Carolina: The Daring Adventures of a Female Pinkerton Agent

By Cyndi Raye

Carolina Birmingham was a caregiver for her ill father, but upon his death she applies for the job to become a Pinkerton agent after seeing an advertisement in the paper. She has always dreamed of being one and now she has her chance.

Ned Lewis doesn't think much about training a woman agent. He doesn't even mind the marriage part as long as the female agent is able to pull her weight.

When the circus comes to town, the two have to find an assassin who is using the circus as a cover for murder. With Ned's efficient skills at finding a needle in a haystack and Carolina's many disguises, will they find out who the assassin is in time to save the infamous Priscilla Marlowe from an assassin's bullet?

As they say, The show must go on, but who will pull the final curtain - the assassin or the Pinketons?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cyndi Raye
• Release date: Jun 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223163213

Cyndi Raye

Cyndi Raye writes mostly historical western romance except when she comes up with an idea for a contemporary romance, then she writes both. She loves the old West and the feel of small town togetherness, which is found in all of her series. Creating worlds where everyone is considered family, if not by blood, but from friendships, heartaches and sometimes mistakes made right again is what she loves to read. So, it was important to create such a world for her own readers to indulge in. Cyndi lives in Eastern PA and loves to travel and enjoy life with her hubby of 40+ years. She has 3 grown children and loves to spend time with her grands whenever possible. Don't forget to sign up for the mailing list to get a free copy of the exclusive short read: Miss Addie, the Beginning. The story behind the Brides of Wichita Falls. (This will not be sold, exclusive for reader's only).

Book preview

Carolina

The Daring adventures of a

Female Pinkerton Agent

by

Cyndi Raye

Copyright © 2023 www.CyndiRaye.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.

Disclaimer: The author took some liberties with time frame of certain events while writing this book. Most American women didn’t win the right to vote until the ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920, but the first female candidate for president came nearly 50 years earlier. In 1872, Ohio native Victoria Woodhull made history when she ran as the Equal Rights Party candidate against incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant. I embellished the time period as it fit into my story in 1871. The circus was also at full swing during this period, but I’m not certain it made it as far west as Colorado. I’d like to think it made it to Denver during this time period.

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Wanted: Female Agents to join the infamous Pinkerton Detective Agency Inquire Inside!

Every single town in major cities had this sign in the window of the newspaper offices, or was found in the daily paper. Many women, strong, brave and independent were applying for the newly appointed job as an agent where only men were hired before. These are some of the adventures of a female Pinkerton Agent.

*****

Carolina Birmingham was a caregiver for her ill father, but upon his death she applied for the job to become a Pinkerton agent after seeing an advertisement in the paper. She had always dreamed of being one and now she had her chance.

Ned Lewis didn't think much about training a woman agent. He didn't even mind having to pretend they were married as long as the female agent was able to pull her weight.

When the circus comes to town, the two have to find an assassin who is using the circus as a cover for murder. With Ned's efficient skills at finding a needle in a haystack and Carolina's many disguises, will they find out who the assassin is in time to save Priscilla Marlowe from an assassin's bullet?

As they say, The show must go on, but who will pull the final curtain - the assassin or the Pinketons?

Full Disclosure

Previously published as An Agent for Carolina in the Pinkerton Matchmaker series created by Christine Sterling. Any creations from that series was taken out and the story reworked and edited to fit the current storyline.

Chapter 1

Carolina swept her hair back into a perfect high chignon, making sure to leave a few strands loose. She checked the thick make-up that she knew would change her appearance. Her skin, now pale, smoothed out as she applied the rest of the powder. A few minutes later, after applying dark red on her lips and cheeks, it gave her the perfect look she was trying to create.

The only thing that was impossible to alter was her blue eyes. As blue as the ocean. A dimple in her left cheek dented her skin when she cracked a smile thinking about the owner of those words. Her father had told her this over and over again since she was a child.

He also told her in his last breath that she had the power to do anything she set her mind to. She had clasped onto his warm hand that day at first, then felt the life drain from him as it began to grow cold with each breath he took.

She remembered the conversation as if it were yesterday and not a few weeks prior.

I want to be a Pinkerton detective.

When he opened his eyes to reveal the same blue as hers, a bit of life came into them for a split second. What are you still doing here?

I am taking care of you, Father.

He tried to smile and failed. Yet, those blue eyes lit up at her words. He told her, I’m going to be fine. You go be a Pinkerton, with my blessing.

She gave him a loving kiss on his pale cheek. I promise I’ll be the best detective in the agency.

He tried to nod even if it seemed to cause him pain. You know they don’t hire women. You’ll have to convince them otherwise. Or, go in disguise.

I won’t need to go in disguise, Father. I read in the newspaper they are hiring women Pinkerton detectives right here in our town. I’ve already applied.

That’s my girl.

He didn’t have the strength to say much after that, so Carolina held his hand for the next six hours until he was gone.

She checked herself one last time in the mirror before leaving the house she had shared with her father. Thinking about him made her sad. He had left everything to her since it had been just the two of them these past five years after her mother disappeared one night. Later, they found that she had run off with a travelling salesman never to be seen again. It was just as well. Her father flourished in his small law firm until he got sick. The good thing was he left Carolina with some money so she didn’t have to worry so much about her future.

Except, Carolina planned to provide for herself. She didn’t want to have to depend on her father’s money, except for the time being. She needed to use it for now until she was able to earn steady pay from her job as a Pinkerton agent.

As she closed the door to her home, she made her way to the small cafe a block away. Every morning at this time, one of the agents left their office on Main Street, stopped in at the cafe for coffee and to meet up with someone before returning to the office. The only reason she knew this was because Carolina had taken her morning walk at the same time. It was necessary to breathe in fresh air that she had so desperately needed to get through the emotional day with her father’s ill health issues. Being the caregiver for her father had its ups and downs. He usually had a rough night and fell asleep in the morning for a few hours, giving Carolina time for herself.

It was in her early morning walks when she noticed a strange pattern about the man who left that same building each morning. He was strikingly handsome and she watched him as he met with an elegant woman who was already seated at a table by the window inside. They had coffee and he waited for her to leave before him. It was always the man who paid the bill. Why it drew her attention, she didn’t understand. Perhaps it was her attraction to his stunning good looks that caused her to watch the two.

Then a newspaper advertisement in the Daily Tribune caught her attention. They wanted