Page 5 of Mail-Order Tess (A Mail-Order Mystery #2)

Five

“ W hy don’t you go on home and have some lunch, dear,” Martha suggested as they left Mrs. Bee’s boardinghouse. “I’m sure Winnie has something cooked up for you and Pastor Adams to eat.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Tindle. I’ll do that.” Tess hugged the diary to her chest. It was the only thing she’d taken from Henry Bonner’s room.

“I’d best get home and fix Arthur’s lunch,” Mahulda added. “He’s always half-starved by the time he gets there.” She gave them a little wave and headed down another street.

Martha steered Tess toward Main Street and the mercantile. “Be sure to be back on time, dear. I plan to do inventory this afternoon. It’ll be good for you to learn it, just in case you happen to stay on for a while.”

Tess gave her a sidelong glance. “Am I working for you only until your son and his family return?”

“I was thinking if you met a nice gentleman in town, well, you’d only work for me until you married.” Martha gave her a wink.

Tess sighed inwardly. “You mean like Mr. Atwood?”

“Now why bring him up?” Martha asked innocently.

Tess gave her a slow nod. “I have a few things to settle—and a lot to think about—before I consider becoming anyone’s wife. Please, if you can keep me on, do so. I know you’re short-staffed right now with part of your family out of town, but…”

Martha held up a hand. “Think nothing of it, dear. We’ll work something out. Besides, I’m sure Mercy, Maude, and Mahulda could all use a little help with things. You could work for all four of us.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

“Of course, dear. We’ve done it before.” Martha smiled as she stopped in front of the mercantile. “Now run along. Enjoy your lunch and be back as soon as you can.”

“I will. Thank you.” Tess turned and started off again. The church was on the other end of town, and she liked looking at the buildings and homes along the way. She hadn’t had time to explore yet, but today wasn’t the day for it either.

She was just passing the assayer’s office when she heard a strange sound.

Pssst…

Tess froze. Was someone trying to get her attention? She looked around but saw no one…not even in the alley between buildings. “What on earth?” she said aloud. Maybe she was just hearing things.

She kept moving but hesitated as she neared the next narrow alley.

“Goodness gracious, Tess, stop being such a ninny.” She took a deep breath, clutching the diary tighter to her chest, and kept walking.

Silly woman that she was, she squeezed her eyes shut and hurried her steps as she passed the alley.

That is until someone grabbed her from behind and clamped a hand over her mouth!

MMMPHFF!

“I’ll take that,” her attacker said, reaching for the diary.

Tess screamed, but it was muffled. She twisted, trying to keep the diary from him, but the man was too strong. His grip over her mouth tightened as he shoved her against his chest and yanked the diary free from her grasp.

“Gotcha!” he growled, stuffing it into his coat pocket.

She struggled, fear surging like wildfire, but he held her fast.

“Now, what to do with you?” he mused aloud.

Then—to her horror—he dragged her to the end of the alley and picked up acrowbar that was leaning against the end of a building. “No…” The word was stuck in her throat.

In one swift motion, he tossed her against the wall, nearly knocking the breath from her. Her back hit hard. She couldn’t draw air fast enough to scream as he raised the crowbar.

He was going to strike her with it.

Frozen in place, Tess could do nothing but brace for the blow.

But then the man was gone.

Tess blinked, confused. Someone had tackled her attacker. The two men were on the ground now, wrestling violently, limbs tangled, grunts filling the alley. Goodness gracious! Was that Mr. Atwood?

Wade left the ticket master’s office and headed back toward the main part of town.

He was just heading to Main Street when a flicker of movement in the shadows between the backs of two buildings caught his eye.

Was that Fletcher and some of his friends?

Those boys could get into more trouble in five minutes than most men managed in a lifetime.

But then he saw the stranger he’d been keeping tabs on. And he wasn’t alone. The man snatched up acrowbarfrom the ground and had one arm around Tess Pendergrass!

Wade’s blood turned cold. The man shoved her, and Wade heard the thud as she hit the wall of the opposite building. That was all it took. He raced into the alleyway and launched himself at the stranger just as the man raised the crowbar over Tess’s head.

They hit the ground hard, the impact jarring the weapon loose from the man’s grip.

It clattered to the dirt, forgotten, as the two rolled down the alley.

Wade scrambled to his knees, but the stranger was faster.

He swung and landed a blow to Wade’s jaw that sent white pain flashing through his skull.

Wade shook it off, swung back, and knocked the man flat with a well-placed right hook.

Tess stood frozen a few feet away, her back against the wall, terror etched into her features.

Wade stood and looked her over. “Are you all right?”

She trembled. “I-I’m fine…”

He stepped forward and gently pulled her into his arms. “It’s all right. You’re safe now.” When he pulled back, his gaze dropped to the diary on the ground near her unconscious attacker. He snatched it up. “Is this what he was after?”

She nodded, another shudder running through her. “H-he came out of nowhere…”

Wade glanced at the crowbar on the ground. “He obviously didn’t want you to see what’s in this.” He held it up. “May I?”

She hesitated, then nodded. “It’s Henry Bonner’s.”

“What are you doing with it?”

“Martha and Mahulda said I could have his belongings since I was his mail-order bride, and he didn’t have any kin. Not that anyone knows of, anyway.”

