The Left Hand of Justice (26 page)

She passed through the narrow, twisting cobblestone streets and closely packed houses. Everywhere, the famous Provins roses were exploding into bloom. The air was heavy with their perfume. She wandered for a while through a bustling market and bought a jar of rose honey. She stopped at a tavern for a proper meal and then continued on toward the city gate.

The afternoon sun warmed her shoulders and back. The snow was long gone, and the rolling hills were springing to life in all their green glory. She walked along the path for a few hours more until she came to a small farming settlement. Large parcels of land sprawled out along the hills, with occasional houses dotting the hills here and there. So different from Paris. It looked happy and alive. Even the mud in the wheel-ruts looked clean.

She stepped off the road when she heard the heavy
clip-clop
of a draft horse behind her, followed by the low rumble of its cart.

“Can I help you?” the driver asked, pulling to a stop next to her. He was a pleasant-looking man of about sixty, and he spoke in an easy, country drawl.

“I’m looking for the new doctor, Dr. Kalderash.”

Her clipped Parisian sounded harsh in her ears. The man squinted for a moment as if he were trying to puzzle out her words. Then he said, “Just over the hill. I can take you there. Are you ill?”

“No, I’m not ill. If you just point out her house, I can get there myself.”

He raised a callused hand to his brow and stared out over the land. “Over there,” he said, nodding. “If she’s not in the garden, listen for the machines.”

“Thank you.”

The man nodded again and flicked the reins over the horse’s broad back. The cart began to roll.

About twenty minutes later, Corbeau walked up to the house the farmer had indicated. It was a simple stone cottage, but the building, fence, and grounds looked well maintained. A riotous jungle of flowers and herbs sprawled out between the walls and a low, surrounding fence.

On the west side of the building, a woman was transplanting something exotic-looking into a patch of rich, dark earth. A three-legged dog nosed through the undergrowth near her feet. Corbeau’s heart began to pound. The woman was kneeling, her back to the road. Dark hair peeked out from beneath her wide-brimmed straw hat. It was long enough to brush her shoulders, now.

What should she say? What could she say? Would Maria Kalderash even want to see her? Sensing her presence, the dog turned. A thin growl began in its throat.

Her back still to Corbeau, Maria put a calming hand on her dog. She stood slowly, stretching as she rose. Country life had been kind to her. Her body had grown softer, and her skin seemed to glow. When she turned, the sun glinted off the lens of the Eye, and she smiled. “Inspector, I was wondering when you’d arrive.”

Only a few yards separated the garden from the road. But to Corbeau, the distance seemed interminable.

At last, Maria reached the front gate. She reached down and popped open the latch. “Do come in,” she said. A lively spark danced in her natural eye. The dog nuzzled Corbeau’s hand with its cold, wet nose. When Maria took Corbeau’s other hand in her own, Corbeau thought she might die of relief. “Do come in, Inspector. May I call you Elise? We have a lot to talk about.”

—END—

Before trying her hand at fiction, Jess Faraday trained as a linguist and translator. After a number of years in education, and a handful of published translations, she produced her first novel,
The Affair of the Porcelain Dog
. A voracious reader, avid martial artist, and outdoor enthusiast, she enjoys hiking, camping, and cycling.

“
The Affair of the Porcelain Dog
is an excellent mystery. The characters are complex and in general not what they seem on first sight. Many unexpected twists and turns keep the novel intriguing right up to the end.”—
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association

“
The Affair of the Porcelain Dog
is a thoughtful book, a well-put-together mystery that integrates relationship problems into the main framework, but it is also an action-packed book…If you are a fan of Victorian-era mystery, or of strong LGBT characters in a story that does not rely on sex to move the plot along,
Porcelain Dog
is an excellent pick for your next read.”—Anthony Cardno,
Chelsea Street Station No. 1

“Jess Faraday takes you into a very bleak, dangerous, and inhuman realm. A world without mercy. But despite all this, she’s able to deliver a beautiful and romantic story. …This clever multi-layered mystery skillfully combined with some very strong characters will definitely keep you in suspense until the very end.”—
Booked Up Reviews

“Whether you like detective fiction, noir, Victorian stories or just damned good love stories, this will appeal to you.”—
Erastes, Speak Its Name Reviews

“The author builds a credible plot through the actions of diverse, fully-nuanced characters, which keeps the reader interested…Excellent first novel by a promising new author, which I give five stars out of five.”—Bob Lind,
Echo Magazine

“…despite all the ugliness it dealt with it managed to be also sweet and romantic…”—
Elisa Reviews

