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![Chapter 1 – Finding Mabel [ discovery ] Cover](https://www.richardodell.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Finding-Mabel-cover-400x587.png)
She awoke slumped at her desk. As she lifted her head, fear spiked within her that she was late for duty. She jolted upright in her chair, scanning the room for the clock and calendar. A moment later, relief washed through her. Saturday. Eight a.m. Her shoulders dropped. She let out a quiet laugh at herself. After twenty-eight years of police service, duty was now a desk job. And weekends were no longer stolen by the call of a whistle or the ring of a phone. The previous evening began to…-
25.9 K • Ongoing
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Joyce had returned to the bureau with tea. She set it down beside the map case and tried to recall what she had taken from the first page. The first page resisted her. She read the opening line twice and found that it did not settle. The words were ordinary enough, but they failed to hold together. She reached the end without knowing what she had read, only that something had passed through her attention without stopping. On the third attempt, she realised she had been reading for some time. Not…
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25.9 K • Ongoing
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Joyce had tried to read the third page. Then the second. Then the first. Blank. Every one of them. It was Sunday evening, already late. She needed to get to bed, back to work in the morning. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, easing the dull ache that had settled behind them. Seated at the bureau, she felt herself drifting, that soft pull toward sleep that came before you realised it was happening. From somewhere deep in her mind, a hushed voice called her name. “Look…
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25.9 K • Ongoing
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It had been a long and, at times, overwhelming day. By mid-afternoon, Joyce had begun to wonder quite what she had taken on. Raymond had started with the familiar. The police station was small, staffed by a young constable and a Royal Navy liaison rating. That much she understood. From there, however, the scale of Easterwich's peculiar arrangements gradually revealed itself. They toured the perimeter, Raymond pointing out sentry posts and the ring of metal fencing that separated the town from the…
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25.9 K • Ongoing
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Joyce had not meant to leave the house. She remembered sitting at the small desk beneath the window, the lamp turned low, her pen resting against the margin of a half-written page. The shop below had long since gone quiet. Even the boards seemed to have settled for the night. She had been thinking, not writing. The sea had been louder than usual, or perhaps she had only begun to notice it. Then she was standing on Blackmere Point. The wind pressed against her coat and salt lay sharp on the air.…
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25.9 K • Ongoing
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Will had brought a file with him and placed it on Arthur's desk. "I asked for some enquiries to be made about the man we met in Berlin." "The one who knew about Rosenfeld?" Arthur asked. "Yes, sir." Arthur reached for the file, but Will kept his hand on it. "I haven't finished yet." Arthur withdrew his hand and settled back into his chair. Mabel caught the look he gave the young lieutenant and suppressed a smile. Berlin had evidently done something for Will's confidence. "Professor Dr…
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25.9 K • Ongoing
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There is always a certain serendipity to life that cannot be predicted or harnessed, but when it presents itself it can fortuitous. Months back Mabel had been sent an invitation to a lecture by the British Embassy in Berlin. Due to her connections to many countries, and her patronage of many antiquarian studies. she routinely got many of these every month. It was hard to accept all and in some cases like this invitation, too risky to accept. But it gave them the chance to be in Germany at exactly the…
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25.9 K • Ongoing
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It was now two weeks later. Joyce had spent much of that time under Mabel's instruction, rediscovering abilities she had long forgotten: psychometry, automatic writing and, perhaps most importantly, how to remain detached while using them. "All these practices come at a cost if you don't learn to distance yourself," Mabel had warned her. "There are forces in this world that feed upon emotion. Let them in and they'll cling to you like parasites. I've seen people destroyed by them, Joyce, and I won't…
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25.9 K • Ongoing
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Joyce had slept well. She could not remember the last time she had slept better. Whether it was the sea air or something about this place, only time would tell. She was ready by eight and sat in the front room waiting for Mabel to collect her. By quarter past, there was still no sign of her. Joyce was beginning to wonder whether she ought to telephone when a scratching sound came from the front door. Curious, she went to investigate. She opened the door. A pure grey cat sat on the…
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25.9 K • Ongoing
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Joyce had been sitting opposite Mabel Shirley for nearly fifteen minutes and was still no closer to deciding what to make of her. The formidable Lady Hazelgrove Raymond had described had so far insisted she take another sandwich, complained about Wilkins calling her "Her Ladyship", and apologised for the state of her boots. Yet Joyce had not forgotten the first words she had spoken. Welcome home. Nor, Joyce suspected, had Mabel. The older woman appeared perfectly content to leave the matter…
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25.9 K • Ongoing
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![Chapter 1 – Finding Mabel [ discovery ] Cover](https://www.richardodell.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Finding-Mabel-cover.png)