Murder at Blackhead

by MK Staple, Marilyn Staple

Genres: Action & Adventure; Historical Fiction; World War II; Crime Fiction; Spy Thrillers; Military Thrillers

Synopsis

Isabel, a local girl is duped into marrying a German spy. It was James intent to disrupt the supply line between North America and Europe during WWII. James enlists the help of another German spy Elise to help him carry out his plan. What happens on the night of December 12, 1942 is forever etched in history. James and the Nazi's succeed in torching the Knights of Columbus Hall in St. John's Newfoundland on that night and succeed in in murdering 99 American, Canadian and British serviceman and women that night. Isabel realizes that she must protect her children from James and Elise. Will Isabel be able to right the wrongs of that fateful night? Espionage, murder, tragedy and betrayal! What will become of Isabel and her children? How will this treacherous deed go unpunished?

Release date: March 27, 2020

Publisher: DRC Publishing

Print pages: 107

Sample

C H A P T E R 1

Isabel loved to roam the cliffs of Blackhead, a small bedroom

town on the outskirts of St. John’s. She was a tomboy

and an only child so she had to make her own fun

being all by herself! She knew all the cliffs of St. John’s, those

over by Signal Hill and especially those near where she lived,

Cape Spear!

Isabel loved Blackhead, a small inlet fishing village very

near famous Cape Spear that was known for many shipwrecks

because of the horrific Nor’easters that frequented

Newfoundland in the months of autumn each year! But for

Isabel, Cape Spear was a treasure trove of wild flowers, rocks,

coves, beaches and inlets that many where she came from had

not explored or appreciated, she thought. She had, though.

She had raced all over this glorious, rugged landscape. She

knew all the caves, the nooks and the crannies.

2

M K S T A P L E

She had watched pods of whales chase caplin onto the

beaches and then fly high out of the water with their bellies

full, flapping their mighty fins as they headed back to the

open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She had also witnessed

the boats that had run ashore when Mother Atlantic Ocean

was at her worst, and had seen her family members retrieve

the bodies that were washed up on the rocks, that is if Lady

Atlantic had wished them to be found. She used to feel sorry

for those who would dare to take on Lady Atlantic just to see

if they could survive the mad waves that could wash them

out to sea in a moment, but she thought them very foolish

to play on the rocks when the swells were like mountains of

tidal waves rising from the depths of an unforgiving ocean.

She had watched too many people being carted away in wagons

if they were found at all, and when they were they were

barely recognizable. But Isabel knew her world was changing.

Now these cliffs and her once pristine homeland were making

way for members of the military who had come to Cape

Spear to protect the City of St. John’s, her people, and, from

what she read, the rest of the world. War had reached her

beautiful shore.

3

C H A P T E R 2

It was 1939 and Britain had declared war on Germany,

meaning that Newfoundland, a British dominion, was

also at war. Because of its strategic location on the near

tip of North America, Newfoundland was of major interest

to the German High Command. The tiny dominion could

now become a major player in the fight against Nazi Germany!

St. John’s harbour was a hot bed of activity and intrigue

with the war having reached her shores. The harbour

had become the hub for British Royal Navy and Canadian

warships that were engaged in anti-submarine warfare. There

were sightings of Nazi U-Boats around Bell Island and other

coastal areas that were under surveillance as the Germans

targeted Merchant Marine ships.

Isabel had heard on the radio that the Americans, while

still not officially at war with Germany, were now setting

up a military base at Fort Pepperrell in St. John’s. She fig4

M K S T A P L E

ured based on what she had heard that the base would be

unrivalled anywhere in the world because St. John’s was the

closest point between North America and Europe.

Isabel lived with her elderly grandfather. Her parents had

been taken to be with God right after she was born. Her

grandmother had passed away not long after her parents had

perished from tuberculosis. Grandfather Shea had told Isabel

that her grandmother had died untimely because of what had

happened to her parents. She had not been able to get over

their being gone so young.

Grandfather Shea was very concerned that the so-called

allies of Great Britain were going to take over his little island!

He complained to her that he had read in the newspaper and

heard on the radio that these allies were going to establish

American bases in Argentia and Stephenville, as well as in St.

John’s. He knew that the Canadians had already set up bases

in Torbay and Gander that they now claimed would prove

very strategic during the war effort against the Nazis.

Isabel’s grandfather, however, was very concerned for

the daughters that these men would try and woo away from

his little island. He had ridden to downtown St. John’s from

Blackhead on many a day, and had seen those handsome soldiers

walking around in their uniforms, with not only the

young unattached girls taking notice, but some of the older

married ladies as well having eye contact with the young lads!

He knew this would mean chaos for the parents, and

those left behind with the devastated girls and women and

their unwanted babies from these larger than life military

men. Who would pay to keep them all fed?

5

M U R D E R A T B L A C K H E A D

Isabel’s grandfather was right, the Americans and the

Canadians were certainly swaying the hearts of the young

Newfoundland girls who were smitten with their big ways

and the money that flowed like water. Newfoundlanders were

busy shrouding their daughters and wives from the lecherous

fighting men from other countries!

None of that was of concern to Isabel until she found out

that a battlement was being built at Cape Spear. This was

getting way too close to where she lived and she didn’t want

the madness that she heard her grandfather talk about to take

over her little, beautiful world of Blackhead.

On her walks of late she would be hiking up the bluffs,

along the wide open cliffs and see the many trucks winding

their way up to Cape Spear. They had now completed a

road that was like no other that she had ever seen and it was

providing employment for the lads and fathers of her little

community of Blackhead.

When she ventured too close to what they were doing

she was immediately chased away from the site and told to

go home. She knew that things were changing rapidly in

her little world. And she also knew that these people who

thought they were so smart did not know what she knew

about the bluffs and the cliffs and where and how you could

make your way around in the dark of night.

Now with Cape Spear cordoned off with a large white

bar and chained with a very large lock, and with a guardhouse

at the entrance, she wasn’t sure if she could ever roam

her beautiful hills again.

6

M K S T A P L E

But Isabel had befriended some of the locals who were

now being employed to help with the construction of the

barracks and gunnery at Cape Spear, and even though she

was a tomboy, she couldn’t help noticing that many of the

boys thought she was attractive. So she used her charm and

good looks to get them to let her onto the bluffs. They started

to call her the Lady of Blackhead. Some of the boys wanted

their picture taken with her in her tight, cute shorts, frilly top

and bobbed brown hair. Isabel was coming into her womanhood.

She got to know many of the soldiers who were now

being sent to guard Cape Spear just in case of an enemy attack.

But there were quite a number of them and she had

decided that perhaps her grandfather was right. Things could

go wrong if she got too close to these men.C H A P T E R 1

Isabel loved to roam the cliffs of Blackhead, a small bedroom

town on the outskirts of St. John’s. She was a tomboy

and an only child so she had to make her own fun

being all by herself! She knew all the cliffs of St. John’s, those

over by Signal Hill and especially those near where she lived,

Cape Spear!

Isabel loved Blackhead, a small inlet fishing village very

near famous Cape Spear that was known for many shipwrecks

because of the horrific Nor’easters that frequented

Newfoundland in the months of autumn each year! But for

Isabel, Cape Spear was a treasure trove of wild flowers, rocks,

coves, beaches and inlets that many where she came from had

not explored or appreciated, she thought. She had, though.

She had raced all over this glorious, rugged landscape. She

knew all the caves, the nooks and the crannies.

2

M K S T A P L E

She had watched pods of whales chase caplin onto the

beaches and then fly high out of the water with their bellies

full, flapping their mighty fins as they headed back to the

open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She had also witnessed

the boats that had run ashore when Mother Atlantic Ocean

was at her worst, and had seen her family members retrieve

the bodies that were washed up on the rocks, that is if Lady

Atlantic had wished them to be found. She used to feel sorry

for those who would dare to take on Lady Atlantic just to see

if they could survive the mad waves that could wash them

out to sea in a moment, but she thought them very foolish

to play on the rocks when the swells were like mountains of

tidal waves rising from the depths of an unforgiving ocean.

She had watched too many people being carted away in wagons

if they were found at all, and when they were they were

barely recognizable. But Isabel knew her world was changing.

Now these cliffs and her once pristine homeland were making

way for members of the military who had come to Cape

Spear to protect the City of St. John’s, her people, and, from

what she read, the rest of the world. War had reached her

beautiful shore.

3

C H A P T E R 2

It was 1939 and Britain had declared war on Germany,

meaning that Newfoundland, a British dominion, was

also at war. Because of its strategic location on the near

tip of North America, Newfoundland was of major interest

to the German High Command. The tiny dominion could

now become a major player in the fight against Nazi Germany!

