The Case of the Runaway Girl

Chapter 1 Chicago, January 1887Trouble comes in threes, as they say, and that certainly proved true for me one particular day in early January. My friend and housemate, Cassie Leigh, was tucked into her bed with a bout of bronchitis, so we were already shorthanded when our ancient coal stove decided to drop its rusted belly of hot coals—and the charred chicken carcass, to boot—upon the kitchen floor and catch it on fire. Our maid, Sadie, grabbed the dustpan. “What a mess!” “Such a good-sized chicken, too,” the widow Hodges, one of our lodgers, tsked. “I suppose it’s irrecoverable, Miss Hamilton?” The lady was a good eater, but obviously even she had her limits. My answer was to rummage through the larder and pull out what was left of yesterday’s ham, pickled beets, and cold biscuits. With Cassie sick and several vacancies at our boarding house, there were only four of us dining tonight. It should suffice. But what to do about affording another stove was the bigger problem. We were finishing supper when the bell rang. I didn’t know it at the time, but problem number three was at my front door. The burnt odor lingered as I closed the kitchen and dining room doors behind me and hurried down the hall. If this was a prospective lodger, I doubt we would make a good impression. Nonetheless, I smoothed my skirt and tugged at my cuffs before pulling open the front door. The tall, lean man standing before me was all too familiar. And most unwelcome. “Frank! What on earth brings you here?” My estranged husband, Frank Wynch, narrowed his eyes at the sharpness of my tone. “It’s urgent, Pen,” he muttered. “Pinkerton business.” He jerked a thumb toward the two ladies standing behind him. One was a petite, dark-haired girl wearing a rumpled school uniform and carrying a valise that had seen better days. She looked barely old enough to be out of pigtails. At her elbow was a sensibly shod, prim-mouthed woman. She appeared to be close to my age—mid-thirtyish—though the heavy-rimmed spectacles may have aged her. He waved a hand in my direction. “Ladies, this is Mrs.—” “Miss Hamilton,” I interrupted, before Frank could introduce me as his wife. It was a complication I did not wish to explain to strangers. I opened the door wider to let them in. The girl sniffed the air suspiciously. “Something’s burning!” Her voice was high-pitched and strident, not in the least resembling the subdued tones of an educated young miss. The woman gave her a reproving nudge. “Something was burning,” I answered, with as much dignity as I could muster. “We will be more comfortable in the parlor. Mr. Wynch and I will join you in a moment. First door on your left.” I waited until they were out of earshot. “You know I do not care for you showing up at my house,” I hissed. “You could have sent a message to meet you at the office tomorrow morning.” “There was no time.” He nudged the front door closed with his foot and gave me a warm, lingering look. “I haven’t seen you in ages. You’re looking well, my dear. And you are wearing your hair differently. Most becoming.” In spite of myself, I raised a self-conscious hand to tuck a blonde strand into my loose-waved chignon. The man had not lost his sweet-tongued, devilish ways. “It has only been a year since we worked together on the Comstock case,” I retorted mildly. And there would be other occasions, this being one of them—whatever this was. It was the price one paid for being among the few female investigators in Mr. Pinkerton’s agency. But I didn’t have to like it. He moved closer and took my hand. “I still miss you, Pen. Every day. Did you know it’s been four years? Four years since we’ve lived together as man and wife.” “I am well aware of that.” I looked into the hazel eyes that regarded me so earnestly. There was no denying he was a handsome man, when sober. Undoubtedly the ladies of his acquaintance sighed over those heavily lashed eyes, the strong jaw, the six-foot, lanky frame. Not many men are taller than I… Was it getting warm in here? I snatched my hand away as our two guests turned at the parlor door to look back, no doubt wondering what kept us. The girl smothered a giggle behind her glove. “Miss me all you like,” I snapped, “but keep your hands to yourself, if you please.” I hurried to catch up to our guests, Frank following. “Whatever you say, my dear,” he murmured. The woman perched upon the settee beside the fire. She was a study in ladylike composure as she adjusted her steel-rimmed spectacles and smoothed her gloves. The girl, however, prowled the room. She paced from hearth to desk to window, once stopping to push the curtain aside and look out, although at this time of evening it was too dark to see much beyond the lamp post at the street corner. Her entire aspect—pale, twitchy, eyes wide and alert—bespoke the restless strain of a captive. “Miss Pelley,” the woman said sharply, “you will sit beside me.” The