The Tall Target

New York Police Sergeant John Kennedy once guarded Abraham Lincoln for 48 hours while he was campaigning for President of the United States, and came away deeply impressed by the man. Kennedy has infiltrated a cabal and discovered that an assassination attempt will be made as the president-elect makes his way by train via Baltimore to Washington, DC. His boss, Superintendent Simon G. Stroud, dismisses the threat as "hogwash", as does Caleb Jeffers, a militia colonel with whom Stroud is meeting. Kennedy resigns on the spot to try to foil the conspirators on his own. Having already sent a copy of his report to the Secretary of War, he sends a telegram to Lincoln, urgently requesting a meeting in Baltimore.