Calico Spy

by Margaret Brownley

  “You heard right,” she said, as lightly as her ragged breath allowed. “Guess we can all breathe easy now.”

  “Guess so.” His eyes narrowed. “What’s the sheriff say?”

  “Say?” she asked, feigning innocence. So he was probing for information. Was he worried about Culpepper implicating him?

  “Is the case closed?”

  “Far as I know,” she said. “The circuit judge is due to arrive at the end of the week.”

  He finished the rest of his breakfast in silence then reached for his rawhide hat and set it atop his head. “Any use for a cheap watch?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Since it’s your father’s, you should keep it.”

  “Guess I should at that.” He swung around on the stool and stood. “See you later, sis.”

  She considered trying to stall him but thought better of it. He might leave town now that his partner was behind bars, but that was the chance she’d have to take.

  “You, too, brother.”

  Just then Cissy walked in the breakfast room. She jerked to a stop, her face contorted in horror. “That’s him,” she cried, pointing at Okie-Sam. “That’s the killer!”

  Chapter 50

  Branch walked into his office and, with a flip of his wrist, tossed his hat against the wall. He hit the wooden peg maybe once out of twenty-five tries, but today he was lucky. His hat held, but that was as far as his luck went.

  He’d spent practically four days at the Harvey House and had nothing to show for his time except frustration. Cissy hadn’t recognized any of the regulars. Not that he was surprised. He hadn’t really expected anything from her.

  Woody had finished his breakfast and sat on his cot whittling on a piece of wood. Chips flew to the floor like chicken feed.

  “Not a very friendly type,” he complained. He slanted his head toward Culpepper, who lay on his cot facing the back wall, wheezing. The breakfast tray sat on the cell floor, untouched.

  Scarface made a rude sound from the next cell over. “You can say that again. I’ve known friendlier corpses. Bank robbers like him give the rest of us a bad name.”

  Ignoring their gripes, Branch grabbed a chair and set it in front of Culpepper’s cell. He wasn’t much for making deals with prisoners. But if all else fails…

  He straddled the chair and rested his arms on the back. Some lawmen were known to use physical or mental abuse to gain a confession, but Branch was against such methods.

  “You admit to trying to rob the bank,” he began.

  Culpepper turned over on his cot and glared at him with red eyes. “I didn’t admit to nothing.”

  “Not in so many words. But you find a man digging within the vicinity of a bank safe and well… I’m no whiz in math, but I know how to put two and two together.”

  Scarface shook his head in disgust. “Why go to all that bother? That’s what I want to know. It’s easier to just walk up to the clerk and demand the money up front.”

  Culpepper glared at Scarface. “What do you know? You’re in jail same as me.”

  “Yeah, but only because I had a run-in with a pie.”

  Branch rubbed the back of his neck. Just hearing the word pie reminded him of Katie, and right now he had a job to do.

  “Attempted bank robbery will get you at most… what? Six or seven years at Lansing.” The Kansas state prison was originally called Petersburgh but underwent a name change a few years back.

  “Four or five with good behavior,” Woody called from his cell.

  “Seven at the most,” Scarface concurred.

  “Ah, there you go.” Branch let Culpepper chew on that for a moment before he continued. “Murder? Now that’s a whole different ball of wax. That’ll buy you a prime piece of property in the criminal graveyard.”

  “Yeah, but only after they throw you a bow-tie party,” Woody said.

  This got a rise out of Culpepper. “I didn’t kill no girls, and you can’t prove that I did. I’m innocent.”

  Branch shrugged. “Claiming to be innocent is one of the prerequisites of a good hanging. Never knew a condemned man claim otherwise.”

  Culpepper glared at him but said nothing.

  “Ow!” Woody yelped and stuck his finger in his mouth.

  “You okay?” Branch called over to him.

  “Yeah. Just cut myself. You don’t happen to have somethin’ I can wrap around this, do you?”

  Branch stood and crossed to his desk. He reached into the top drawer for gauze, tape, scissors, and a bottle of iodine.

  He handed the iodine through the bars. “Put that on your wound.”

