Chicago · 1932 · Case File №27

The Heiress

A dame walked into my office. Said her friend vanished into the night. Now I'm walking the wet streets, looking for answers.

The name on the door says private investigator. The bottle in the drawer says I'm not picky about company. Either way, the door opens and the cases come in. This one walked in wearing a fur-trimmed coat and a look that said she'd never been told "no" in her life. Jane Kingsley, only daughter of Simon Kingsley — factory money, the kind that buys silence and policemen in equal measure.

Her story was simple enough. Margaret Dunphy, her childhood friend over from England, heiress to a fortune that'd make a banker weep, was supposed to be staying at the Kingsley residence. Instead she vanished into the Chicago night without so much as a goodbye. The police, Jane said, were useless. She's probably right about that. Captain Williams doesn't bite the hand that feeds him, and that hand belongs to Roberto Fredini — mob boss, war hero, and a man whose business interests reach into every corner of this city.

So here I am. Walking cobblestone streets that glisten under streetlamps, knocking on doors that'd rather stay shut, following threads that tangle into the Fredini crime family, the Kingsley factories, and a secret romance that could get someone killed. Everyone's got something to hide in this town. The trick is figuring out who's hiding a dead girl.

I keep my eyes open and my mouth shut. I ask the questions nobody wants answered. And I don't stop until the missing are found — one way or another.

"She came to Chicago to visit a friend. Now the friend's at my door, and the girl's gone like smoke off a lake. Prohibition's dying, the mob's getting nervous, and somewhere between the docks and the drawing rooms — a young woman disappeared. I intend to find out why."
A woman in a red dress stands on a wet Chicago street, a figure walks away in the distance.
That's the thing about this city. You stand still long enough, someone walks away and never comes back. Could be Margaret. Could be anyone. That's how Chicago takes people — quiet, and in colour.
A young man in a gray suit holds a magnifying glass over an open book, examining the pages.
Every case starts the same — a book, a magnifying glass, and the patience to read what nobody else bothered to. The clues are always there. They just don't announce themselves.
Setting Chicago, Illinois — 1932
The Missing Margaret Anne Dunphy, 21, of Oxfordshire, England
The Client Jane Diana Kingsley, 23 — daughter of factory magnate Simon Kingsley
Key Players The Fredini crime family; Capt. Thomas Williams (CPD); Graham Matthews, attorney
Status Active investigation — evidence mounting, suspects shifting
Stakes A fortune. A family's reputation. And a girl who may already be beyond finding.
Case Soundtrack
THE HEIRESS · A DETECTIVE STORY · CHICAGO, 1932 · EVERY STREET HIDES A SECRET
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