An Agent for Annie

by Lynn Donovan

  Mrs. Toffler stared at her.

  “Now, go! Return to the man who truly loves you. Put the spirits at peace.”

  Mrs. Toffler stood. Her eyes and her face wet and red. “I-I will. But… how do I find Christopher?”

  Annie Kate smiled. “The woman… the grandmotherly woman you have befriended. She can guide you. She knows a man who can help you to get home. He can protect you.” Annie Kate collapsed against the back of her chair as if she was exhausted.

  Mrs. Toffler turned and ran from the inner chamber.

  

  Katheryn stood a few feet on the other side and caught her in a loving embrace. “Oh Liza. What did the woman say?”

  Liza leaned into Katheryn’s arms heavily. “I have to go home. I’ve been wretched.”

  “Oh child.” Katheryn stroked her head. “There is no sin that God cannot forgive.”

  Liza looked into Katheryn’s face. “It’s not God who I need to beg for mercy.”

  “Who child?”

  “My-my husband.” She collapsed against Katheryn, sobbing.

  “Mr. Brautigan?” Katheryn smiled above Liza’s head where she could not see.

  “No. Christopher Toffler, my true husband. Melinda said he wants me still, after all I’ve done, he still loves me and wants me back…” She lifted reddened eyes to Katheryn. “She said you know a man who can protect me and-and help me.”

  “Well then, child. We better get you home.”

  “But— what about Dominic?”

  Katheryn pulled Liza up straight, smoothed back her soft hair. “This man, Melinda spoke of is… is my son. She’s right. He will help you get home. And I have the feeling that nice man at the concierge desk will help you gather your things and get on a train right away. Let’s go speak to them both.”

  Liza sniffed. “Alright. Thank you, Kate. I don’t know how I’d get through all this without you.”

  “Oh now. The Good Lord puts people in our path for a reason. Some to make us stronger and some to help us get through hard times. I suppose we both have been blessed by our running into one another yesterday.”

  “Yes. I suppose you’re right.” Liza let Katheryn lead her from the tent. “Oh. But, Kate! You never spoke to Mysterious Melinda!”

  “That’s alright, child. I know all I need to about my future. And you now know what you need to do about yours.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “Psst! Bruno!” The native agent pressed his face through a seam in the tent that he had slit with his knife.

  Bruno strained under a heavy weighted bar, pumping up his muscles while waiting for his next introduction. He looked over at the fellow-agent in surprise. “Bronco! What are you doing here?”

  “We need to go see that doc I hired to examine Mrs. Brautigan’s remains. He’s got information for us.”

  “I thought the coroner ruled it as natural causes?”

  “Not that doc! Brautigan paid him off. I’m talking about the one we hired!”

  Bruno turned to the entrance of his staging area and lowered the bar to the ground with a thud and a moan.. “I-I can’t. I’m obligated to Mr. Barnum. Let me finish this set and then tell Barnum I have to leave.”

  Bronco smiled. “Yeah, it’s only right. I’ll wait for you in the audience.” He flipped a dime in the air and caught it in his fist, slipping back through the slit he had created.

  Mr. Barnum, using his ringleader voice, described The World’s Unbeatable Man with enthusiastic words that made Bruno want to cover his face. He curled up his fists instead and pranced out into the big tent. Bronco sat in the raised bleachers, and whistled and yelled along with the rest of the audience. Bruno shook his head slightly, embarrassment filled his face with unwanted heat.

  Barnum challenged the men to pay ten cents to try their luck at beating The Unbeatable Man. Twenty-five dollars could be theirs! All they had to do was knock him down!

  Men poured from the stands, handed a dime to a girl covered in sparkles and feathers, like a show girl from the casinos, and lined up to take Bruno on. He either knocked them out, or they surrendered. But in less than thirty minutes, the line was no more and he was free to leave.

  “Mr. Barnum!” Bruno approached the ring leader. “I want to thank you for helping me out. But, I’ve gotta go now.”

  Barnum shook his hand. “It’s been my pleasure, sir. Look me up, if you ever want to do this for a living.”

  “I will. Well, I won’t, but I sure appreciate you letting me earn some money.”

