This week: How the world's first female detective worked to solve a heinous crime. And the ghost that helped to crack the case.

Thank you for reading MuseInks. I'm Ami Hendrickson. Each Thursday, I share thoughts for readers, writers, and other fabulous people. That includes you!

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Musings

The development of the Pinkerton Detective Agency in the mid-1800's is the stuff of legends. Much has been written about Allan Pinkerton and his vision for reliable, trustworthy, fearless agents to provide both covert intelligence and high-stakes security.

Kate Warne, a young widow that Pinkerton hired as an agent, has long been hailed as the first female detective. In one of Warne's assignments, she played an integral role in saving president-elect Abraham Lincoln from an assassination plot in Baltimore. But a few years earlier, she had enlisted the help of a ghost to catch a bank robbing murderer...

In 1858, the town of Atkinson, MO, buzzed with the news of the death of George Gordon, a teller at the city bank. He had been repeatedly hit in the head with a hammer and $130,000 was missing.

When Pinkerton was brought in to solve the crime, he discovered the fireplace held the burnt remains of a bill signed by Alexander Drysdale, the county clerk. Turns out, Drysdale, though well-positioned in society, had money issues. He had applied for a loan from the bank, but when he saw Gordon there, all alone, he leaped into action, killed the man, and stole the money. Pinkerton suspected this, but couldn't prove it.

Warne came into town posing as a wealthy woman. While Timothy Webster, another Pinkerton agent, was getting to know Drysdale under the pretense of being a rich businessman interested in expanding into Missouri, Warne befriended several people, including Drysdale's wife.

She staged a fall from a horse on the outskirts of the Drysdale's estate and the Drysdales took her into their house to recover. (Evidently, this was a normal thing. Insert rabbit-hole tangential musings here about Victorian-era healthcare and accepted societal obligations.) She spent several days there.

Webster and Drysdale got along famously and went hunting often. During one evening outing, Drysdale reined in his horse, shouted with terror, and began to tremble. He had seen an apparition of a young man with a horrible head wound identical to the murdered bank teller.

As the days went on, Drysdale saw the apparition again and again. He began staying in his room for days at a time. He stopped eating. He began sleepwalking, wandering out to a nearby stream and splashing about in it.

Meanwhile, Warne would also go roving at night, scattering blood on the grass, the walkway—sometimes even in Drysdale's room and bedclothes while he slept!

Though Webster and Warne were sometimes with Drysdale when he saw the "ghost," they claimed not to see anything. They certainly didn't tell him that the vision he saw was another Pinkerton operative who was made up to look like George Gordon.

One moonlit night after Drysdale sleepwalked again, the agents looked in the creek where he'd been splashing about and in the garden where he'd been wandering. There they discovered the stolen money. They knew he was guilty, but had no legal evidence to convict him.

Drysdale was on the brink of cracking up, but still he did not confess. And this presented a problem. As Pinkerton wrote in his case notes: "The fact that I, an unknown man from the North, had helped drive a high-toned Southern gentleman insane would have been sufficient to hang me by the summary process of lynch law."

When news came that the Drysdales were planning to move to New Orleans, Pinkerton played his last card. He arrested Drysdale and, during the arrest, had the man dressed as the Ghost of George pass nearby. That did it: Drysdale confessed to everything, but took his own life before the case ever went to trial.

I wonder if Agatha Christie ever knew about this...

MuseNews

Rheo and I were supposed to be in New York City today. Had the tickets bought and paid for and everything. I'm going to be featured in a Times Square billboard on Friday, (which is very cool, I'm not going to lie).

But for some reason, I just wasn't feeling it. I'm not a city girl. I don't need to see my name in lights. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn't need to go. So I'm staying home. And I couldn't be happier with my decision.

If you're in NYC on June 5 and happen to head to Times Square, I'd love to see a picture!

In Other News

I'd like to introduce you to the fabulous Sarah Kent. Every week, as part of her Dreamworks Project, she features an anonymous interview with a woman who has a particular dream. Her Substack makes for fascinating reading; I highly recommend it.

I spoke to her about my dream in March, 2025 -- and this week, I was the featured dreamer. I am honored.

It's rather surreal to listen to someone read your words in a lovely British accent. Truth be told: now I just want that to happen all the time, for everything I write!

Book Report

This week I wanted literary comfort food, so I re-read Terry Pratchett's Guards! Guards!, one of my all-time, Top 10 Favorite Books.

"This is where the dragons went..."

::chef's kiss::

~~ What's one of your all-time, Top 10 Favorite Books? What can you read over and over again, enjoying it anew each time?

Next Week:

Most people hear about the early American pioneers and the hardships they endured during the journey West and think "No way!" But some diehards say, "That sounds great. Let's buy a team and hit the trail!" Have I got a story for you...

Till next week, write well, dream big, and may you never need to enlist the help of a ghost.

I love you all!

Ami

Ami Hendrickson
​Book Coach, Author, Editor, and Corgi Mom
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