An Agent for Josie

by P. Creeden

  The postmaster’s brow lifted as he carried the bag into the office area. He held the door for her. “You’re waiting on a letter from Cheyenne, right?”

  Josie nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m hoping to get word this week.”

  Truth was she was itching to get going. She’d spent nearly a third of the savings she’d had with her father already. Her health had improved enough that she felt she could handle the trip, and she was more than ready to get back to work. If she didn’t hear back from the mayor soon, she’d decided she’d risk it all and continue the trip on her own and hope for acceptance when she arrived.

  “It looks like you’re in luck, Miss Roth,” the postmaster said with a smile, handing her a small rectangular envelope.

  Her heart leapt into her throat as she nodded and accepted the letter. “Thank you so much.”

  He nodded his thanks. “My pleasure, Miss. Have a good day.”

  It felt as though her chest could hardly contain her heart as it fluttered about like a bird trying to escape. She clutched the letter to her as she rushed back across the street toward the park and then down the way to the boarding house. After nodding her greetings to everyone she saw on the way up, she rushed to the second-floor room that she now shared with another short-term boarder, Clenna Murphy.

  Clenna jumped from the bed next to Josie’s as soon as she rushed into the room. The red-headed Irish girl was already a bit on the jumpy side. Her green eyes widened. “What has got your bonnet in a bunch?”

  Josie’s breaths came in quick pants as she tried to catch it. She waved the envelope toward her friend, knowing it was all the answer that she needed to give. Clenna nodded and let out a slow breath.

  Once Josie sat on her bed, she set the envelope down in front of her and pulled off her gloves slowly. Droplets of sweat formed on her forehead now that she was in the warm room. She shouldn’t have run and caused such a fuss. She dabbed at her forehead with her kerchief. Part of her was in a rush to open the letter and know her fate. But the fearful part wanted to procrastinate, to drag on and leave the letter unopened. Maybe it was better not to know?

  For several long moments, she stared at the envelope that lay on her lavender quilt.

  Then a small hand grabbed hold of the envelope and pulled it from the coverlet. Clenna held it in her hands, causing Josie’s heart to skip a beat. In a panicked tone, Josie asked, “What are you doing?”

  Clenna huffed a laugh. “You’re staring at it as though the power of your eyesight is going to help you see through the envelope and know what it says inside.”

  Josie frowned and stood. “Of course, that’s not so.”

  With a shrug, Clenna offered, “If you’re so scared to open it, I can do it for you.”

  “Absolutely not,” Josie said as she snatched the envelope from her friend’s hands. “I’ll do it myself.”

  Clenna’s hands went to her hips. “I should hope so.”

  The paper trembled in Josie’s hands. She swallowed hard and without another word or a glance in her friend’s direction, she ripped open the seal. Her heart raced again while her stomach flipped. She opened the letter and found the penmanship short-clipped and professional.

  “Thank you so much for informing us of your father’s passing. We’ve already been in contact with a doctor who is willing to take the position. I’m sorry, but we’ll have to decline your generous offer. Condolences. Signed, the Mayor.”

  Nausea gripped her. She’d been rejected. Part of her knew it would happen. The point in going out west was to find her better opportunities as a female doctor and now she was stranded with no one willing to give her a chance. Clenna took the letter from her limp hand and read it herself.

  “They don’t know what they are missing, you know. I’m sure this new doctor wasn’t educated at one of the best schools of medicine in New England. You would have done a better job, I’m certain,” Clenna said, quietly folding the letter and putting it back in the envelope.

  Josie nodded. The lump in her throat wouldn’t allow words past. What was she going to do now? She had no plan, no direction to go now in life. She and her father had put all their eggs in this one basket. They sold their practice back home and all their belongings so they could travel out west. She had no furniture, no prospects, and just the contents of two steamer trunks and medicine bags.

  “I know that look,” Clenna said softly as she put an arm around Josie’s shoulder. “I’ve seen it before in the mirror. You don’t know what to do now, do you?”

