A Changed Agent (17 page)

As Lily danced in step with the saloon girls, Virgil’s little group of men moved through the crowd, going through a side door. Leaving his beer on the bar, Will followed them. As he moved quietly through the narrow, dimly lit hallway, he stopped in front of a single door. On the other side he heard the men talking in low voices. Virgil kept assuring them that he had the money to ante up. When he was about to be tossed out for his lie, Will pushed through the doorway.

Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out a wad of money. Tossing the bills on the table in front of Virgil, he said, “I’ve got him covered.”

Virgil’s face lost all color as he stared up, recognizing his benefactor. At first glance, Will expected the weasel to bolt from the room. Instead, he reached out with a surprisingly steady hand and gathered the money in front of him on the table. After Will assured the group he was just there as an observer, he stepped back into the shadows, finding a spot along the wall to rest his back against.

The winnings of the first few hands were split evenly with the five players, which didn’t come as a surprise to Will. Most of the men had so many tells that even an amateur could spot them. He listened as the music out in the saloon changed from a quick tempo to a lighter one. The cheers died down. Will assumed the women had finished their show. He waited for Lily to come to him.

In the meantime, he watched as Virgil started losing hand after hand, until just one coin remained in his stash. Recognizing the signs of a gambling compulsion, Will thought it no surprise that he’d broken off his engagement with Elsie. The man clearly needed this to survive. While most of the men were gathering up their winnings, Virgil remained at the table, running the coin through his fingers. The last man looked across the table and cocked an eyebrow. Virgil nodded. The man dealt out another hand of five-card stud.

It was hard for Will to remain silent at his post. He wanted to reach out and throttle some sense into Virgil. But he knew it would do no good. Virgil was so far gone, and Will seriously doubted anyone could make him see the error of his ways. Will sent up a prayer of thanksgiving that Elsie hadn’t married Virgil. Knowing how strongly devoted she was to her friends and family, he feared she would have stayed with this man to the bitter end.

Virgil had done the right thing by leaving her.

A light tap on his shoulder had him look behind him. Lily had slipped unnoticed into the room. She inclined her head, and Will followed her out into the dark hallway.

“What do you have for me?”

“Virgil has been in the saloon all day. He came in as soon as Hal unlocked the doors. I heard him tell one of the girls that he was going to be leaving town soon.”

“Did he mention where he’d be going?”

“No. But he said something about getting back some papers he’d left with a friend of his.” Lily tugged the front of her saloon dress up in an effort to cover herself. “Why do I always have to be the saloon girl?”

“Because I wouldn’t look as good as you do in that getup.”

She swatted his arm. “Virgil Jensen is big on whatever those papers are, Will. He said getting them back could be a matter of life or death.”

“From the looks of him, I’d guess he’s left a trail of debtors. Maybe those papers are worth enough to pay off his obligations and then some. There’s only one thing I can think of right now that might be so valuable.”

She leaned in toward him, lowering her voice as a pair of drunken lumberjacks stumbled past them, going out the back door into the alleyway. “Some stolen railroad bonds perhaps?”

The timing fit. Virgil had been in the Albany area at the time of the bond theft. Elsie had already told Will how she’d met Virgil while visiting her aunt and uncle. He’d given her a package. A whoosh of humid air rolled down the hallway as the back door opened and closed.

Will rolled his shoulders, trying to get rid of the nagging tension stuck between his shoulder blades. From the way he’d been playing that game in there, Virgil was getting desperate. And if Will knew one thing about desperation, it could make a person do things they’d never thought about before. If Elsie had those bonds, she was in danger. Harry and Minnie could be in danger, too.

Lily must have been thinking along the same lines because she said, “You’ve got to follow him. I’m afraid I can’t. The girls are probably wondering where I am right now. I told them I needed a break from the noise. The men seem to be a bit bawdier than usual tonight.”

“Take care of yourself, Lily. I don’t want to see anything happen to you.”

“Now don’t you be worrying about me, Will. Remember, I’ve got my best friend strapped right here against my leg within easy reach if I need him.” Lily grinned into the dimness of the hallway, patting the spot high up on her leg where she kept a small pearl-handled revolver.

