Free Deadly Proof: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery by M. Louisa Locke Page A

could and could not do and to stop shouting at her.
    But before she could go on, Annie reached over and caught her hand, saying, “Dearest...you must know how both your brother and I can’t forget what happened to you this winter. Nate is just concerned that you not get involved in something dangerous.”
    Nate added stiffly, “Laura, I am sorry, I didn’t mean to raise my voice. But a man has been murdered, and I don’t know who the killer might be. If it isn’t Mrs. Sullivan, it could be anyone. As far as we know, Rashers could have enemies throughout the printing business—someone like your forewoman, for example, could be a suspect.”
    Laura started to protest that Iris couldn’t possibly be involved when she remembered another woman she’d admired who’d turned out to be a very different person than Laura had ever imagined. So she bit her tongue.
    After a pause, Annie said, “What are the next steps you’re going to take?”
    Nate looked over at Laura, and when she forced herself to give him a slight smile, he answered Annie, saying, “When she refused to see me this afternoon, I wrote a letter telling her of the indictment. I told her that I would be asking to have the arraignment postponed for a week, unless I heard differently from her. I will work on writing up that request tomorrow morning. I want to consult with Cranston about the best arguments to use.”
    Laura, without thinking, asked, “You are assuming she won’t contact you, aren’t you?”
    He turned to Laura and said, “Yes. I kept thinking that she reminded me of some terribly frightened and wounded animal that had decided to just hide and lick its wounds. Laura, do you remember a couple of summers ago how the collie, Daisy, acted after she was kicked by the bull? At first she just hid under the kitchen cupboard when we brought her in the house. Sat there panting, and if we tried to pull her out, she snarled and snapped ferociously.”
    “Mother said we needed to let her be; she was in shock,” she said.
    Laura had raised Daisy from a pup, and by the time of this accident, the collie was about ten and slowing down, which was why the bull had gotten her. She remembered how desperately she wanted to get her out so she could tend her wounds, but her mother convinced her to just sit nearby, talking soothingly to her.
    Nate said, “Then, finally Mother said it was time...if we let her alone too long, she would just give up, so she let that pushy barn cat who was always sneaking in the house at night into the kitchen.”
    “That’s right,” Laura said, then laughed, seeing the scene in her mind. “Daisy knew the cat wasn’t allowed in so she would herd her right back out again––every time. Oh, Nate, that’s what got Daisy up and going. She just couldn’t stand letting that old cat get the better of her, so she dragged herself out to chase her and then let us clean the wound.”
    Annie said softly, “So you are just letting Mrs. Sullivan lick her wounds for now, Nate.”
    He nodded. “Meanwhile, I am going to find out as much as I can on my own. I am hoping if I can find evidence that suggests plausible alternative explanations for what happened, she might then be willing to consider there is some hope and let me help her.”
    Annie asked, “How are you going to do that?”
    “Tomorrow morning, I plan on visiting Mrs. Sullivan’s home and see if I can speak with her mother and husband. In addition, I wrote to Mrs. Rashers yesterday, and, much to my surprise, she’s agreed to meet me her at her husband’s firm in the afternoon. I would like a chance to hear her accusations directly, see if I can get any more details that I can then try to verify. I do wish you could come with me to that interview, Annie, but I couldn’t think of a reason to bring you.”
    Annie chuckled and said, “I could be your corresponding secretary, taking down the interview in my little notebook. Oh, I wish I could, but you know that I meet most of my