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“What about me?” Bill asked.
“Hold on a minute.” Nelson raced out and returned a moment later with another porter’s uniform. “Put this on. It’s Stephen’s. He’s the biggest man we have.”
The jacket fit snugly across Bill’s broad chest and shoulders, and the sleeves were a little short, but it would pass muster if nobody looked too closely. Bill had barely finished fastening the last button when there was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” Henry said.
The agent opened the compartment door to find Henry reading a newspaper, his feet up on the seat while Bill poured coffee and Nelson stood by. Henry looked up from his newspaper with a s
mile. He stood to greet the detectives. “Mornin’, gentlemen. If you’re looking for the privy, it’s down the hall on your left.”
The men flashed their badges. “Pinkertons, sir. We don’t see a name registered for this compartment.”
Henry forced a smile. “No. I imagine you don’t. I’m afraid, gentlemen, that I’m here under false pretenses. You see, I’m William Kissam Vanderbilt III.”
“Of the railroad Vanderbilts?” the Pinkerton agent asked.
“The same. I’m here unannounced to see how things are running so that I can make a report for the family. We’re looking to make big changes next year, by golly. Big changes! But may I ask what all this is about?”
“Well, sir, we have it on good authority that there’re some wanted criminals aboard.”
“On this train?” Henry said. He wished Theta were here to watch his performance. He hoped he’d have the chance to tell her about it.
“Yes, sir.”
“Mercy me. What are they wanted for?”
“Treason. They’re some of the anarchists responsible for that tragedy at Mr. Marlowe’s Future of America Exhibition, the one that killed Miss Sarah Snow.”
“You don’t say!” Henry shook his head and clucked his tongue. “What is this world coming to? Why, I was just in New York City seeing to the steel business.”
Bill flashed Henry a glance: Don’t push this too far.
“We’re asking everyone on board if they’ve seen these people.”
The detective handed over a large poster with the word WANTED in big letters up top, along with $5,000 REWARD FOR THE CAPTURE OF THE FOLLOWING PERSONS OF INTEREST. There were small pictures of Memphis, Isaiah, Ling, Evie, and Theta. The poster mentioned that the criminals were considered highly dangerous due to their DIVINER POWERS.
“And have you managed to capture any of them yet?” Henry asked without looking up.
“Not as of yet, sir.”
Henry concentrated on keeping his hands from shaking. “What can these so-called Diviners do, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“All manner of impossible things, Mr. Vanderbilt. They can disrupt radio signals. Communicate with the enemy. They controlled people’s minds at a memorial service in New York City. One of them has the ability to start fires with her bare hands. Another of them, Memphis Campbell, murdered the curator of a museum at the urging of his partner, Margaret Walker, a dangerous anarchist agitator. The curator was going to turn them in for treason. Seems these Diviner types are tied in to that group that bombed Mr. Marlowe’s exhibit.”
Henry marveled at how easy it was for false information to be repeated and spread until everyone just assumed it was fact.
“And you’re certain these criminals are on this train?” Henry asked.
“Yes, sir. This was the last train out of New York City last night, and Mr. Campbell and others were spotted by a concerned citizen who reported it to the police. But we’ll catch ’em here.”
“I certainly hope so.” Henry pointed at the picture of Evie. “Now I think of it, I believe I saw this very little lady just last night in the dining car. She was performing some sort of party trick for a couple. Yes, now I remember! She claimed she could read their fortunes in an object. It all seemed rather harmless and silly at the time.”
Henry pretended to look at the poster. From the corner of his eye, he saw the agents nodding to each other. “We’d better go to that dining car and ask around. Thank you, Mr. Vanderbilt. You’ve been a great help. We’re sorry to have bothered you.”
“The pursuit of justice is no trouble at all, gentlemen. Good day.” Henry flicked his newspaper open again and Bill dropped a lump of sugar in the coffee cup.
“I’ll show you the way to the dining car, gentlemen,” Nelson said, seeing the detectives out. Henry counted to ten under his breath, and then he and Bill scrambled to let Memphis out of his hiding spot in the sleeper compartment. A woozy Memphis let Bill help him down the ladder to the seat and took several settling breaths. He glared at Henry. “Never do that again.”
