Page 3 of Mail-Order Millie (A Mail-Order Mystery #1)

Three

M illie was a bundle of nerves as the train pulled into Baker City. She still couldn’t believe she was doing this! What was she thinking coming to Oregon to marry a stranger? Was this Bill Krantz a drunkard like Father? What if he gambled as Father did? Would he be kind, upright, and have a strong moral character? All she really knew about him was that he was an accountant and would be as new to Baker City as she would.

“Baker City!” The conductor called. “Coming into Baker City!”

Millie fiddled with her careworn gloves and braced herself for her worst fear. Her groom not showing up. What little money was left from the sale of the house was enough to get her a room and feed her for a few days, but after that, she’d have nothing. For as much as she hated gambling, she was doing just that.

If her groom did show, she hoped they married quickly, and she could start her new life trying to… what? Try to please him like she had Father? How many years had she’d done that? And for what, she might add. Father never cared for anyone but himself.

She looked out the window as the train began to slow. Mr. Thornton said her new home had a population of about ten thousand. It wasn’t Boston, but it also wasn’t so small it wasn’t on the map.

Millie gathered her meager belongings as the train came to a stop. She hoped she recognized Mr. Krantz when she saw him. He’d sent a photograph of a man with dark hair and a beard and mustache. He looked a little scruffy for a bookkeeper, but he was wearing a pair of spectacles. Besides, who knew when the picture was taken? She supposed he wouldn’t look bad if he shaved and cleaned up a bit.

The train came to a stop, and she prepared to disembark along with the rest of the passengers. Millie tried peeking out the windows as she went but wasn’t sure what good it would do. She’d have a better chance of spotting her groom once she was on the station’s platform.

Millie stepped off the train and shaded her eyes against the afternoon sun. She moved across the platform, her carpetbag in one hand, a valise in the other, and began to search. She didn’t see Mr. Krantz anywhere.

Her heart sank. She’d imagined every horrible scenario she could think of during her journey. After all she’d been through, she couldn’t help it. Bad luck seemed to follow her everywhere.

More people left the platform and there was still no sign of him. “No…”

Panic crept up her spine, sending a chill through her body. He had to be around here somewhere. Maybe he was late?

She went to a bench near the ticket office and sat. “Yes, he’s late, that’s all. He’ll be along any moment.” She took a deep breath, held onto her luggage, and settled in to wait for her future husband.

Bram stared at Quincy Melbourne in shock. He was one of the best spies employed by the president. It was an honor to be working with him. Unfortunately, they had a problem. Bram looked at the kitchen table, then the overturned chair and drops of blood on the floor. “What happened?”

Quincy scratched the dark stubble covering his jaw. “I came by late last night and thought I’d check things out before we arrested Krantz tonight. I thought I heard some sort of scuffle inside, came in and there he was, slumped over the kitchen table, dead.”

Bram couldn’t believe it. Bill Krantz was dead? “How?”

“As far as I could tell, someone stabbed him in the back then took off,” Quincy said. “I’ll take care of Krantz while you search the house. We need to figure out who did this and why. If the murderer is still around, he thinks Krantz is dead. And Krantz is supposed to start work for the Double K any day now.”

Bram ran his hand through his hair. What were they going to do? And what if whomever murdered Krantz caught sight of his victim walking through town?

“I’d better get going,” Quincy said. “Find out what you can, and I’ll do the same.”

Before he could say a word, Quincy disappeared through the kitchen’s back door. Bram heaved a sigh, then began to search for clues. He started in the bedroom. There was nothing hidden under the mattress, nothing in the drawers of the vanity. He turned, spied Krantz’s spectacles on the dresser and put them in his pocket. He’d need them to pose as the man.

Bram noticed a folded newspaper on the dresser and picked it up. An envelope was beneath it. Bram looked at it. “Millie Scott of Boston. Could this be from his mail-order bride?” He took the letter out and read it. “What?! Great Scott!”

It was indeed a letter from Krantz’s bride, and she was arriving on the afternoon train! Bram checked his pocket watch. “The train’s already come through.” He facepalmed. This wasn’t going as planned!

“Great.” He left the house and hadn’t taken two steps when a couple of men approached him. “Looks like you’re late, Krantz.”

