An Agent for Scarlett Read online

  As her grandfather left with the sheriff, she caught Travis’ expression as he scrutinized the sheriff. She bit her bottom lip. It appeared that the Pinkerton agent wasn’t impressed with the man of the law, either. At least she knew Travis shared her feelings on the subject. Of course, that was probably the only thing they shared feelings on.

  “What are you thinking, Agent Hancock?” she asked softly so only he could hear.

  His gaze moved back to her. “What makes you suspect I have anything on my mind?”

  She arched an eyebrow. “Because of the way you peered suspiciously at the sheriff.”

  He chuckled in a low voice. “I don’t know why Sheriff Simpson thinks the thief came in through the window.”

  “Why?” She stepped closer. This time, she received a whiff of his masculine cologne of spice and leather. Oh, heavens! The young man who had broken her heart wasn’t supposed to be this manly.

  “I don’t believe the robbery was done in the middle of the night as the sheriff suspects. I happen to think it was during the day.”

  She sucked in a quick breath. “But why would someone steal from my grandfather when we were all awake? Or...” She moved a little closer. “Do you suspect it’s one of the servants?”

  He shrugged as one corner of his mouth lifted in a half-grin. “It could be a servant. And, it could also be... you.”

  TWO

  Travis Hancock watched Scarlett’s face closely. It shocked him to see how pretty she had become in ten years. If she had looked this way several years ago, he might have taken time to get to know her better. However, it didn’t matter now. He couldn’t think of her that way. Not until he was reassured she had no involvement in the missing piece.

  At first, Scarlett’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in stunned silence. Following closely was the brilliant red spreading over her face that fit her name perfectly. Her hands fisted by her sides, and her eyes turned a dark brown instead of the amber color they’d been only moments before.

  Relief swept over him. Reading her expression told him that he could strike her off his suspects’ list. He was glad to know that she wouldn’t do that to her grandfather. Travis had worked on a few cases where the children – and grandchildren – of wealthy people took advantage of their so-called loved ones.

  “Excuse me?” she said in a tight voice. Her chest rose and fell quickly from her heavy breaths. “You think I had something to do with this? What are you, an imbecile?”

  “Shh... lower your voice, Miss Scarlett.” He glanced across the room at Sheriff Simpson and Mr. Jensen. Thankfully, they were both examining the window.

  Travis met her piercing gaze again, trying to ignore the fact that she’d called him stupid. Then again, he’d been called a lot worse, and he wasn’t going to let it bother him. “Please remember, I’m first and foremost a Pinkerton Agent. I don’t close my mind to anyone unless I know I’m wrong.”

  “And you, Agent Hancock, are most certainly wrong about me being involved... which you would realize if you knew me at all.”

  “Yes, I know that now, and I apologize.”

  She inhaled slowly and the bright color in her face began to return to normal. The color in her eyes even faded back to their lovely amber tone.

  “You’ve realized that so soon?” She rolled her eyes. “You throw the accusation at me, and only moments later, you know I wasn’t involved?”

  He chuckled softly, liking the way she was trying to keep composed after he’d ruffled her feathers. “Your eyes are very expressive, Miss Scarlett – along with your flaming red cheeks. If you had been involved with this crime, you wouldn’t have looked like you were so shocked.”

  “Yes, well...” She smoothed her hands down the tight-corseted waist of her lavender gown. “I’m very relieved you realized that so quickly. My grandfather has shown me more love than my own parents. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him.”

  As Travis studied her, there was a hint of pain in her eyes that she was trying to mask. The one thing he recalled about her past was that her parents hadn’t been around most of her life. In fact, Travis had probably only met them twice. His heart twisted in remembrance. He couldn’t fathom how she felt. Why had her parents neglected her for so many years?

  Travis had grown up in a loving home. He had two older brothers and three younger sisters. Although the siblings had argued constantly as children, his parents were so very patient and raised their family to respect others, and most importantly, to love the Lord.

