An Agent for Jocelyn: Pinkerton Matchmakers, #50

By Lynn Donovan

Jocelyn King wants justice, but no one will listen. Turning to the Pinkerton Agency for help, she has one condition— she must be part of the team that investigates the diamond hoax her father has uncovered. But there's more to her story than she reveals to Archie Gordon.

 

Agent Owen Latimer came to be a Pinkerton Operative through some… unorthodox skills that he'd rather not everyone knew about. But having been an accomplished expert in his field, he knows when someone is hiding lies among the truths. And Miss Jocelyn is doing just that. Intrigued by her story and intense desire for justice, Owen agrees to take her on as his partner even though office rules dictate he has to marry her for the duration of the investigation.

 

Will this hoax turnout to be more than he can bear? Can these two overcome their distrust in one another and solve this case? If opposites attract, will love thrive among their differences? Is Owen the right agent for Jocelyn?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barr26 Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Feb 22, 2024
• ISBN: 9798223767848

Book preview

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Marianne! Archie Gordon bellowed from behind his closed office door.

Frazzled or angry, Jocelyn King couldn’t tell which, Mrs. Gordon eventually opened his door, drying her hands on a dish towel. You summoned, M’lord?

Oh. Sorry. I did it again, didn’t I?

Yes, Archie, M’love, you certainly did. Now, what do you need?

Have we heard from Latimer?

She lifted her eyes to the ceiling in thought. Yes… two days ago. He’s still in South Dakota.

Ah. Archie turned a gracious smile toward Jocelyn who waited patiently in the guest chair. Then turned back to his wife. And do we expect him back soon?

She sighed. I believe we do, in a week or two.

Aye. Without a thank you, he turned back to Jocelyn. It looks as though we will need to wait two weeks to get the right man for this job, Miss King.

Two weeks! She nearly stood. I can’t wait two weeks, isn’t there anybody else?

Archie turned questioning eyes to where Marianne had stood, but the door was closed and she no longer stood there. Um, well. No. Owen Latimer has the expertise to best handle a case of fraud. He’s a… uh, bit of an expert in the matter.

Jocelyn stared at Mr. Gordon. What was he not telling her about this Agent Latimer? You mean to say he once was a… swindler?

Archie leapt to his feet. Weeel, our agents come to us with extraordinary skills. How they obtained them… is really their business. I can assure you, they do not become a Pinkerton unless they pass the muster. Not to worry, Miss King. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt I can trust all of my agents… with my life. He nodded and gestured for her to stand.

She did, but reluctantly.

Let’s reconvene in two weeks, Miss King. He put his hand behind her shoulder to usher her toward the door. But she held fast, and he had to soundly push her to make her move.

I cannot wait two weeks, Mr. Gordon. The men conducting this heinous hoax are already moving ahead with their solicitations for more investors. Good men are being swindled! A third meeting in San Francisco is planned in a week! Those two are going to abscond with hundreds of thousands of dollars and the investors will have no recourse. She swallowed and lifted her chin. "They all are being tricked with false facts, Sir. And we MUST stop them.

Archie cocked his head back on his shoulders. We? Aye, why haven’t you shared your knowledge of the fraudulence to these investors?

I tried! It’s a bit of a story. Suffice to say no one will listen to me! And my father— well, my father cannot address the issue. It’s now or never, Mr. Gordon! Please, agree to take my case today, and I’ll tell you the whole story.

Archie sighed. A whistle sound expelled through his nose. Jocelyn would not let him push her any further toward the door. "You know, Miss King, there is a saying in business, ‘Caveat emptor’. It means, ‘Buyer beware.’ If these investors are foolhardy enough to believe in, uh, an investment scheme, then their loss is their loss."

But, Mr. Gordon. She shrugged his hand from her shoulder like an unwanted insect. Do not pretend to teach me Latin. I am fully aware of such catch phrases. But these investors are— ever since the discovery of gold in 1848 and silver in 1859 in the western mountains, there has been a contagion known as the Next Big Thing. I admit, even my father and I were caught up in the excitement when we—

She pursed her lips. It only took us a few hours to realize our mistake. But others have not been so lucky to see what we saw or have the knowledge that we have to know… what was wrong.

Gordon gazed into her eyes. His jaw muscles bulged under his carrot-red beard.

Weeel, then yew and yewr fader need to tell the investors dat. Gordon’s Scottish brogue suddenly dominated his speech. Jocelyn stared at his ruddy cheeks. Had she angered him?

Good. Because she was mighty angry too, and she wanted justice for her father’s murder! And the swindlers to be stopped. But she refused to tell Mr. Gordon that. He would accuse her of being a hysterical female and she couldn’t take any more of that. It was not a coincidence that her father was killed. It was premeditated murder! All she needed was proof.

She didn’t know if it was Arnold’s or Slack’s men who stopped her father’s wagon and killed the team before she and he could report their findings. Or Henry Janin who was blinded by the idea of becoming so rich, so easily. Or Charles Tiffany, the well-known jeweler from New York, who had sloppily claimed to have valued the gems at so much more than they truly were worth. He could have arranged for her father’s murder to save his precious reputation as a fine jeweler.

Or it could have been any number of men who were discovering they had invested in a fraud and didn’t want the truth to come out before they could sell their stock at the jacked up rate and walk away unscathed.

She couldn’t prove who those road-side bandits had been, but she had absolute faith that the Pinkerton Agency could uncover all the evil things that lead to her father’s murder.

There was one solid decision she had made on her way to Denver. But she would not make that demand until she knew for sure Mr. Gordon had accepted her case. So far, he was putting her off with excuses that he only had one agent who could work the investigation. This Owen Latimer was several hundred miles away on a case and would not be available for two