St. John’s harbour was a hot bed of activity and intrigue

with the war having reached her shores. The harbour

had become the hub for British Royal Navy and Canadian

warships that were engaged in anti-submarine warfare. There

were sightings of Nazi U-Boats around Bell Island and other

coastal areas that were under surveillance as the Germans

targeted Merchant Marine ships.

Isabel had heard on the radio that the Americans, while

still not officially at war with Germany, were now setting

up a military base at Fort Pepperrell in St. John’s. She fig4

M K S T A P L E

ured based on what she had heard that the base would be

unrivalled anywhere in the world because St. John’s was the

closest point between North America and Europe.

Isabel lived with her elderly grandfather. Her parents had

been taken to be with God right after she was born. Her

grandmother had passed away not long after her parents had

perished from tuberculosis. Grandfather Shea had told Isabel

that her grandmother had died untimely because of what had

happened to her parents. She had not been able to get over

their being gone so young.

Grandfather Shea was very concerned that the so-called

allies of Great Britain were going to take over his little island!

He complained to her that he had read in the newspaper and

heard on the radio that these allies were going to establish

American bases in Argentia and Stephenville, as well as in St.

John’s. He knew that the Canadians had already set up bases

in Torbay and Gander that they now claimed would prove

very strategic during the war effort against the Nazis.

Isabel’s grandfather, however, was very concerned for

the daughters that these men would try and woo away from

his little island. He had ridden to downtown St. John’s from

Blackhead on many a day, and had seen those handsome soldiers

walking around in their uniforms, with not only the

young unattached girls taking notice, but some of the older

married ladies as well having eye contact with the young lads!

He knew this would mean chaos for the parents, and

those left behind with the devastated girls and women and

their unwanted babies from these larger than life military

men. Who would pay to keep them all fed?

5

M U R D E R A T B L A C K H E A D

Isabel’s grandfather was right, the Americans and the

Canadians were certainly swaying the hearts of the young

Newfoundland girls who were smitten with their big ways

and the money that flowed like water. Newfoundlanders were

busy shrouding their daughters and wives from the lecherous

fighting men from other countries!

None of that was of concern to Isabel until she found out

that a battlement was being built at Cape Spear. This was

getting way too close to where she lived and she didn’t want

the madness that she heard her grandfather talk about to take

over her little, beautiful world of Blackhead.

On her walks of late she would be hiking up the bluffs,

along the wide open cliffs and see the many trucks winding

their way up to Cape Spear. They had now completed a

road that was like no other that she had ever seen and it was

providing employment for the lads and fathers of her little

community of Blackhead.

When she ventured too close to what they were doing

she was immediately chased away from the site and told to

go home. She knew that things were changing rapidly in

her little world. And she also knew that these people who

thought they were so smart did not know what she knew

about the bluffs and the cliffs and where and how you could

make your way around in the dark of night.

Now with Cape Spear cordoned off with a large white

bar and chained with a very large lock, and with a guardhouse

at the entrance, she wasn’t sure if she could ever roam

her beautiful hills again.

6

M K S T A P L E

But Isabel had befriended some of the locals who were

now being employed to help with the construction of the

barracks and gunnery at Cape Spear, and even though she

was a tomboy, she couldn’t help noticing that many of the

boys thought she was attractive. So she used her charm and

good looks to get them to let her onto the bluffs. They started

to call her the Lady of Blackhead. Some of the boys wanted

their picture taken with her in her tight, cute shorts, frilly top

and bobbed brown hair. Isabel was coming into her womanhood.

She got to know many of the soldiers who were now

being sent to guard Cape Spear just in case of an enemy attack.

But there were quite a number of them and she had

decided that perhaps her grandfather was right. Things could

go wrong if she got too close to these men.C H A P T E R 1

Isabel loved to roam the cliffs of Blackhead, a small bedroom

town on the outskirts of St. John’s. She was a tomboy

and an only child so she had to make her own fun

being all by herself! She knew all the cliffs of St. John’s, those

over by Signal Hill and especially those near where she lived,

Cape Spear!

Isabel loved Blackhead, a small inlet fishing village very

near famous Cape Spear that was known for many shipwrecks

because of the horrific Nor’easters that frequented

Newfoundland in the months of autumn each year! But for

Isabel, Cape Spear was a treasure trove of wild flowers, rocks,

coves, beaches and inlets that many where she came from had

not explored or appreciated, she thought. She had, though.

She had raced all over this glorious, rugged landscape. She

knew all the caves, the nooks and the crannies.

2

M K S T A P L E

She had watched pods of whales chase caplin onto the

beaches and then fly high out of the water with their bellies

full, flapping their mighty fins as they headed back to the

open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She had also witnessed

the boats that had run ashore when Mother Atlantic Ocean

was at her worst, and had seen her family members retrieve

the bodies that were washed up on the rocks, that is if Lady

Atlantic had wished them to be found. She used to feel sorry

for those who would dare to take on Lady Atlantic just to see

if they could survive the mad waves that could wash them

out to sea in a moment, but she thought them very foolish

to play on the rocks when the swells were like mountains of

tidal waves rising from the depths of an unforgiving ocean.

She had watched too many people being carted away in wagons

if they were found at all, and when they were they were

barely recognizable. But Isabel knew her world was changing.

Now these cliffs and her once pristine homeland were making

way for members of the military who had come to Cape

Spear to protect the City of St. John’s, her people, and, from

what she read, the rest of the world. War had reached her

beautiful shore.

3

C H A P T E R 2

It was 1939 and Britain had declared war on Germany,

meaning that Newfoundland, a British dominion, was

also at war. Because of its strategic location on the near

tip of North America, Newfoundland was of major interest

to the German High Command. The tiny dominion could

now become a major player in the fight against Nazi Germany!

St. John’s harbour was a hot bed of activity and intrigue

with the war having reached her shores. The harbour

had become the hub for British Royal Navy and Canadian

warships that were engaged in anti-submarine warfare. There

were sightings of Nazi U-Boats around Bell Island and other

coastal areas that were under surveillance as the Germans

targeted Merchant Marine ships.

Isabel had heard on the radio that the Americans, while

still not officially at war with Germany, were now setting

up a military base at Fort Pepperrell in St. John’s. She fig4

M K S T A P L E

ured based on what she had heard that the base would be

unrivalled anywhere in the world because St. John’s was the

closest point between North America and Europe.

Isabel lived with her elderly grandfather. Her parents had

been taken to be with God right after she was born. Her

grandmother had passed away not long after her parents had

perished from tuberculosis. Grandfather Shea had told Isabel

that her grandmother had died untimely because of what had

happened to her parents. She had not been able to get over

their being gone so young.

Grandfather Shea was very concerned that the so-called

allies of Great Britain were going to take over his little island!

He complained to her that he had read in the newspaper and

heard on the radio that these allies were going to establish

American bases in Argentia and Stephenville, as well as in St.

John’s. He knew that the Canadians had already set up bases

in Torbay and Gander that they now claimed would prove

very strategic during the war effort against the Nazis.

Isabel’s grandfather, however, was very concerned for

the daughters that these men would try and woo away from

his little island. He had ridden to downtown St. John’s from

Blackhead on many a day, and had seen those handsome soldiers

walking around in their uniforms, with not only the

young unattached girls taking notice, but some of the older

married ladies as well having eye contact with the young lads!

He knew this would mean chaos for the parents, and

those left behind with the devastated girls and women and

their unwanted babies from these larger than life military

men. Who would pay to keep them all fed?

5

M U R D E R A T B L A C K H E A D

Isabel’s grandfather was right, the Americans and the

Canadians were certainly swaying the hearts of the young

Newfoundland girls who were smitten with their big ways

and the money that flowed like water. Newfoundlanders were

busy shrouding their daughters and wives from the lecherous

fighting men from other countries!

None of that was of concern to Isabel until she found out

that a battlement was being built at Cape Spear. This was

getting way too close to where she lived and she didn’t want

the madness that she heard her grandfather talk about to take

over her little, beautiful world of Blackhead.

On her walks of late she would be hiking up the bluffs,

along the wide open cliffs and see the many trucks winding

their way up to Cape Spear. They had now completed a

road that was like no other that she had ever seen and it was

providing employment for the lads and fathers of her little

community of Blackhead.

When she ventured too close to what they were doing

she was immediately chased away from the site and told to

go home. She knew that things were changing rapidly in

her little world. And she also knew that these people who

thought they were so smart did not know what she knew

about the bluffs and the cliffs and where and how you could

make your way around in the dark of night.

Now with Cape Spear cordoned off with a large white

bar and chained with a very large lock, and with a guardhouse

at the entrance, she wasn’t sure if she could ever roam

her beautiful hills again.