Bram stopped and stared at them. He hadn’t contacted any of the men from the Double K Ranch yet. Had these men already met with Krantz? Did they know he was dead? “Yes, well, it’s a big day.”

“Whoowee! It sure is,” the shorter of the two said. “Best not keep yer mail-order bride waiting.” He scrutinized him. “Hey, don’t ya wear spectacles?”

Krantz pulled them from his pocket and put them on.

“He’s nervous, Charlie,” the taller man said.

Charlie, Bram thought. Charlie Woolworth, one of the cowhands. He was buddies with a Mr. Montclair, the ranch foreman. That’s who the taller of the two must be. His nickname was Monty.

“You clean up nice, Krantz,” Monty said. “Boss said you were sort of scraggly when he met you the other day.”

“Yes, well, it was quite the journey here, then getting the house and all.” He glanced over his shoulder at the house. He didn’t dare let them inside. “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I need to fetch my bride.”

“You do that, Krantz,” Monty said. “Once you’ve settled in with the new missus, Boss wants to see ya.”

“Ah, have a heart, Monty. Tonight’s his wedding night!” Charlie elbowed the man in the ribs.

Monty ignored him and slung an arm around Bram. “Come on, we’ll see you to the train station.” He practically dragged him down the front walk to the rickety gate. “Ya know, you might want to think about a bigger place for you and your bride. That shack ain’t much.”

Bram gave him a wan smile and mentally went over his role of Bill Krantz. He was a little mousy, though sly, and from what he knew, could be bought. He’d been guilty of petty theft but not much else. He also gambled a lot and for all Bram knew, got killed over cheating at cards. If that were the case, whomever murdered him might be long gone by now to avoid getting arrested by the local law. This meant he’d have to show up at the saloon a few nights a week to play cards to keep up his cover. Fine, he could do that.

By the time they got to the train station, it was empty.

“Are ya sure she was coming today?” Charlie asked. “You told the boss she was.”

Bram scanned the platform, caught sight of a bit of blue skirt near one corner of the ticket office, and headed that way.

Charlie and Monty followed him. Sure enough, when he reached the end of the platform, he saw a woman leaning against the wall on the other side of the ticket office, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.

“Looks like ya got some apologizing to do,” Charlie said with a frown.

Bram’s eyebrows shot up at the look on the short man’s face. “Yeah, looks that way.”

“Well, don’t just stand there,” Monty said. “Go fetch the poor woman and take her to the church. We’ll do our part.”

He looked at them, his eyebrows shooting up again.

“Didn’t the boss tell ya?” Charlie said. “We’re yer witnesses!”

Bram gulped. “Witnesses?”

“Yeah, seeing as how you don’t know anyone around here,” Monty said.

The woman caught sight of him and stared at Bram with wide eyes. She was beautiful, even with a tear-stained face. “Mr. Krantz?” she asked, hopeful.

Bram stood stock still.

“Get a move one, ya big scaredy-cat!” Charlie said and gave him a shove.

He stumbled forward staring back. Her dark hair was piled on her head, her blue hat slightly askew. It matched her blue traveling outfit, and her dark eyes captured his.

“Mr. Krantz?” she repeated.

“Yes,” he said as his eyes raked over her.

She smiled in relief. “Oh, thank goodness. I thought…”

“I apologize,” he blurted. “I… I was…”

“Getting pretty!” Charlie chortled. “He done cleaned up nice, ma’am. Ya shoulda seen him before!”

Monty elbowed Charlie. “Leave him be.” He smiled at her. “I’m Mr. Montclair, and this is Charlie.”

Charlie chuckled. “You can call him Monty, everybody does.”

She gave them a nod as Bram continued to stare at her. This beautiful creature was Bill Krantz’s mail-order bride?! Oh boy…

“We’d best head for the church,” Monty advised. “Charlie and me gotta get back to the ranch.”

Bram blinked a few times. “Church?!”

“Yeah,” Charlie said. “Yer gettin’ married!”

Bram forced his gaze away from Krantz’s bride. “Now?!”

“Yes, now,” Monty said. He took Bram by the elbow and pulled him along. “Charlie, get the lady’s bags.”

“Yes, sir!”

Before he knew it, Monty and Charlie had taken him and Krantz’s bride to a small nearby church where a preacher was waiting. If he backed out, he risked blowing his cover. So, he did what his boss Jules Monroe planned all along. He got married.