  “I’m glad there isn’t anything you wouldn’t do to help your grandfather,” Travis said, bringing his mind back into their conversation, “because I will need your help if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course, Agent Hancock. What do you need?”

  “While the sheriff is trying to find some evidence on the windowsill – which I suspect will take them a while – why don’t you tell me who has been to see your grandfather in the past week.”

  She nodded. “Yes, I can help you with that.” She motioned to the table and chairs. “Do you mind if we sit?”

  “Not at all.” He moved with her as they walked to the table.

  He pulled out her chair, and she sucked in a quick breath as her wide-eyed gaze met his. She looked from him to the chair before finally moving around and sitting. He walked around the table and sat next to her. He withdrew his pencil and paper to make notes.

  “Agent Hancock? Does my grandfather know how long the artifact has been missing?”

  Travis shrugged. “He’s not certain. A few days or a week. He wasn’t sure.”

  Groaning, Scarlett rubbed her forehead. “I worried that this would happen one day.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because my grandfather doesn’t protect his collection as I had urged him to do. I’d explained to him that not every piece needs to be on display. His manor is not a museum.” She shook her head. “But as you can see, he didn’t listen to my advice.”

  Leaning his arms on the table, Travis studied her expression again. Or maybe he just liked looking at her flattering face and into pretty glistening eyes. “Did he show off his collection often?”

  “Well, I’m not sure. You see, I don’t live here constantly, however, during the times I’m staying, I know when he has friends over, they are always looking over his collection.”

  “Splendid.” He readied the pencil on the paper. “Go ahead when you’re ready.”

  “Let me see,” she tapped her fingers on the table, “one week ago, Grandfather had some people over for dinner.” She paused, and then her expression hardened. “Old Mrs. Whittle – the town’s gossiper – and her cousin, Mr. Dayton. There was also Mr. and Mrs. Higley, along with their son, Benjamin.”

  As Travis wrote down their names, he tried to picture their faces. Mrs. Whittle was a hard person to forget since she had her nose in everyone’s business. He looked at Scarlett. “Benjamin Higley... isn’t he the new schoolteacher?”

  “Yes, that’s him.”

  Next to their names, Travis jotted down their professions.

  “The next day,” she continued, “two of his riding friends came to chat with him about a horse race that was coming up.”

  “Do you remember their names?”

  “Yes. Mr. Addington and Mr. Hanks.”

  Travis also knew these men because they had been friends with his father, as well.

  “And then Neil Maitland and his grandmother, Clarisse, dropped by to bring my grandfather some freshly baked cookies a few days ago.” Scarlett chuckled and tapped Travis’ arm. “If you ask me, that woman is sweet on Grandfather.”

  Travis drew a blank, not remembering these people. “Have they lived here long?”

  “Five years or so.”

  “What does her grandson do for a living?”

  “Neil Maitland works at the bank, but he also helps my grandfather with the horses.”

  Travis noticed a certain gleam in her eyes. Scarlett wasn’t admit
ting it yet, but she looked like she was rather sweet on the banker, just as the man’s grandmother was sweet on Marvin. It was on the tip of Travis’ thoughts to ask Scarlett what her relationship was with Neil, but then he realized it was probably none of his business.

  “Who else came to your grandfather’s house?”

  As Scarlett gave him more names and professions to write down, his mind kept returning to how her cheeks had turned pink when she spoke of the banker. Her eyes had sparkled, too. Travis continued to remind himself that it didn’t matter who Scarlett might like or who was courting her.

  When he realized she had stopped talking, he looked up at her. Her gaze had drifted out the window and her eyebrows drew together as if she was deep in thought. Slowly, awareness touched her lovely face and her eyes widened. She swung her attention back to him.

  “I just remembered something,” she said softly, looking over her shoulder toward the sheriff and her grandfather still by the window.

  “What did you remember?”

  She looked directly into Travis’ eyes and clutched his arm. “Sheriff Simpson,” she said in a lower voice, “has been very interested in Grandfather’s collection lately.”

