The Harvey Girl - Part #19

The Last One

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“Send the signal.”

Reggie Brown’s order held a sour note. It hinted at physical harm, a threat compounded by the tight grip he had on my wrist.

I tried to avoid his eyes. A soulless hunger shone from their depths, and standing so close was all I could handle. He reeked of anxious sweat. “I need to light a candle and place it in the window,” I said.

Reggie grinned. It revealed too many teeth. His head cocked toward the nearest window, indicating where we’d move. He had no intention of releasing me to perform the task.

With my free hand, I transferred Father’s ring from the one Reggie held and slipped it into my skirt pocket. I’d not make it easy for him to get it back from me, for clearly, he lusted after all the available treasure—and my father’s ring was one. All he needed to continue the farce of being Lewis Abbot was a man who fit Father’s general description and the ring. It would seal any deal.

When I’d identified the corpse for the police, discovering it wasn’t my father but wore his ring, I realized it was only one of two rings that must have fallen into the wrong hands. The other ring—the one in my pocket—was the real prize. It was a Victorian mourning ring. The lovely gold band was delicately etched, with a clever latch that allowed most of its outside circumference to lift up and reveal a strand of hair flattened within. Such rings were a lavish bit of remembrance, and anyone wearing one instantly signaled their social status. Use the right name and that ring, and you could fool anyone that you were a man of good standing, like my father. I shuddered to think of the damage Reggie Brown could do with our family heirloom. I could not truly save my father without retrieving the ring. It weighed heavy in my pocket.

Reggie jerked me toward the window, allowing me to snatch a candlestick along the way. “I’ll need both hands to light it,” I said, and he released me. My fingers barely cooperated, but the candle flame finally licked to life.

I placed the candlestick on the window sill. It was one of two large windows that faced the front wrap-around porch. The light would be visible from the street.

“Now we wait,” I whispered.

Reggie grunted, grasping my wrist again. The pressure was less, but still kept me near him. “Your father may lose all he holds dear when it comes to his reputation and wealth,” Reggie said with some satisfaction, “but he will always be rich with a daughter like you.”

I frowned at the compliment, but before I could send him a withering stare, footsteps thudded up the mansion’s front steps. The sound echoed to us, even as the front door banged open.

Reggie frowned. “Not a dainty little lady, eh?” His eyebrows rose, although he had no hairline for them to hide under.

“We’re in here!” I shouted.

Reggie allowed the summons. “Yes, come on in like a lamb to the slaughter,” he half-joked.

The joke, however, was on him. A flood of Harvey Girls entered the room, led by Dori and Mrs. Agnes Q. Downs. Shocked, Reggie relaxed his grip even more, and I pulled my arm free, able to move away and join my friends. More Harvey Girls approached the windows as they crowded onto the porch outside.

“Wha-what is this?” he stuttered, confidence quickly draining. It left him looking like a howl-faced ghoul.

“It’s the Harvey Girls,” Dori said sweetly.

“We’re fetching the police, as well,” Mrs. Downs added. “We wouldn’t want to leave a man like you wandering the streets of our fine city.”

“I doubt the police went far,” I said, “or my Pinkerton Man.” I winked at Dori, more than pleased that she had followed my plan and brought the ‘calvary’ with her. “Never underestimate a lady’s power, Mr. Brown, when she’s backed by her sisters.”

“If it’s the last thing I do, I shall get even with you, Willa Abbot!” Reggie’s empty threat was met with girlish laughter.

I’m happy to report that the Harvey Girls’ show of force was the talk of Kansas City. We’d proven it was our town, too, by aiding in the apprehension of a notorious con man. Reggie Brown would not be fooling anyone anytime soon. Although, he reluctantly went to jail, bemoaning how I’d double-crossed him by keeping all the Spanish gold for myself. I explained to the authorities that it never existed, firmly believing that the Spanish soldiers would never have left it behind. Yes, many were slaughtered at the time, but I think they sacrificed themselves so a small group could escape with the gold. Of course, we may never know.

Shortly after our triumph, Mrs. Agnes Q. Downs summoned me to her office. The excitement over the Harvey Girls assembling to save the day was still high and had brought extra guests to the Harvey House. Thus, I felt confident the matron would only praise me, but a quiver of fear lingered. Mrs. Downs was a stern woman. I dared not assume she condoned all my actions.