Will chuckled. “I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of your wrath, Agent Handland.” Becoming serious, he added, “Look after Elsie and the children for me. I’m going to be tracking Virgil from here on out.”

“Is there something I should know about, Will?”

“Like what?”

“Like are you finally falling in love with something, or should I say someone, other than this job?”

He shook his head.

The door to the hallway opened again. One of the saloon girls called out to Lily. “I need to be getting back.”

He watched her move through the doorway into the saloon. He reentered the dark room where the poker game had been played to find only the dealer left at the table. His head was slumped over and Will heard him snore. Laying a hand on his shoulder, he gave him a quick shake, waking him up.

“Hey. Where’s the man who was sitting across from you?”

Chapter Fifteen

“He left.”

“Do you know where he went?”

“Nope. Now leave me in peace so I can get some shut-eye. I gotta go clean up that mess in a bit.”

Will headed back out into the saloon hall. Looking around the room, he didn’t see any sign of Virgil. At the bar, he gave the barkeep a description of the man. The barkeep informed him he’d left a few minutes ago. Virgil was probably heading back to his family homestead. But Will worried he might backtrack to see Elsie again. Leaving the saloon, he stepped out into the humid air. Off in the distance he could see flashes of lightning illuminating the mountain peaks. Thunder rumbled. The first spring storm lit up the night sky. Picking up his pace, he hurried to the house.

Standing in the shadows of a lilac bush, he looked at the house. He saw a flicker of candlelight moving from the kitchen into the parlor. Elsie’s silhouette appeared at the front window. The curtain moved as she peered out into the darkness.

Will wanted to go inside and confess everything to her. He yearned to tell her the truth . . . to free himself from the subterfuge he’d been living in for so long. But he couldn’t do that. Confessing could bring harm to her and the children. Once this assignment was complete, he’d tell her who he really was. And if her faith in the Lord and life was as good as she claimed, she’d understand why he’d done the things he’d done.

He watched her light a lantern and then set it on the roll top desk. He’d come home many a night to find the welcoming light left on for him. He watched her walk through the doorway into the kitchen. The candlelight moved through the room and into her quarters until it disappeared.

Satisfied that Virgil wasn’t there, Will went over to the livery to get a horse. Rousting the watchman, he had him get the black gelding. Then he set off for the Jensen place. More thunder rumbled, spooking the horse. He pulled on the reins, controlling the animal. “There, there, boy. It’s just a storm, nothing more. Just the angels in heaven bowling.”

The words stilled his movements. He closed his eyes against a memory so vivid it made his heart ache. His mother had told him he shouldn’t fear the thunderstorms because they were nothing more than God letting the angels play.

Up ahead a bolt of lightning shot through the sky, splitting open the darkness. The horse shied.

Sliding from the saddle, Will took the reins in one hand, patting the horse’s fear-dampened neck. “I promise you, boy, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

He led the horse along an old overgrown pathway. It didn’t take them long to come to the edge of the Jensen homestead. Will used the next flash of light to look for any signs that Virgil had been here. Off to one side of the pathway, he saw a few spots where the grass had been trampled down.

Still leading the horse, he ventured farther onto the property. He could just make out a trail of smoke coming up the dilapidated chimney. Light flickered from the center of the house. Virgil had come home.

The air stilled as the storms moved around the sky. Perhaps the rain would come and break the humidity. Or maybe the storms would eventually move out. Either way, Will would be here waiting, watching. Sooner or later Virgil was going to get what he’d come back to Heartston for. Wanting to make this a solid case, he needed to catch Virgil red-handed with those bonds in his possession.

Elsie, being true to her word, would be going out to her parents’ house to retrieve Virgil’s stuff tomorrow after the church service. He felt certain the bonds were there. Beside him the horse pawed at the ground, then finding a bit of grass, nibbled away on it.