  Barnum nodded. “You earned me a nice stash, too, son. Thank you! See Lilith for your pay.”

  Bruno jerked a nod and ran back to his staging area to change into his normal street clothes. Bronco slipped through the slit he’d made earlier. “You ready?”

  “Yeah. Give me two minutes. I need to pick up my pay.”

  

  Bruno followed Bronco into the clinic’s front entrance. Bronco paused immediately. An assaulting pungent aroma burned in his nostrils. Bruno shoved him farther in and instantly covered his face with his palm. “What is th—”

  “Doc?” Bronco called out.

  “Come on back, Mr. Wauneka.” An elderly gentleman’s voice came from the back.

  Bronco breathed with shallow breaths and hurried to the doctor’s office. Bruno rushed behind him, shoving Bronco unceremoniously into the small room. A frail man bent over his desk as if his back were bent like a shepherd’s hook. He wobbled as he stood to greet them with a gnarled hand and weak-gripped handshake. “Sit down gentlemen.”

  “What do you have for us, Doc?” Bronco glared at Bruno to silence his questioning eyes.

  The crooked man strained to compensate for his curved neck and shoulders to look at Bronco over the top of his spectacles. His lips drew to one side of his mouth in a grimacing frown. “Well, there were traces of copper in her gut.” He paused as if to determine if Bronco understood.

  He did. “Do you have a written report for my file?”

  “Certainly.” The doc handed him a piece of paper stamped with his name at the top and his findings scrawled in pen and ink.

  Bronco looked it over with a nod and handed it to Bruno. The latter folded the report, put it inside his notebook, and tied the string around the leather cover. Bronco crossed his ankle over his knee. “And so there’s no doubt? Mrs. Brautigan was murdered with poison?”

  “No doubt.” The doc nodded by moving his entire head and shoulders. “Mind you, it wouldn’t have been a quick death. Copper kills but it does it slowly and painfully. The victim would have suffered with vomiting and abdominal pain—”

  Bruno stood. “Yeah, we got it, doc.”

  Bronco turned questioning brows toward Bruno and stood, too. “Well, the Pinkerton Agency thanks you for your help.” He handed the man a bank note and shook his hand again.

  “My pleasure gentlemen, and tell Archie his uncle Amos said, ‘Don’t be a stranger.’”

  Bronco smiled and Bruno frowned, as the former led the way to the street. “Wait!” Bruno pulled Bronco around to face him. “That was Mr. Gordon’s uncle?”

  Bronco just shrugged.

  Bruno closed his gaping mouth and walked silently beside his former partner. They stopped in the telegraph office at the train depot and wired Gordon an encrypted update. There was a telegram from Gordon waiting for Bruno as well. Next stop, the Sheriff’s office. Mr. Brautigan’s campaign for office would soon be voided.

  A pang of disappointment ran through Bruno’s veins. Being the one to arrest the perpetrator at the end of an investigation was one of the best parts of being a Pinkerton agent. But they would have to let Sheriff Conrad have the honors. Their assignment was to bring Mr. Brautigan to justice and to make sure Mrs. Toffler gave a confession and bring her home. Her brother had no intention of pressing charges and Captain Toffler would be waiting for his wife to return home. All he had to do now was escort Mrs. Toffler to the farm near Pueblo.

  Bronco followed Bruno into the newlywed’s
hotel suite but came to an abrupt halt. Liza Toffler sat between Annie Kate and Mrs. Hinkley, sobbing. Bruno stared at his wife with lifted brow. “Uh. Honey?”

  “Sweetheart!” Annie Kate rose and drew her husband and Bronco into the privacy of the bedroom where they could speak quietly. “She confessed to everything. Mr. Brautigan’s plan to eliminate everyone who stood in the way of them marrying, including her brother. She spoke to the concierge at their hotel and has made arrangements for her belongings to be brought here. Grandma Hinkley promised her you’d protect her from Brautigan until we can get her back home to her brother.”