The Left Hand of Justice
by Jess Faraday Mystery. A kidnapped heiress, a heretical cult, a corrupt police chief, and an accused witch. Paris is burning, and the only one who can put out the fire is Detective Inspector Elise Corbeau…whose boss wants her dead. (978-1-60282-863-6)

Raising Hell: Demonic Gay Erotica
edited by Todd Gregory.
Raising Hell
: hot stories of gay erotica featuring demons. (978-1-60282-768-4)

Pursued
by Joel Gomez-Dossi. Openly gay college student Jamie Bradford becomes romantically involved with two men at the same time, and his hell begins when one of his boyfriends becomes intent on killing him. (978-1-60282-769-1)

Promises in Every Star
edited by Todd Gregory. Acclaimed gay male erotica author Todd Gregory’s definitive collection of short stories, including both classic and new works. (978-1-60282-787-5)

Tricks of the Trade: Magical Gay Erotica
edited by Jerry L. Wheeler. Today’s hottest erotica writers take you inside the sultry, seductive world of magicians and their tricks-professional and otherwise. (978-1-60282-781-3)

Straight Boy Roommate
by Kev Troughton. Tom isn’t expecting much from his first term at University, but a chance encounter with straight boy Dan catapults him into an extraordinary, wild weekend of sex and self-discovery, which turns his life upside down, and leads him into his first love affair. (978-1-60282-782-0)

The Jesus Injection
by Eric Andrews-Katz. Murderous statues, demented drag queens, political bombings, ex-gay ministries, espionage, and romance are all in a day’s work for a top-secret agent. But the gloves are off when Agent Buck 98 comes up against The Jesus Injection. (978-1-60282-762-2)

Combustion
by Daniel W. Kelly. Bearish detective Deck Waxer comes to the city of Kremfort Cove to investigate why the hottest men in town are bursting into flames in broad daylight. (978-1-60282-763-9)

Young Bucks: Novellas of Twenty-Something Lust & Love
edited by Richard Labonte. Four writers still in their twenties-or with their twenties a nearby memory-write about what it’s like to be young, on the prowl for sex, or looking to fall in love. (978-1-60282-770-7)

Night Shadows: Queer Horror
edited by Greg Herren and J.M. Redmann.
Night Shadows
features delightfully wicked stories by some of the biggest names in queer publishing. (978-1-60282-751-6)

Secret Societies
by William Holden. An outcast hustler, his unlikely “mother,” his faithless lovers, and his religious persecutors—all in 1726. (978-1-60282-752-3)

Wyatt: Doc Holliday’s Account of an Intimate Friendship
by Dale Chase. Erotica writer Dale Chase takes the remarkable friendship between Wyatt Earp, upright lawman, and Doc Holliday, Southern gentlemen turned gambler and killer, to an entirely new level: hot! (978-1-60282-755-4)

The Jetsetters
by David-Matthew Barnes. As rock band the Jetsetters skyrockets from obscurity to superstardom, Justin Holt, a lonely barista, and Diego Delgado, the band’s guitarist, fight with everything they have to stay together, despite the chaos and fame. (978-1-60282-745-5)

Strange Bedfellows
by Rob Byrnes. Partners in life and crime, Grant Lambert and Chase LaMarca are hired to make a politician’s compromising photo disappear, but what should be an easy job quickly spins out of control. (978-1-60282-746-2)

Sweat: Gay Jock Erotica
edited by Todd Gregory. Sizzling tales of smoking-hot sex with the athletic studs everyone fantasizes about. (978-1-60282-669-4)

The Marrying Kind
by Ken O’Neill. Just when successful wedding planner Adam More decides to protest inequality by quitting the business and boycotting marriage entirely, his only sibling announces her engagement. (978-1-60282-670-0)

Boys of Summer
edited by Steve Berman. Stories of young love and adventure, when the sky’s ceiling is a bright blue marvel, when another boy’s laughter at the beach can distract from dull summer jobs. (978-1-60282-663-2)

Calendar Boys
by Zachary Logan. A man a month will keep you excited year round. (978-1-60282-665-6)

Buccaneer Island
by J.P. Beausejour. In the rough world of Caribbean piracy, a man is what he makes of himself—or what a stronger man makes of him. (978-1-60282-658-8)

Twelve O’Clock Tales
by Felice Picano. The fourth collection of short fiction by legendary novelist and memoirist Felice Picano. Thirteen dark tales that will thrill and disturb, discomfort and titillate, enthrall and leave you wondering. (978-1-60282-659-5)

Words to Die By
by William Holden. Sixteen answers to the question: What causes a mind to curdle? (978-1-60282-653-3)