Calico Spy

by Margaret Brownley

  The counter. “Anything ever mess up your game, Sheriff?”

  Coffee. He needed coffee. Maybe that would clear his head. He staggered over to the counter, but even that offered no escape from the hundreds of memories that clawed at him.

  He sat, elbows on the surface, and held his head in his hands. His misery cut him off from everything else like blinders.

  “Looks like you could use a cup of joe, Sheriff.”

  He dropped his hands, not sure he’d heard right. He blinked. “Katie?” His heart practically leaped out of his chest. “I… I thought you’d left.”

  She filled his cup. “I almost did, but then I realized that there were too many unanswered questions.” She peered at him through lowered lashes. “A Pinkerton detective never rests until all the loose ends have been tied up.”

  Loose ends? Unanswered questions? What was she talking about? The case was closed. But even if it wasn’t, he didn’t want to think about it. Not now, at least.

  He inhaled. Never had she looked more beautiful than she did at that moment. Never had he felt at such a loss for words. “Is that the only reason you’re staying?”

  Her eyes flashed. “If you think I have any intention of accepting your job offer you better think again.”

  “I’m withdrawing the job offer.”

  She regarded him with wary eyes. “Is that so?”

  “Yeah, that’s so.” He blew out his breath. God, don’t let me mess this up. Not this time. “I told my… uh… someone you’d turned down my offer. Know what he called me? Dumb as a lamppost.”

  “Did he now?”

  He nodded. “Said you had a job. If I wanted you to stay I had to offer you something you don’t already have.”

  She set the coffeepot down and smoothed her hands over her apron. “Don’t know what that could be. Got everything I need right here.”

  “But you don’t have this.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. “Traveled all the way to Topeka to purchase it.” He lifted the lid. Hands shaking, he pulled out a slim gold band set with a mine-cut diamond.

  Placing the box on the counter, he held up the ring until her pretty round face was framed by the gilded circle.

  Her eyes grew wide, softened, and slowly turned to liquid, and he heard her intake of breath.

  He lowered the ring. “And you don’t have this.” He thumped his chest. “But if you’ll let me, I’ll give you all the love this ol’ heart has to offer.”

  “Oh, Branch, I—”

  “Wait. Hear me out.” He wasn’t one for putting his feelings into words, but he intended to give it his best shot. “I tried not falling in love with you. Never worked so hard at anything in my life. But every time you looked at me a certain way or made me want to wring your neck, I was a goner.” His voice trailed off, and he cleared his throat. “I was afraid of loving you for fear of losing you. I know it sounds crazy—”

  “Not to me.” Her lips trembled, and her eyes filled with tears.

  “I guess what I’m trying to say is that God tested my faith once, and now He’s testing it again. I can’t love you without trusting the future to Him. That’s what I’m trying to do here. So what do you say?”

  Katie swallowed the lump in her throat, but even then she was having a hard time finding her voice. She’d told the new girl Suzanne that you couldn’t always tell what people were like until you saw into their hearts. Right now the view into Branch’s heart was spectacular, and her own heart was about to burst with joy and, more than anything, love.

  “I love you, too,” she whispered. She’d asked God why He had made her the way she was and at long last had her answer. God made her this way—red hair, freckles, and all—just so she could love and be loved by Branch.

  He tilted his head. “So? Does that mean you’ll marry me?”

  “She says yes,” Abigail said.

  “Yes, she’ll marry you,” Mary-Lou called from where she was setting a table.

  “She better,” Tully added.

  “Oui, oui,” Chef Gassy said from the other side of the kitchen pass-through. “N’est pas l’amour grandiose?”

  Even the new girl Suzanne gave an enthusiastic smile.

  Pickens threw up his arms. “Hurry up and tell the man what he wants to hear. We got to get this place ready for tomorrow.”

  An eager look shone from Branch’s eyes. “One more yes and it’ll be unanimous.”

  Katie could hardly get the words out fast enough. “In that case, I say… yes! Yes, Branch Whitman. I’ll marry you!”

  Grinning from ear to ear, he surprised her by leaping over the counter. Mercifully he landed on his feet. He reached for her hand and slipped the ring on her finger. Before she knew it, she was in his arms. He hugged her so tight that their hearts seemed to beat as one.

  “I love you, Katie Madison Jones and soon to be Whitman. God willing, if we’re blessed with children, I hope they all have your crazy red hair and cute freckled nose.”

  The love shining from his eyes took her breath away. “I love you, too,” she said with meaning, but no words could adequately express what was in her heart. “And I hope those children you mentioned will all be as tall and handsome and as stubborn as you.” Something occurred to her and she drew back. “Andy…”

  “No worry there. He’s already said he wanted you to be his mom.”

  She sighed with happiness, and fresh tears sprang to her eyes. Thank You, thank You, God.

  “About those loose ends…”

  She shook her head. “All the loose ends have been cleared up. Case closed.”

  “Well then…” He inclined his head. “What would your Pinkerton bosses suggest we do at a time like this?”

  She didn’t even have to think up an answer. “I believe they would say that no betrothal is valid without a kiss.”

