Welcome, I’m Mary Louisa Locke, the author of the USA Today best-selling Victorian San Francisco Mystery series and the Caelestis Science Fiction series. In this daily newsletter, I reflect on my life as an indie author trying to age gracefully, including my struggles to maintain a balanced life, what I listen to, read, and watch for entertainment, and occasional bits of information I’ve gleaned from doing the research for my novels.
In addition, now and again I will provide some of my fiction to read, for free, on this newsletter. Everything is available to anyone who subscribes, but I am always pleased when someone shows their appreciation for the newsletter by upgrading to paid.
Daily Diary, Day 1331:
Getting right to the point, here is the last scene in the short story. If you haven’t been reading along, go HERE, and you can start at the beginning. Enjoy!
Dandy Detects: A Victorian San Francisco Story
By M. Louisa Locke, copyright, 2010
Scene 8:
The next day, the heat wave finally broke. As she walked home from Girls High, Barbara welcomed the cool wisps of fog that caressed her cheeks and clung to her hair. She didn't even mind that the shawl she had taken with her in the morning no longer was adequate to keep her warm. This is what September should feel like. Her pleasant mood dissolved when she entered the front hallway of the boarding house and found Kathleen waiting for her to convey Mrs. Fuller's request that she step into the small parlor where Madam Sibyl met her clients.
"What is it? Jamie, is he all right?" she cried.
"Oh, Ma'am, I didn't mean to frighten you. The lad is just fine, down in the kitchen stuffing himself with ginger snaps. Now please, Mrs. Fuller is waiting."
Later, Barbara would remember being charmed by her first impression of the small parlor. Unlike the larger formal parlor across the hall, this room had wood wainscoting and built in bookcases that held numerous objects. A fire burned in the grate, and Mrs. Fuller was sitting behind a small table with a rich green velvet table cloth, and she motioned to an armchair next to the table, saying, "Please, Mrs. Hewitt, do sit down and let me pour you a cup of tea. This change in the weather has been so rapid that I have found myself chilled. I wanted to show you something that I thought you might want to digest before seeing Jamie. It’s rather sad, and I didn't think you would want to distress him. Here, do read this article on the first page."
Barbara took the paper and sat down in the chair, vaguely aware that Mrs. Fuller was pouring the tea into two cups, and she began to read.
Blood Hound Crucial to
Gruesome Discovery
Sergeant Thompson, a member of the San Francisco Police Department, made a gruesome discovery this morning on Ellis Street. He had been asked by a concerned neighbor to discover the whereabouts of a small dog that was missing in suspicious circumstances. The sergeant stated, "I hated to think that a wee small dog might have been harmed, so I agreed to investigate the complaint. This wasn’t the first time I’ve used MacKenzie, my bloodhound, to search for missing animals."
The Sergeant went on to recount how when he arrived at the residence in question the bloodhound immediately pulled him through a gate to a brick walkway at the side of the house and sat down and began to bay. "That's his signal that he has found something," the Sergeant said. The owner, a Mr. Oscar Francis, when asked if the police could dig up the bricks where the dog was sitting, became very abusive, and Police Officers Patrick McGee and Harold Armistad had to restrain him.
What the police officers discovered when they removed the bricks and a layer of sand was not only the decomposing body of a small black dog but also the body of a woman, who had apparently been killed by a blow to the head. Mr. Oscar Francis has been arraigned on the charge of murder, and the dead woman has been identified as his wife, Mrs. Linda Francis, late of Des Moines, Iowa.
Barbara put the paper down. Pulling out her handkerchief, she began to wipe away tears.
Mrs. Fuller handed her a cup of tea and said, "Jamie has already heard about the murder. The neighborhood boys were talking about it on the way home from school. But Kathleen is such a sharp young woman, as soon as he burst into the kitchen with the news, she started talking about what a smart dog Dandy was to have detected that there was something wrong. Jamie was quite taken with the idea that his dog had saved the day, and, since he never actually met Mrs. Francis or Gordie, I think he won't really be too upset by it all. I do hope you feel we have handled it correctly. He is such a special boy, and we do love him so."
Before Barbara could respond, Mrs. Fuller continued, saying quietly, "This is what you feared all along, wasn't it, Mrs. Hewitt? You did a good thing to bring your concerns to the police. Patrick told Kathleen, as far as they could determine, she didn’t have any family or particular friends in town that might have sounded the alarm. He could have gotten away with it.”
Barbara sat with her own thoughts for a moment, and then she said, “Do tell Kathleen how clever I think she is. I can just imagine how thrilled Jamie is to think that Dandy's a hero. Small boys can really be quite heartless, can't they? I can't help but wish there was something that could have been done for Mrs. Francis." Sighing, she thought to herself, I remember how terrifying it felt. No one to turn to; no one who would understand.
Taking a deep breath, Barbara looked into the perceptive but kind brown eyes of the woman across from her and said, "Mrs. Fuller, I wondered if you thought anyone would mind if I occasionally accompanied Jamie when he visits the kitchen in the evening? I think, perhaps, I could use the company.”
The End
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Thanks for the short story, it was very much appreciated. Brings a smile to one’s face in the morning.
Your short stories make me want to read more!