Chapter 2

Horatio Albert Adcock had been in the business for years. He had been with the Pinkerton Agency for a long time before he had enough money to try it on his own. Now he was getting too old for this stuff. Here was an opportunity to leave with a nest egg unlike many of his age. He had been married once. But she had died before her time should have been up. After that he had just gone through the motions.

He had taken the 'kids' on in order to retire. His gray haired head reflected the age that he was. At sixty he was really too old to protect others much less himself. He walked with a limp from an arthritic hip. Yet he still had a very good reputation and he had some money stashed away. He had a slim mustache and was in good shape otherwise for his age. He had a sparring partner at the gym that kept him alert. His retirement would also include a very pretty younger widow who had been chasing him for a couple of months. Now that he had someone that was about to buy him out he was almost ready.

At one time his office had included a partner and two secretaries. His partner had gotten himself killed and it had taken him some time to clean that mess up. Ultimately the murderer had turned out to be his partner's jealous wife.

His partner's wife had been correct in her deductions about her husband. His partner had gone through four women in the office alone. He had wondered why they couldn't keep good secretaries until one of them came back angry and very pregnant to the office to see his partner. The two current secretaries saw her and walked out. He had been dallying with them but neither had known about the other. Al chuckled to himself, as he thought about the confusion with women screaming at each other and his partner. One of the women even accused him of being an accomplice to his partner in their seduction. When he laughed at her accusation both of them had turned on him. He shook his head about it since he had been the only one that had kept his vows. If he had known about all of his partner's affairs he probably would have been the one to kill him.

Months later after his wife had died he had found some old love letters. The bastard had seduced her too. He had cried for weeks after he found them. She had wanted children so much and he had not been successful in getting her pregnant. His partner found out and used her for a while until she discovered that he too couldn't get the job done. Their doctor had told them a few months before she died that the cancer that would kill her had made her unable to make a child. It had taken the starch out of her will to live. He had hated her memory for a while but he had finally come to realize her desperation and his partner's evil intentions. Now he thought about only the pleasant times they had experienced.

His thoughts drifted to the woman that he was to marry. He knew that he had a warm spot for her but he was a detective and he knew from experience that people had secrets. He had checked her background and found out that she had money too. She had many friends yet few knew about the extent of her riches. It spoke to her character that she had so many friends and had not been profligate with her money. How he had gotten so lucky he had no idea.

She had been married earlier and it was her first husband's untimely death that had made her a young widow. It had also made her a young rich widow. She had overcome the flood of playboys, gigolos, and con men that had tried to get her money. It had been fifteen years earlier that he had died but she had aged gracefully. Helen had also introduced him to the person who was going to buy him out.

He had been happy once. He had a real chance to be happy again whether she married him or not. As he closed his eyes and remembered Helen's kisses, he thought he would be much happier if she did decide to marry him.