  He grinned. “That’s one thing we can agree on.”

  No sooner had his mouth found hers than applause broke out. Pulling his head back, he groaned. The whole gang stood on the other side of the counter, and each and every one had a full Harvey smile, even Pickens.

  Branch whispered in her ear, “What would your Pinkerton bosses say about one of their operatives making a public spectacle?”

  She grinned up at him. “They would say, ‘Miss Katie Madison Jones and soon to be Whitman, you’re fired.’”

  “Hmm. Maybe the Pinkerton National Detective Agency isn’t as bad as I thought.” And with that he kissed her again.

  Dear Readers,

  Have you ever wondered what Sherlock Holmes would have thought had he somehow landed in a modern crime lab?

  Crime solving in his day was no walk in the park, that’s for sure. Can you imagine having to track down criminals without benefit of DNA, fingerprints, security cameras, social media, cell phones, or computers? But that’s exactly what those early gumshoes had to do.

  This posed an interesting problem when I set out to write my Undercover Ladies series.

  It seems that years of watching Castle, CSI, and Rizzoli and Isles taught me a lot about modern-day forensics (and how to solve a crime in an hour). However, the shows left me clueless when it came to plotting my own story. It took a lot of research to come up with answers, and I now have only the greatest admiration for those early sleuthhounds. With little more than wits and determination, they almost always got their man—and in some cases, their woman. How did they do it?

  Detectives Worked Undercover

  Some, like real-life Pinkerton detective Kate Warne, were masters of disguise. Kate was hired by Allan Pinkerton in 1852 and could change her accent as readily as she could change her clothes. If you haven’t yet read books one and two in the Undercover Ladies series, you’ll never guess how the heroines in those stories disguised themselves.

  Detectives Shadowed Suspects (aka Surveillance)

  This was a tiring but necessary part of crime fighting. The Pinkerton organization had a long arm and would follow a criminal to the ends of the ea
rth if necessary, and occasionally did.

  Detectives Resorted to Trickery

  It’s hard to believe, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation didn’t get its first forensic crime lab until 1932. It’s no wonder that Pinkerton operatives resorted to some interesting (and probably illegal, by today’s standards) tricks to solve crimes.

  Kate Warne had more than one trick up her sleeve and actually saved president-elect Abraham Lincoln’s life. After verifying a plot to assassinate him, Kate wrapped Lincoln in a shawl and passed him off as her invalid brother, thus assuring his safety as he traveled by train to Washington, DC.

  Detectives Pounded the Pavement

  Questioning witnesses was and still is an important part of solving any crime. But witness testimony isn’t always that reliable, and Pinkerton detectives relied on facts.

  Detectives Were Experts at Body Language

  (Even before Anyone Knew What Body Language Was)

  Detectives of yesteryear were only as good as their observation skills, and the best ones could read a person’s personality at a glance. You think social media raises privacy concerns? Just be glad that you never had to walk past Sherlock Holmes.

  I hope you enjoyed reading Katie and Branch’s story. If you missed reading about Jennifer and Tom, and Maggie and Garrett, books one and two are still available.

  Until next time,

  Margaret

  Discussion Questions

  1. Branch didn’t think his faith was strong enough to pass God’s test, but that turned out not to be true. Name a time in your life when your faith was tested. How did it change you and your relationship to God?

  2. Katie hated her red hair and freckles and often struggled with feelings of envy. Have you ever envied another’s looks or circumstances? The Bible says that the way to handle envy is to see yourself how God sees you. If you were to look at yourself through God’s eyes, what would you see?

  3. Katie and Branch were both afraid to commit to love because of past losses. The same was true for Miss Thatcher and Tully. Have you ever been afraid to do something because of a past experience?

  4. Which character did you most identify with and why?

  5. The Bible says there’s strength in numbers. Abigail stood up to her husband with her friends’ support. Name a time that a friend or friends gave you courage to do something you dreaded or were afraid to do.

  6. In what ways did working at the restaurant help Katie overcome her feelings of inadequacy?

  7. What do you think was the turning point in Katie and Branch’s relationship?

  8. Woody preferred living in a jail cell to facing real life. Other characters in the book lived in less obvious prisons. Fear of loss, fear of another person, and fear of failure were just some of the challenges they had to overcome. Katie, Branch, Andy, Abigail, Cissy, and Miss Thatcher all had to break through the chains that kept them from following God’s plan for them. Name a challenge or fear in your own life and make a list of ways to conquer it.

  9. The Bible doesn’t mention tornadoes, but it does mention whirlwinds. God even spoke to Job from a whirlwind. The tornado struck when Branch was going through a whirlwind of troubles. What message do you think God was sending?

  10. There’s an old adage that it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. This makes perfect sense until you lose someone close. In what ways did Branch and Katie try to protect themselves from future losses? Have you ever been tempted to do likewise?

  Margaret Brownley loves hearing from her readers and can be reached through her website. The author of more than thirty novels, she was a former RITA finalist and INSPY nominee. For more love and laughter in the Old West, check out Margaret’s latest books at www.margaret-brownley.com.