The Iron Horseman (26 page)

“Your
coach is quite something, Mr. Durant,” she said, trying not to appear too taken
with the luxuries as she moved to the proffered chairs.

“Thomas,
please.” He stood and reached out for her hand before she could sit. “I
understand we will be working together over the next couple of days.” He kissed
the back of her hand. “You are even lovelier than Miss Kramer here described.”
He waved someone into the room.

A
woman in a large, overly garish hat walked in and made her way to the front of
the car, an aristocratic expression painted on her face. Cadence was stunned to
see Annie, her mentor, standing in Mr. Durant’s car. Her elegant green dress
seemed ill-fitted—the waist resting too high on her frame. Her cheeks were
fuller, her face different somehow.

Why
is she here?

Cadence
had been chosen for this assignment. Annie had questioned the decision at first,
but had ultimately agreed and had given her instructions. Cadence quickly tried
to recall the conversation she’d had with the woman before she’d set out West.
Annie had specifically told her that Mr. Durant had requested Cadence instead
of her. Something was amiss.

“Hello,
Cade.” Annie’s lilt was smooth and sultry, not at all like the Annie Kramer
that she knew. “When Mr. Durant wired me and told me you had not yet made it to
him, I was worried and came straight away. Wherever have you been?”

Cadence
did her best to keep the surprise off her face and out of her voice. “It’s good
to see you, Annie,” she acknowledged. “As I told you in my telegram, my
original train derailed and—”

“Yes,
yes, dear. Well, you are here now. Safe and sound.” She patted Cadence on the
hand.

Cadence’s
eyes dropped to slits as she watched the carefully trained actions of an astute
Pinkerton agent.

“Darling,”
Annie said to Durant, “would you mind pouring us a drink?”

“I
hadn’t realized that you were a part of that unfortunate incident in Laramie,”
Mr. Durant tsked as he pulled the crystal cork of a glass bottle of amber
liquid. “It’s a shame how many people were affected by that accident. I believe
it claimed six lives, is that right?”

“Seven.”

“Ah,
yes. The engineer.” He poured a small amount of brandy into the first glass and
held it out for Annie.

“And
it was no accide—”

“You
must be exhausted with everything you have seen over the last few weeks. I
imagine you’re due for some much needed rest before we get into the details of what
you’ve been doing.”

She
did it again.

Cadence
had sent a telegram every chance she’d had along the way, explaining her
delays, information she’d uncovered, and her location—the last of which was
just a few days ago, never having seen a response. Was it possible Annie had
never received her messages?

“I’ll
just have a glass of water if it’s all the same,” Cadence told Mr. Durant with
a smile.

It
seemed odd that her mentor would not have apprised their client of the delay or
provided the information about Clive and the others sabotaging the train.

“As
I was saying, sir, the derailment was—”

“Unfortunate,”
Annie filled in for her, “we all agree.”

She
really had to stop doing that.

“Now,
you’ve seen that Mr. Durant is being well taken care of, so you’ll understand
if your services are no longer needed,” Annie waved dismissively. “I’ll be
taking over from here.”

“But
I have inf—”

“I’ll
escort you back to your quarters, dear.” Annie took a hold of Cadence’s arm and
pulled her into a standing position, then placed her hand at the small of her
back as if to guide her from the room.

Enough.

“No,
Annie!” Cadence said firmly, stopping in her tracks and ripping her arm from
Annie’s grasp. “This was my assignment!” She turned to Durant. “The derailment
was not an accident. Neither was the explosion at the bank in Flat Plains or
the fire that claimed my father’s ranch just outside of Bryan. There is a
conspiracy here, sir. No one on this train is safe. There is going to be an
attack and we have to stop it.”

“I’m
sorry, Thomas. Obviously, she’s had some difficulties on her way here and I
think they have clouded her judgment. I will see to it right away, that she
gets some rest.” She took ahold of Cadence’s arm again with a firmer grip.