6

M K S T A P L E

But Isabel had befriended some of the locals who were

now being employed to help with the construction of the

barracks and gunnery at Cape Spear, and even though she

was a tomboy, she couldn’t help noticing that many of the

boys thought she was attractive. So she used her charm and

good looks to get them to let her onto the bluffs. They started

to call her the Lady of Blackhead. Some of the boys wanted

their picture taken with her in her tight, cute shorts, frilly top

and bobbed brown hair. Isabel was coming into her womanhood.

She got to know many of the soldiers who were now

being sent to guard Cape Spear just in case of an enemy attack.

But there were quite a number of them and she had

decided that perhaps her grandfather was right. Things could

go wrong if she got too close to these men.C H A P T E R 1

Isabel loved to roam the cliffs of Blackhead, a small bedroom

town on the outskirts of St. John’s. She was a tomboy

and an only child so she had to make her own fun

being all by herself! She knew all the cliffs of St. John’s, those

over by Signal Hill and especially those near where she lived,

Cape Spear!

Isabel loved Blackhead, a small inlet fishing village very

near famous Cape Spear that was known for many shipwrecks

because of the horrific Nor’easters that frequented

Newfoundland in the months of autumn each year! But for

Isabel, Cape Spear was a treasure trove of wild flowers, rocks,

coves, beaches and inlets that many where she came from had

not explored or appreciated, she thought. She had, though.

She had raced all over this glorious, rugged landscape. She

knew all the caves, the nooks and the crannies.

2

M K S T A P L E

She had watched pods of whales chase caplin onto the

beaches and then fly high out of the water with their bellies

full, flapping their mighty fins as they headed back to the

open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She had also witnessed

the boats that had run ashore when Mother Atlantic Ocean

was at her worst, and had seen her family members retrieve

the bodies that were washed up on the rocks, that is if Lady

Atlantic had wished them to be found. She used to feel sorry

for those who would dare to take on Lady Atlantic just to see

if they could survive the mad waves that could wash them

out to sea in a moment, but she thought them very foolish

to play on the rocks when the swells were like mountains of

tidal waves rising from the depths of an unforgiving ocean.

She had watched too many people being carted away in wagons

if they were found at all, and when they were they were

barely recognizable. But Isabel knew her world was changing.

Now these cliffs and her once pristine homeland were making

way for members of the military who had come to Cape

Spear to protect the City of St. John’s, her people, and, from

what she read, the rest of the world. War had reached her

beautiful shore.

3

C H A P T E R 2

It was 1939 and Britain had declared war on Germany,

meaning that Newfoundland, a British dominion, was

also at war. Because of its strategic location on the near

tip of North America, Newfoundland was of major interest

to the German High Command. The tiny dominion could

now become a major player in the fight against Nazi Germany!

St. John’s harbour was a hot bed of activity and intrigue

with the war having reached her shores. The harbour

had become the hub for British Royal Navy and Canadian

warships that were engaged in anti-submarine warfare. There

were sightings of Nazi U-Boats around Bell Island and other

coastal areas that were under surveillance as the Germans

targeted Merchant Marine ships.

Isabel had heard on the radio that the Americans, while

still not officially at war with Germany, were now setting

up a military base at Fort Pepperrell in St. John’s. She fig4

M K S T A P L E

ured based on what she had heard that the base would be

unrivalled anywhere in the world because St. John’s was the

closest point between North America and Europe.

Isabel lived with her elderly grandfather. Her parents had

been taken to be with God right after she was born. Her

grandmother had passed away not long after her parents had

perished from tuberculosis. Grandfather Shea had told Isabel

that her grandmother had died untimely because of what had

happened to her parents. She had not been able to get over

their being gone so young.

Grandfather Shea was very concerned that the so-called

allies of Great Britain were going to take over his little island!

He complained to her that he had read in the newspaper and

heard on the radio that these allies were going to establish

American bases in Argentia and Stephenville, as well as in St.

John’s. He knew that the Canadians had already set up bases

in Torbay and Gander that they now claimed would prove

very strategic during the war effort against the Nazis.

Isabel’s grandfather, however, was very concerned for

the daughters that these men would try and woo away from

his little island. He had ridden to downtown St. John’s from

Blackhead on many a day, and had seen those handsome soldiers

walking around in their uniforms, with not only the

young unattached girls taking notice, but some of the older

married ladies as well having eye contact with the young lads!

He knew this would mean chaos for the parents, and

those left behind with the devastated girls and women and

their unwanted babies from these larger than life military

men. Who would pay to keep them all fed?

5

M U R D E R A T B L A C K H E A D

Isabel’s grandfather was right, the Americans and the

Canadians were certainly swaying the hearts of the young

Newfoundland girls who were smitten with their big ways

and the money that flowed like water. Newfoundlanders were

busy shrouding their daughters and wives from the lecherous

fighting men from other countries!

None of that was of concern to Isabel until she found out

that a battlement was being built at Cape Spear. This was

getting way too close to where she lived and she didn’t want

the madness that she heard her grandfather talk about to take

over her little, beautiful world of Blackhead.

On her walks of late she would be hiking up the bluffs,

along the wide open cliffs and see the many trucks winding

their way up to Cape Spear. They had now completed a

road that was like no other that she had ever seen and it was

providing employment for the lads and fathers of her little

community of Blackhead.

When she ventured too close to what they were doing

she was immediately chased away from the site and told to

go home. She knew that things were changing rapidly in

her little world. And she also knew that these people who

thought they were so smart did not know what she knew

about the bluffs and the cliffs and where and how you could

make your way around in the dark of night.

Now with Cape Spear cordoned off with a large white

bar and chained with a very large lock, and with a guardhouse

at the entrance, she wasn’t sure if she could ever roam

her beautiful hills again.

6

M K S T A P L E

But Isabel had befriended some of the locals who were

now being employed to help with the construction of the

barracks and gunnery at Cape Spear, and even though she

was a tomboy, she couldn’t help noticing that many of the

boys thought she was attractive. So she used her charm and

good looks to get them to let her onto the bluffs. They started

to call her the Lady of Blackhead. Some of the boys wanted

their picture taken with her in her tight, cute shorts, frilly top

and bobbed brown hair. Isabel was coming into her womanhood.

She got to know many of the soldiers who were now

being sent to guard Cape Spear just in case of an enemy attack.

But there were quite a number of them and she had

decided that perhaps her grandfather was right. Things could

go wrong if she got too close to these men.C H A P T E R 1

Isabel loved to roam the cliffs of Blackhead, a small bedroom

town on the outskirts of St. John’s. She was a tomboy

and an only child so she had to make her own fun

being all by herself! She knew all the cliffs of St. John’s, those

over by Signal Hill and especially those near where she lived,

Cape Spear!

Isabel loved Blackhead, a small inlet fishing village very

near famous Cape Spear that was known for many shipwrecks

because of the horrific Nor’easters that frequented

Newfoundland in the months of autumn each year! But for

Isabel, Cape Spear was a treasure trove of wild flowers, rocks,

coves, beaches and inlets that many where she came from had

not explored or appreciated, she thought. She had, though.

She had raced all over this glorious, rugged landscape. She

knew all the caves, the nooks and the crannies.

2

M K S T A P L E

She had watched pods of whales chase caplin onto the

beaches and then fly high out of the water with their bellies

full, flapping their mighty fins as they headed back to the

open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She had also witnessed

the boats that had run ashore when Mother Atlantic Ocean

was at her worst, and had seen her family members retrieve

the bodies that were washed up on the rocks, that is if Lady

Atlantic had wished them to be found. She used to feel sorry

for those who would dare to take on Lady Atlantic just to see

if they could survive the mad waves that could wash them

out to sea in a moment, but she thought them very foolish

to play on the rocks when the swells were like mountains of

tidal waves rising from the depths of an unforgiving ocean.

She had watched too many people being carted away in wagons

if they were found at all, and when they were they were

barely recognizable. But Isabel knew her world was changing.

Now these cliffs and her once pristine homeland were making

way for members of the military who had come to Cape

Spear to protect the City of St. John’s, her people, and, from

what she read, the rest of the world. War had reached her

beautiful shore.

3

C H A P T E R 2

It was 1939 and Britain had declared war on Germany,

meaning that Newfoundland, a British dominion, was

also at war. Because of its strategic location on the near

tip of North America, Newfoundland was of major interest

to the German High Command. The tiny dominion could

now become a major player in the fight against Nazi Germany!

St. John’s harbour was a hot bed of activity and intrigue

with the war having reached her shores. The harbour

had become the hub for British Royal Navy and Canadian

warships that were engaged in anti-submarine warfare. There

were sightings of Nazi U-Boats around Bell Island and other

coastal areas that were under surveillance as the Germans

targeted Merchant Marine ships.