  Shaking her head as her vision went blurry with tears, Josie tried to look up at her friend. Clenna was a half a foot taller, pretty with wavy red hair and striking green eyes. She was always cheerful but had a mean temper when she felt someone was done wrong.

  Clenna squeezed Josie’s shoulder. “Why don’t you apply at the Pinkerton office with me?”

  A frown tugged at Josie’s lip. “The Pinkerton Detective agency?”

  Clenna nodded, came around to the front of Josie, and took both her upper arms in her hands. She ducked down a bit so that her eyes were level with Josie’s. “Yes. They are looking for educated, smart, strong women—like you and like me. We’re shoo-ins for the position. It’s like we’re cheating.”

  Josie lifted a brow and shook her head. “I should be a doctor somewhere. That’s my training. It seems like it would be a waste if I did something else. It’s all I’ve ever known—all I’ve ever planned for.”

  Narrowing her eyes at Josie, Clenna let her go and stood up to her full height again. She shook the envelope from Cheyenne in her hand. “And how is that plan turning out for you? Your options are pretty simple now. You can wallow in your misery and do nothing—sit on the bed and have a good cry. Or you can pick yourself up and make a new plan. This might be your greatest opportunity. There aren’t many professions that allow unmarried women to have a career that doesn’t involve a saloon.”

  A lump formed in Josie’s throat again. She swallowed it down. It’s true that she had a savings, but it was quickly depleting. Clenna was right. It was time for a new plan. “Okay,” she said as she nodded. “I’m not sure that this detective agency thing is the best idea, but you’re right that I need a new plan.”

  “It is the best idea. You’ll see,” Clenna said, suddenly getting excited. “Let’s go right now and talk to them.”

  “Right now?” Josie’s heart leapt into her throat. “But you’ve been talking about going since you arrived almost a week ago.”

  Chagrined, Clenna’s cheeks flushed. “I’ve been working myself up to doing it. It’s a big decision. Just like you were working up the courage to open that envelope and I helped you, you’re helping me feel as if I can do it now by coming with me.”

  “Really?” Josie asked, huffing a laugh.

  Clenna nodded and grabbed her overcoat. “Truly. Now, let’s go before I lose the nerve again.”

  Shaking her head, Josie stood with her friend. Clenna had seemed like one of the bravest girls that she had ever met, but she’d struggled with going down and getting an interview at the agency she wanted to work for. Apparently, this was something that Clenna had wanted for a long time, maybe even as long as Josie had wanted to be a doctor. If she could support her friend, then it was worth going down and making a fool of herself. A doctor becoming a detective? Who’d ever heard of such a foolish thing?

  Billy

  The two of them had left on a train, but returned on horseback, and now Billy’s seat was sore. He dismounted the chestnut gelding and gave the horse a pat on the neck. The bandits who had been giving the railroad company a problem had several horses that were going to be set free if someone didn’t claim them. The railroad company didn’t have a use for most of them but confiscated them to help pay for what the bandits had stolen. Billy and Ben had each bought a horse from the company at a discount.

  It was Billy’s first horse. He’d ridden a few times while doing agency work out of Chicago but wasn’t quite used to the kind of riding
that people often did out west, traveling for days from town to town. The gelding had proven himself to be both gentle and smooth to ride. And though Billy apologized to the animal for having to haul around his bulk, the horse seemed to be happy to do the job provided that he occasionally got a piece of hard tack and a scratch behind the ears.

  Billy and Ben stopped with their horses at the livery nearest the Pinkerton Agency. For a small, monthly fee, they’d keep the horses at a partial rate, if the agents let their horses be used by the livery for small, local rentals. Both Ben and Billy agreed to the terms, since they wouldn’t need their horses on a regular basis.