“Let
her speak, Annie. I’d like to hear what the woman has to say.”

Annie
glowered, but released her.

“We
know there is going to be some trouble in Piedmont, but we believe the attack
will be at Devil’s Gate Bridge.”

“We?”
He asked.

“Mr.
Redbourne and I.”

“Ah,
Levi. He’s a smart fellow and very talented with a gun—or so I hear. Did you
know that he can hit a target from the top of this train at more than one
hundred yards? I believe the men call him The Iron Horseman.” He folded his
arms. “May I ask how you and Mr. Redbourne came about this information?”

Cadence
wanted to ask more about Levi’s nickname, but looked over at a seething Annie
and changed her mind. Now was not the time for idle chatter. She reached into
her pocket, her hand caressing the soft leather of the journal, her fingers
tracing the contours of the medallion attached to the bindings, but something
within her told her to keep it safe and she decided better than to offer it
here as evidence. She needed Levi.

“Mr.
Redbourne and I discovered a journal with coded messages we believe were
written by a group of southern separatists who will do anything to stop the
railroad from completing. They are trying to regain the Confederate States of
America.”

“The
Confederate States of America,” Annie scoffed.

“And
why would halting the railroad’s completion help them?”

“Because,
Mr. Durant, it will fulfill President Lincoln’s dream of uniting the nation,”
Cadence told him. “We will no longer be the North and South. We will be the
United States of America.”

“Bertram!”
Mr. Durant yelled. His door swung open and the train’s Pinkerton agent who’d
escorted Cadence here stepped inside.

“Yes,
sir?”

“Bring
Mr. Redbourne here immediately.”

“Yes,
sir!”

“Thomas,”
Annie said, maneuvering behind the desk. She sat on the corner and ran a hand
through his hair. “We are so close to seeing the end of this railroad endeavor.
Why spoil it with talk of a conspiracy. I am one of Pinkerton’s top agents.
Don’t you think that I would know if there really was something to be concerned
about? Are you going to trust an agent with whom you just became acquainted—my
protégé no less—or me?”

Cadence
couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Annie had always been very complimentary
of her skills as an agent. She clenched her jaw, controlling her desire to swat
her colleague.

Light
filtered in between the deep burgundy tasseled curtains and glinted off Annie’s
bracelet—the same bracelet she always wore. Cadence had never seen her without
it.

It
can’t be.

She
took a step closer, trying to get a better look at the small dangling trinket
near the clasp. The ugly bitterness of betrayal brought bile to Cade’s throat.
The Confederate symbol being displayed openly in front of her was the same as
that on the journal’s medallion. Cadence had to force herself to breathe. To
refrain from reacting. Anger and indignation welled within her chest and she
fought to remember her training.

“Is
there really any question?” Mr. Durant responded. “Still, my dear, what if you
missed something that could be important?” He stood up and tapped Annie lightly
beneath the chin with the knuckles of his fingers. “Your protégé, as you call
her, seems quite confident in the information she is presenting.” He walked
around the desk, leaned up against the front of it, his legs and arms crossed
in front of him, and studied Cadence for a moment. “Tell me more of this
journal you found. What else did it say?”

Screech.

The
train slowed very quickly, tossing Mr. Durant off balance and nearly on top of
Cadence, effectively pushing her back down into the seat. She waited for the
sound of crashing mirrors, but it seemed they had been well secured to the
wall. Papers flew from Mr. Durant’s desk, however, and Annie had fallen to the
floor.

“What
in tarnation is going on out there?” Mr. Durant pushed himself away from her
and took a moment to collect himself, coaxing his floppy hair back into its
slicked position. “Excuse me,” he said as he marched from his coach, stopping
only long enough to retrieve a rifle hanging lengthwise next to the door.

