The Ghostly Tower: A Heyward and Andersen Mystery: Heyward and Andersen, Consulting Detectives, #1

By A. F. Stewart

Meet Heyward and Andersen, consulting detectives in a paranormal London you never imagined...

 

Elspeth Heyward has never met a puzzle she didn't want to solve, or an adventure she didn't relish. Taking Sherlock Homes as her benchmark, she is determined to be the best detective and monster hunter in London.

Lars Andersen's ambitions aren't nearly as demanding. He just wants to stay alive, out of trouble, and out of jail. But when your partner likes guns and dynamite, that could be a challenge. Can he survive his new employment?

 

The Case: Discover if a stone tower on their client's estate is haunted. It should be straightforward, but ghosts aren't all they find. When they dig up a body, they also unearth a murder and a tangle of secrets. Secrets they'd better unravel quickly before someone else dies.

 

Set in an alternate, supernatural version of Victorian Britain, The Ghostly Tower is the first riveting story in the Heyward and Andersen, Consulting Detectives series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A. F. Stewart
• Release date: May 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201776282

A. F. Stewart

A steadfast and proud sci-fi and fantasy geek, A. F. Stewart was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada and still calls it home. The youngest in a family of seven children, she always had an overly creative mind and an active imagination. She favours the dark and deadly when writing—her genres of choice being dark fantasy and horror—but she has been known to venture into the light on occasion. As an indie author she’s published novellas and story collections, with a few side trips into poetry and non-fiction.

Book preview

The Ghostly Tower

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LARS ANDERSEN stepped off the Norwegian boat onto the London docks, wondering if the police would be there to meet him. Overhead the airships droned, and clouds fluttered against the morning sky, but he saw no angry faces coming to arrest him.

I just have to make it to my hotel.

Clutching his satchel tighter and puffing with the weight of his suitcase, Lars hurried from the docks to the unfamiliar London streets, jangled by the clank and hiss of the mechanical vehicles. Bumped and pushed by the bustling crowds, Lars somehow managed to locate the right steam tram and arrive at his hotel. After checking in, he stumbled to his room, locking himself away and surrendering to the quiet oasis of his small room.

I’m free. His lip trembled. For now. Lars dropped his suitcase and flopped on the bed, hugging his satchel to his chest.

What have I done?

He opened the satchel and pushed back the clothes to stare at the money hidden beneath. Embezzled money from his father’s dreary accounting firm. He hadn’t meant to, really, but it had been so easy to pilfer while on the job. A bit here, a bit there until...

I ran away with a sackful of cash. The owls are in the moss now.

Closing the bag, he placed it on the bed near the pillow and stared at the door. He hadn’t really thought this far; leaving had been an act of desperation, not to hide his crime but to escape his impending marriage. He shuddered at the thought of the nuptials he had fled.

What will Father think of me? Lars sighed at the thought of his father’s anger and disappointment. Not that he ever measured up to his father’s expectations, but this would be the worst. A double shame of private and professional concerns.

He will have to live with my folly, I suppose. I won’t go back. That thought comforted Lars.

A knock at the door made him jump and stumble into the nightstand. He gaped at the door.

Open up, please, Mr. Andersen. A very English voice addressed him from the hallway. You’ve been a bit of a miscreant, but all is not lost. There are things we need to discuss.

Flummoxed, Lars glanced wildly around the room, but no window presented itself for an escape opportunity.

I know you’re in there. I heard you. Now be a good chap and open the door. I shouldn’t want to involve the police.

At the mention of authorities, Lars hung his head, sighed, and opened the door.

A tall man wearing pince-nez glasses stood there, dressed in an immaculate black morning coat, waistcoat, and striped trousers, his boots shined to a bright sheen; over his arm draped an overcoat, and his left hand held a Homburg hat. He looked every inch the gentleman.

After giving Lars a cursory glance, a stern frown signalling his disapproval, he handed Lars a card. "Mr. Heyward wishes to see you at four this afternoon. At that address. Don’t be