girl complied, skirting Frank with a wary look. Not that there was anything especially menacing about his demeanor at the moment. He seemed perfectly at his ease, in fact, propping his foot upon the hearth fender and leaning a shoulder against the mantel. But after years of working with my husband, I was well-acquainted with the languid pose that belied his sharp attentiveness. All of his focus was upon this girl, and she knew it. The silence lengthened. I looked from girl to woman, and lastly to Frank. “Would someone do me the kindness of telling me who you people are and what this is about?” The woman leaned forward. “I am Miss Rotenberg, headmistress of the Chicago Ladies’ Seminary. This is Miss Claudine Pelley, a pupil at our institution, although her future at the school is currently in doubt.” The aforementioned Miss Pelley threw herself back against the cushions in a sulk, muttering something that sounded like old rutabaga. My lips twitched as I gathered her import. Although Miss Rotenberg in no way resembled the vegetable, the similarity to her name was irresistible. It seemed that every generation devised disparaging nicknames for its betters. As expected of any headmistress worth her salt, Miss Rotenberg declined to dignify the remark, to the girl’s obvious disappointment. “Should Miss Pelley not be sent to her room while we discuss the arrangements?” she asked. I flashed a look at Frank. “Her room?” He ignored me and pulled the cord to ring for Sadie. Considering the maid’s prompt arrival and the cap askew upon her head, she’d no doubt been hunched over the keyhole. Not that I was in a position to disapprove. I’d done the same myself at countless doors over the years. “Yes?” she asked, surreptitiously attempting to set the cap to rights. Before I could say a thing, Frank pointed at Claudine Pelley. “The young lady is staying the night.” Sadie stiffened. She knew who paid her wages, meager as they were. She also knew Frank and wasn’t about to show him any courtesies. She turned to me. “Your instructions, Miss Hamilton?” Frank glared at her back. Bless the girl. No one addressed me by my married name of Wynch while I was mistress here. “You may take Miss Pelley up to the general’s old room for now, until we settle things here.” Miss Pelley got up with an aggrieved sigh. Frank waggled a finger in her direction. “Stay there until we tell you otherwise. Do you understand?” She scowled and gave him a wide berth as she followed Sadie out. “You were rather sharp with her,” I said. Frank sat and stretched his legs toward the fire. “I don’t care to chase her through the city again. She got away from me twice.” No wonder he was annoyed. To be bested by a mere child… I turned my amused snort into a polite cough. “Better start from the beginning. Tell me about the girl.” He waved a tired hand toward the headmistress. “You know her better than I.” “Of course.” Miss Rotenberg sat up straighter, if that were possible. “Claudine Pelley was admitted to our academy as a boarding pupil last August. She’s a bright young lady, a quick learner, but she is exceedingly stubborn. She does not like to follow rules. Naturally, such an inclination has brought restrictions down upon her head on several occasions. I imagine that is why she ran away.” “How old is she?” I asked. “Fifteen. She looks younger, I grant you,” the lady added, no doubt noting my surprise. “She is slightly built.” “And she doesn’t act in a mature fashion,” Frank growled. Miss Rotenberg grimaced. “To be fair, she has not had training in proper comportment. Her education covered the three Rs at a local country school, but her father—she is motherless—permitted her to run wild on the family farm. We have tried to catch her up. As you can see, I have not been entirely successful. Before we discovered her missing the day before yesterday, I had considered sending her home for good. She is a disruptive influence.” I turned to Frank. “How did you come to be involved?” “Miss Rotenberg is a family friend of William Pinkerton,” Frank said. “She asked us to find the girl, rather than call the police.” The headmistress twisted her gloved hands in her lap. “We cannot afford that sort of notoriety. For a premier ladies’ school such as ours, reputation is paramount.” “Where did you find her?” “At the home of the Zaleski family,” Frank said, “not far from the school. Miss Pelley is friends with Anna, a daughter of the same age. The family was debating what to do next when I showed up. That was the easiest part of taking charge of the girl.” He scowled. “At one point today, after we left the telegraph office, she slipped away amid the throng at a corner bus stop. When we finally caught up to her, we took a cab and headed to Pinkerton’s office. But then she jumped out at a congested intersection.” He shook his head, equal parts frustration and grudging admiration. “She timed it perfectly. Our vehicle was closely