Glitter, Glam, and Contraband by Heather Leigh Weidner

 

 Life as a Private Investigator – Delanie Fitzgerald

Glitter, Glam, and Contraband 

My brother, Lt. Steve Fitzgerald thinks I need to find a normal job. My name is Delanie Fitzgerald, and I’m quite pleased with my career choice, private investigator.  I own Falcon Investigations. I do most of the sleuthing, and my partner, computer whiz, Duncan Reynolds, has a way with research. The rest of the world calls it hacking, but I look the other way because he has a way of getting computers to cough up information that people want to keep hidden.

Most days, I go to the office with Duncan and Margaret, his English bulldog, or run errands like everyone else. But with this job, I do get to play dress up and spy – usually on cheating husbands. My brother calls it stalking for a living. But I like to think that I’m a grown-up Nancy Drew. I show up at the mark’s favorite bar in my little black dress and see what happens. It’s amazing what people will tell a stranger.  

People think that investigating is glamorous. It can be, but if I’m not working, I spend most evenings with what’s on my DVR in my Sears Catalog home. It’s the Yates model, and the original owners ordered it from Sears in 1939. The pieces arrived by train and were eventually assembled into my bungalow. It’s quirky, but I love it.

New cases are exciting, but they can involve long hours of stakeouts and talking to anyone who could have information pertinent to the case. I learned a long time ago that if I carry a clipboard and look official, people will tell me just about anything. I keep a bag of work gear: clipboards, lanyards with lots of IDs, and a variety of hats and wigs in the trunk of my black Mustang for any occasion. It also helps that Duncan likes gadgets. He always has the latest hidden microphone, camera, or bugging device. I have a purse, a lapel pin, and a hat that have hidden cameras. They’re perfect for investigating. Duncan has a new drone, and that allows us to get pictures and spy from above. It makes stakeouts more interesting. Stakeouts are the worst part of the job. My mind tends to wander when I get bored.

But I have had a few adventures lately. Our latest case is at Freeda’s in downtown Richmond. The owner hired me to find out who was stealing from the talent at his drag show. I became the liaison to the talent (more like babysitter, maid, and drink fetcher), and that allowed me to snoop around backstage and talk to the drag queens. I’m proud to say I caught the thief red handed with the help of Duncan’s hidden camera, and I picked up some makeup tips in the process.

While Duncan was knee deep in the Dark Web helping our best cash-paying client, Charles (Chaz) Wellington, Smith, III with opposition research for his mayoral campaign, I looked into some mysterious digging around the Edgar Allan Poe Statue in front of Chaz’s strip club, the Treasure Chest, in downtown Richmond, Virginia.

Now, if I could only figure out what that scraping sound is in the ceiling of our office.

~Delanie Fitzgerald, Private Investigator

Falcon Investigations

Glitter, Glam, and Contraband: A Delanie Fitzgerald Mystery
by Heather Leigh Weidner

About Glitter, Glam and Contraband

Glitter, Glam, and Contraband: A Delanie Fitzgerald Mystery
Traditional Mystery/Female Sleuth/Humorous Mystery
3rd in Series
Publisher: Sandpiper Productions (November 19, 2019)
Paperback: 240 pages
ISBN-10: 099945983X
ISBN-13: 978-0999459836
ASIN: B081PGYR7T

Private investigator, Delanie Fitzgerald, and her computer hacker partner, Duncan Reynolds, are back for more sleuthing in Glitter, Glam and Contraband. In this fast-paced mystery, the Falcon Investigations team is hired to find out who is stealing from the talent at a local drag show. Delanie gets more than she bargains for and a few makeup tips in the process. Meanwhile, a mysterious sound in the ceiling of her office vexes Delanie. She uses her sleuthing skills to track down the source and uncover a creepy contraband operation.

Glitter, Glam, and Contraband features a strong female sleuth with a knack for getting herself in and out of humorous situations like helping sleezy strip club owner, Chaz Smith on his quest to become Richmond’s next mayor, tracking down missing reptiles, and uncovering hidden valuables from a 100-year-old crime with a Poe connection.

About Heather Weidner

Glitter, Glam, and Contraband is Heather Weidner’s third novel in the Delanie Fitzgerald series. Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, and Deadly Southern Charm. Her novellas appear in The Mutt Mysteries series. She is a member of Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia, Guppies, International Thriller Writers, and James River Writers.
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 University 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.

Author Links
Website and Blog: http://www.heatherweidner.com
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