  Woody did as instructed. “Ouch, that hurts.”

  “Not as much as hanging from the gallows,” Scarface said as if he were talking from experience.

  Branch cut a strip of tape and stuck it to a metal bar. “Stick out your hand.”

  Woody reached through the bars, and Branch applied gauze and tape. “This is what I get for letting prisoners use a knife.”

  “I’m not a prisoner,” Woody said. “I’m the resident cell dweller. ‘Sides, that knife’s so dull, you could ride to town on it.”

  Branch secured the bandage on Woody’s hand. “That should do it.”

  Woody held up his hand to inspect the bandage. “At least it’s my left hand and not my right.”

  Branch turned to replace the medical supplies. Stopping short of his desk, he whirled about. “What did you say?”

  Something in his voice must have alerted Woody, because his forehead wrinkled. “I was just saying I’m glad it’s my left hand.”

  “That’s what I thought you said.” Dumping the gauze and other items on the desk, Branch grabbed his hat and shot out the door.

  Cissy’s screams brought an immediate reaction from Okie-Sam. Pouncing like a lion, he grabbed Tully and held a knife to her throat. For such a large, awkward man, he moved surprisingly fast.

  Katie reached for her gun but quickly changed her mind. Okie-Sam didn’t know she was armed, and right now she intended to keep it that way.

  Others ran into the room, including the entire kitchen staff. Gassy slid to a stop, and Howie Howard plowed into him. The Mexicans avoided the pileup but just barely. Chef Gassy righted himself, but he looked deathly pale, like he had just stepped off a storm-tossed boat.

  Abigail dropped a stack of napkins. Behind her, Mary-Lou’s hand flew to her mouth.

  “Do what he says,” Katie said, though none of them looked in any condition to give Okie-Sam trouble.

  Only Cissy’s quiet sobs broke the silence. Katie was stunned by Okie-Sam’s transformation. He looked nothing like the man who had called her sis. How could she have missed the vacant stare? The grim set of his mouth? The hateful expression?

  Pickens was the last to walk into the room, voice first. “Who screamed? Don’t tell me it was another mouse. And why are all these napkins on the floor?” Seeing Okie-Sam, he jerked back. “What the—”

  “Don’t move.” Okie-Sam’s gaze darted around the room, but he held the knife steady at Tully’s throat.

  Katie silently ran through everything she knew about dealing with hostage situations. She had to keep him talking. Make him think she was on his side.

  “Okie-Sam just got back from burying his pa.” She spoke in a natural, conversational voice. “The poor man is half out of his mind with grief.” She moved ever so slowly from around the counter. “Tell them, Okie. Tell them how hard your poor daddy worked.”

  “He worked hard, all right. All his life. And you know what it got him?”

  “Tell them, brother. Tell them.”

  And he did. He seemed all too eager to talk about his father’s hardscrabble life, and she’d counted on that, though the knife never wavered from Tully’s neck. As he droned on, the small but attentive audience remained rooted in place like a grove of dry oaks.

  Tully’s face was deathly white and her eyes wide with fear, but she didn’t move.

  Ever so slowly, Katie pulled
out her gun and held her arm by her side, hiding her weapon beneath her apron. Despite its small size, derringers were lethal at close range. Still, with Tully in the way, firing a gun would be tricky no matter the distance.

  Without warning, Buzz lunged at him. Gripping Tully with one arm around her neck, Okie-Sam sliced his knife through the air with his free hand, ripping the sleeve of Buzz’s shirt.

  Tully cried out, and Buzz fell back, holding his arm.

  Okie-Sam shouted to the others, “Don’t any of you move!”

  Katie froze in place. The distraction allowed her to advance, but she was still four tables away. So close and yet so far.

  She swallowed hard. “Tell them about the watch. Tell them, Okie.”

  Okie-Sam was breathing hard, and beads of perspiration dotted his forehead. “I know what you’re doin’, but it won’t work.” He stepped back, pulling Tully with him.

  A movement beneath the table drew Katie’s gaze downward. Spook Cat! Only the tip of his tail was visible beneath the white tablecloth, indicating he faced the right direction for her purposes. Do what I want you to do, cat, and I promise you all the pie you can eat.

