“I have never been a believer in dreams or premonitions,” Mrs. Fannie Mather began, “but just as sure as there is a God in heaven it was He who directed me on this mission which has brought the murderers of my sister to the prison doors.”

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Mrs. Mather’s sister was Mrs. Mary Short.

Older Topeka residents recalled Mrs. Short as a beautiful young woman from Kansas City who moved to Topeka when she married Harry “Sandy” Short, a railroad auditor and frequent gambler. He soon gave up the auditing and focused on his more lucrative gambling. He and his wife moved into a luxury hotel on the proceeds of his card-playing skills.

But tragedy soon struck when Short was killed by a member of the police force in a duel.  At the time, he had been on a losing streak and there was no money left to maintain his widow. The city and various charities had put up funds to maintain her.

For 25 years, Mrs. Short remained in Topeka, living in poverty. “She was known to the later generation as the Mysterious Woman in Black. She always appeared on the streets dressed in black and wearing a heavy veil of the same color which concealed her features from those whom she happened to meet.” The veil concealed a cancerous growth on her face.

In late October 1909, Mrs. Fannie Mather of Seattle, Washington, began to dream about her sister. “For a week before I received the news of my sister’s death I could not sleep,” said Mrs. Mather, “and I walked the floor by day and tossed in my dreams at night. Constantly I saw in my dreams a man who sought to injure my sister and I could not forget the sight or get it off my mind.” Every night she had the same nightmare until she became, in her own words, “a nervous wreck.”

In response to her sister’s letters, Mrs. Mary Short sent a postcard that said she was all right. A day or two later, her body was discovered in her small living quarters. The doctor issued the death certificate noting Mrs. Short met her end through heart failure.

Mary’s postcard arrived at her sister’s home an hour or two before the telegram announcing her death.  Mrs. Mather was unconvinced. She wrote another letter at once, and enclosed $5 to buy warm clothing. This would be about $175 in 2025.  “I just mailed this letter when I was handed the telegram notifying me of my sister’s death of heart failure,” Mrs. Mather said. “Had I not been supernaturally warned of the crime I would have accepted the verdict of the doctor.”

Mrs. Mather instantly set off for Topeka to attend the funeral. There was no suspicion of foul play, and the police didn’t believe her when she informed them that her sister was murdered. Mrs. Mather, undeterred, spoke to the county attorney who told her to come back if she could find any evidence.

Mrs. Mather began an investigation that soon turned up a man in her sister’s life. Fred Fanning had appeared two years earlier, declaring he was Sandy Short’s nephew. “Mrs. Short received him kindly with the result that eventually the two arranged that they should assist each other in their lonely life as neither had relatives…no one ever questioned his relationship with Mrs. Short.”

Mrs. Mather learned that her sister was reported to have had a large sum of money on her the day before her death, which was now missing. “A watch and other articles were also missing,” the Topeka State Journal reported. Mrs. Mather returned to the county attorney with this information, and he ordered Fred Fanning to be taken into custody. When he was arrested, Fred told the police he had hidden away a purse with $45 in it. along with Mrs. Short’s watch.