Plateful of Murder
By Carole Fowkes
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Book Description
Claire DeNardo is scared of a lot of things. Ordinary objects
like roller coasters and men's hairpieces make her knees knock loud enough to
be a band's rhythm section. Unfortunately, the only job Claire can find is
working for her Uncle Gino in his seedy detective agency. Until now, her cases
have all be middle-aged men with trophy wives who needed watching. But when
Gino retires and leaves her in charge, Claire gets swept up in a murder case
despite her fears. Both the client who hired her and the handsome police detective
want her off the case. When the wrong person is charged, it's up to the
terrified detective to summon all the courage she can to find the true killer.
Author Bio
Carole
Fowkes is the author of the cozy mystery series, "The Terrified
Detective." She has also had stories in a number of "Chicken Soup for
the Soul" books and other similar anthologies. She is a registered nurse
and lives with her husband in Dallas, Texas. She is a member of Sisters in
Crime.
Find the Author Online
Excerpt
On the
way over, I rehearsed how to back out of our contract. I was scared. Now that
this case had morphed into a murder investigation, I wanted out. The police
could handle Constance’s slaying. My role would be to offer my sincere
condolences and a full refund.
Fearfulness was a familiar feeling. I come from a long line of
anxious Italian women. My mother’s screams of “Don’t do that, you’ll hurt
yourself,” still ring in my ears.
It might seem strange for someone as faint of heart as I am to be
a PI, but my investigatory career started with me playing the part of an
administrative assistant to my father’s second cousin, Gino Francini, who owned
the PI firm. Later, Gino taught me how to take pictures of people in situations
they shouldn’t have been in. Patience and a good long-range lens were the only
things needed. That suited me fine.
Two years ago, Gino got tired of the harsh Cleveland winters and
retired to Miami. He left the agency to me. Since my Master’s degree in Mass
Communications didn’t put me high up on any employer’s list, I took it on. Not
that it was much at that point. The profitable worker’s compensation cases had
slipped through Gino’s fingers after he got into a fistfight with a deadbeat,
claiming a back injury. Since I’d been the one photographing cheating spouses,
it made sense for me to carry on the business. Despite some dry spells, it was
enough for me to eke out a living without jeopardizing my life.
But staying on this case put me too near that line between making
a living and getting killed. The most danger I cared to face was driving
through the wild and busy intersection at W. 25th and Clark.
Then, one look at Michael convinced me resigning from his sister’s
case just then would be cruel. Poor guy looked like someone took out his spine
and left his body to flop about. Sort of like those balloon men snapping in the
wind at grand openings of car dealerships. His red-rimmed eyes and drooping
shoulders showed the depth of his sorrow. Sympathy tears sprang to my eyes and
I blinked them back. I’m a hugger but this time I restrained myself. “Michael,
please accept my condolences.”
Poor guy reminded me of Raymond, a kid in my third-grade class
everyone picked on. That boy also wore thick glasses. I should have stood up
for him. Before he climbed that tree to escape and fell. Fear stopped me, like
it had so many times since. Maybe helping Michael Adler would be my chance at
redemption.
The guy with Michael, looking every inch a police detective with
his strong jaw and ‘sweat a confession out of them’ attitude, spoke up. “And
you are?”
I peered into the bluest eyes I’d ever seen outside of a Paul
Newman movie. Too bad their owner was staring at me over a dead body. Any other
time I’d be batting my eyelashes for all they were worth. Better to
play it straight. “Claire DeNardo. Mr. Adler hired me to protect his
sister.”
I could’ve sworn he muttered, “Yeah, hell of a job.” The scowl on
his face was loud and clear. “Don’t get in my way.” He flashed his badge.
“Detective Corrigan, Cleveland PD. This is our investigation now.”
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