He suspected Virgil was feeling a bit overzealous since he’d promised those men back at the saloon that he could pay off his debt. There was nothing worse than a desperate person. Will needed to be on the watch for what Virgil might do the next day. Taking an oilskin duster from his saddlebag, Will found a spot underneath a pine tree. He sat facing the house. Pulling the coat around his shoulders, he settled in for the night.

The sound of the rain splashing against the window pane woke Elsie. Lying there with her head against the soft feather pillow, she listened to the sounds of the house. It was quiet. She’d tried to wait up for Will last night, but the hour had grown so late. She’d finally given up and, leaving the lantern burning low in the front parlor, gone to bed.

She’d been silly to think that after the kisses they’d shared that he would stop his late nights at work. If indeed that was where he’d been going. She thought about the last time he’d stayed out till all hours, coming home reeking of the saloon.

Realizing she wasn’t going to fall back to sleep, she found her robe at the end of the bed and put it on. Tying the sash tightly around her waist, she wandered out into the kitchen to begin the day’s chores.

The lamp’s flame still sputtered on the low setting. Will hadn’t come home again. Frowning, she went into the parlor to blow out the flame. After all that had passed between them yesterday, she had thought Will was changing—that things between them were changing.

The wind slammed the rain against the front windows, rattling the panes so hard she feared they might blow out. She turned at the sound of Harry and Minnie scurrying down the stairs, frightened by the storm.

“Miss Elsie, the wind is blowing something fierce!” Harry exclaimed.

“The storm is fast moving, it should blow through soon, I suspect. Let’s go into the kitchen and get some breakfast.” Putting her arms around each of them, she herded them into the kitchen.

While the children sat at the table, she made up some oatmeal and heated the tea water.

“Where’s Uncle Will?” Harry asked, fidgeting with his spoon and napkin.

“He’s working.”

“I tried to wait up for him, but I was so tired after playing outside on our swings. Will the rain hurt the plants in the garden?”

“No. The rain will help them grow.” Distracting him from the whereabouts of his uncle, she asked, “Tell me what you’d like in your oatmeal.”

“Some of those dried apples and maple syrup. Minnie wants the same for hers.”

Taking the dried apples down from the pantry shelf, she said, “Harry, we need to let Minnie start to answer for herself.”

She was surprised to turn around and find a stricken-looking Harry staring back at her.

“No. She needs me to talk for her.”

Setting the container of apples down on the table, Elsie pulled out a chair and sat. Looking at Harry and then Minnie, she explained, “I know you’ve been through a hard time, losing your parents the way you did, and I can only imagine how much the pain has hurt you on the inside.”

Harry’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears, while Minnie hugged Hazel close, making Elsie wish she hadn’t started this conversation. But the fact of the matter was that living here in Heartston with their uncle was their life now. She wanted to help Minnie move through her pain. To show her that life here could be wonderful.

Though she didn’t want them to forget their parents, she did want them to feel loved and nurtured. Reaching out, she covered Harry’s hands with hers, wishing with all her heart that their uncle were here. Will needed to be a part of this conversation.

“Some days I miss my ma and pa so much I feel an ache right here.” Harry pointed to the spot on his chest where his heart lay. “I know they’re in heaven just like you’ve told us. Sometimes I even feel like my mamma is watching over us. Does that sound strange to you, Miss Elsie?”

Elsie felt his heartache. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “It sounds perfectly wonderful to me, Harry. Not strange at all.”

A loud clap of thunder and then a bolt of lightning sent the children straight into her arms.

She reassured them there was nothing to fear. Mother Nature was just making her presence known. She gave thanks for the distraction, even if the noise from the storm did vibrate through the walls of the house.

She thought about Will and where he’d gotten off to. And she hoped he could remain safely out of the storm, because when he did get himself back home, they were going to have a set-to. Never one to stay in limbo for too long, Elsie felt the time had come for them to make a decision about their future. Leaving the children at their seats, she finished putting breakfast on the table. The storm eventually died down, moving on over the mountain peaks.

She had a busy day ahead. She bustled about the kitchen getting the dishes cleaned and put away. Then she ushered Harry and Minnie upstairs to get dressed for church. Once they were set, she left them reading from their favorite storybook in the parlor.