Wade flipped open the diary and scanned a few pages. “What is all this?”

“That’s what I was trying to figure out.” She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “See this symbol? I found it by the crates in the mercantile. I was hoping to find something like it in there.”

Wade took the scrap from her and examined it. He’d seen a lot of coded messages in his time… but this was something different. “Interesting.”

He flipped a few more pages in the diary and noted the rows of symbols, the tiny sketches of crates and what looked like railcars. “Were you going to take this to the sheriff?” he asked.

She blushed, eyes lowering. “No. I… I wanted to look through it first. I wanted to see what kind of man I almost married.”

Her voice was quiet, but Wade caught the note of sadness beneath it. He looked at the diary again, instincts flaring. Henry Bonner hadn’t been a random victim. Someone had wanted something he had, and now it appeared Tess had it.

Wade looked back at her. Her eyes were still wide with fear, but there was strength there too, in the form of determination. He let out a long breath and rested a hand on her shoulder. “You’re not going anywhere alone after this. Understood?”

She nodded. “What about him?” she asked, gesturing toward the man still unconscious on the ground.

Wade’s jaw tightened. “Yeah, that’s a problem.” He handed her the diary then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to tie the man’s hands behind his back. “We’ll take him to the sheriff’s office. It’s not far.”

“I can fetch the sheriff,” she offered, trying to square her shoulders.

“No.” His tone was firm. “You’re staying with me. I don’t want you going anywhere alone.”

She swallowed hard and nodded again.

Wade glanced at the diary, then at her. Keeping her safe was no longer just a professional obligation. It felt personal now. And he was going to find out why.

Tess stood on the threshold of the parsonage; the diary clutched in one hand. A scowl tugged at her mouth despite her best efforts to appear composed.

“I’ll say it again, Miss Pendergrass,” Wade Atwood said, standing behind her. “This is for your own good.”

It took a few minutes for her attacker to regain consciousness, and once he had, Wade yanked him to his feet and marched him off to the sheriff’s office with Tess in tow.

The man hadn’t let her out of his sight.

Now he’d escorted her to the parsonage where Pastor Adams and his wife, Winnie, were generous enough to have offered her a spare room.

Did this mean Mr. Atwood was going to escort her back and forth to the mercantile every day? If her attacker was now locked up, what was the point?

She looked over her shoulder at him and supposed there could be worse things.

He could be built like a gorilla and look like the man who’d tried to kill her.

But Wade Atwood was more than a little handsome.

With his sandy blonde hair, striking blue eyes, and those broad shoulders, he exuded a sort of boyish charm mixed with rugged manliness.

“Don’t look at me like that, Miss Pendergrass,” he said, his voice warm and sure. “I told you; this is for your own safety.”

“I’m sorry, my mind was elsewhere,” she said in a rush. Her thoughts had everything to do with him, but she certainly wasn’t going to admit it. She turned to face him. “I can go inside on my own, thank you very much.”

He looked down at her, and she was once again reminded of how tall he was. “Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked gently.

A tingle ran up her spine at the soft concern in his voice, and she nodded.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to come in and speak with Pastor Adams and his wife,” he said. “I need to tell them what happened so they can keep an eye out.”

Panic flickered through her. “Oh no, I don’t want to cause them any trouble…”

“Pastor Adams will understand. And if he doesn’t,” Wade added with a shrug, “I’ll put you up at the hotel.”

She swallowed and nodded. She was still too shaken to argue properly. “Very well,” she murmured, and turned to knock on the door.

Winnie answered a moment later, wiping her hands on a towel. “There you are, Tess. I was wondering when you’d show up. The soup’s getting cold.” She paused when she saw Mr. Atwood behind her. “Wade? What are you doing here?”

“There was an incident,” he said, his tone turning serious. He quickly told her what had happened.

Winnie gasped. “Goodness! I’m so glad you were there to rescue Tess from that awful man.

I’m also relieved that he’s behind bars.

We’d better tell my husband—he’ll want to know.

” She ushered them inside and led them into the dining room, where Pastor Adams sat at the head of the table, finishing a bowl of soup.

“Hello, Tess,” he said with a kind smile. “Wade, good to see you. Would you like to join us for lunch?”

Tess noticed Wade’s gaze flick over the table, which held a tureen of tomato soup, a platter of sandwiches, and a bowl of cut-up fruit.

“Don’t mind if I do,” he said as he pulled out a chair for Tess. “There’s something we need to discuss.”

Pastor Adams raised an eyebrow. “Is there?” He glanced between the two of them. “Well, this is a surprise. Are congratulations in order?”

Wade stepped back, startled. “Great Scott, no! It’s not that.”

Pastor Adams slumped in his seat. “Too bad. I was really hoping to perform a wedding in the next couple of weeks. It’s been a while since we’ve had one.”

Tess sucked in a breath. “You thought he wanted to marry me?”

“Yes,” the pastor said with a casual shrug.

She placed a hand to her chest. “Goodness gracious.”

“Well,” Pastor Adams said, “if it’s not that, then what is it?”

Mr. Atwood helped Tess into her seat and then sat down himself, resting the diary on the table. Then he told them everything.