Isabel had heard on the radio that the Americans, while

still not officially at war with Germany, were now setting

up a military base at Fort Pepperrell in St. John’s. She fig4

M K S T A P L E

ured based on what she had heard that the base would be

unrivalled anywhere in the world because St. John’s was the

closest point between North America and Europe.

Isabel lived with her elderly grandfather. Her parents had

been taken to be with God right after she was born. Her

grandmother had passed away not long after her parents had

perished from tuberculosis. Grandfather Shea had told Isabel

that her grandmother had died untimely because of what had

happened to her parents. She had not been able to get over

their being gone so young.

Grandfather Shea was very concerned that the so-called

allies of Great Britain were going to take over his little island!

He complained to her that he had read in the newspaper and

heard on the radio that these allies were going to establish

American bases in Argentia and Stephenville, as well as in St.

John’s. He knew that the Canadians had already set up bases

in Torbay and Gander that they now claimed would prove

very strategic during the war effort against the Nazis.

Isabel’s grandfather, however, was very concerned for

the daughters that these men would try and woo away from

his little island. He had ridden to downtown St. John’s from

Blackhead on many a day, and had seen those handsome soldiers

walking around in their uniforms, with not only the

young unattached girls taking notice, but some of the older

married ladies as well having eye contact with the young lads!

He knew this would mean chaos for the parents, and

those left behind with the devastated girls and women and

their unwanted babies from these larger than life military

men. Who would pay to keep them all fed?

5

M U R D E R A T B L A C K H E A D

Isabel’s grandfather was right, the Americans and the

Canadians were certainly swaying the hearts of the young

Newfoundland girls who were smitten with their big ways

and the money that flowed like water. Newfoundlanders were

busy shrouding their daughters and wives from the lecherous

fighting men from other countries!

None of that was of concern to Isabel until she found out

that a battlement was being built at Cape Spear. This was

getting way too close to where she lived and she didn’t want

the madness that she heard her grandfather talk about to take

over her little, beautiful world of Blackhead.

On her walks of late she would be hiking up the bluffs,

along the wide open cliffs and see the many trucks winding

their way up to Cape Spear. They had now completed a

road that was like no other that she had ever seen and it was

providing employment for the lads and fathers of her little

community of Blackhead.

When she ventured too close to what they were doing

she was immediately chased away from the site and told to

go home. She knew that things were changing rapidly in

her little world. And she also knew that these people who

thought they were so smart did not know what she knew

about the bluffs and the cliffs and where and how you could

make your way around in the dark of night.

Now with Cape Spear cordoned off with a large white

bar and chained with a very large lock, and with a guardhouse

at the entrance, she wasn’t sure if she could ever roam

her beautiful hills again.

6

M K S T A P L E

But Isabel had befriended some of the locals who were

now being employed to help with the construction of the

barracks and gunnery at Cape Spear, and even though she

was a tomboy, she couldn’t help noticing that many of the

boys thought she was attractive. So she used her charm and

good looks to get them to let her onto the bluffs. They started

to call her the Lady of Blackhead. Some of the boys wanted

their picture taken with her in her tight, cute shorts, frilly top

and bobbed brown hair. Isabel was coming into her womanhood.

She got to know many of the soldiers who were now

being sent to guard Cape Spear just in case of an enemy attack.

But there were quite a number of them and she had

decided that perhaps her grandfather was right. Things could

go wrong if she got too close to these men.C H A P T E R 1

Isabel loved to roam the cliffs of Blackhead, a small bedroom

town on the outskirts of St. John’s. She was a tomboy

and an only child so she had to make her own fun

being all by herself! She knew all the cliffs of St. John’s, those

over by Signal Hill and especially those near where she lived,

Cape Spear!

Isabel loved Blackhead, a small inlet fishing village very

near famous Cape Spear that was known for many shipwrecks

because of the horrific Nor’easters that frequented

Newfoundland in the months of autumn each year! But for

Isabel, Cape Spear was a treasure trove of wild flowers, rocks,

coves, beaches and inlets that many where she came from had

not explored or appreciated, she thought. She had, though.

She had raced all over this glorious, rugged landscape. She

knew all the caves, the nooks and the crannies.

2

M K S T A P L E

She had watched pods of whales chase caplin onto the

beaches and then fly high out of the water with their bellies

full, flapping their mighty fins as they headed back to the

open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She had also witnessed

the boats that had run ashore when Mother Atlantic Ocean

was at her worst, and had seen her family members retrieve

the bodies that were washed up on the rocks, that is if Lady

Atlantic had wished them to be found. She used to feel sorry

for those who would dare to take on Lady Atlantic just to see

if they could survive the mad waves that could wash them

out to sea in a moment, but she thought them very foolish

to play on the rocks when the swells were like mountains of

tidal waves rising from the depths of an unforgiving ocean.

She had watched too many people being carted away in wagons

if they were found at all, and when they were they were

barely recognizable. But Isabel knew her world was changing.

Now these cliffs and her once pristine homeland were making

way for members of the military who had come to Cape

Spear to protect the City of St. John’s, her people, and, from

what she read, the rest of the world. War had reached her

beautiful shore.

3

C H A P T E R 2

It was 1939 and Britain had declared war on Germany,

meaning that Newfoundland, a British dominion, was

also at war. Because of its strategic location on the near

tip of North America, Newfoundland was of major interest

to the German High Command. The tiny dominion could

now become a major player in the fight against Nazi Germany!

St. John’s harbour was a hot bed of activity and intrigue

with the war having reached her shores. The harbour

had become the hub for British Royal Navy and Canadian

warships that were engaged in anti-submarine warfare. There

were sightings of Nazi U-Boats around Bell Island and other

coastal areas that were under surveillance as the Germans

targeted Merchant Marine ships.

Isabel had heard on the radio that the Americans, while

still not officially at war with Germany, were now setting

up a military base at Fort Pepperrell in St. John’s. She fig4

M K S T A P L E

ured based on what she had heard that the base would be

unrivalled anywhere in the world because St. John’s was the

closest point between North America and Europe.

Isabel lived with her elderly grandfather. Her parents had

been taken to be with God right after she was born. Her

grandmother had passed away not long after her parents had

perished from tuberculosis. Grandfather Shea had told Isabel

that her grandmother had died untimely because of what had

happened to her parents. She had not been able to get over

their being gone so young.

Grandfather Shea was very concerned that the so-called

allies of Great Britain were going to take over his little island!

He complained to her that he had read in the newspaper and

heard on the radio that these allies were going to establish

American bases in Argentia and Stephenville, as well as in St.

John’s. He knew that the Canadians had already set up bases

in Torbay and Gander that they now claimed would prove

very strategic during the war effort against the Nazis.

Isabel’s grandfather, however, was very concerned for

the daughters that these men would try and woo away from

his little island. He had ridden to downtown St. John’s from

Blackhead on many a day, and had seen those handsome soldiers

walking around in their uniforms, with not only the

young unattached girls taking notice, but some of the older

married ladies as well having eye contact with the young lads!

He knew this would mean chaos for the parents, and

those left behind with the devastated girls and women and

their unwanted babies from these larger than life military

men. Who would pay to keep them all fed?

5

M U R D E R A T B L A C K H E A D

Isabel’s grandfather was right, the Americans and the

Canadians were certainly swaying the hearts of the young

Newfoundland girls who were smitten with their big ways

and the money that flowed like water. Newfoundlanders were

busy shrouding their daughters and wives from the lecherous

fighting men from other countries!

None of that was of concern to Isabel until she found out

that a battlement was being built at Cape Spear. This was

getting way too close to where she lived and she didn’t want

the madness that she heard her grandfather talk about to take

over her little, beautiful world of Blackhead.

On her walks of late she would be hiking up the bluffs,

along the wide open cliffs and see the many trucks winding

their way up to Cape Spear. They had now completed a

road that was like no other that she had ever seen and it was

providing employment for the lads and fathers of her little

community of Blackhead.

When she ventured too close to what they were doing

she was immediately chased away from the site and told to

go home. She knew that things were changing rapidly in

her little world. And she also knew that these people who

thought they were so smart did not know what she knew

about the bluffs and the cliffs and where and how you could

make your way around in the dark of night.

Now with Cape Spear cordoned off with a large white

bar and chained with a very large lock, and with a guardhouse

at the entrance, she wasn’t sure if she could ever roam

her beautiful hills again.