True to form, Mrs. Downs greeted me with a grunt and a frown. I took the offered chair, placing my hands in my lap. I’d seen my mother assume the contrite position before. It usually worked for her. Of course, she’d never tried to stop a scoundrel and thus endanger all her friends.

“You’ll be leaving us,” Mrs. Downs said.

My shock must have shown on my face. I was speechless as the news took the wind out of me.

“Now, don’t tell me we’ll need the smelling salts,” Mrs. Downs chuckled. “You’re made of sturdier stuffin’, and you’ll need it. Mr. Harvey has a special mission for you.”

I sat forward, intrigued. “How can I help Mr. Harvey?”

“Due to your unique skills,” Mrs. Downs cleared her throat, unwilling to name said skills, “Mr. Harvey believes you can tame some of the unruly spots that pop up, from time to time, along the whole Harvey House line. As such, you will be his Ambassador, traveling to any Harvey House that needs you to calm a prickly situation.”

I sat back, so pleased by the idea of sticking my fingers into trouble—and fixing it—that I could barely contain my joy. “Oooh,” I sighed, “I believe I am up for such a challenge.”

Mrs. Downs smirked, well aware I gathered, that she’d given me a job full of adventure—and that I’d take to it with glee. “You will be taking the other one with you, too.”

“The other one?” I choked out the question.

“Your roommate, Dori.” Mrs. Downs shook her head. “One lady alone is not respectable.”

“But two poking around is perfectly fine?” I teased, having no problem with her choice of companion. Dori was indispensable and wise in ways I never would be. Plus, she’d become the dearest friend in the shortest amount of time. That accounted for something!

Mrs. Downs leaned forward, perhaps sensing a need to reprimand me. “Don’t embarrass us.”

“Of course not,” I promised.

Before I knew it, I’d sent Father back to New York City into the loving care of my mother and boarded a train in the opposite direction. A Harvey House needed us, and all haste was required in time to right a wrong. As Dori and I settled into the First Class coach, we were joined by one more traveler intent on aiding our journey—Fin Morgan.

The Pinkerton Man sauntered towards our seats, indicating his intention to join our party. Since he’d proven to be exceptionable at following my plan to save Father, in spite of his duties, I smiled at his arrival. He’d be a welcome addition.

“Please, have a seat,” I said, as we’d taken up a space with two backward seats facing two forward ones. It offered a bit of privacy. “Do tell us how lucky we are to have a Pinkerton Man join our little team.”

He winked, sitting next to Dori and looking happier than I’d ever seen him. Well, not as happy as when I’d led Reggie Brown and the army of Harvey Girls to the police station. He’d been waiting a block away and looked rather astonished.

“Mr. Harvey pulled some strings,” Fin explained.

“How kind,” I said, sitting across from my friends. I tried to recall how much excitement a lady should show at a man’s arrival. It must have missed that etiquette class, but probably no more than a pleased glance.

Dori whooped her approval. “We never did hear what you found when you went in search of the other runes,” she said. “Did you find the Spanish gold?”

Fin put his feet up on the open seat next to me, closing his eyes and pulling his hat down to protect them from the light. “Oh, I cannot talk about that; I’m sorry to inform you.”

“He found nothing!” I insisted.

“Or he found something, and now he’s rich!” Dori clapped her hands together.

Fin grunted. “If I’d found the gold, we’d be riding in first class.”

“We are riding in first class!” Dori exclaimed.

Fin only smiled, getting comfortable in his seat. He settled in for a long journey.

“He didn’t find the gold,” I hissed.

Dori only hummed a little tune. She didn’t really care. I pushed Fin’s feet off the seat, and his smile grew. I really wanted to see his eyes under that hat brim, for they must be gleeful. He had some nerve, telling such a fib. He really was insufferable.

Fin cleared his throat. “Have you heard this one?” he asked. “A Pinkerton Man and two Harvey Girls board a train…” 

“No, what happens?” Dori asked, as innocent as ever.

I patted Dori’s knee before settling back in my seat as well. “Don’t you worry; we’ll figure out the ending to that sentence soon enough.”

Fin tipped his hat up and winked at me.

The End for now… a new adventure for Willa, Dori and Fin is coming!

Audio recap created by Ann Kimbrough with SFX licensed through Zapsplat.