  As much fun as it had been to ride back on his own horse, Billy enjoyed stretching his muscles while walking on his own two feet. When they started back to the agency, they passed by the ladies’ boarding house. Billy couldn’t help but look longingly up at the second floor. He wondered if Josie might still be there. Her father had said that they were headed to start a practice north of Denver. Chances were that the beautiful lady doctor was long gone.

  His heart ached a bit at the thought.

  “Are you looking for somebody?” Ben asked as he leaned in and tried to look where Billy’s gaze had been.

  Heat rose to Billy’s cheeks as he shook his head and adjusted his gaze. “No. Who... why would I be looking for somebody?”

  Ben shrugged, giving a non-committal smile. “Seemed you were doing a lot of sighing on our trip out to the Nebraska Territory, like you were missing somebody or leaving somebody behind. Sounded like you might have even had a broken heart.”

  Billy frowned. “What kind of yarn are you spinning? Nothing like that in my life, I assure you.”

  A shrug pulled up Ben’s shoulders again as they turned the corner and headed through the front gate of the Denver Pinkerton office. When they reached the front door, Ben grabbed hold of it and then motioned with a bow. “After you, sir.”

  Always the kidder. Billy shook his head as he stepped inside. The foyer was well decorated, but slightly dark compared to the bright sunshine outside. He had to blink a few times to allow his eyes to adjust.

  Ben slapped a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. And I am so sick of pemmican and hardtack that I might eat the first thing I see in the kitchen. Wanna come with me to see what Pearl’s cooked up?”

  Billy couldn’t help but laugh. “Sure.”

  They started down the hallway toward the kitchen when they passed the receiving area where Marianne’s desk sat. Two women stood in front of the desk. One leaned over to hand Marianne some papers, and Billy’s heart jumped into his throat. He froze at the sight of her profile. “Josie,” he whispered.

  Chapter 5

  Billy

  “Who’s Josie?” Ben asked as he came around the side of Billy.

  But Billy couldn’t speak. He just gaped at the lovely young woman standing on the other side of the taller redhead. Josie’s eyes met his, and her eyebrows shot up her forehead. He couldn’t breathe. What? How? He couldn’t form a coherent thought.

  “Mr. Hogge?” Josie asked, coming a few steps closer. “What are you doing here?”

  He swallowed hard and shook his head. Words still not making it past the lump forming in his throat.

  Ben gave him a sideways glance and then bowed slightly to her. “Hi there. I’m Ben Mercer. And it seem’s you’ve made Billy Hogge’s acquaintance. We just got back from agency work, and we’re heading toward the kitchen. I’m sorry that my friend has suddenly gone silent like that on you.”

  Billy felt an elbow in his side and finally gasped a breath. “Miss... I mean Doctor Roth. I thought you’d be gone.”

  Her brow furrowed as she tilted her head in that adorable way she did when she was confused. “Agency work?”

  Slowly, Billy nodded. Somehow, he’d been struck dumb by the shock of seeing her unexpectedly.

  Ben elbowed him again and then nodded to the woman. “Yes, Billy and I are both Pinkerton Detectives.”

  Josie’s eyes went wide, and suddenly Billy wished that he could sink into the floor and disappear. He’d never told Miss Roth what he’d done for work. Part of him might have been ashamed by the fact that he’d used brawn instead of brains to make his living. He feared what her reaction might be now for him.

  The lady’s eyes crinkled as she chuckled. Then she shook her head. “That... That’s amazing.”

  Billy swallowed hard. Of all the reactions that Billy imagined she might have, that wasn’t one of them. The tension in his back and shoulders let go, and he finally felt unfrozen, unmuted. “Amazing?”

  She nodded and laughed again, the sound like a chime on the wind. “Yes.”

  Then, Billy’s stomach growled, making everyone look down at it. Then Miss Roth wasn’t the only one laughing. Marianne and the red-headed woman joined in, as well as Ben, who grabbed him by the arm and started pulling him toward the kitchen. Ben nodded to the ladies in the receiving area. “We’ll go ahead and make our way toward the kitchen and take care of that. Lovely to see you ladies.”

