Citizens and everyday merchants were forced to take matters into their own hands at times to combat roving gangs and outlaws who were fond of setting the city on fire. San Francisco was nearly burned to the ground numerous times before the great earthquake and fire of 1906. The city had lots of practice with rebuilding. And the first Chief of Police, James F. Curtis elected in 1856, was in fact a former member of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance.
While the SFPD had a rocky start, they really got their stuff together in later years. In the early 1900s they were known for being one of the pioneering forces for modern law enforcement. But who knows, maybe that was partly due to Bel and Riot’s influence…
Acknowledgements
Most acknowledgements at the end of a book are full of gratitude to everyone who helped a writer finish their book. I’m going to do things a bit differently for this one. It’s still an acknowledgement. Just maybe not one of gratitude. So here goes: to Gus Gus, for eating my office wall, $300 worth of shoes, my dining room chairs, my basil, mint and rosemary plants, a rotten snake egg (Yay, vet bills!), wild onions (and subsequent poisoning), countless socks, an art glove, logs, frogs, innumerable papers, my chocolate, and too many plastic toys to count. You added a month of writing to this book.
It’s amazing you’re not dead (for so many reasons).
And I will acknowledge a few others—not, I hope, for eating odd things. Thank you to my beta-readers: Alice Wright, Erin Bright, Rich Lovin, and Chaparral Hilliard. Your feedback was much appreciated! To my creative editor, Merrily Taylor—you are the only one who I’m brave enough to send a first draft to! And to my line editor, Tom Welch—your attention to detail leaves me in awe. Thank you so much! And please don’t eat anything odd from now to my next book. I don’t know what I’d do without you!
Also by Sabrina Flynn
Ravenwood Mysteries
From the Ashes
A Bitter Draught
Record of Blood
Conspiracy of Silence
The Devil's Teeth
Uncharted Waters
Where Cowards Tread
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Legends of Fyrsta
Untold Tales
A Thread in the Tangle
The Broken God
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www.sabrinaflynn.com
About the Author
Sabrina lives in perpetual fog and sunshine with a rock troll and two crazy imps. She spent her youth trailing after insanity, jumping off bridges, climbing towers, and riding down waterfalls in barrels. After spending fifteen years wrestling giant hounds and battling pint-sized tigers, she now travels everywhere via watery portals leading to anywhere.
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She is currently lost in South Carolina.
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You can connect with her at any of the social media platforms below or at www.sabrinaflynn.com
Glossary
Avó - grandma in Portuguese
Bai! - a Cantonese expression for when something bad happens (close to the English expression, ‘shit’)
Bahba - Dad
Banker - a horse racing bet where the bettor believes their selection is certain to win
Bong 幫 - help
Boo how doy - Hatchet Man - a hired tong soldier or assassin
Capper - a person who is on the lookout for possible clients for attorneys
Chi Gum Shing 紫禁城 - Forbidden Palace
Chun Hung - a poster that puts a price on someone’s head
Dang dang - Wait!
Digging into your Levis - searching for cash
Din Gau 癲狗 - Rabid Dog
Dressed for death - dressed in one’s best
Faan tung 飯桶 - rice bucket or worthless
Fahn Quai - White Devil
Fan Kwei - Foreign Devil
Graft - practices, especially bribery, used to secure illicit gains in politics or business; corruption.
Hei Lok Lau - House of Joy - traditional name for brothels at that time
Hei san la nei, chap chung! 起身呀你個雜種！- Wake up, you bastard!
Highbinders - general term for criminals
Kedging - to warp or pull (a ship) along by hauling on the cable of an anchor that has been carried out a ways from the ship and dropped.
King chak - the police
Lo Mo - foster mother
Mien tzu - a severe loss of face
Mui Tsai - little Chinese girls who were sold into domestic households. They were often burdened with heavy labor and endured severe physical punishments.
Nei tai - you, look
Ngor bon nei - I help you
No sabe - Spanish for ‘doesn’t know’ or ‘I don’t understand’. I came across a historical reference to a Chinese man using this phrase in a newspaper article. I don’t know if it was common, but it is a simple, easy to say phrase that English speakers understood.
Pak Siu Lui - White Little Bud
Sau pan po - ‘Long-life Boards’ - coffin Shop
Si Fu - the Master
Siu wai daan 小壞蛋 - Little Rotten Eggs - an insult that implies one was hatched rather than born, and therefore has no mother. The inclusion of ‘little’ in the insult softens it slightly.
Slungshot - a maritime tool consisting of a weight or "shot" affixed to the end of a long cord, often by being wound into the center of a knot called a "monkey's fist." It is used to cast a line from one location to another, often a mooring line. This was also a popular makeshift (and deadly) weapon in the Barbary Coast.
Sock Nika Tow - Chop Your Head Off - a very bad insult
Wai Daan 壞蛋 - Rotten Egg
Wai Yan 壞男人 - Bad Men
Wu Lei Ching 狐狸精 - Fox Spirit
Wun Dan - Cracked Egg
Wun… ah Mei - Find Mei
Yiu! 妖! - a slightly less offensive version of the English 'F-word'.