  “Well.” Bruno rubbed the back of his neck. “That won’t be a problem. The Sheriff has arrested Brautigan for murder and attempted murder and… bigamy. Bronco found record of their marriage here in Las Vegas. And the doctor he hired to assist with the investigation of the late Mrs. Brautigan’s body gave us a written report that she had been poisoned with copper filings, probably ingested in her food or drink.” He smiled. “We’ve solved our case, Annie! And Mr. Gordon wired that Captain Toffler is anxious to reconcile with his wife. All we have to do is see that she gets home safely and report in to the Denver office.”

  He glanced at Bronco. “I, uh, Bronco, could I speak with Annie alone?”

  “Of course.” Bronco grinned and left the room.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Bruno watched Bronco walk from the room. He made sure the doors were securely shut and turned to Annie Kate. “Annie. I want to speak to you about something important.”

  Bruno took her small hands into his. “You know we agreed to marry in order to protect your reputation… and” —he rubbed his hand down the back of his neck— “I realize I ain’t much to look at, Annie, but I promise you, if you want to… if you could stand looking at a mug like mine every—”

  “What are you saying, Bruno?” Annie tilted her head with an inquisitive slant in her eye.

  He looked up at her in surprise. What was he saying, indeed? Annie, I love you. Annie, I want to stay married to you. The case was solved. He couldn’t think of a single reason she should stay married to him. There were thousands of reasons he wanted to stay married to her.

  Their orders, after solving the case and delivering Mrs. Toffler safely to her brother, Captain Oppenheimer, were to go back to Denver and see Judge Hotchkiss for an annulment. But Bruno really didn’t want the annulment. How could he convince her to give this marriage a chance? How could he influence her to not want the annulment either?

  But why would anyone want to be married to him? Even though he loved her with every fiber of his being, and he would protect her for as long as he lived, he prayed she could get past his disfigurement.

  Was that fair? Was that fair to her? She was such a beautiful woman. She deserved to be married to a beautifully handsome man. Not a torn and broken troll with an ugly face like his.

  Bruno dropped his eyes to the floor. “Never mind. Let’s get Mrs. Toffler back to Pueblo, to her brother, at least one of us deserves to live out their happy ever after.”

  Annie took his arm, she squeezed it firmly. “Bruno? Are you asking me if I want to stay married to you?”

  He stared at her. Did he dare admit yes? This was the moment for him to take a leap of faith and admit how much he loved her. How much he wanted to be with her forever.

  No. He loved her too much to saddle her to a brute-face such as his. But his words wouldn’t come out. He just shook his head.

  Annie’s eyes softened. “Bruno. Be honest with me. Because if that’s what you are saying, that you don’t want to get an annulment, I-I feel the same way. I have gotten to know you over these past few weeks and… I’ve fallen in love with the kind and sincere man that you are. I feel safe with you and know that you would always protect me and my family.” Tears filled her eyes. “If you will have me, Bruno Thomas, I want to remain your wife.”

  He pulled her into his arms and held her so close to his chest he could feel her heart beat against his. “You mean it?”

  His smile stretched taut across his face. “You really mean it, Annie?”

  She giggled. “Yes. I really mean it.”

  He lowered his lips to hers and caressed her mouth with his. She grabbed the back of his head and pulled him deeper into the kiss. Passion soared between them like a swallow swooping in a field of wildflowers. He wanted to lift her in his arms and seal their marriage in the overwhelming love and passion that made his heart feel like it was on the verge of exploding.

  But she pulled back from him, sucking in her swollen lips. She wavered, as if her knees were too weak to hold her upright. She heaved for air. “There’s just one thing I really want to do before we go back to Denver.”

  Drunk with desire for her, he shook his head, trying to gain control of his thoughts and his body. “What?” He focused on her eyes. “Anything.”

  

  “Thank you, Mrs. Oleson.” Annie Kate stood next to the paper-wrapped package. She attached her mother’s mother-of-pearl comb into her twist of hair on top of her head and turned with a smile. Bruno mirrored her pleased expression while tucking the package under his arm. This was going to be such a great surprise.

  Mrs. Oleson pressed a pleasant smile, although it was obvious by her taut eyebrows she was not happy with the sale, even though it was a sizable profit for her mercantile. Annie Kate didn’t care. She was just relieved Mrs. Oleson let her buy the things that were so dear to her.