  Katie gave the chair a good hard kick. The chair didn’t touch Spook Cat, but it sure did scare him. Screeching like a barn owl, the tom shot out from under the table in a furry streak. Startled, Okie-Sam jumped back, and the knife flew out of his hand, along with something else. His hair. What turned out to be a red wig fell on the cat, and the animal raced around the room blindly, screeching all the way.

  Tully pulled free and ran into Buzz’s arms.

  Okie-Sam retrieved his knife, but it was too late. In the confusion, he failed to notice Branch had entered the restaurant and now stood directly behind him.

  Branch pointed his gun at Okie-Sam’s now-bald head, and Katie pointed hers at his chest. Okie-Sam was bookended between two muzzles.

  “Drop the knife,” Branch said.

  The knife fell to the floor with a clunk.

  While Pickens, Gassy, and the others watched slack jawed, Branch calmly snapped the handcuffs around Okie-Sam’s wrists.

  Only Tully’s low murmurings broke the silence as she tended Buzz’s wound. It didn’t look like a bad cut, but one would never know it by the way Tully fussed over him like a mother hen. She had wrapped a clean napkin around his arm to stem the bleeding.

  Branch grabbed Okie-Sam by the arm. “You’re under arrest for the murder of Priscilla Adams, Ginger Watkins, and Gable Clayborn.”

  Mary-Lou gasped, Miss Thatcher fanned herself with her handkerchief, and Abigail swayed as if about to faint. Gassy crawled under a table where Spook Cat was hiding and pulled the wig off the poor tom’s head.

  Pickens’s face puckered. “Would someone tell me what’s going on? I thought Culpepper was the killer.”

  Branch shook his head. “Nope. This is the culprit.”

  “Why did you do it?” Katie asked, pocketing her gun. “Why did you kill those girls?”

  Okie-Sam’s beady eyes bored into her. “Wasn’t my fault. Priscilla insisted we make her a partner. She wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

  Katie raised her eyebrows. So that’s what Priscilla and Culpepper had argued about. “And Ginger?”

  “She got it into her dumb head that Culpepper had something to do with Priscilla’s death. She followed him up to the apartment, and when she saw what we were doing, she ran.”

  “And you ran after her,” Katie said. Had Charley not discovered Ginger’s shoe, they might never have thought to check the apartment over the bank. By the time anyone discovered the money missing, Culpepper and Okie-Sam would have been long gone.

  Katie felt like a load had lifted from her shoulders. At long last, the Harvey girl case was closed and they could all breathe easy.

  Branch looked at her with warm approval. “I thought the pie-in-the-face thing was something. But the cat trick…” He shook his head and grinned. “That sure takes the cake.”

  Katie felt a warm glow. “What’s this I hear? Praise for a Pinkerton detective?”

  The corners of his mouth lifted. “You made a believer out of me.” He jerked Okie-Sam toward the door.

  No sooner had they left than the train slid into the station with a low, long whistle.

  The train never failed to spur Pickens into action, and today was no different. He flapped his arms like a farmer chasing birds out of a newly planted field. “To your stations, everyone. Now!”

  Tully looked about to argue, but Katie shook her head. “Take care of him. I’ll cover for you.”

  Tully nodded her thanks and led Buzz out of the room. She clearly loved him and no longer cared who knew it. Life-and-death situations almost always changed people, mostly for the good. It certainly opened up Tully’s heart. Maybe now she and Buzz could start building a future together.

  Katie rushed to Tully’s station. Suddenly the whole chain of events struck her as funny, and she giggled. No matter what happened around here the rule was business as usual. None of the passengers would have a clue as to what had just happened.

  My stars, how I love this place!

  Chapter 51

  Mary-Lou watched Katie through the bedroom mirror as she brushed her hair. “I wish you didn’t have to leave.”

  “I wish I didn’t, either. But I have to be in Houston by Friday to start a new job.”

  “How exciting.” Mary-Lou worked a knot out of a strand of hair. “I so envy you.”