6

M K S T A P L E

But Isabel had befriended some of the locals who were

now being employed to help with the construction of the

barracks and gunnery at Cape Spear, and even though she

was a tomboy, she couldn’t help noticing that many of the

boys thought she was attractive. So she used her charm and

good looks to get them to let her onto the bluffs. They started

to call her the Lady of Blackhead. Some of the boys wanted

their picture taken with her in her tight, cute shorts, frilly top

and bobbed brown hair. Isabel was coming into her womanhood.

She got to know many of the soldiers who were now

being sent to guard Cape Spear just in case of an enemy attack.

But there were quite a number of them and she had

decided that perhaps her grandfather was right. Things could

go wrong if she got too close to these men.C H A P T E R 1

Isabel loved to roam the cliffs of Blackhead, a small bedroom

town on the outskirts of St. John’s. She was a tomboy

and an only child so she had to make her own fun

being all by herself! She knew all the cliffs of St. John’s, those

over by Signal Hill and especially those near where she lived,

Cape Spear!

Isabel loved Blackhead, a small inlet fishing village very

near famous Cape Spear that was known for many shipwrecks

because of the horrific Nor’easters that frequented

Newfoundland in the months of autumn each year! But for

Isabel, Cape Spear was a treasure trove of wild flowers, rocks,

coves, beaches and inlets that many where she came from had

not explored or appreciated, she thought. She had, though.

She had raced all over this glorious, rugged landscape. She

knew all the caves, the nooks and the crannies.

2

M K S T A P L E

She had watched pods of whales chase caplin onto the

beaches and then fly high out of the water with their bellies

full, flapping their mighty fins as they headed back to the

open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She had also witnessed

the boats that had run ashore when Mother Atlantic Ocean

was at her worst, and had seen her family members retrieve

the bodies that were washed up on the rocks, that is if Lady

Atlantic had wished them to be found. She used to feel sorry

for those who would dare to take on Lady Atlantic just to see

if they could survive the mad waves that could wash them

out to sea in a moment, but she thought them very foolish

to play on the rocks when the swells were like mountains of

tidal waves rising from the depths of an unforgiving ocean.

She had watched too many people being carted away in wagons

if they were found at all, and when they were they were

barely recognizable. But Isabel knew her world was changing.

Now these cliffs and her once pristine homeland were making

way for members of the military who had come to Cape

Spear to protect the City of St. John’s, her people, and, from

what she read, the rest of the world. War had reached her

beautiful shore.

3

C H A P T E R 2

It was 1939 and Britain had declared war on Germany,

meaning that Newfoundland, a British dominion, was

also at war. Because of its strategic location on the near

tip of North America, Newfoundland was of major interest

to the German High Command. The tiny dominion could

now become a major player in the fight against Nazi Germany!

St. John’s harbour was a hot bed of activity and intrigue

with the war having reached her shores. The harbour

had become the hub for British Royal Navy and Canadian

warships that were engaged in anti-submarine warfare. There

were sightings of Nazi U-Boats around Bell Island and other

coastal areas that were under surveillance as the Germans

targeted Merchant Marine ships.

Isabel had heard on the radio that the Americans, while

still not officially at war with Germany, were now setting

up a military base at Fort Pepperrell in St. John’s. She fig4

M K S T A P L E

ured based on what she had heard that the base would be

unrivalled anywhere in the world because St. John’s was the

closest point between North America and Europe.

Isabel lived with her elderly grandfather. Her parents had

been taken to be with God right after she was born. Her

grandmother had passed away not long after her parents had

perished from tuberculosis. Grandfather Shea had told Isabel

that her grandmother had died untimely because of what had

happened to her parents. She had not been able to get over

their being gone so young.

Grandfather Shea was very concerned that the so-called

allies of Great Britain were going to take over his little island!

He complained to her that he had read in the newspaper and

heard on the radio that these allies were going to establish

American bases in Argentia and Stephenville, as well as in St.

John’s. He knew that the Canadians had already set up bases

in Torbay and Gander that they now claimed would prove

very strategic during the war effort against the Nazis.

Isabel’s grandfather, however, was very concerned for

the daughters that these men would try and woo away from

his little island. He had ridden to downtown St. John’s from

Blackhead on many a day, and had seen those handsome soldiers

walking around in their uniforms, with not only the

young unattached girls taking notice, but some of the older

married ladies as well having eye contact with the young lads!

He knew this would mean chaos for the parents, and

those left behind with the devastated girls and women and

their unwanted babies from these larger than life military

men. Who would pay to keep them all fed?

5

M U R D E R A T B L A C K H E A D

Isabel’s grandfather was right, the Americans and the

Canadians were certainly swaying the hearts of the young

Newfoundland girls who were smitten with their big ways

and the money that flowed like water. Newfoundlanders were

busy shrouding their daughters and wives from the lecherous

fighting men from other countries!

None of that was of concern to Isabel until she found out

that a battlement was being built at Cape Spear. This was

getting way too close to where she lived and she didn’t want

the madness that she heard her grandfather talk about to take

over her little, beautiful world of Blackhead.

On her walks of late she would be hiking up the bluffs,

along the wide open cliffs and see the many trucks winding

their way up to Cape Spear. They had now completed a

road that was like no other that she had ever seen and it was

providing employment for the lads and fathers of her little

community of Blackhead.

When she ventured too close to what they were doing

she was immediately chased away from the site and told to

go home. She knew that things were changing rapidly in

her little world. And she also knew that these people who

thought they were so smart did not know what she knew

about the bluffs and the cliffs and where and how you could

make your way around in the dark of night.

Now with Cape Spear cordoned off with a large white

bar and chained with a very large lock, and with a guardhouse

at the entrance, she wasn’t sure if she could ever roam

her beautiful hills again.

6

M K S T A P L E

But Isabel had befriended some of the locals who were

now being employed to help with the construction of the

barracks and gunnery at Cape Spear, and even though she

was a tomboy, she couldn’t help noticing that many of the

boys thought she was attractive. So she used her charm and

good looks to get them to let her onto the bluffs. They started

to call her the Lady of Blackhead. Some of the boys wanted

their picture taken with her in her tight, cute shorts, frilly top

and bobbed brown hair. Isabel was coming into her womanhood.

She got to know many of the soldiers who were now

being sent to guard Cape Spear just in case of an enemy attack.

But there were quite a number of them and she had

decided that perhaps her grandfather was right. Things could

go wrong if she got too close to these men.C H A P T E R 1

Isabel loved to roam the cliffs of Blackhead, a small bedroom

town on the outskirts of St. John’s. She was a tomboy

and an only child so she had to make her own fun

being all by herself! She knew all the cliffs of St. John’s, those

over by Signal Hill and especially those near where she lived,

Cape Spear!

Isabel loved Blackhead, a small inlet fishing village very

near famous Cape Spear that was known for many shipwrecks

because of the horrific Nor’easters that frequented

Newfoundland in the months of autumn each year! But for

Isabel, Cape Spear was a treasure trove of wild flowers, rocks,

coves, beaches and inlets that many where she came from had

not explored or appreciated, she thought. She had, though.

She had raced all over this glorious, rugged landscape. She

knew all the caves, the nooks and the crannies.

2

M K S T A P L E

She had watched pods of whales chase caplin onto the

beaches and then fly high out of the water with their bellies

full, flapping their mighty fins as they headed back to the

open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She had also witnessed

the boats that had run ashore when Mother Atlantic Ocean

was at her worst, and had seen her family members retrieve

the bodies that were washed up on the rocks, that is if Lady

Atlantic had wished them to be found. She used to feel sorry

for those who would dare to take on Lady Atlantic just to see

if they could survive the mad waves that could wash them

out to sea in a moment, but she thought them very foolish

to play on the rocks when the swells were like mountains of

tidal waves rising from the depths of an unforgiving ocean.

She had watched too many people being carted away in wagons

if they were found at all, and when they were they were

barely recognizable. But Isabel knew her world was changing.

Now these cliffs and her once pristine homeland were making

way for members of the military who had come to Cape

Spear to protect the City of St. John’s, her people, and, from

what she read, the rest of the world. War had reached her

beautiful shore.

3

C H A P T E R 2

It was 1939 and Britain had declared war on Germany,

meaning that Newfoundland, a British dominion, was

also at war. Because of its strategic location on the near

tip of North America, Newfoundland was of major interest

to the German High Command. The tiny dominion could

now become a major player in the fight against Nazi Germany!

St. John’s harbour was a hot bed of activity and intrigue

with the war having reached her shores. The harbour

had become the hub for British Royal Navy and Canadian

warships that were engaged in anti-submarine warfare. There

were sightings of Nazi U-Boats around Bell Island and other

coastal areas that were under surveillance as the Germans

targeted Merchant Marine ships.

Isabel had heard on the radio that the Americans, while

still not officially at war with Germany, were now setting

up a military base at Fort Pepperrell in St. John’s. She fig4

M K S T A P L E

ured based on what she had heard that the base would be

unrivalled anywhere in the world because St. John’s was the

closest point between North America and Europe.