  Hooking her hand into Bruno’s elbow, she pranced out of the store. “Let’s hurry home, I’ve dreamed about this for a long time.”

  Bruno led her to their carriage. “It’s perfect.”

  “It is, isn’t it?” Annie let him help her into the seat. “I’m so excited about this.”

  “You know? I am too.” Bruno snapped the reins on the horse’s backside.

  Annie Kate snuggled into his side with a satisfied sigh. “This is perfect, too.”

  Bruno moved the reigns to his left hand and put his right arm around her shoulders. “Yeah. It is.” He squeezed her against him. “I love you.”

  She looked up into his sweet face. “I love you, too.”

  Annie sat up straighter. “Bruno. You were the perfect agent for me. I can’t imagine learning about being an effective detective from anyone other than you.”

  He smiled. “We make a good team, don’t we?”

  “Not only that, but I think we make a pretty handsome couple.”

  He snapped his gaze toward her. “Really? Well, you are beautiful. With you beside me, no one notices all my scars and disfigurements.”

  She sighed. “Bruno, you’re a beautiful man… to me. I love you for who you are on the inside and out—”

  “Annie Kate, if I haven’t made it clear, we belong together. In the agency and in marriage. You are my soul mate. There’s no way I could have got a confession out of Mrs. Toffler like you did. You’re brilliant and clever. You’re the perfect Pinkerton detective. And when we have a child, well, we’ll figure something out. Whatever you want. If you want to remain a Pinkerton, after…”

  She gawked at him. “Children. I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

  Her eyes wandered into the open prairie. They rode in silence the remainder of the distance to the Hinkley farm. Grandma Hinkley and Raymond stood in the yard as they approached the house. Grandma waved as if she hadn’t just arrived home with her granddaughter that morning.

  Annie waved, balancing the package in her lap. Bruno pulled on the reins and slowed the horse next to Raymond who automatically took hold of the bridle and held the horse still while Bruno and Annie Kate climbed out of the carriage.

  “What’s this? What was so important you had to run straight to town before eating dinner?” Grandma Hinkley hugged Annie Kate carefully so as not to smash the package between them.

  Annie cleared the emotion from her throat. “This is for you, Grandma Hinkley. It’s my way of thanking you for… everything you did for me, all my life, real
ly, but especially for helping me go to Denver to become a Pinkerton Agent.”

  “Oh, Annie Kate. You didn’t have to… Come on let’s go inside.” Grandma Hinkley took the package, but stopped. Squeezing the soft content inside the paper. “Wha—”

  “Let’s get inside.” Annie Kate grinned.

  Grandma Hinkley sat in her rocker and pulled the twine gently. She peeled back the brown paper. “Annie Katheryn Hinkley! I mean Thomas!” Grandma covered her cheeks with age-spotted hands. “You shouldn’t have!”

  “Yes, I should have.” Annie fought her tears. “There’s no way I could leave this outside of the family.”

  Grandma stood with the gift in her arms and shuffled to Annie Kate, wrapping her arm around her neck and hugging the stuffing out of her. Annie kissed her powder-soft cheek.

  “You’re such a good child! But… you’re not a child. You’re a married woman now, and I promised your mother…”

  She handed Annie Kate the blue-ribbon quilt. “This is for your wedding bed.”

  “But Grandma, I bought it back from the Olesons… for you!”

  Grandma Hinkley covered Annie Kate’s hand with hers. “And I saved it for you. Now that it’s back in our family, it’s yours. And someday you’ll pass it on to your daughter.” A tear spilled down Grandma’s cheek. “May it bless you all the days of your life, and your daughter, and maybe even her daughter.”

  Grandma Hinkley tenderly rubbed her finger across the top-stitching. “I pray it lasts that long. It’s made out of good sturdy material. If you take good care of it, it should… last for several generations.”

  Annie Kate hugged the prized quilt to her chest. “I will Grandma Hinkley. I’ll take good care of it.”

  Grandma wiped her tears. “Who’s hungry?”

  “Me!” Bruno croaked with emotions he never thought he’d have. This was home and these people were his family. The family he never dreamed he’d ever have. He took Annie’s hand and walked with her to the table. “Thank you.”