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.”
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For over twenty years, M. Louisa Locke was known by students taking U.S. History classes at San Diego Mesa College as Dr. Locke, an enthusiastic and amusing teller of stories about the past. Now semi-retired, she has taken her story telling in a new direction; first with the recent publication of Maids of Misfortune: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery, an historical mystery that features Annie Fuller, a boardinghouse owner and clairvoyant, and Nate Dawson, a San Francisco lawyer, and now with Dandy Detects, the first in a series of short stories that feature minor characters from Maids of Misfortune. M. Louisa Locke is currently living in San Diego with her husband and assorted animals, where, in addition to these short stories, she is working on Uneasy Spirits, the next full-length installment of her Annie Fuller/Nate Dawson series.
For more about M. Louisa Locke and her work, see http://mlouisalocke.com/.
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Dandy Detects: A Victorian San Francisco Story
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