Isabel lived with her elderly grandfather. Her parents had

been taken to be with God right after she was born. Her

grandmother had passed away not long after her parents had

perished from tuberculosis. Grandfather Shea had told Isabel

that her grandmother had died untimely because of what had

happened to her parents. She had not been able to get over

their being gone so young.

Grandfather Shea was very concerned that the so-called

allies of Great Britain were going to take over his little island!

He complained to her that he had read in the newspaper and

heard on the radio that these allies were going to establish

American bases in Argentia and Stephenville, as well as in St.

John’s. He knew that the Canadians had already set up bases

in Torbay and Gander that they now claimed would prove

very strategic during the war effort against the Nazis.

Isabel’s grandfather, however, was very concerned for

the daughters that these men would try and woo away from

his little island. He had ridden to downtown St. John’s from

Blackhead on many a day, and had seen those handsome soldiers

walking around in their uniforms, with not only the

young unattached girls taking notice, but some of the older

married ladies as well having eye contact with the young lads!

He knew this would mean chaos for the parents, and

those left behind with the devastated girls and women and

their unwanted babies from these larger than life military

men. Who would pay to keep them all fed?

5

M U R D E R A T B L A C K H E A D

Isabel’s grandfather was right, the Americans and the

Canadians were certainly swaying the hearts of the young

Newfoundland girls who were smitten with their big ways

and the money that flowed like water. Newfoundlanders were

busy shrouding their daughters and wives from the lecherous

fighting men from other countries!

None of that was of concern to Isabel until she found out

that a battlement was being built at Cape Spear. This was

getting way too close to where she lived and she didn’t want

the madness that she heard her grandfather talk about to take

over her little, beautiful world of Blackhead.

On her walks of late she would be hiking up the bluffs,

along the wide open cliffs and see the many trucks winding

their way up to Cape Spear. They had now completed a

road that was like no other that she had ever seen and it was

providing employment for the lads and fathers of her little

community of Blackhead.

When she ventured too close to what they were doing

she was immediately chased away from the site and told to

go home. She knew that things were changing rapidly in

her little world. And she also knew that these people who

thought they were so smart did not know what she knew

about the bluffs and the cliffs and where and how you could

make your way around in the dark of night.

Now with Cape Spear cordoned off with a large white

bar and chained with a very large lock, and with a guardhouse

at the entrance, she wasn’t sure if she could ever roam

her beautiful hills again.

6

M K S T A P L E

But Isabel had befriended some of the locals who were

now being employed to help with the construction of the

barracks and gunnery at Cape Spear, and even though she

was a tomboy, she couldn’t help noticing that many of the

boys thought she was attractive. So she used her charm and

good looks to get them to let her onto the bluffs. They started

to call her the Lady of Blackhead. Some of the boys wanted

their picture taken with her in her tight, cute shorts, frilly top

and bobbed brown hair. Isabel was coming into her womanhood.

She got to know many of the soldiers who were now

being sent to guard Cape Spear just in case of an enemy attack.

But there were quite a number of them and she had

decided that perhaps her grandfather was right. Things could

go wrong if she got too close to these men.C H A P T E R 1

Isabel loved to roam the cliffs of Blackhead, a small bedroom

town on the outskirts of St. John’s. She was a tomboy

and an only child so she had to make her own fun

being all by herself! She knew all the cliffs of St. John’s, those

over by Signal Hill and especially those near where she lived,

Cape Spear!

Isabel loved Blackhead, a small inlet fishing village very

near famous Cape Spear that was known for many shipwrecks

because of the horrific Nor’easters that frequented

Newfoundland in the months of autumn each year! But for

Isabel, Cape Spear was a treasure trove of wild flowers, rocks,

coves, beaches and inlets that many where she came from had

not explored or appreciated, she thought. She had, though.

She had raced all over this glorious, rugged landscape. She

knew all the caves, the nooks and the crannies.

2

M K S T A P L E

She had watched pods of whales chase caplin onto the

beaches and then fly high out of the water with their bellies

full, flapping their mighty fins as they headed back to the

open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She had also witnessed

the boats that had run ashore when Mother Atlantic Ocean

was at her worst, and had seen her family members retrieve

the bodies that were washed up on the rocks, that is if Lady

Atlantic had wished them to be found. She used to feel sorry

for those who would dare to take on Lady Atlantic just to see

if they could survive the mad waves that could wash them

out to sea in a moment, but she thought them very foolish

to play on the rocks when the swells were like mountains of

tidal waves rising from the depths of an unforgiving ocean.

She had watched too many people being carted away in wagons

if they were found at all, and when they were they were

barely recognizable. But Isabel knew her world was changing.

Now these cliffs and her once pristine homeland were making

way for members of the military who had come to Cape

Spear to protect the City of St. John’s, her people, and, from

what she read, the rest of the world. War had reached her

beautiful shore.

3

C H A P T E R 2

It was 1939 and Britain had declared war on Germany,

meaning that Newfoundland, a British dominion, was

also at war. Because of its strategic location on the near

tip of North America, Newfoundland was of major interest

to the German High Command. The tiny dominion could

now become a major player in the fight against Nazi Germany!

St. John’s harbour was a hot bed of activity and intrigue

with the war having reached her shores. The harbour

had become the hub for British Royal Navy and Canadian

warships that were engaged in anti-submarine warfare. There

were sightings of Nazi U-Boats around Bell Island and other

coastal areas that were under surveillance as the Germans

targeted Merchant Marine ships.

Isabel had heard on the radio that the Americans, while

still not officially at war with Germany, were now setting

up a military base at Fort Pepperrell in St. John’s. She fig4

M K S T A P L E

ured based on what she had heard that the base would be

unrivalled anywhere in the world because St. John’s was the

closest point between North America and Europe.

Isabel lived with her elderly grandfather. Her parents had

been taken to be with God right after she was born. Her

grandmother had passed away not long after her parents had

perished from tuberculosis. Grandfather Shea had told Isabel

that her grandmother had died untimely because of what had

happened to her parents. She had not been able to get over

their being gone so young.

Grandfather Shea was very concerned that the so-called

allies of Great Britain were going to take over his little island!

He complained to her that he had read in the newspaper and

heard on the radio that these allies were going to establish

American bases in Argentia and Stephenville, as well as in St.

John’s. He knew that the Canadians had already set up bases

in Torbay and Gander that they now claimed would prove

very strategic during the war effort against the Nazis.

Isabel’s grandfather, however, was very concerned for

the daughters that these men would try and woo away from

his little island. He had ridden to downtown St. John’s from

Blackhead on many a day, and had seen those handsome soldiers

walking around in their uniforms, with not only the

young unattached girls taking notice, but some of the older

married ladies as well having eye contact with the young lads!

He knew this would mean chaos for the parents, and

those left behind with the devastated girls and women and

their unwanted babies from these larger than life military

men. Who would pay to keep them all fed?

5

M U R D E R A T B L A C K H E A D

Isabel’s grandfather was right, the Americans and the

Canadians were certainly swaying the hearts of the young

Newfoundland girls who were smitten with their big ways

and the money that flowed like water. Newfoundlanders were

busy shrouding their daughters and wives from the lecherous

fighting men from other countries!

None of that was of concern to Isabel until she found out

that a battlement was being built at Cape Spear. This was

getting way too close to where she lived and she didn’t want

the madness that she heard her grandfather talk about to take

over her little, beautiful world of Blackhead.

On her walks of late she would be hiking up the bluffs,

along the wide open cliffs and see the many trucks winding

their way up to Cape Spear. They had now completed a

road that was like no other that she had ever seen and it was

providing employment for the lads and fathers of her little

community of Blackhead.

When she ventured too close to what they were doing

she was immediately chased away from the site and told to

go home. She knew that things were changing rapidly in

her little world. And she also knew that these people who

thought they were so smart did not know what she knew

about the bluffs and the cliffs and where and how you could

make your way around in the dark of night.

Now with Cape Spear cordoned off with a large white

bar and chained with a very large lock, and with a guardhouse

at the entrance, she wasn’t sure if she could ever roam

her beautiful hills again.

6

M K S T A P L E

But Isabel had befriended some of the locals who were

now being employed to help with the construction of the

barracks and gunnery at Cape Spear, and even though she

was a tomboy, she couldn’t help noticing that many of the

boys thought she was attractive. So she used her charm and

good looks to get them to let her onto the bluffs. They started

to call her the Lady of Blackhead. Some of the boys wanted

their picture taken with her in her tight, cute shorts, frilly top

and bobbed brown hair. Isabel was coming into her womanhood.

