First, a heartfelt thank you to Dru Ann for allowing me tell a bit about myself. For those who don’t know me, which is most of the occupied world, I am Beth Bowman. I’m a PI in South Florida, specifically in Coral Lakes, a small city between Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton. My fourth case, Saving Dabba, has now been documented by the guy who writes for me, Randy Rawls. You might wonder why I picked a man to document my investigations. Well, I certainly had doubts at first. Lucky for him, he had a critique group with some strong women who could keep him on the straight and narrow. If it hadn’t been for them, I shudder to consider the outcome. Probably, I’d have had to fire him. No way can I see myself joining the boys in a stag night out. Uh-uh. However, I must admit he does a good job of capturing my stories—but I’m still watching.

Randy writes me at 32 years old and says he doesn’t want to age me. Personally, I like that. This way I don’t have to include the wrinkles and bags under my eyes. We never have to talk about varicose veins, and I have no use for a pacemaker. I’m betting a few of you would love to be in my situation.

I was married once, but it didn’t work out. Didn’t work out is an understatement. I caught my husband and his secretary in flagrante delicto. I’ll let you figure out what act they were committing. Anyway, after the divorce, I decided Texas wasn’t big enough for the two of us and relocated to Florida.

Oops, I’m jumping ahead of myself. I tend to do that at times. I grew up in Richardson, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. My dad was killed during a burglary at our house when I was twelve-years old. From that moment, I was determined to become a cop when I grew up. After graduating from college with a degree in criminology, I joined the Dallas police force. It only took a few years before I realized I couldn’t put up with all the PC crap. Being a policeman today is more about defending yourself than tracking criminals. I resigned and picked up a PI license. And that’s where I am today—different location but same profession. And, in case you’re wondering, I enjoy it. Oh, there have been a few concussions and some face-offs I wasn’t thrilled about, but overall, it’s what I like to do.

Dru Ann asked if I have a best friend. The answer is two. One pretty conventional and one you might find strange. The first is my boyfriend, David Rasmussen. He’s a dreamboat, and I love him dearly. Maybe—not sure yet—but maybe there’s a certain ceremony in our future. David is a neurologist. We met when I got conked on the head. The EMTs thought I might have a concussion so they took me in to the emergency room. David was on duty and, as they say in the movies, fate took its course. We don’t spend as much time together as I’d like, but he has his profession and I have mine. Too often, their paths don’t cross.

My second-best friend is a homeless lady I met in the course of an investigation. Her name is Dot—or that’s what she calls herself. I’ve never asked what her real name is—none of my business. Most of the homeless people I know have street names. They don’t want past acquaintances and family to know how far they tumbled. Anyway, Dot is a hoot. She’s in her sixties, has spent ten years in prison, and has a background that is not discussed at afternoon teas. I love her dearly and know she’d throw herself in front of an AR-15 for me.

My mom still lives in Richardson. While I was growing up, she used that phrase most moms use on their daughters: “Marry a lawyer or a doctor.” Well, I tried the lawyer and that was a flop. Maybe Dr. David Rasmussin will prove her philosophy. Anyway, Mom has ESP—or thinks she does. She’s always calling because she’s sees that I’m in trouble. It has gotten a bit better recently since she met a retired Dallas police officer who was once my mentor. I introduced her to Ike long distance when she found herself in a situation with a guy she dated once. He was stalking her, so I asked Ike to intervene. He did—far more than I ever expected. If you read my cases, you’ll learn more about Ike and Mom.

When it comes to my profession, I sort of have the best of two worlds. When I arrived in Florida, I brought with me a letter of recommendation from Jones, Staubach, and Owens, a leading law firm in Dallas. After getting my PI license, I did investigations for them. Using my work, they won some big cases. They hated to see me leave. Anyway, that letter got me onto the payroll of Bergstrom and Berkowitz. They were the Coral Lakes’ equivalent of Jones, Staubach, and Owens. Sylvester Bergstrom is the senior partner and my mentor. They pay me enough to keep the mortgage company off my back and allow me to work other cases as they come along. Excellent arrangement for me. Of course, if I get into something that could create headlines, I let Mr. Bergstrom know. If he asked me to drop the case, I would, but he never has. So, you see that’s my best of both worlds.

Anyway, as I said when I opened this, my fourth case Saving Dabba is available now. The others, in reverse order, are Dating Death, Best Defense, and Hot Rocks. Read and let me know how you rate Randy’s chronicling.

You can read more about Beth in Saving Dabby, the fourth book in the “Beth Bowman” mystery series.

Beth Bowman is a PI in Coral Lakes, FL who works with a homeless group. When one of them turns up brutally beaten to death, Beth feels obligated to become involved. She learns there is a group in town to demonstrate, Friends Intent on The Environment (FITE) who could be involved. Another murder occurs and evidence points to Dabba, one of Beth’s friends. Beth sets her sights on FITE as their demonstrations become more violent. Cloie Morales, the leader of FITE is a formidable adversary, causing Beth to reach deep inside herself.

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About the author
Randy Rawls lives in Delray Beach, Florida, slap-dab in the middle of paradise where the wall between fact and fiction is thin and short. The weather is perfect, and the writing environment is ideal. Before retiring in Florida, Randy grew up in North Carolina, then spent a career as an officer in the Army, specializing in intelligence and security. After retirement, he returned to work with the Department of Defense as a civilian, the aspect of his career that led him to South Florida. Somewhere along the way, he fell in love with writing. The writing was a natural progression since he has always been an avid reader.

All comments are welcomed.