The Cat Collier Mystery short story series is described as a cross between Nancy Drew and Mike Hammer.
Follow Mary Catherine (Cat) Collier on her journey from small-town obituary writer for the local newspaper to big city detective and beyond in this series that starts with January Black Ice.
In October Masquerade, join Cat Collier as she finds new and novel ways to deal with Spencer Paxton in an attempt to regain custody of her children, Poppy and Dougie.
Tweedy Gardner resurfaces with a plan to lure a killer into a deadly trap. Cat attends a costume party where nobody is who they pretend to be.
Cat struggles with repercussions from the death of Amy Hofstetter and finds herself alone and in danger in a shoot-out at the Palazzo Castellano on the way back to where her heart calls home.
Excerpt:
Chapter Two
Spencer Speaks
I slid my letter opener across the top of a very official looking legal-size envelope from the city of Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, Family Courts. As if today wasn’t bad enough, the date of my divorce hearing was set. My heart sank down to the floor with a thud. I poured myself a double Scotch from the bottle of Johnny Walker Red I keep in my bottom desk drawer, like all good private detectives. I plopped onto the big, red, over-stuffed chair by the window and stared out at the view that always made me happy. Happy to be here. Happy to be alive. Happy to be me. Well, today, not so much.
The day of the hearing, I walked into the main courtroom. It was empty. I sat in the last row and organized my thoughts for a moment. Why was I here? Did I want this divorce? No. Did I want to be a single mom raising two kids? No, but I could do it. So many other women are thrust into the job of single parenting. I could manage. Plus, I had family who would help if I asked. Did I want to be a full-time resident of Heaton Valley, Ohio again? Yes, that’s the only thing I was sure of.
I checked the letter in my hand to find out where I was supposed to be. Courtroom D. I checked the time. Now. I went to find Courtroom D and my team of crack lawyers. Detrick and Carter were conferring at a table in the front of the courtroom. I heard murmurs. I noticed Carter was unusually uptight. He tugged at the bottom of his suit jacket, a nervous tell. When he saw me, he came to the door to accompany me to my seat.
“Come and sit down. We have a problem.” He cleared his throat. “Spencer’s here, seated in an outer chamber room. And he’s decided he would like to speak to the judge privately. What does he know? How much does he know?”
“Carter, Spencer’s my husband. We’ve been together for more than six years. He knows everything.”
“You… gave him details?”
“Well, yes. I poured my heart out to him. He knows all my darkest secrets. I thought you couldn’t testify against your spouse.”
“You watch too much Law & Order. This is not a trial. It’s only a hearing, a divorce hearing. All you do in a divorce hearing is tell on each other. Oh, this is horrible. We’d be better off if you killed him.”
“Calm down, Counselor. I’m sure you’re exaggerating.”
“You don’t understand. Spencer Paxton, the recluse whack-job hermit millionaire, is here. He wouldn’t be here if he weren’t prepared to tell all.”
Detrick joined us in the aisle. “Stop it,” he commanded.
“But he knows everything. He’ll blow her out of the water. He’ll ruin her.”
“No. We deny everything. We make it a classic case of ‘He said, She said.’ He has no proof. Now, calm down. Cat, are you okay, honey?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m just surprised my little hermit husband is in the courthouse. He must’ve taken a ton of medication to be able to get here.”
“Stop feeling sorry for him,” Carter snapped at me. “Think about you.”
“Don’t worry about me. Cats always land on their feet, right? Can I talk to the judge privately, too?”
“Well, yes, but why on earth would you want to?” asked Carter.
“To give him my side of the story before Spencer gets a chance at character assassination. Kind of a partial character suicide. It’ll hurt me but not kill me.”
“Ugh, no,” said Carter.
“I see where you’re going with this, Cat,” said Detrick. “If you’ve already admitted your past questionably-intentioned deeds to the judge, you take away Spencer’s thunder.”
“No, bad idea,” insisted Carter. “The judge may award sole custody of Poppy and Dougie to Spencer with only limited, chaperoned, visitation from you. Or maybe you’ll get no visitation rights at all.”
“Calm down, Carter, I didn’t murder anyone. I got all drunked up and slept with a criminal. I got pregnant and married someone who wasn’t the child’s father. Not my finest hour, I’ll admit. But stuff like that happens every day. Does Judge Draper want what’s best for my children? Or do you think Spencer has him in his pocket?”
Both lawyers looked down and examined the floor tiles. “This is New York, Cat. New York Court,” said Carter. “New York millionaire. New York judge.”
“You’re a New York millionaire, too, Carter. Don’t you have any friends?”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you yet again, sweetheart, but I’m not crooked,” Carter growled.
“I don’t believe Judge Draper is either,” I said. “I still believe in our court system.”
“Spencer wants to talk to the judge,” said Detrick. “That means he’s confident the judge will see his side.”
“Wonderful,” I mumbled. “That’s just wonderful. Well, I’m going in anyway.”
“No, Cat, think about what—” started Carter.
I cut him off. “Your Honor? Would it be possible for us to have a word in private, please?”
