Publication date: March 19th 2024
Genres: Adult, Historical, Mystery
Synopsis:
A swirling tale of industrial espionage, love, and betrayal, Current of Darkness follows aspiring sleuth Sarah Payne behind the sleek, honeymoon faรงade of Gilded Age Niagara Falls and into a shadowy demimonde of ruthless union bosses, saboteurs, and tycoons-including the powerful, handsome, and mysterious Charles Kendall, whose intentions toward Sarah are unclear.
Meanwhile, sultry widow Alicia Miller is set on taking charge of her murdered husbandโs company-only to find herself pitted against the new majority owner, who has his own ideas about women in the world of men. But cunning and captivating Alicia has ideas, too-and will stop at nothing to come out on top.
Both women will have to find the courage and resourcefulness-and set aside their own simmering feud-to survive in this โwinning story of action, sabotage, cutthroat business dealings, and women daring to be something new at the dawn of the American centuryโ (BookLife Reviews).
A captivating, page-turning, and immersive tale of industrial espionage, love, and betrayal โ set against the backdrop of the glittering Gilded Age. Current of Darkness will draw readers in, and hold them under, until its final, explosive pages.
Read the Avenging Angel Detective Agency Mysteries in any order.
Excerpt
ALICIA MAKES AN OMELET
Excerpted from Current of Darkness: Desire & Deceit in the Gilded Age
A Novel by Robert Brighton
ยฉ 2024 Copper Nickel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
When Alicia got back to the front door of Miller Envelope Company, damned if the thing wasnโt unlocked. She jerked the door open and saw none other than her Majority Owner, Howie Gaines, crossing the lobby, his foot almost to the first tread of the staircase.
โHowie!โ she called, and he turned.
โMrs. Miller,โ he said. โI hope you werenโt waiting. I usually get here early.โ
โWeโll talk about that in a minute,โ she said. โBut you need to come with me first.โ
He returned to the front door. โWhatโs wrong?โ he said.
โFollow me,โ she said, crooking a finger. Together they walked along the Division Street side of the building and back to the loading dock area. The cigarette smoker was sitting on the loading dock again, smoking another cigarette. When he spied Gaines, he stubbed out his smoke and jumped down. โMr. Gaines,โ he said. โGood morning.โ
โShevlin,โ Gaines said. โGood morning to you.โ
โGo get those other two men who were with you just now,โ Allie said to Shevlin, waving the back of her hand in his direction. He eyed her and then glanced at Gaines, who nodded. Shevlin hopped up on the loading dock, still trailing smoke, and went into the depths of the factory, and reemerged with the lanky man and the other one in tow.
โWhat is this all about?โ Gaines asked Alicia.
โTeaching a lesson,โ she said as the two men shuffled onto the dock with Shevlin. Allie looked up at them. โWho are these men?โ she said to Howie, who stood by looking puzzled.
โUtz, on the left, and Kiesler. Theyโre two of our best delivery men.โ
โMr. Shevlin, Mr. Utz, Mr. Kiesler,โ Alicia said. โWe werenโt properly introduced earlier. Iโm Alicia Hall Miller. Miller as in Miller Envelope. You must know itโitโs your employer.โ
The three men could almost be heard to swallow audibly. The lanky man, Kiesler, who seemed to occupy a leadership role, cleared his throat. โWeโre sorry, maโam, about . . . earlier. Didnโt know who you were.โ
โI see,โ Alicia said. โYouโre sorry, then.โ
โYes, maโam,โ Kiesler said.
โAnd you two? Are you sorry, as well?โ
Utz and Shevlin nodded, somewhat sheepishly, mumbling assent.
โWell, good. Thank you for that,โ she said. โNow, guess what else you are? In addition to โsorryโ?โ
The men looked back at her blankly.
โYouโre fired,โ she said. โAll three of you. Right now. Go collect whatever shit you have in your lockers and get out.โ She looked at her watch. โYou have precisely two minutes to leave my property. If you donโt, youโll wish you had. The chief of police owes me at least one favor.โ
Gaines touched her arm. โMrs. Miller,โ he said under his breath, โa word?โ
โWhat do you want?โ she said, jerking her arm away. โThese men were insufferably rude to me just a few minutes ago.โ
โYou canโt hire and fire people,โ Howie said quietly, his face quite crimson. โYouโre a minority owner. You donโt have the authority toโโ
โI wonโt make a habit of it, Gaines,โ she said, โbut I just did fire them, and fired they will remain. Now do not challenge me on this, or weโre going to have a very bad first day together.โ
The three men were looking at Gaines and Aliciaโs little sidebar conference. Gaines turned back to them. โYou heard her,โ he said. โYouโre dismissed.โ
The men muttered a few choice words and disappeared into the building to collect their belongings. Allie and Gaines trudged back to the front entrance.
โThose areโwereโthree of our best workers, you know,โ he said to her as they mounted the staircase inside. โDo you know how difficult it is to replace good laborers?โ
โYou canโt make an omelet without breaking a few eggs,โ she said. โAnd do you know how difficult it is to replace customers? I donโt want anyone who represents our company to treat anyone in the way I was treated. Itโs simply not acceptable. They merely picked on the wrong person today, but my guess is that theyโre rude to everyone. And theyโre the ones driving around delivering our product? Gaines, we need pleasant, polite people meeting our customers, not surly bastards like those three. And theyโre lazy. Smokers are all lazy. Every last goddamn one of them.โ
โFine, fine,โ Howie said, as they stood on the upper landing, outside their office. โI donโt disagree with you, butโโ
โThen donโt,โ Alicia said. โDonโt say, โI donโt disagree with you,โ and then begin disagreeing with me. I absolutely loathethat sort of thing. It reminds me of visitors who drop by and, after a few minutes, consult their watches and say, โWell, Iโd better let you get back to your more pressing matters,โ or some such horseshit. Theyโre the ones with pressing matters, and they want to blame me for it. If I have pressing matters, I say so.โ
Howie seemed perplexed.
โDo you understand, Gaines? Itโs a simile. Iโm drawing a comparison, so that you can understand what your new business partner hates.โ One corner of her mouth rippled up.
โYes, yes, I understand.โ
โThen you know what I would like to do? When you introduce me to the company todayโthe whole staffโI am going to emphasize that every person who works here is going to treat everyone as though he were a customer. Or she. Or theyโll be hitting the bricks, just like Shevlin and company.โ
โPeople arenโt going to like that,โ he said, working the lock of their office door and putting his hand on the doorknob.
โIsnโt that their hard luck. Oh, and by the wayโโshe put her hand over his on the knobโโthese offices open at 7:30, sharp. Not 7:45, not between 7:35 and 7:30. We canโt expect anyone else to be punctual and attentive to their jobs if weโre not. People look at us and decide what they can get away with. We have excellent streetcars here in Buffalo, and broad sidewalks, and so thereโs no cause to be late. None. Understand?โ
Howie smirked at her. โYou will understand, Mrs. Miller, I donโt plan to be lectured by a minority ownerโโ
โItโs Alicia,โ she said. โOr just Miller. Like any other business partner. Not Mrs. Miller. Iโm not calling you Mr. Gaines, you can depend on that.โ
โAs you wish, Miller,โ he said. โNow may I please go into my office?โ
โItโs our office, and yes, you may.โ
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