Because they would be making their way to church along the muddy roadway, Elsie decided to wear one of her older church gowns, a light tan. She placed her bonnet atop her head, tying the green grosgrain ribbon underneath her chin.

They set off to Sunday services. As she watched her fellow parishioners enter the sanctuary, she wished for Will to appear.

The service seemed long to her. Elsie had to fight to stay focused. Her mind kept wandering to Will and what he might be doing. After the service ended, she joined her parents out in the churchyard.

“I thought the children and I might accompany you home.”

“Your father and I have accepted a dinner invitation from the postmaster and his wife. We won’t be going back home until later this afternoon.”

“If it’s all right with you, I’d like to take the children out there anyway. I need to pick something up. Besides, I’m sure they’d enjoy getting out of town for a bit.”

“Take our wagon. The roads are still muddy and wet from the thunderstorms. Just leave it at your house, and we’ll pick it up on our way out of town later,” her father said.

“That’s a fine idea. Thank you, Father.” She kissed her mother and father good-bye, then loaded Harry and Minnie in the back of the wagon.

Seeing the puddles in the rutted roadway stretching out of town, Elsie was glad her father had offered to let her take the wagon. They arrived at the house a short time later to find the chickens ranging about the yard, happily clucking and pecking at the ground.

“Miss Elsie, can we go see if there are any eggs?” Harry leapt from the back of the wagon before she could offer to help him down.

“Do you remember where to find the basket?”

“Hanging on the outside of the chicken coop.”

Smiling, she watched as Harry and Minnie ran off toward the barn. She tied the mare to the hitching post and made her way into the main room of the house she’d grown up in. It seemed strange after all the years she’d spent here to be stopping by for visits. Untying her bonnet, she left it on the entryway table. The familiar scent of the lemon-and-herb potpourri that her mother kept in a bowl on the table filled her with memories of another time, when her entire life was here in this house—a house filled with love and affection.

Moving through the parlor, she walked down the short hallway to the staircase that led to the two bedrooms upstairs. Hers was the one tucked up under the front eave of the house. She put her foot on the first step, then paused. The floorboard above her creaked. Bewildered by the noise, she looked up, thinking perhaps the house was groaning from the wind. Gathering her skirts, she continued up the staircase, coming to a sudden stop right outside her bedroom door.

The door had been left half-open. She could hear a scraping sound. Wood against wood. Someone was in her room! She slammed the door open. It hit the wall with a loud thud.

“What on earth are you doing?”

A man spun around.

She gasped. “Virgil!”

“Now don’t be getting upset with me, Elsie. I told you I needed that envelope.”

“And I told you that I would bring it to you later today.” Seeing him standing in her bedroom, knowing that he’d entered her parents’ house like a common criminal, left her spitting mad.

“Get out this instant!”

“I can’t do that.”

Taking two steps into the room, she said, “You can, and you will do as I ask.”

He shook his head, sending long, greasy locks of hair swinging across his shoulders. He wore gloves and the same clothes he’d had on yesterday. Looking down the length of him, she noticed his boots were caked in mud.
Of course they would be,
she thought, because she hadn’t seen any sign of a horse or wagon outside. He must have walked through the rain-soaked land the five miles from his parents’ place.

Thinking back on it, she realized he hadn’t come by on horseback yesterday, either.
What had happened to him over the years?
What had made him enter her family’s home uninvited?

“Virgil, let me help you.”

“Where’s the envelope, Elsie?”

She moved toward him, closer, so close she could now see the hardness in his eyes. The first quiver of fear ran along her spine. She could hear Harry and Minnie making their way back from the henhouse. She wanted to warn them to stay outside. She bit back a warning as Virgil took a menacing step toward her.

“Don’t open your mouth, Elsie. I’ll get what’s mine and be gone before those young’uns even get to the porch. Now where’s my packet?”

“Your stuff is right there in the top drawer of my dresser.” She started toward the dresser. “Virgil, what’s happened to you?”