She got to know many of the soldiers who were now

being sent to guard Cape Spear just in case of an enemy attack.

But there were quite a number of them and she had

decided that perhaps her grandfather was right. Things could

go wrong if she got too close to these men.C H A P T E R 1

Isabel loved to roam the cliffs of Blackhead, a small bedroom

town on the outskirts of St. John’s. She was a tomboy

and an only child so she had to make her own fun

being all by herself! She knew all the cliffs of St. John’s, those

over by Signal Hill and especially those near where she lived,

Cape Spear!

Isabel loved Blackhead, a small inlet fishing village very

near famous Cape Spear that was known for many shipwrecks

because of the horrific Nor’easters that frequented

Newfoundland in the months of autumn each year! But for

Isabel, Cape Spear was a treasure trove of wild flowers, rocks,

coves, beaches and inlets that many where she came from had

not explored or appreciated, she thought. She had, though.

She had raced all over this glorious, rugged landscape. She

knew all the caves, the nooks and the crannies.

2

M K S T A P L E

She had watched pods of whales chase caplin onto the

beaches and then fly high out of the water with their bellies

full, flapping their mighty fins as they headed back to the

open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She had also witnessed

the boats that had run ashore when Mother Atlantic Ocean

was at her worst, and had seen her family members retrieve

the bodies that were washed up on the rocks, that is if Lady

Atlantic had wished them to be found. She used to feel sorry

for those who would dare to take on Lady Atlantic just to see

if they could survive the mad waves that could wash them

out to sea in a moment, but she thought them very foolish

to play on the rocks when the swells were like mountains of

tidal waves rising from the depths of an unforgiving ocean.

She had watched too many people being carted away in wagons

if they were found at all, and when they were they were

barely recognizable. But Isabel knew her world was changing.

Now these cliffs and her once pristine homeland were making

way for members of the military who had come to Cape

Spear to protect the City of St. John’s, her people, and, from

what she read, the rest of the world. War had reached her

beautiful shore.

3

C H A P T E R 2

It was 1939 and Britain had declared war on Germany,

meaning that Newfoundland, a British dominion, was

also at war. Because of its strategic location on the near

tip of North America, Newfoundland was of major interest

to the German High Command. The tiny dominion could

now become a major player in the fight against Nazi Germany!

St. John’s harbour was a hot bed of activity and intrigue

with the war having reached her shores. The harbour

had become the hub for British Royal Navy and Canadian

warships that were engaged in anti-submarine warfare. There

were sightings of Nazi U-Boats around Bell Island and other

coastal areas that were under surveillance as the Germans

targeted Merchant Marine ships.

Isabel had heard on the radio that the Americans, while

still not officially at war with Germany, were now setting

up a military base at Fort Pepperrell in St. John’s. She fig4

M K S T A P L E

ured based on what she had heard that the base would be

unrivalled anywhere in the world because St. John’s was the

closest point between North America and Europe.

Isabel lived with her elderly grandfather. Her parents had

been taken to be with God right after she was born. Her

grandmother had passed away not long after her parents had

perished from tuberculosis. Grandfather Shea had told Isabel

that her grandmother had died untimely because of what had

happened to her parents. She had not been able to get over

their being gone so young.

Grandfather Shea was very concerned that the so-called

allies of Great Britain were going to take over his little island!

He complained to her that he had read in the newspaper and

heard on the radio that these allies were going to establish

American bases in Argentia and Stephenville, as well as in St.

John’s. He knew that the Canadians had already set up bases

in Torbay and Gander that they now claimed would prove

very strategic during the war effort against the Nazis.

Isabel’s grandfather, however, was very concerned for

the daughters that these men would try and woo away from

his little island. He had ridden to downtown St. John’s from

Blackhead on many a day, and had seen those handsome soldiers

walking around in their uniforms, with not only the

young unattached girls taking notice, but some of the older

married ladies as well having eye contact with the young lads!

He knew this would mean chaos for the parents, and

those left behind with the devastated girls and women and

their unwanted babies from these larger than life military

men. Who would pay to keep them all fed?

5

M U R D E R A T B L A C K H E A D

Isabel’s grandfather was right, the Americans and the

Canadians were certainly swaying the hearts of the young

Newfoundland girls who were smitten with their big ways

and the money that flowed like water. Newfoundlanders were

busy shrouding their daughters and wives from the lecherous

fighting men from other countries!

None of that was of concern to Isabel until she found out

that a battlement was being built at Cape Spear. This was

getting way too close to where she lived and she didn’t want

the madness that she heard her grandfather talk about to take

over her little, beautiful world of Blackhead.

On her walks of late she would be hiking up the bluffs,

along the wide open cliffs and see the many trucks winding

their way up to Cape Spear. They had now completed a

road that was like no other that she had ever seen and it was

providing employment for the lads and fathers of her little

community of Blackhead.

When she ventured too close to what they were doing

she was immediately chased away from the site and told to

go home. She knew that things were changing rapidly in

her little world. And she also knew that these people who

thought they were so smart did not know what she knew

about the bluffs and the cliffs and where and how you could

make your way around in the dark of night.

Now with Cape Spear cordoned off with a large white

bar and chained with a very large lock, and with a guardhouse

at the entrance, she wasn’t sure if she could ever roam

her beautiful hills again.

6

M K S T A P L E

But Isabel had befriended some of the locals who were

now being employed to help with the construction of the

barracks and gunnery at Cape Spear, and even though she

was a tomboy, she couldn’t help noticing that many of the

boys thought she was attractive. So she used her charm and

good looks to get them to let her onto the bluffs. They started

to call her the Lady of Blackhead. Some of the boys wanted

their picture taken with her in her tight, cute shorts, frilly top

and bobbed brown hair. Isabel was coming into her womanhood.

She got to know many of the soldiers who were now

being sent to guard Cape Spear just in case of an enemy attack.

But there were quite a number of them and she had

decided that perhaps her grandfather was right. Things could

go wrong if she got too close to these men.C H A P T E R 1

Isabel loved to roam the cliffs of Blackhead, a small bedroom

town on the outskirts of St. John’s. She was a tomboy

and an only child so she had to make her own fun

being all by herself! She knew all the cliffs of St. John’s, those

over by Signal Hill and especially those near where she lived,

Cape Spear!

Isabel loved Blackhead, a small inlet fishing village very

near famous Cape Spear that was known for many shipwrecks

because of the horrific Nor’easters that frequented

Newfoundland in the months of autumn each year! But for

Isabel, Cape Spear was a treasure trove of wild flowers, rocks,

coves, beaches and inlets that many where she came from had

not explored or appreciated, she thought. She had, though.

She had raced all over this glorious, rugged landscape. She

knew all the caves, the nooks and the crannies.

2

M K S T A P L E

She had watched pods of whales chase caplin onto the

beaches and then fly high out of the water with their bellies

full, flapping their mighty fins as they headed back to the

open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She had also witnessed

the boats that had run ashore when Mother Atlantic Ocean

was at her worst, and had seen her family members retrieve

the bodies that were washed up on the rocks, that is if Lady

Atlantic had wished them to be found. She used to feel sorry

for those who would dare to take on Lady Atlantic just to see

if they could survive the mad waves that could wash them

out to sea in a moment, but she thought them very foolish

to play on the rocks when the swells were like mountains of

tidal waves rising from the depths of an unforgiving ocean.

She had watched too many people being carted away in wagons

if they were found at all, and when they were they were

barely recognizable. But Isabel knew her world was changing.

Now these cliffs and her once pristine homeland were making

way for members of the military who had come to Cape

Spear to protect the City of St. John’s, her people, and, from

what she read, the rest of the world. War had reached her

beautiful shore.

3

C H A P T E R 2

It was 1939 and Britain had declared war on Germany,

meaning that Newfoundland, a British dominion, was

also at war. Because of its strategic location on the near

tip of North America, Newfoundland was of major interest

to the German High Command. The tiny dominion could

now become a major player in the fight against Nazi Germany!

St. John’s harbour was a hot bed of activity and intrigue

with the war having reached her shores. The harbour

had become the hub for British Royal Navy and Canadian

warships that were engaged in anti-submarine warfare. There

were sightings of Nazi U-Boats around Bell Island and other

coastal areas that were under surveillance as the Germans

targeted Merchant Marine ships.

Isabel had heard on the radio that the Americans, while

still not officially at war with Germany, were now setting

up a military base at Fort Pepperrell in St. John’s. She fig4

M K S T A P L E

ured based on what she had heard that the base would be

unrivalled anywhere in the world because St. John’s was the

closest point between North America and Europe.

