He couldn’t save President McKinley, but he could save the central banking system of the United States if he could stop the Kestrel Gang from flooding the market with fake currency. He was good at this. It was what he’d trained for all his life. He felt like a bloodhound on the trail of a fresh scent, and every instinct clawed at him to chase them down.

But being away from Caroline would hurt. They’d spent the past eighteen months together, living under the same roof, working side by side every day of the week. They’d been through fire and rain together. She knew all his failings and secrets. He would never turn his back on her, but could she endure the inevitable separations that his job required?

She would understand. She knew how much he needed this.

Even so, he worried about her as he rode to meet her brother for the afternoon stakeout.

Tension made his muscles ache, but he ignored the sensation. He needed to succeed in this. First he would help round up Holland, then he’d shift gears toward Milwaukee and his chance at unraveling another criminal scheme. He needed this.

“Ready for fun and games?” Luke asked as they met at the small park across from Captain Holland’s house.

“You didn’t cut your hair,” Nathaniel said as he dismounted.

Luke merely shrugged. “I don’t recall ever meeting Captain Holland, but he still might recognize me. The hair is a good distraction.”

Probably true. People tended to focus on oddities, and a man wearing a ponytail was certainly odd.

Nathaniel tied his horse to a hitching post by a cluster of trees. The fake telegram was due to be delivered soon, and the park across from Holland’s house had plenty of tables perfect for setting up a chess match. A drawn-out game of chess would allow them to linger for hours without drawing suspicion, except that Luke kept whistling the world’s most grating tune as they set up the chessboard. It was going to be a long day.

Wilkie’s investigation showed that there was no telephone in the Holland household, so Holland would need to leave the house to send a return message to Mateo. Secret Service agents had been posted at the three nearest Western Union stations to intercept any telegram he tried to send. As an extra precaution, Nathaniel would tail Holland in case he made some other move, while Luke would get to the nearest telephone to warn Wilkie their target was on the move.

Nathaniel could only pray Captain Holland would act soon, for Caroline’s brother was annoying. Within seconds of setting up the chessboard, Luke took a flask from his coat pocket and unscrewed the cap.

“It’s two o’clock in the afternoon,” Nathaniel said tersely. “We aren’t drinking.”

Luke took a swig from the flask. “Maybe you won’t, but I will.”