Clara saw Andrew and his son, George, come into the room, and she waved at them. “I also knew George Kwong could have never killed any of those women because he was truly in love with Mary McCarthy.”
“Now how could you be certain of something as ephemeral as love?” Clara’s mother, Telitha, asked.
“He quit his newspaper job after she broke it off with him while she was in the Home for Wayward Women. He did the summer work in Oakland for that lying coroner,” Clara explained. “Of course, he did take all the photos of the victims. I think he was emotionally numb by then, and his journalistic work made him immune to their deaths. When his Mary was murdered, I believe he was truly traumatized beyond emotion. Therefore, he became a prime suspect in Sheriff Connolly’s eyes.”
“Well done!” Lees clapped. “I knew you were a good student, even though you never graduated from Hastings.”
“We women have to make a living these days. Especially if we have to watch out for you men,” Ah Toy said, grinning. “Ancient Chinese custom. Get feet twisted to walk daintily for your man. Then he can track you down more easily!”
“I don’t want to track anybody down for quite some time,” Clara said, opening her arms wide. “Come to me, my glorious family! I want to hold you all in my arms at once, to infuse my soul with your strength. You have done so much to give me inspiration, even though you were far away from me.”
All of the Shortridge clan got up and moved to the center of the room to become enveloped in the arms of their mother and daughter. Andrew Kwong, in response, hugged his son, George, and Missus Hopkins took Ah Toy into her arms.
Captain Lees and Detective Vanderheiden each wrapped an arm around the other’s shoulder and grinned broadly.
David Milton was the first to break away from the group. He ran to the door and stood there, his eyes glowing, and his body shaking with excitement. “I want to ride the Ghost Lady!” he said, bringing his two hands together in front of his chest, and moving them in a rolling motion, as if he were taking off into the sky.
Chinawoman’s Chance
By
James Musgrave
© 2018 by James Musgrave
Published by EMRE Publishing, LLC
An English Majors, Reviewers and Editors Book Copyright 2018
Published by James Musgrave at Createspace
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner, except for a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
English Majors, Reviewers and Editors Publishers is a publishing house based in San Diego, California. Website: emrepublishing.com
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Cover and book design by Graphicz X
Visit the Portia of the Pacific Historical Mysteries’ web site.
Acknowledgements
Although a work of fiction, this novel also uses facts and information from a variety of excellent sources. Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz, by Barbara Babcock, was one of my main sources for information about the hero of my mystery series. I must point out, however, that all of the plot is completely fiction. Also, historically speaking, Clara Foltz never defended a Chinese person, as she held with the attitude of the times that the laborers from China were a threat to workers in the United States.
Clara also never worked with or even knew (as far as I could determine) Captain Isaiah Lees of the San Francisco City Police Department. Lees, however, was a real person, and another biography of his life and experiences can be found in William B. Secrest’s book Dark and Tangled Threads of Crime, San Francisco’s Famous Police Detective, Isaiah W. Lees.
I also used many online sources to verify the setting of 1884 San Francisco and, especially, Chinatown of that era. The culture of the Chinese was also researched, and I apologize beforehand if I inadvertently used a source which is not factually correct. I often took dramatic liberties in portraying scenes and characters for story development.
I want to thank two women, one of whom is my first cousin, Kara Oh, for assisting me in the editing and “beta reading” of this novel. The other person is a Canadian named Jeanne Pawluk. Jeanne assisted me in the proper historical details of the Chinese cuisine and dress of this period.
Finally, I want to thank all the Advanced Review readers (Internet friends, family and others) who will be posting their reactions to this first mystery in the series on my series website and at the variety of retailers online.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Musgrave’s work has been recently featured in Best New Writing 2011, Hopewell Press, Titusville, N.J. He was semi-finalist in the Black River Chapbook Competition, Fall, 2012. He was also in a Bram Stoker Award Finalist volume of horror fiction, Beneath the Surface, 13 Shocking Tales of Terror, Shroud Publishing, San Francisco, CA. His historical mystery series starring Detective Patrick James O’Malley was selected as “featured titles” by the American Library Association’s Self-E Program for Independent Authors. The first mystery in that series, Forevermore, won First Place for Best Historical Mystery, in the Chanticleer International Clue Book Awards, 2013. James lives in San Diego, and is the publisher of EMRE Publishing, LLC.
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