Chapters (50)
- Cover
- Half Title Page
- Books by Elizabeth Camden
- Title Page
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Historical Note
- Questions for Discussion
- In 2021, look for Luke Delacroix’s story in
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
Philip nodded. “The moment he is arrested, we’ll need to start tracking down that unknown link in Key West. If news of Holland’s arrest makes the newspapers, that third man is likely to make a run for it. I want this entire operation wrapped up in a week.”
It made sense to Caroline, but a hint of tension passed between Nathaniel and Wilkie. There was a time when she wouldn’t have even noticed it, but she’d become highly attuned to Nathaniel’s emotions and noticed his slight stiffening as he sent a tiny shake of his head to Wilkie.
Wilkie nodded in return, then shifted his attention back to Philip. “I’ll be assigning another agent to assist with the case. Agent Trask is needed elsewhere.”
“Who?” Philip demanded. “And why? I don’t want news of this operation going any further than the people in this room.”
“I’m sending Trask to Milwaukee on assignment. He leaves by the end of the week.”
“What?” Caroline shrieked. She stood, gaping at Nathaniel in dismay. This felt like a slap in the face.
Nathaniel held up his hands to pacify her. “Caroline, I didn’t want to tell you this way.”
The strength drained from her, and she sank onto her chair, staring at Nathaniel in confusion. “Tell me what?” she said weakly.
“The Kestrel Gang is back in action. Their counterfeit bills have been spotted in Milwaukee, and I need to get up there quickly to track them down.”
Her mind did the calculations. It would take a few days to get to Milwaukee, and then a couple weeks to investigate. He could be back before Thanksgiving. That wouldn’t be too horrible, would it? But it still hurt that he would leave Washington after everything they’d been through together. After all they had before them.
“We’ll miss the reception at the Smithsonian,” she said inanely.
“Yes.”
Couldn’t he at least sound a little regretful? He had no obligation to seek her permission to go on an assignment, but she wished he had found a way to tell her.
Nathaniel must have sensed her pique, for he continued to justify his need to leave. “The Kestrel Gang is the most damaging group of counterfeiters in the past decade. They’ve brought chaos to the money supply and show no sign of slowing down. I spent eleven months in St. Louis tracking them down and was so close to cracking the case. No one knows their patterns as well as me. I’ve got to go.”