The Timid Traitor

Tuesday, January 11, 1955

It's a cold January morning. As Nick and Carter sip their hot coffee in an attempt to stay warm, passers-by are stopping to gawk at San Francisco's newest skyscraper at 600 Market Street. The grand opening goes off without a hitch (and without the Mayor or anyone else of note, for that matter).

Meanwhile, back on Bush Street, Nick has a new client. Her name is Mrs. Anne-Marie Boudier. She's charming. She's chic. She was at Marnie's wedding on the groom's side. And she wants Nick to find her long lost husband.

So she can kill him.

And so begins a twisting and turning escapade of old secrets and new betrayals that will eventually take Nick and Carter across the Atlantic Ocean as they finally discover who the real traitor is.

* * *

In 1953, the richest homosexual in San Francisco is a private investigator.

Nick Williams lives in a modest bungalow with his fireman husband, a sweet fellow from Georgia by the name of Carter Jones.

Nick's gem of a secretary, Marnie Wilson, is worried that Nick isn't working enough. She knits a lot.

Jeffrey Klein, Esquire, is Nick's friend and lawyer. He represents the guys and gals who get caught in police raids in the Tenderloin.

Lt. Mike Robertson is Nick's first love and best friend. He's a good guy who's one hell of a cop.

The Unexpected Heiress is where their stories begin. Read along and fall in love with the City where cable cars climb halfway to the stars.

Long before the Summer of Love, pride parades down Market Street, and the fight for marriage equality, San Francisco was all about the Red Scare, F.B.I. investigations, yellow journalism run amok, and the ladies who play mahjong over tea.

* * *

This novel runs to about 67K words.