John had been one step too slow to prevent the tragedy.
Destitute
William was devastated for Celeste.
It was very bad that his daughter had lost so much faith in her husband. Rumors had circulated of his misfeasance and possible suicide. And she’d no sooner buried him than a bailiff showed up at her door presenting her with a notice of eviction from the bank. She was led to believe her husband had left her destitute. And a letter from the bank confirmed her accounts had been closed and she had . . . nothing.
He had wanted desperately to run to her and hold her in his arms, and explain to her exactly what was going on. Unfortunately, that was exactly what he could not do. So now he was playing a very long game, hoping to bring justice for Ralph and for his poor daughter and grandchild.
Meanwhile, the role assigned to him had him playing the estranged father who had no use for an impulsively married daughter. While he had not, in fact, particularly approved of the union, he had walked his daughter down the aisle and commended her to Ralph's care. From what William had learned, Ralph had not abused that trust although he apparently had not been strong enough nor, perhaps, quite bright enough to withstand the forces against him.
~~~
Henry had shown up on Celeste’s doorstep within minutes of the bailiff’s departure. He had said very little, but had helped her pack bags for herself and her daughter and had assured her he’d see to clearing the house for her.
“I’ll need to sell whatever has any value. I can only hope there aren’t more debtors who will be looking to me to make them whole,” whispered a shattered Celeste.
“I’ll see to it, Madam,” he assured her, and hurried her back to her childhood home where her sister Miranda and Mrs. Flowers welcomed her with open arms.
The Krause Gang
It was John Grey, not the bank, who had sent the bailiff and closed out all Celeste’s accounts. His intention, in collusion with Henry, had been to get Celeste moved to the safety of her family home.
Despite being harried by the Krause Gang, Ralph Clark had maintained his work ethic and had been overall quite successful in his dealings. While not wealthy, he had left his widow quite comfortably off. She just didn’t know it.
When Celeste asked Henry to sell off various items, he had brought them to John to be put in storage, effectively selling her treasure back to her. She had initially set out to handle the transactions herself after enquiring where she might go to pawn goods, but when Henry had found out he’d insisted he be permitted to act on her behalf, for her own safety. He had carefully confided in her his own belief that Ralph had been targeted by someone seeking money, and explained his concern for her own safety until that person was apprehended.
Patting her reticule for security, feeling the solid shape of the derringer, she’d agreed she’d rather not find out whether she’d be able to act if someone were to attack.
Meanwhile, John had recruited William to work for him—for the Secret Service—again, until the Gang was behind bars. William had been using his own resources to discover what he could, to add to what the Secret Service had already determined. He’d found the Krause Gang was run by the husband and wife team of Karl and Harriet Krause and had four or five known associates including an inveterate gambler who went by “Lucky,” a scrawny fellow with yellow hair called “Sunny,” plus a few others whom they had yet to identify.
Harriet Proposes
It was Harriet who had approached William while he and John Grey were checking into the Krause Gang affairs. She'd been having Bones tail him to see where he was going. Boringly, it seemed he was only going from house to office and back. Even keeping a watch on the house, he hadn't seen anyone who wasn't family going in or out. She decided to pose as a client and showed up at his office.
William was startled to see her walk in, introduced by his secretary, Mr. Bellevue, as Miss Harriet Krause. He had stood up from behind his desk and bowed at the introduction, and she had curtsied demurely.
“Our parents left my brother and me a fair sum of money and we wish to invest it with your firm,” she explained.
“And how large an investment would that be?” he asked seriously.
“Well at least $200,” she replied, equally seriously.
He refrain from smiling. While $200 was an enormous sum for most people, his commodity investments sported somewhat larger sums by an order of magnitude, and he had no individual investors but rather firms who were partners in various enterprises. But he had recognized her both from her name and her description, and knew exactly who she was, so didn't want to discourage her at the outset. He was curious to find out what she really wanted.
“I see,” said he. “And this is capital readily available for immediate disbursement?”
He could see her fumbling for an answer, but she managed to explain that the cash was presently tied up but would be available soon.
“It has been impressed upon me what good investments you have made for others,” she said, “especially in the field of gold.”
He raised his eyebrows. The firm's recently acquired interest in some of the California gold mines should not have been known outside his office. And then he realized that wasn't the gold she was talking about when she added the words, “War
