Table of Contents
MORE PRAISE FOR
Death and the Running Patterer
The storys climax, involving a classic Agatha Christie-like gathering of suspectssome historical, others inventedis gripping and surprising [The] novel is packed with fascinating tidbits and in-jokes [as well as] dollops of trollops; a generous spoonful of crime and retribution; lashings of colonial era minutiae and atmosphere.
The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
[C]olonial Sydney comes gloriously alive and teems with a rich array of characters both historical and fictional.
The Age (Melbourne, Australia)
[An] enjoyable murder mystery Adair gives us the authentic feel of the roistering days of the early colony.
Pittwater Life
Historically sound and fast-paced.
Australia Broome Advertiser
[A] meticulously researched and cleverly constructed mystery Entertaining.
Senior Lifestyle South Coast
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Copyright 2009 by Robin Adair.
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PRINTING HISTORY
Penguin Group (Australia) Michael Joseph trade paperback edition / July 2009
Berkley Prime Crime trade paperback edition / December 2010
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Adair, Robin, 1936-
Death and the running patterer / Robin Adair.Berkley Prime Crime trade paperback ed. p. cm.(Curious murder; 1)
eISBN : 978-1-101-44561-7
1. MurderInvestigationFiction. 2. Sydney (N.S.W.)Fiction. I. Title.
PS3601.D355D43 2010
813.6dc22
2010032717
http://us.penguingroup.com
For Julie
Tis wonderful what fable will not do! Tis said it makes reality more bearable; But whats reality? Who has its clue?
Lord Byron, Don Juan (1819-24)
DRAMATIS PERSONA E
(in order of appearance)
Anonymous private soldier relieving himself outside a pub; may lead to a sticky end.
Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Shadforth Die Hard commanding officer in the 57th Regiment in 1828 Sydney.
Captain Crotty, of the 39th assisting Shadforth.
Captain Francis Nicholas Rossi magistrate and police chief; a spy nursing royal secrets?
Nicodemus Dunne paroled convict, now a news-hawker; a disgraced policeman, he still cannot avoid walking down the mean streets of murder.
Lieutenant-General Ralph Darling aloof, embattled governor of New South Wales; foppish, but dont let those polished fingernails fool you.
Reverend Dr. Laurence Hynes Halloran publisher of The Gleaner , a veteran of Trafalgar, teaching and transportation.
Miss Rachel Dormin Hallorans protg, a pretty free-settler.
Will Abbot soldier turned printer; a bad type?
Reverend Samuel Marsden gives a new twist to muscular Christianity as the Flogging Parson.
Dr. Peter Cunningham ships surgeon who sails with an unlucky cargo.
Miss Sarah Cox hears the siren song of a love-struck parrot.
Joseph Hyde Potts of a rare breed, the generous banker.
The Ox an ungentle giant with blood on his hands.
Dr. Thomas Owens a doctor who seems more at home dealing with the dead than the living.
Alexander Harris Dunnes free friend who uncovers vital clues.
Edward Smith Hall crusading editor of The Monitor .
Madame Greene brothel-keeper supreme who lives up to her colorful name.
Elsie Madame Greenes too-devoted maid.
William Charles Wentworth volatile lawyer, politician and publisher.
Blacksmith at Lumber Yard strongman with a big mouth.
The Flying Pieman Dunnes peddler pal William Francis King, also an athlete extraordinaire.
Private Joseph Sudds wayward soldier whose fate convulses the colony.
Private Patrick Thompson Suddss partner in crime, and punishment.
Bungaree King of the local Aboriginals.
Commodore Billy Blue the harbors most famous ferryman.
Cora Gooseberry King Bungarees queen.
Barnett Levey a man with theater in his blood and blood in his theater.
Mrs. Norah Robinson a very accommodating hostess.
Muller a German typesetter.
Brian OBannion an old lag from the Auld Sod.
James Bond a young lag, suitably stirred and shaken.
Thomas Balcombe a man for whom every picture tells a story.
Oh, and Master William Shakespeare dead more than 200 years, he wanders through the story, scattering clues.
Sydney, Australia 1828
CHAPTER ONE
Ours [our army] is composed of the scum of the earththe mere scum of the earth.
Duke of Wellington (1831), quoted in P. H. Stanhope, Notes of Conversations with the Duke of Wellington
A SCARLET-COATED SOLDIER, A PRIVATE OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY KING George IVs 57th Regiment of Foot, was dreaming, drunk and disorderly, as he leaned against the bar with his head on his arms. He dreamed he was home in his West Middlesex village, safe and sweaty in the arms of his common-law wife. He hadnt seen her for years, didnt know if he ever would again.
When the regiment had marched out of its depot, bound for Sydney town, six wives were allowed to accompany each company of 120-odd men. At dusk the night before they marched, the Color Sergeant had drawn from his military cap a piece of paper for every camp follower. For the lucky ones these read to go. Hers had read not to go. Ah, well, lucks a fortune. Any old how, there were plenty of women here and now. Some men were still allowed to live out in the mean streets near the barracks, in miserable dwellings with their wives, old or new. For others there were harlots for hire, chances to seduce town girls who had an eye for a man in uniformit was called scarlet fevereven blacks, who could be bought for a drink, a threepenny nobbler of rum. There were plenty of boys, too, for those who leaned that way.