  Travis caught his breath. “Go on.”

  “He hasn’t been the sheriff for more than two years,” she whispered, “and in all that time, he’d only started to become chummy with my grandfather these past six weeks.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know, but that’s when I noticed the man of the law looking at me a little differently, too.” Disgust registered on her face. “I became suspicious of his actions when he attended a party thrown by my grandfather, celebrating my twenty-fifth birthday.”

  Travis arched an eyebrow. “Perhaps the man is just infatuated with you, and that’s why he is being chummy with your grandfather.”

  Scarlett shook her head. “If he was infatuated with me, then why hasn’t he asked my grandfather’s permission to court me? Not that I would accept, mind you. But no, that man must drop by once or twice a week – sometimes more – to check up on my grandfather. Each time the sheriff shows up, he gives a different reason for being here. “I think,” she leaned forward on the table, lowering her voice, “you should do some checking on him. He’s always been a sneaky fellow, and I just cannot trust him.”

  Travis listened to what his conscience was telling him, but he still didn’t have enough reasons to be suspicious of the sheriff, especially when he figured the man of the law’s main purpose was to become closer to Scarlett. “I’ll check into it.” He winked. “If he’s hiding something, I’ll know it.”

  Smiling, she pulled away as a relieved sigh escaped her throat. “I’d appreciate it, Agent Hancock.”

  It wasn’t hard to notice that Scarlett didn’t like the sheriff, but Travis wondered if it was personal or something deeper. Perhaps he needed to keep a better watch on her, too. Although she didn’t have anything to do with her grandfather’s theft, there still was something different about her that made him want to keep digging to discover her secret.

  As children, she followed him around constantly, but because of their ages at that time, she was just too young for him. Besides, his thoughts were more on mature women, not little fifteen-year-old girls. He knew she had wanted him to teach her how to shoot, how to rope a calf, and all those things he and his brothers enjoyed doing, but she was a girl, and girls were plain and simple no fun at all.

  However, she was no longer a girl. She had womanly curves now, and they were all in the right places. Her hair was longer and darker than he remembered. Her eyes were so much prettier, and... had she always had heart-shaped lips that looked as if they’d be heavenly to kiss?

  He snapped out of the silly notions swirling in his head and focused back on what he was supposed to be doing. “Do you have any more names for me?”

  She leaned forward again to look over the list he’d written. A lovely flowery fragrance wafted from her hair and attacked his senses. He couldn’t remember her ever smelling this good before.

  “I think that’s all.” She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “But if I think of any more, I’ll let you know.”

  “Yes, please do.”

  “And what about the servants?”

  His mind went blank. What was she talking about? “Servants?”

  “Yes. Do you want to write down their names so you can ask them questions?”

  Inwardly, he groaned. How foolish he felt for not remembering that’s what he’d planned on doing. “Yes, of course.”

  She started giving him names and positions in the household, and he wrote as fast as he could. When she was done, he stood, and she joined him. Just then, the sheriff and Marvin Jensen walked toward them. The sheriff put on his hat and nodded to Travis.

  “I have everything I need here. How about you, Hancock?”

  “Yes, Sheriff. I think I’m done here, too.”

  The middle-aged man smiled, showing off his yellowish-brown teeth. “Wonderful. Then let’s leave together and we can compare notes.”

  Travis turned to Marvin and shook his hand. “We’ll find this thief, I assure you.”

  “I know you will.” Marvin clapped Travis’ shoulder. “You’re just like your father.”

  “Miss Scarlett,” the sheriff tipped his hat slightly, “it’s been a pleasure as always.”

  When she smiled at the older man, Travis could see it was fake.

  “I’m sure my grandfather appreciates your help, Sheriff Simpson.” She met Travis’ gaze. “And yours as well, Agent Hancock.”

  Marvin walked ahead to show them to the door, but Travis felt a tug on his arm. He glanced over his shoulder to see Scarlett still holding onto his coat-sleeve.

