The Pinkerton Files Five-Book Bundle by David Luchuk Page A

black.” I said.
    â€œI can do what’s needed outside the prison.”
    â€œRobert Pinkerton will be running the case.”
    â€œDo you trust him?” Ray asked.
    Robert was a clever dick. I couldn’t leave myself in his hands. I needed a proxy. Ray was the only option.
    Robert bought into the idea. He even pledged to be a mentor to Ray, whatever that meant. His main concern was getting me into the prison, close to the accused William Bucholz.
    â€œWe’ll do what police cannot. You will be right next to him.” Robert said.
    â€œAnd he’ll bear his soul because . . . what?”
    â€œYou will find a way, Stark, just as you did with the Golden Circle.”
    This was the sort of thing that made me distrust the boy. He knew it was Webster, not me, who burrowed into the Golden Circle before being killed.
    â€œWhatever happens, it will be fast.” I said. “Trust takes time to build between sweethearts, not criminals.”
    â€œYou know best. I have made arrangements. The local prosecutor will drop charges against you once we have learned what we can from Bucholz. For this to work, though, you must actually be arrested.”
    â€œDon’t worry. Getting into prison isn’t hard.”
    It was harder than I thought. Ray and I concocted a scheme. He showed a good understanding of how to scare people into a herd.
    I wrote a pile of bad cheques. I didn’t want to be a clown about it so I took care to make them passable. A trained eye would recognize them as forgeries. The idea was to get pinched cashing cheques then cause a scene, with Ray’s help, that brought police on the trot.
    Trouble was small town bank tellers cashed the cheques and wished me a pleasant day. By mid-afternoon, I had a bag full of money.
    Back at the hotel, Ray counted the bills twice. He got it wrong both times but, asking for help, ended with the right amount. I initialled the report for Agency records.
    Ray was organized and took it seriously. He made mistakes but was eager to fix them.
    That night, I saw what it really was to make a new life out of nothing. He hadn’t been putting the screws to me in Philadelphia. Saving my life was his only foothold. When the money was counted and stored, we had our first real conversation as partners.
    â€œWatch out for Robert and his toys.” I said.
    â€œIs he simple?”
    â€œHe’s an odd bird when it comes to machines on a case.”
    â€œBe nice to have that kinda’ back up.” Ray said.
    â€œSure but it’s just back up. Robert lets a machine take the place of common sense.”
    â€œI’ll keep an eye out.” He said. “Stark?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œBet they got Saul Mathews locked away in one of these jails up here.”
    â€œI’ve been thinking about that, too.”
    Saul was William Hunt’s right hand in the Lincoln plot. He was captured by Kate Warne. According to papers, Saul was jailed in New York State. I had no desire to meet him again except, maybe, in an alley late at night with a pistol to his head.
    The next morning, Ray and I got it right. We made sure no bank teller could mistake our cheques for the real thing. They were obnoxious fakes.
    We targeted a busy change house sure to keep good people on staff. The clerk took my cheque and called his manager.
    â€œI apologize, Sir. We cannot complete this transaction.” The manager said.
    I gritted my teeth, all furious. It was ham-handed stuff. I never claimed to be an actor.
    â€œWhat’s your game? I’m no fool.” I said.
    â€œPlease, Sir. Try to calm down.”
    Some clients walked out to avoid the scene. Others pushed forward to get a better look.
    The manager tried to give me the benefit of the doubt.
    â€œSir, I fear you have been the victim of a con. These notes are worthless. We will arrange for you to meet with constables. You can tell them who issued these cheques . . .”
    I