Isabel lived with her elderly grandfather. Her parents had

been taken to be with God right after she was born. Her

grandmother had passed away not long after her parents had

perished from tuberculosis. Grandfather Shea had told Isabel

that her grandmother had died untimely because of what had

happened to her parents. She had not been able to get over

their being gone so young.

Grandfather Shea was very concerned that the so-called

allies of Great Britain were going to take over his little island!

He complained to her that he had read in the newspaper and

heard on the radio that these allies were going to establish

American bases in Argentia and Stephenville, as well as in St.

John’s. He knew that the Canadians had already set up bases

in Torbay and Gander that they now claimed would prove

very strategic during the war effort against the Nazis.

Isabel’s grandfather, however, was very concerned for

the daughters that these men would try and woo away from

his little island. He had ridden to downtown St. John’s from

Blackhead on many a day, and had seen those handsome soldiers

walking around in their uniforms, with not only the

young unattached girls taking notice, but some of the older

married ladies as well having eye contact with the young lads!

He knew this would mean chaos for the parents, and

those left behind with the devastated girls and women and

their unwanted babies from these larger than life military

men. Who would pay to keep them all fed?

5

M U R D E R A T B L A C K H E A D

Isabel’s grandfather was right, the Americans and the

Canadians were certainly swaying the hearts of the young

Newfoundland girls who were smitten with their big ways

and the money that flowed like water. Newfoundlanders were

busy shrouding their daughters and wives from the lecherous

fighting men from other countries!

None of that was of concern to Isabel until she found out

that a battlement was being built at Cape Spear. This was

getting way too close to where she lived and she didn’t want

the madness that she heard her grandfather talk about to take

over her little, beautiful world of Blackhead.

On her walks of late she would be hiking up the bluffs,

along the wide open cliffs and see the many trucks winding

their way up to Cape Spear. They had now completed a

road that was like no other that she had ever seen and it was

providing employment for the lads and fathers of her little

community of Blackhead.

When she ventured too close to what they were doing

she was immediately chased away from the site and told to

go home. She knew that things were changing rapidly in

her little world. And she also knew that these people who

thought they were so smart did not know what she knew

about the bluffs and the cliffs and where and how you could

make your way around in the dark of night.

Now with Cape Spear cordoned off with a large white

bar and chained with a very large lock, and with a guardhouse

at the entrance, she wasn’t sure if she could ever roam

her beautiful hills again.

6

M K S T A P L E

But Isabel had befriended some of the locals who were

now being employed to help with the construction of the

barracks and gunnery at Cape Spear, and even though she

was a tomboy, she couldn’t help noticing that many of the

boys thought she was attractive. So she used her charm and

good looks to get them to let her onto the bluffs. They started

to call her the Lady of Blackhead. Some of the boys wanted

their picture taken with her in her tight, cute shorts, frilly top

and bobbed brown hair. Isabel was coming into her womanhood.

She got to know many of the soldiers who were now

being sent to guard Cape Spear just in case of an enemy attack.

But there were quite a number of them and she had

decided that perhaps her grandfather was right. Things could

go wrong if she got too close to these men.C H A P T E R 1

Isabel loved to roam the cliffs of Blackhead, a small bedroom

town on the outskirts of St. John’s. She was a tomboy

and an only child so she had to make her own fun

being all by herself! She knew all the cliffs of St. John’s, those

over by Signal Hill and especially those near where she lived,

Cape Spear!

Isabel loved Blackhead, a small inlet fishing village very

near famous Cape Spear that was known for many shipwrecks

because of the horrific Nor’easters that frequented

Newfoundland in the months of autumn each year! But for

Isabel, Cape Spear was a treasure trove of wild flowers, rocks,

coves, beaches and inlets that many where she came from had

not explored or appreciated, she thought. She had, though.

She had raced all over this glorious, rugged landscape. She

knew all the caves, the nooks and the crannies.

2

M K S T A P L E

She had watched pods of whales chase caplin onto the

beaches and then fly high out of the water with their bellies

full, flapping their mighty fins as they headed back to the

open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. She had also witnessed

the boats that had run ashore when Mother Atlantic Ocean

was at her worst, and had seen her family members retrieve

the bodies that were washed up on the rocks, that is if Lady

Atlantic had wished them to be found. She used to feel sorry

for those who would dare to take on Lady Atlantic just to see

if they could survive the mad waves that could wash them

out to sea in a moment, but she thought them very foolish

to play on the rocks when the swells were like mountains of

tidal waves rising from the depths of an unforgiving ocean.

She had watched too many people being carted away in wagons

if they were found at all, and when they were they were

barely recognizable. But Isabel knew her world was changing.

Now these cliffs and her once pristine homeland were making

way for members of the military who had come to Cape

Spear to protect the City of St. John’s, her people, and, from

what she read, the rest of the world. War had reached her

beautiful shore.

3

C H A P T E R 2

It was 1939 and Britain had declared war on Germany,

meaning that Newfoundland, a British dominion, was

also at war. Because of its strategic location on the near

tip of North America, Newfoundland was of major interest

to the German High Command. The tiny dominion could

now become a major player in the fight against Nazi Germany!

St. John’s harbour was a hot bed of activity and intrigue

with the war having reached her shores. The harbour

had become the hub for British Royal Navy and Canadian

warships that were engaged in anti-submarine warfare. There

were sightings of Nazi U-Boats around Bell Island and other

coastal areas that were under surveillance as the Germans

targeted Merchant Marine ships.

Isabel had heard on the radio that the Americans, while

still not officially at war with Germany, were now setting

up a military base at Fort Pepperrell in St. John’s. She fig4

M K S T A P L E

ured based on what she had heard that the base would be

unrivalled anywhere in the world because St. John’s was the

closest point between North America and Europe.

Isabel lived with her elderly grandfather. Her parents had

been taken to be with God right after she was born. Her

grandmother had passed away not long after her parents had

perished from tuberculosis. Grandfather Shea had told Isabel

that her grandmother had died untimely because of what had

happened to her parents. She had not been able to get over

their being gone so young.

Grandfather Shea was very concerned that the so-called

allies of Great Britain were going to take over his little island!

He complained to her that he had read in the newspaper and

heard on the radio that these allies were going to establish

American bases in Argentia and Stephenville, as well as in St.

John’s. He knew that the Canadians had already set up bases

in Torbay and Gander that they now claimed would prove

very strategic during the war effort against the Nazis.

Isabel’s grandfather, however, was very concerned for

the daughters that these men would try and woo away from

his little island. He had ridden to downtown St. John’s from

Blackhead on many a day, and had seen those handsome soldiers

walking around in their uniforms, with not only the

young unattached girls taking notice, but some of the older

married ladies as well having eye contact with the young lads!

He knew this would mean chaos for the parents, and

those left behind with the devastated girls and women and

their unwanted babies from these larger than life military

men. Who would pay to keep them all fed?

5

M U R D E R A T B L A C K H E A D

Isabel’s grandfather was right, the Americans and the

Canadians were certainly swaying the hearts of the young

Newfoundland girls who were smitten with their big ways

and the money that flowed like water. Newfoundlanders were

busy shrouding their daughters and wives from the lecherous

fighting men from other countries!

None of that was of concern to Isabel until she found out

that a battlement was being built at Cape Spear. This was

getting way too close to where she lived and she didn’t want

the madness that she heard her grandfather talk about to take

over her little, beautiful world of Blackhead.

On her walks of late she would be hiking up the bluffs,

along the wide open cliffs and see the many trucks winding

their way up to Cape Spear. They had now completed a

road that was like no other that she had ever seen and it was

providing employment for the lads and fathers of her little

community of Blackhead.

When she ventured too close to what they were doing

she was immediately chased away from the site and told to

go home. She knew that things were changing rapidly in

her little world. And she also knew that these people who

thought they were so smart did not know what she knew

about the bluffs and the cliffs and where and how you could

make your way around in the dark of night.

Now with Cape Spear cordoned off with a large white

bar and chained with a very large lock, and with a guardhouse

at the entrance, she wasn’t sure if she could ever roam

her beautiful hills again.

6

M K S T A P L E

But Isabel had befriended some of the locals who were

now being employed to help with the construction of the

barracks and gunnery at Cape Spear, and even though she

was a tomboy, she couldn’t help noticing that many of the

boys thought she was attractive. So she used her charm and

good looks to get them to let her onto the bluffs. They started

to call her the Lady of Blackhead. Some of the boys wanted

their picture taken with her in her tight, cute shorts, frilly top

and bobbed brown hair. Isabel was coming into her womanhood.

She got to know many of the soldiers who were now

being sent to guard Cape Spear just in case of an enemy attack.

But there were quite a number of them and she had

decided that perhaps her grandfather was right. Things could

go wrong if she got too close to these men.