hemmed in on both sides. She was small enough to slip out and knew perfectly well that I was not. By the time I tracked her down again, Pinkerton had left for the night, so we came here.” “You mentioned going to the telegraph office,” I said. “I take it her father has been notified?” Miss Rotenberg shifted in her seat. “He recently left for California for railroad work. The only other relation she has is a great-uncle and his family. They are in charge of her until the father returns.” “Well then”—I waved an impatient hand—“you have notified the great-uncle?” “He’s in Washington,” Frank said. “We haven’t heard back yet.” “Washington?” I echoed. “The territory or the capitol?” “The capitol,” he said. “Claudine Pelley’s great-uncle is Shelby Moore Cullom, one of Illinois’ U.S. senators. It would have been a simple matter to take her to his house in Springfield, but we discovered Cullom closed it up and went back to Washington last week, after the New Year’s holiday. He and his family reside there during the legislative session.” Cullom. I don’t follow politics much, but even I had heard of him. He’d notably begun his career as a junior counsel for Abraham Lincoln during that man’s days as a practicing attorney in Springfield. Cullom went on to serve in the state legislature, then as governor, and now in the United States Senate. Even his adversaries respected him. No wonder the headmistress had not wanted the police brought in. To lose a pupil was bad enough, but to lose the grandniece of a locally famous politician…she may as well be growing those rutabagas. “What do you think the senator will say?” I asked Miss Rotenberg. Her jaw tensed. “He will want her returned to the school, but that is impossible. Short of locking her up, I cannot guarantee she won’t run away again. Besides, her presence undermines our discipline. Some of the younger girls copy her hoydenish ways.” “She could easily run away from here,” I pointed out. “I cannot keep her a prisoner.” “We should have Cullom’s answer tomorrow,” Frank said. “I’ll stay here in the meantime, just in case.” I stifled a sigh. My estranged husband sleeping under my roof was not conducive to my peace of mind. “And then?” He shrugged. “We’ll escort her wherever the senator instructs, and that will be the end of it. She’ll be someone else’s problem after that.” The house was settling down for the night. Miss Rotenberg had been put in a cab, Sadie had checked on the now-sleeping girl, and Frank was bedding down in the parlor with the door to the hallway left open, in case the young lady was of a mind to slip out the front door. The back door of the kitchen was locked, and I had possession of the key. Short of her climbing out a window, all was secure. I tapped quietly on Cassie’s door and opened it at the sound of a muffled “Come in.” My friend was propped up on pillows, sipping water from a tumbler. Although her skin was sallow and she looked much too thin, she was clear-eyed and held the glass without a tremor. All good signs. “Feeling better?” She nodded. “The druggist’s tonic has worked wonders. I should be back on my feet tomorrow.” “I wouldn’t rush to get up too soon, dear. Sadie and I have everything under control.” Cassie’s grunt turned into a coughing spasm. “That’s not what I hear,” she said, when she’d recovered her breath. “Mrs. Hodges told me of the disaster with the stove. How are we to possibly afford another?” “I may have a case. That should bring in enough for something secondhand.” I told her of Frank’s arrival with clients in tow. Cassie frowned. “I don’t like the idea of him being back in your life, Pen. Did you lock up the liquor?” “It’s not worth protecting a dusty bottle of port and half a flask of sherry. Besides, he has sworn off the stuff.” Though last year, during the Comstock case, his resolve had faltered. “You know he’s made similar pledges in the past,” Cassie pointed out. All too true. It had taken me a long time to stop believing his promises and finally show him the door. The delay had nearly cost me my life, and I had lost a babe in the process. Never again. I took a breath. “No matter, he won’t be here long.” I got up and smoothed the covers. “Once we have our instructions regarding Claudine Pelley, I will accompany her where she needs to go and collect my fee. That will be an end of it. Frank may not even need to come along, should the young lady decide to behave herself.” I dearly hoped that would be the case. “What is this girl like?” Cassie asked, leaning forward as I fluffed her pillows. “She’s a little thing, looks much younger than her fifteen years. Sulky. Stubborn. Atrocious manners. Her schoolmistress says she’s quick and clever, though, which I believe. She led Frank on a merry chase through the city and slipped away from him twice.” Cassie smiled. “I like her already.” I grimaced. “I’ll have my hands full with this one.” My prediction came true sooner than I expected.