A turning point!

I also have gray t-shirts (thanks to Tony!)

Last night I was reading about The Baltimore Plot and found some very interesting things concerning the Pinkerton Agency - specifically about Kate Warne, Pinkerton's first female operative. Decided to write about the Baltimore Plot a little bit but held onto it as a topic for writing on today at work.

Glad I did -- today I handwrote 2500 words about Warne and a fictitious first meeting between her and Pinkerton in a scene directly out of a heist/spy film. It's not the greatest writing, I don't think, since action-adventure is not my real strong suit, but I am buoyed by the idea that I actually have a basis for this book. Not sure how much reworking I'm going to do to make it all flow properly -- need to interleave scenes of her with scenes of Lincoln & co. BUT, it's all very positive and cool. My hand/arm is tired.

And I found this incredibly cool photo of Pinkerton, Lincoln and a Union officer named McClerndon. It's an amazingly crisp and clear photo and I dig it very much:

I especially like how Pinkerton looks like such a weasel (I'm naturally predisposed to hate him due to Deadwood poisoning the well) and how there's a slight blur on Lincoln's face....

No excerpt from this, as it's a huge continuous chunk that doesn't have any natural breaks. What? Okay. If you insist. Here's a short snippet:

“Please don’t be afraid. I would very much like to speak with you,” the man said. After a pause, he added, “Kate Warne.”
“How?” Kate asked. “How do you know my name?”
“You have not yet figured it out?” the man asked. “Why, it was I who contacted you in the first place. Do you not recognize me?”
Kate shook her head. This man looked and sounded nothing like the man she had met. It wasn’t possible.
“Perhaps you would know me,” said the man, “if I had a pencil-thin moustache, eyeglasses, a top hat, stood three inches taller, wore a Scottish dancing costume, and spoke like this.” The man’s voice raised to a high-pitched squeak.
Kate gasped, “Mr. Polrink!”
The man smiled. “Of course, Polrink is not my real name, just as that was not my voice, costume, height, hat, glasses, or moustache. Just as Kate Warne is not your true name. Disguises and aliases are a natural and frequent occurrence in our line of work.”
“And what exactly is your line of work, Mr….?”
The man stood and extended his hand. “Pinkerton,” he said. “My name is Allan Pinkerton.”