  “Don’t forget,” she leaned closer and whispered, “to check out the sheriff. He’s got a secret, I just know it.”

  “Don’t you worry none, Miss Scarlett. I’ll do all I can.” Travis winked.

  “And please, let me know if you need my help.”

  He smiled. “You’ll be the first one I ask.”

  As he walked out the door, he wondered why she was so eager to help. Was this just like when they were kids? And yet, the games were much more complicated now... as was the attraction that had never been there before.

  THREE

  Keeping a good distance behind him, Scarlett eyed her suspect warily. She was close enough to see his face, but so far, she’d done a good job of hiding herself. Of course, she tried to disguise herself by wearing a servants’ dress with an apron pinned to the dress. She’d coiled her hair so tight it nearly made her eyes bug out of her skull. With the white cap covering her hair and the different clothes, there was no way Sheriff Simpson would recognize her. Or so she hoped.

  During his walk through town, the sheriff stopped many times, mainly when he saw a lovely woman. From the bits and pieces Scarlett could hear, he tried charming them with compliments. She’d heard most of those lines before, and she breathed easier knowing she wasn’t the only woman he had set his sights on. However, what made her madder than a disturbed hornet’s nest was that the so-called man-of-the-law hadn’t once stopped anyone to inquire about her grandfather’s stolen artifact as he’d promised. Could her grandfather fire the sheriff from working on the case? She might have to ask her grandfather and find out.

  The dirty dog!

  She’d given the sheriff ample time to do his investigation since she’d given him two hours before she started following him. However, she’d been watching him closely for about forty-minutes now, and he had yet to ask anyone about the theft. She wanted to scream at him for being so worthless. At least her grandfather had the good sense to hire a Pinkerton agent.

  And speaking of Travis Hancock...

  He’d told her that he would investigate the sheriff, and yet, where was he? Wouldn’t he spy on the sheriff as she was doing now? Inwardly, she boiled. She was surrounded by imbeciles!

  A gust of wind blew against her, cooler than sh
e’d wanted, and she wrapped the servant’s threadbare cloak tighter around her shoulder. She took a peek at the sky. They were due for another snowstorm since it had been almost a month since their last, and the warmer temperatures had already melted the snow. However, the sky was mostly blue with only a few clouds. There would be no storm tonight.

  Sheriff Simpson continued his stroll through the center of town, so she sneaked from one spot to the next along the way, keeping herself hidden the best she could. A few times, she had to duck behind a man or woman just so he wouldn’t see her. Thankfully, the sheriff never peeked her way. However, some of the people she hid behind gave her confused looks.

  At the end of town where the jail was located, the sheriff moved up the boardwalk and into his office. She fisted her hands and growled quietly. The lazy dog was going to stop? Then again, he hadn’t been doing any investigating, anyway.

  Leaning against the outside wall of the millinery shop, she pretended to study the tree that gave her a little hiding place between the store and the jail. Every once in a while, she peeked around the tree toward the jail. She could see through the window of the jail, and the sheriff was sitting at his desk, reading the newspaper.

  Scarlett gritted her teeth. She should inform her grandfather of the sheriff’s insolence for the stolen artifact. Good grief, what was wrong with that man, anyway... and how had he been appointed sheriff when he did nothing to help the town?

  Something from the tree fell on her, and immediately she felt the creepy-crawler moving up her neck and underneath her cap. She shrieked and swatted the bug, knocking off her cap in the process. She jumped around and swung her head, hoping that in her quick movements, the insect would drop off her. A lock of hair had fallen from the bun that now drooped to the side of her head.

  She released an irritable sigh and continued to free her hair from its awkward imprisonment. Shook her head, letting her locks fall over her shoulders and down her back. Knowing there would be tangles, she threaded her fingers through her hair and tried to make her appearance at least halfway decent. Heaven knows women like old Mrs. Whittle would verbally shred Scarlett apart in front of others if she was seen in public with unruly hair.