  She could have knocked Katie over with a feather. No one had ever envied her. She was the one who’d envied others. Her sisters… “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s true.”

  Katie blew a strand of hair away from her face. Not only had envy made her miserable, it separated her from her heavenly Father. Instead of thanking Him for giving her good health and a curious mind, she cursed her red hair. She might as well have come right out and said, “God, You made a mistake.”

  “You have a wonderful life here.”

  “I know. It’s just…” Mary-Lou tossed down her hairbrush. “Seeing how happy Miss Thatcher and Tully are makes me wonder if there will ever be someone special for me.”

  “Oh, Mary-Lou, you’re the nicest and kindest person I know. The right man will come along. I’m sure God has someone special in mind for you. You just have to be patient.”

  “What about you? I thought maybe you and the sheriff…”

  Katie shook her head. “He loved his wife dearly, and I don’t think there’s room in his heart for anyone else.”

  “You can’t be sure of that.”

  “Perhaps not, but I’m not sure I can trust a man again.” She explained how the man she loved ran off with her sister.

  “That’s terrible,” Mary-Lou gasped. “You must have been heartbroken.”

  “I was. But now I realize God had other plans for me. If Nathan hadn’t wed my sister, I would never have become a detective and we would never have met.”

  Mary-Lou frowned. “How can you be so sure what God’s plan is? I have a hard time figuring it out, myself.”

  “My minister back home said that God’s plans fill us with hope for a bright future. That’s how I felt when I applied for my job as a detective.”

  “I kind of felt that way when I was hired as a Harvey girl.”

  “See?” She spread her hands. “It’s God’s will.” She didn’t feel hopeful whenever the possibility of a future with Branch came to mind. Such thoughts always made her feel nervous and confused. Maybe even a little bit scared.

  A knock sounded at the door, and Tully poked her head in the room. “The sheriff’s downstairs. He asked for you, Katie.”

  Katie’s stomach knotted. There it was again: nerves and confusion. No hope there.

  Katie spotted Branch through the glass doors, and her breath caught. She stepped around Spook Cat, stretched out on the floor enjoying the sun. The cat had been officially adopted by Chef Gassy and was allowed to roam freely, providing he stayed out of the pies.


  Branch greeted her with a grin, and her heart did a flip-flop. All that talk about not trusting another man went out of her head. Dear God, if there is the slightest chance that this man could love me…

  “Thought you might like to know that Okie-Sam was found guilty and is on the way to the gallows as we speak.” He paused for a moment. “When the time’s right I’ll be able to tell Andy that justice was served.”

  Pressing her hands together, she took a deep breath. “What a relief.” After what Okie-Sam had done to those girls, hanging was probably too good for him. “What about Culpepper?”

  “Heading to Lansing where he’ll be locked up for a good many years.”

  Music to her ears. “What I don’t understand is why Culpepper kept quiet about Okie-Sam. Why take the blame for something he didn’t do?”

  “I think I can answer that question,” he said. “The Calico Bank isn’t the first bank they robbed or tried to rob, and both have aliases a mile long. They tried robbing a bank in Kansas City, but Culpepper was caught and Okie-Sam busted him free.”

  “And Culpepper was hoping that history would repeat itself,” she said. “Now we know why Pinkerton had no record of a redheaded criminal.” Why anyone in his or her right mind would choose a red wig was beyond her. “But Culpepper wasn’t wearing a wig. Why didn’t they have a file on him?”

  “Probably because he’s really blond.”

  She slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. “The shoe polish. I should have known. And to think both men were under my very nose.”

  “Don’t feel bad. They were under my nose, too. If it hadn’t been for your crazy cup theory, they might have gotten away.”

  “I’m just glad it all worked out.” A detective never knew how a case would break. But a cup code? That was a new one.

  “It worked out all right. I’d say the two of us make mighty fine partners.”

  “Partners?” She laughed. “What happened to the man who preferred working alone?”

  His mouth curved in a sheepish smile. “I guess you could say that a certain lady detective taught me a thing or two. See? Even an old dog like me can learn new tricks.”