain that they were both about to get shot by the enraged woman. She didn’t understand why Sarah seemed so coherent right now when every time she’d seen her, she’d been slurring her words. Sarah was speaking perfectly clear right now as the hate poured from her m
outh.
“John’s had that coming for a long time,” Sarah raged mercilessly. “He’s always treated me like a leper since I like my laudanum so much. It gets rid of my headaches. He never called me ‘his everything’ or ‘his bride’ – I was the reason we had money. I came up with the idea to forge the ledgers but I’m tired of his messes. I’m tired of hurting here,” she pointed at her heart regretfully, staring at Jericho and Clementine.
“And tired of hurting here,” Sarah said sadly, pointing at her head.
Clementine would never understand what drove someone to make such poor decisions. The greed, the anger, the hatred. Flinching against Jericho, the horrific sound of gunfire echoed once again in the darkness. Clementine was grateful that she’d listened to her husband and looked away.
15
One month later…
Clementine sat primly on the settee opposite of Marianne at the Pinkerton office there in Denver. The secretary was surprised to hear of a woman from Iowa that wanted to join the Pinkerton Agency – and that she knew of Clementine and Jericho.
“Is her name Gillian?”
“Yes, Gillian Jameson. How did you know?”
“It’s a long story but yes, we met her briefly while we were awaiting word from Mr. Gordon.”
“What did you think of her?”
“Truthfully?”
“I’d prefer that,” Marianne said with a smile and a twinkle in her eyes.
“She’s quite bold, yet tenderhearted. A sentimental bull-in-a-china-shop, if you will.”
“That is quite the combination.”
“She’s got quite a personality.”
“Do you think she’d make a good agent?”
Clementine sat there for a moment, reflecting on herself and her time in the field with Jericho. What she’d discovered was that you had to have communication, honesty, and trust with your partner. She didn’t believe Gillian would have a single qualm at telling her partner what she thought. She remembered her crying over her lost husband. She couldn’t imagine how strong a woman had to be to lose the man she loved and move on.
An Agent for Clementine Page 9