  But Billy couldn’t tear his gaze away from Miss Roth’s pretty, surprised face until the kitchen door swung behind him.

  Josie

  Josie’s heart fluttered in her chest. She had no idea that she would see Billy Hogge here, much less find out he was a Pinkerton agent. Excitement twisted her stomach.

  Clenna placed a hand on her shoulder. “So, you know one of the agents then?”

  Blinking, Josie shook her head and then nodded. “Seems that I do.”

  Marianne’s smile grew wider as she held the papers in her hand that Josie and Clenna had just given her. “If you’ll both follow me, we’ll do a joint interview with Mr. Gordon. He’s ready to see you now.”

  Now? Josie’s heart squeezed in her chest for a new reason. Sure, she’d come to this interview on a whim and in order to support her friend, but after seeing Mr. Hogge, she suddenly had the desire for a positive outcome to the interview. She wasn’t sure exactly why, but she wished to see Mr. Hogge again, perhaps even work with him. She steadied herself as she entered the office where Mr. Gordon sat on the other side of the large, dark wooden desk.

  He stood as they entered the room and gave them a bow, his eyes sparkling with mirth as Marianne leaned over and whispered a few things to him. Afterward, he nodded to them and gestured for both Josie and Clenna to sit in the chairs across the desk from him. When Marianne left the room, Josie’s nerves seized her stomach. She felt nauseous again.

  “I’ve read through both of your qualifications. Miss Murphy, you are not only well-educated, but you worked with your father on steam engines?” Mr. Gordon asked, lifting a brow at Clenna.

  “Yes, sir.” Clenna leaned forward a bit. “My father was not only a conductor but worked closely with the machinists who created and repaired the engines to the modern locomotive. He taught both me and my younger brother everything he knew about machine work and engines.”

  Mr. Gordon nodded. “That’s very interesting. Not many men know about such things, and fewer ladies. Quite impressive.”

  Clenna’s cheeks reddened. “Thank you for noticing, sir.”

  “I’m glad you added the talent to your resume. We need not only smart women, but ones with talents above and beyond those needed in the household.” Then Mr. Gordon turned his attention to Josie. “And you, Miss Roth, or should I say, Doctor Roth, have a medical degree? Why are you not practicing medicine?”

  Josie choked, a lump forming in her throat. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to keep herself from crying. When she opened them again, she fisted her hands and moved to the edge of her seat to sit up straighter. “My father passed away a month ago. We had intended to open a practice in a small town near Cheyenne, Wyoming. Unfortunately, the town wasn’t interested in accepting me as a replacement for my father.”

  Mr. Gordon’s eyes widened slightly as he nodded once. “How very backward-thinking of them. You’ll find that not all people here in
the western territories are prejudiced so. We pride ourselves in being progressive thinkers. I hope that you’ll meet more of them on your journeys.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Josie choked out, the lump in her throat remaining.

  “Okay, we just need to ask you both two more additional questions. First, are you committed to being a Pinkerton agent through thick and thin? Being a detective at our agency is much like being married. You’ll take vows of a kind, and you’ll be committed to staying with the case, no matter what might befall you or what dangers are present. Are you ready for such endeavors?”

  Clenna piped up immediately. “Yes, sir. I am.”

  Josie swallowed against that lump again and drew in another deep breath before letting it out. She took commitment very seriously. And though she’d come to this office on a whim, she was beginning to feel as though it were the right place for her to be. Slowly, she nodded. “I will be committed as an agent, sir. I’ve never been one to back down from a fight.”

  A slow smile formed on Mr. Gordon’s lips. “Excellent. Now for the second question.”

  He paused, leaving both ladies sitting on the edge of their seats.

  “Each of you will be assigned a training agent who will show you what it means to be a Pinkerton Detective. These men have been agents for several years and know about the dedication and work it takes to do the job well. They will instruct you and evaluate the job that you’re doing to be sure that you’re ready to work on your own after the first case.”