Dorothea Hall Mysteries

Brazen is as Brazen Does

"You are quite brazen in your attempts to bribe me, Miss Seddon." He pushed the money back towards me.

"I'm desperate. Can you imagine my niece or nephew being without a father? Could you just look at the photo and nod if you saw him?" I set it in front of him on his desk. "It's from some years ago. I hadn't seen my brother in quite some time until he decided to come visit me here in London. He took a shine to my friend Rachel. It's hard to tell your best friend that your brother is no good when it comes to women."

Mr. Long picked up the photograph and studied it for a moment. "I did see this young man the other day. He wasn't looking to pay for passage to New York. He wanted to work for it."

"What answer did you give him?" I asked.

"He has no experience in sailing, but I said I would give him a chance if he could give me some good references. He is apparently working on getting some."

"I don't suppose you could supply me with his address?"

He shook his head as he handed the photo back to me. "He did not give it, but he said I could reach him at Ye Olde Mitre. You might be able to find him there. Give your money to your brother. It seems he's going to be needing it."

I felt quite lucky to have found such an honest and sympathetic man. It was interesting that Mr. Dabbs had asked to work for his passage on the ship. All Barton and Emory had said pointed to him being a ne'er-do-well, so why wouldn't he use the money he had swindled to pay for his passage. Had he lost it all? I had the feeling that there was more to Dabbs than met the eye. Perhaps it involved my feeling that the older Mr. Whitlock was not the one who wanted to find Dabbs. I hailed a cab to Ye Olde Mitre Tavern. With luck, he would be there now.

I had heard of Ye Olde Mitre as its meat pies were said to rival my mother's or perhaps the other way round. I had never had a chance to try them. I would have to do so now whether I found Mr. Dabbs in residence or not. The cabbie let me off at the entrance to the alley where the tavern was located. I wasn't sure what type of people frequented the tavern. When first built, it was the haunt of the servants of the Bishop of Ely, but it was rumored that Queen Elizabeth had danced around the cherry tree which had originally been in the yard. Talk about being brazen. The tavern had been rebuilt in the 1700s and the tree was now inside the tavern.

I was happy to see a mixture of working people and what looked like artists and students. I spotted Mr. Dabbs with a small group of men around his age. They were drinking ale and talking quietly. None of them even batted an eye when I approached their table.

"Mr. Dabbs," I said. "I would like a word with you in private."

"Do I know you?" he asked.

"No, but you know my husband. I am Mrs. Hall, wife of Emory Hall."