“You may approach the bench, Mrs. Paxton,” said Judge Thomas Draper.
I walked up to the bench and looked the judge right in the eye. I saw honesty. I saw integrity.
“This is highly unusual, Mrs. Paxton.”
“This is a highly unusual case, Your Honor.”
“Are you sure you don’t want your counsel with you?”
“I’m sure, sir.”
Judge Draper walked to the side door. “My chambers are this way, Mrs. Paxton.”
I followed him through the door and into an adjacent room.
He sat at his desk, folded his hands, and stared at me. I sat across from him.
“So, you’re a private investigator, Mrs. Paxton.”
“Yes, Your Honor. I have a bachelor of science degree in early childhood education and I hold private investigator’s licenses in New York and Ohio.”
“It seems you also have a fascination for very wealthy men. Tell me, Mrs. Paxton, have you ever been in a relationship with a poor man, or one who wasn’t a millionaire?”
“Sure, I have, Your Honor. The money doesn’t matter to me. I went to meet Spencer because he was my landlord and I wanted him to clean up the dark, dingey hallway leading to my office in the Paxton Building and replace some broken lightbulbs. I didn’t seek him out because he was rich. And I had no idea a simple request for light bulbs would blossom into a relationship. My office manager warned me he was some crazy, old hermit.”
“And your relationship with Attorney Erick Larsen?”
“I was hired by Detrick Bittmor to find out if Carter, uh, Erick was his son. I fell in love with Carter when he was working as a clerk at the corner drugstore.”
“Why do your attorneys look so worried?”
“They’re afraid I’m going to come in here, spill my guts, and tell you the whole truth.”
“Oh, really?” the judge chuckled. “And are you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Start at the beginning, Mrs. Paxton.”
“I was already pregnant with my daughter Poppy when I married Spencer Paxton. He is not her father. I told him I was pregnant and needed some place to stay until I had the baby because I didn’t want the real father to find out… he was the father.”
“Did he didn’t ask who her father was?” asked the judge.
“No. He only wanted to know if it was Erick Carter Larsen’s child, which it wasn’t. I told Spencer Poppy’s father is the late Robert Woolstein, a well-known Ohio crime kingpin. My brother was up on murder charges. He was innocent. When he was acquitted, we had a giant party at the hotel bar. I got drunk and somehow ended up with Robert Woolstein in his limo parked at the curb. Woolstein claimed he got my brother’s trial dismissed. I didn’t even remember the incident until months later when I discovered I was pregnant.”
“I’ve heard of Robert Woolstein. He was presumably spotted in this neighborhood a while back. Last summer, I think. Rough character. Shady dealings. He was burned up in a house fire in Ohio, wasn’t he?”
“Yes.” “He had quite the reputation, buying politicians and elected officials if I remember correctly. Mostly white-collar crimes, but there were allegations of illegal dumping across state lines and other environmental infractions and worse. We used to look away from all that years ago. But now we suddenly realize we only have this one planet, and we better start taking better care of it.
“Did you have a romantic relationship with Robert Woolstein?”
“Oh, yuck, no. I was scared of him.”
“He had a violent temper in his younger years. Did he force himself on you?”
“No, but I don’t remember any details. I do remember thinking if I spoke up, my brother could go back to jail for a murder he didn’t commit. I blocked out the whole incident. I only know I didn’t want that awful man to be part of my baby’s life.
“And Spencer was so wonderful to me, Judge. He was the one who suggested we get married. I was only looking for a place to live until I could deliver my child away from the prying eyes of small-town Heaton Valley, Ohio, and Robert Woolstein.
“Spencer offered me so much more. He suggested we get married and raise the baby as a Paxton in New York City. Those early days when Poppy was a baby were so wonderful. Spencer was the perfect father, husband, and lover. I was happy. So was Spencer.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. He won’t tell me what went wrong. If I knew, I’d try to fix it. Judge, I want you to know that Spencer’s having severe emotional problems right now, but Spencer Paxton is a wonderful man. I never met anyone who was warmer, kinder, or gentler than Spencer in my life.”
“You still love Spencer Paxton?”
“I love him, I just don’t like him at the moment.”
“Do you want this divorce?”
“No, I don’t. But I also don’t want to be a co-hermit in the top floor of the Paxton Building in Cardinal Park for the rest of my life. I don’t want to lose my children. Because in spite of all Spencer’s wonderful qualities, I don’t think he’s equipped to handle raising two kids by himself. He has no experience with children. He was the baby of the family. Poppy will give him a run for his money, but she’ll be fine. She’ll be in school during the day. She makes friends easily. She has a close relationship with our nanny, Sophia Skampotti. But our little boy, Dougie, still doesn’t talk. Being raised by an ultra-quiet father may not be in his best interest.
“Judge, how well do you know Spencer?”
The Judge sighed and looked out the window. “I knew the family. The Paxtons were a prominent family in this area. Paxton Textiles employed most of Cardinal Park. I went to school with his older brother Tommy. I know about the family incident. We were all shocked. Tommy always seemed like a normal kid. I always felt sorry for Spencer.”
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