Cadence
drew her weapon, intent on following. Annie quickly pulled herself up from the
floor, her gun already in hand. The rain was heavy. As they stepped out onto
the short metal platform, Cadence leaned over in an attempt to catch a glimpse
of where Durant had gone, but the small balcony offered little view of what was
happening up ahead. However, conveniently, the UPs Vice President’s personal
palace had its own staircase. Cadence carefully, and as quietly as she could, climbed
down the stairs, using her arm to block the assault of rain that seemed would
never let up.

A
shot rang out through the air and she stopped, hurling her back up against the
train, and looked from one side to the other, but couldn’t see where the shot
had come from. Suddenly, swarms of yelling men surrounded the locomotive and
the first few passenger and sleeping cars of the train. Not wanting to be
caught in the open by a mob of angry men, Cadence crouched down and ducked
beneath Durant’s coach.

Within
moments she was joined by Levi and Annie.

“Couldn’t
let you have all the fun,” Levi said when Cadence turned to look at him.

Cadence
shook her head, then peeked out from beneath the train in time to see several
men hoist Mr. Durant up into the air onto their shoulders and head back toward
his car.

“They’re
coming,” she whispered, motioning for the others to move back toward the other
side. “And they have Mr. Durant.” It seemed the crowd was sticking to the front
portion and south side of the train.

Thump.
Someone had just jumped up onto Mr. Durant’s private staircase and the hinges
had squealed in protest.

“It
has been near four months, Mr. Durant,” a man said forcefully. “These men have worked
hard for the money you promised them. So, we’re going to stay right here,
chained to the track, until you pay up.

“You
are mad. I don’t keep that kind of money just lying around. Let us go and
you’ll get your money.”

The
man chortled darkly. “We’ve heard enough of your promises. I’m going to stick
by your side until you get the Union Pacific to pay their debt.” The door to
Durant’s quarters opened and shut, followed by another thud. Cadence guessed
Durant had been tossed to the floor. While she could still hear the man who
obviously represented the disgruntled workers talking, she couldn’t make out
what he was saying.

Clink.
Clank. Clunk. Durant’s car had just been uncoupled from the rest of the train
and moved a few inches. Cadence breathed deeply. There was not a lot of room
under the car and she didn’t think that being crushed by a train would be a
very pleasant way to die. It stopped. They didn’t have much time. Cadence
glanced at the other two.

“Go
for help. I’ll stay and make sure no harm comes to Thomas,” Annie proposed.

“How
can I trust that you aren’t a part of this? That you aren’t the one who’s going
to kill him?” Cadence asked.

“Because,”
Annie said with strained tones, “he is the father of this baby. Don’t pretend
you didn’t notice. I saw the way you looked at me up there.”

Cadence
whipped her head around to look at her once-friend, completely stunned. It took
a moment for her to recuperate, but even then, she didn’t know what to say. It
certainly explained a lot.

“Annie,
I…”

“Go!”
Annie urged.

Cadence
rolled out from beneath the train on the opposite side of the tracks and lay on
her belly, hoping that the tall grasses would provide enough cover to go
undetected. Moments later, Levi scrunched up next to her, looking out at the
mob of angry rail workers demanding payment for their labor.

She
placed a finger over her lips and Levi nodded his acknowledgement. She pushed
herself backward across the grass until she was behind the station and she sat
up against the side of the building to look around. Several large charcoal
kilns towered over the ground with their enormous beehive shape rising what she
guessed was at least thirty feet in the air. If she and Levi could get over to
them, the structures would provide cover for a short while—as long as they were
not in use, but there was nothing but open prairie all the way into town. There
would be no way to get horses or call for help.

Cadence
edged up to the corner of the building and jutted her head around the side to
catch a quick glimpse of what was happening. She watched as a large group of
men pushed the palace car, along with two others that she suspected housed
Durant’s high profile guests—statesmen, dignitaries, and wealthy
businessmen—onto a side track. She guessed they would be retained as hostages
while the others would be allowed to leave.