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The captain took the telegram, read it once, then read it again, and then he declared, “Well I’ll be damned. ”
“What’s it say?” Simeon asked, even as he scanned it over Hainey’s shoulder. Before the captain could answer, Simeon had a new question. “What the hell does that mean? That’s about the strangest message I ever heard of. Do you know what it’s all about?”
FREE CROW CARRIES DAMNABLE MADAM CORPSE STOP WORD IN THE CLOUDS SAYS OSSIAN STEEN REQUIRES JEWELRY FOR WEAPON STOP SANATORIUM IS COVER FOR WEAPONS PLANT NO FURTHER WORD TO BE HAD STOP YOU OWE ME ONE STOP AC
Hainey’s scarred face split into a smile. “Cly, you bastard. All right, I owe you one. ”
“Cly? The captain?”
“That’s his initials there at the end. He’s the one who sent it,” he confirmed.
Simeon shook his head and said, “But what’s he’s talking about?”
And the captain replied, “I don’t know who this Steen fellow is, but the rest of it’s given me something to think about, sure enough. ”
“Can you think and steal a ship at the same time?” the first mate asked.
“I could knit a sweater and steal a ship at the same time, and don’t you josh me about it. Come on. Let’s grab the coach, get the Rattler ready, and see what Lamar’s been up to. We’ve got a Valkyrie to ride. ”
6
She arrived at Jefferson City in the near-light hours of the morning; but since she’d stolen most of a night’s sleep inside the Cherokee Rose, she grabbed an early breakfast of oatmeal and toast—and then, when the hour was more reasonable, she called upon Algernon Rice.
According to the helpful folder of paperwork Maria carried, Mr. Rice could be found in an office at the center of town, half a dozen blocks from the city’s passenger docks. In the heart of the city the streets were bumpy with bricks and the buildings were built three, sometimes four stories tall with tasteful trim components and neatly lettered advertisements. Groceries were nestled against law offices and apothecaries, and a veterinarian’s facility was planted between a carriage-house and a billiards hall.
And at the street corner named in her folder, she found a small office with a white painted sign that declared in black lettering, “Mr. Algernon T. Rice, Private Investigator, Pinkerton National Detective Agency (Jefferson City Branch). ”
On the other side of the door she found an empty receptionist’s desk; and beyond that desk in a secondary room, she located Mr. Rice.
“Please pardon the receptionist,” he said. “We don’t actually have one right now. But won’t you come inside, and have a seat? I understand this is your first outing as a Pinkerton operative. ”
“Yes, that’s right,” she told him, and when he stood to greet her she allowed him to take her hand before she positioned herself delicately on the edge of the high-backed chair that faced his desk.
Algernon Rice was a slender, pale man who looked quite villainous except for the jaunty orange handkerchief peeking out from his breast pocket. His wide, narrow, precisely curled and waxed mustache was so black it looked blue in the light; and beneath the rim of his matching bowler hat, his sideburns were likewise dark. Except for the orange triangle, every visible article of his clothing was also funereal in design and color.
But his voice was cultured and polite, and he conducted himself in a gentlemanly fashion, so Maria opted to assume the best and proceed accordingly.
She said, “I’ve just arrived from Chicago and I understand I must now make my way to St. Louis. Your name was presented as a contact, and I hope this means that you can help me arrange a coach or a carriage, or possibly a train. ”
“Yes and no—which is to say, I won’t give you anything horse-powered or rail-running, but I can definitely see you to your destination. However, there’s been a change of plans. I received a telegram first thing this morning from a contact in Kansas City. ”
“Kansas City? Isn’t that west of here?”
“Yes, by a hundred and fifty miles,” he confirmed. “It would seem that your quarry has slowed, and that the nefarious captain is stranded. And I’m afraid that’s the good news. ”
She furrowed her brow and said, “I beg your pardon?”
To which he replied, “We have an informant of sorts—an affiliate, we should say instead. Frankly, it’d be a disservice to call him anything more than a degenerate drunk, but he likes to make himself useful. ”
“To Pinkerton?”
“To anyone with a wad of cash. Crutchfield’s not terribly discriminate, but he’s usually on top of things so I fear we’re forced to trust him. And the bad news is, Croggon Hainey knows you’re coming. We would’ve preferred to keep a lid on that, but there’s nothing to be done about it now except slip in faster than he expects to meet you. ”
She shook her head slowly and asked, “But how would he know I’m coming?”
“It’s as I said, our informant will talk to anyone with the cash to buy his time, and he has ears bigger than wagon wheels. He won’t admit that he’s the reason word is getting around, but he doesn’t have to. ” He sighed, and folded his hands on the desk. “Ma’am, I’m bound to honor my obligations to the Chicago office, you understand, but I also feel obligated to voice a bit of objection to this matter. I think it’s an unkind, untoward thing to send a lady after a criminal like Hainey—”
Maria cut him off with a delicate sweep of her hand, saying, “Mr. Rice, I appreciate your concern but I assure you, it’s unnecessary. I’ve received plenty of warnings, tongue-waggings, and outright prohibitions since agreeing to work for Mr. Pinkerton, and if it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer to skip the one you’re preparing to deliver and get right to work. So if you’re not planning to take me to Kansas City by horse, buggy, or rail, what precisely does that leave—except for another dirigible?”
