Normally, my day is filled with long hours of research and stakeouts, but this week, I learned about larping and I traded some elbow jabs with a roller derby queen. I guess it’s all in a day’s work for a private investigator. My name is Delanie Fitzgerald, and it’s hard to tell where my next case will lead me.

My partner, computer guru, Duncan Reynolds, and I have been hired to investigate a gruesome murder. My client, local strip club owner Charles Wellington Smith, III (Chaz), and the victim’s family don’t feel the police have the right person, the victim’s boyfriend. Duncan found other similar murders in different areas of Virginia, and if we can prove they are related, then the accused couldn’t have possibly been the murderer because he was in police custody at the time of the other killings. Chaz is sleazy and bombastic, but he’s grown on me over the last few months. And he’s my best, cash-paying client. Duncan and I helped him clear his name last summer when he was accused of the mayor’s murder.

While Duncan was trying to connect the other killings, I interviewed a classmate of the victim. That’s where I was introduced to larping (Live Action Role-play). It seems this is a cross between fantasy games and improvisation. The guy I interviewed told me all about his medieval guild that meets regularly in local parks to reenact battles scenes. I quickly realized the guy had a crush on the victim. He cyber-stalked her and showed up at places where she posted that she’d be. I quickly ruled him out as a murder suspect. And since I don’t have a pointy princess hat, I skedaddled before he tried to recruit me for his next reenactment.

Duncan found four other murders that were similar to our victim’s in areas within two hundred miles of Richmond. One was different from the others, so I went to that victim’s last job to poke around. This victim was left in her car, and her purse was missing. All the other victims were killed at home, and there was no evidence of any property crimes.

The victim skated part-time with the River Rats roller derby team. When I went inside the rink to ask questions, the manager said she’s talk to me, but she was short staffed for practice. If I’d lace up and skate, then we could talk afterwards. I hoped it would be like riding a bike. I haven’t been on skates since the days of couples’ skate under the disco ball and the shoot-the-duck contests. I was ready to go after a couple of warm-up laps, and I was thrilled that I didn’t face plant in front of the professionals. The River Rats didn’t take any mercy on me. I got bumped, slammed, elbowed, and kneed, and I left with a few bruises. But it made for an interesting afternoon. And my interview ruled out that this murder was connected to the others. It turned out that the victim had a drug habit and owed just about everyone in town money.

So, not every interview leads to clues to solve the crime, but I was able to rule out some options and cross names off the list. Duncan and I are determined to find the real killer and free an innocent man, so we’ll keep digging and putting the clues together.

~Delanie Fitzgerald, Private Investigator
Falcon Investigations

You can read more about Delanie in The Tulip Shirt Murders, the second book in the “Delanie Fitzgerald” mystery series.

Private investigator Delanie Fitzgerald, and her computer hacker partner, Duncan Reynolds, are back for more sleuthing in The Tulip Shirt Murders. When a local music producer hires the duo to find out who is bootlegging his artists’ CDs, Delanie uncovers more than just copyright thieves. And if chasing bootleggers isn’t bad enough, local strip club owner and resident sleaze, Chaz Smith, pops back into Delanie’s life with more requests. The police have their man in a gruesome murder, but the loud-mouthed strip club owner thinks there is more to the open and shut case. Delanie and Duncan link a series of killings with no common threads. And they must put the rest of the missing pieces together before someone else is murdered.

The Tulip Shirt Murders is a fast-paced mystery that appeals to readers who like a strong female sleuth with a knack for getting herself in and out of humorous situations such as larping and trading elbow jabs with roller derby queens.

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About the author
Heather Weidner’s short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series and 50 Shades of Cabernet. She is a member of Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia, Guppies, Lethal Ladies Write, and James River Writers. The Tulip Shirt Murders is her second novel in her Delanie Fitzgerald series.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.

Heather earned her BA in English from Virginia Wesleyan College and her MA in American literature from the University of Richmond. Through the years, she has been a technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She blogs regularly with the Pens, Paws, and Claws authors.

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All comments are welcomed.