“I think it was intentional,” Flick said. “In fact, I’d bet good money that he started following them in Chicago, because Paulie, even though I didn’t see him, might have been at the train station that day, trying to collect money he was due from some of the roadies before they headed south. He probably noticed Miranda straight off because he’s always been obsessed with her. Then, if I’m going to guess what happened next, he saw Norma Jean, recognized her as being a girl with money, and decided to follow the two of them on their train, intending to get that windfall he was denied the first time he encountered Norma Jean.”
“From what the conductor said,” Seth continued, “there was a ruckus in one of the cars between who we now believe to be Paulie and an attractive woman in the company of what theconductor called ‘a mouthy girl,’ a description even Norma Jean wouldn’t deny.”
Annaliese frowned. “But they’ve been on that train for days together. Why would Paulie decide now, and in the middle of nowhere, to rob it and to make off with Norma Jean and Miranda?”
“This is only supposition, of course,” Seth began, “but Paulie, since he was riding in the passenger car behind Miranda’s, might have become careless with keeping out of sight. Perhaps he decided to stretch his legs or visit the dining car, and Miranda or Norma Jean spotted him. That might have forced his hand right here on this stretch of track, especially when, from what the conductor was told, a verbal altercation took place between Paulie and Miranda, ending when Paulie whipped out his pistol and demanded the train stop. He then pulled Miranda and Norma Jean off the train, but only after he decided to help himself to the passengers’ valuables, claiming he’d shoot Miranda and Norma Jean if everyone didn’t fork over their money and jewelry.”
“You have got to be jesting” was all Annaliese could think to say to all that.
“I wish I was,” Seth said before he began walking back toward the Pullman car he and Flick had been using on their journey. “However, since my sister seems to have actually been abducted this time, I say we use the time it takes for the train in front of us to get on its way to plan a rescue attempt.” He frowned. “Unfortunately, besides the pistol I brought, thinking we were merely going off to drag my sister back home and wouldn’t need to be highly armed, the few gadgets I packed aren’t what I’d consider weapons.”
“Dare I hope you brought a few vials of eau de skunk since that proved to be a weapon in and of itself?” Annaliese asked.
“I think Norma Jean made off with the entire box since it was nowhere to be found when I went looking for it after I went home to pack for this trip.”
“How unfortunate, unless...” Annaliese tilted her head. “Perhaps Norma Jean has those vials with her now, and if that’s the case and she has access to them, we might not need an abundance of weapons after all since eau de skunk has proven to be effective in causing chaos.” She smiled. “Chaos, as I’m sure you’re aware, might be exactly what we need to get your sister back.”
Seventeen
Given the urgency of the situation, it was beyond frustrating for Seth to simply cool his heels while they waited for the train that had been robbed to get moving down the tracks again.
In all honesty, he’d been considering hying off on foot to chase after Paulie, but Annaliese had made short shrift of that idea when she’d pointed out that it would be impossible to catch up with a man who’d stolen the only two horses the train had been transporting.
When he’d tried to argue the point, she’d then asked him what the odds would be for him to catch Paulie on foot, and given that they’d been a mere four percent, and that was only if Paulie happened to suffer an accident, he’d had to resign himself to waiting until they reached the next train station, where, hopefully, they could rent some horses.
“What in the world is this?” Louisa asked, dangling a corset from her finger that she’d just pulled from the rucksack of unfinished gadgets he’d brought on the chance he found some time to tinker with them during their hours of train travel.
“Electric corset,” Seth said before he stuck spare bullets into his pocket, wishing for the hundredth time that he’d had the foresight to pack essentials instead of less-than-useful objects.
His mother tugged another corset from the bag. “And this one?”
Seth’s gaze ran over the corset. “I didn’t realize that was in there, but it’s called an enhancer. It has rubber sacks that fill up with air and leave a lady sporting a more impressive, er, bosom.”
“And you’re inventing these corsets because ...?”
“I’m not inventing them,” Seth countered. “I nicked them from Norma Jean’s maid, Darcy.”
Louisa frowned. “I’m not sure, as your mother, I want to hear any additional details pertaining to Darcy and her corsets.”
Seth returned the frown until realization suddenly struck and he grinned. “Honestly, Mother. Those aren’t Darcy’s corsets, they’re Norma Jean’s. She sent Darcy off to purchase them after she heard they were all the rage, and I just so happened to run into Darcy as she was trying to whisk the corsets up to Norma Jean’s room.” He shook his head. “I didn’t even have a chance to say more than hello to Darcy before the poor girl was confessing everything, saying she knew she should have run the corset purchase by you before buying them but didn’t because Norma Jean swore her to secrecy.”
“And then Darcy just handed them over to you?”
“She did, but only after I told her that I should make sure they weren’t dangerous before Norma Jean had a chance to wear them.”
“And you’re intending on giving them back to Norma Jean?”
Seth added a few more bullets to his pocket and shook his head. “Not since I discovered that the electrical one is downright dangerous.”
“But you would have given them back to her if you hadn’t discovered that?”
“I would have, but...” He frowned. “I’m getting the distinct impression you wouldn’t have approved of that.”
“Of course I wouldn’t have approved of that,” Louisa didn’thesitate to argue. “What I would have approved of, though, is you turning them over to me since having Norma Jean enhance her bosom is in poor taste, especially at her young age.”
“What’s in poor taste?” Annaliese asked, walking into his Pullman car, her gaze immediately settling on the corset Louisa was still holding aloft. “Is that one of those enhancer corsets?”
“You’re familiar with them?” Seth asked.
