This story has been written as pure entertainment. I make no warranty that the facts presented in this story match the facts in the real case.
To paraphrase the old Dragnet TV show, the story you are about to read is true, the names have been changed to protect the stupid.
I get a lot of mail about Catrina Flaherty. Is she based on a real person? No woman could do what she does.
I’m here to tell you that she really exists. I based Cat on a female PI I did some consulting work for back in the 90’s. She was the scariest woman I ever met, but she had one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever known. She really did rescue women from abusive husbands, track rapist and make jobs for women trying to get back on their feet. Of course, I changed her name to protect her privacy, but when you start thinking Cat couldn’t really do all the things that she does, think again.
Speaking of mail, I’d love to hear from you. I’ve already gotten a couple of ideas for future books from readers like you. I’ve also had several people point out proof-reading errors that I will correct and publish in future editions of these books. Most of all, I get praise from people who have been to the locations I write about. I also get a lot of questions. Why did Cat do this? Was Leah really thinking about that? I’d love to hear your thoughts and I promise to answer each one of your emails.
You can contact me from my web site, www.pennwallace.com, using the Contact Penn tab.
As Dean Martin used to say (am I giving away my age here?), “Keep those cards and letters coming in.”
Pendelton C. Wallace
October 23rd, 2015
San Diego, CA
Post Script
I hope you enjoyed reading Cat’s latest adventure as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Reviews are the life blood of independent writers. The more reviews we get, the more Amazon and others promote the book. If you want to see more Catrina Flaherty Mysteries, a review would go a long way towards allowing me to write more books. If you liked the book, I ask you to write a review of Murder Strikes Twice on Amazon.com, Goodreads or where ever you go for your book information. Thank you so much, it means the world to me. If you didn’t like the book, then please disregard this paragraph.
You can write a review on Amazon.com by clicking here. On the bottom of the page there is a section labeled “Customer Reviews.” To the right of the bar graph showing the ratings the book has received is a button labeled “Write a customer review.” Click on the button and it should be self-explanatory from there.
I’d love to hear your comments and criticisms. Who knows, maybe some of your ideas will appear in a future Catrina Flaherty story. To contact me click here or use the Contact Penn form on my web site at www.pennwallace.com.
Where is Cat going next? I saw an article on the news last night that sounds like it is a Cat Flaherty case. Stay tuned, the news is a never-ending source for more plot lines.
For now, if you liked this story, you can browse my other books and short stories at http://www.pennwallace.com/index.html.
Thank you very much for reading my book. I hope you enjoy my other works and don’t forget to write.
About the Author
If Chevy Chase had played Indiana Jones, he would be Penn Wallace. Penn has a thirst for adventure, but nothing ever seems to go exactly as planned.
Penn graduated from the University of Oregon (Go Ducks!) and has had three careers. He owned and operated two restaurants and worked for several major chains. In 1990, he went back to school, got his MBA in Information Systems and embarked on a new life.
After his wife died in 2010, Penn lost all interest in work. He left his career as a software engineer and bought a big old sail boat. He spent the next two and a half years restoring the vessel.
In the fall of 2012 he set sail for the warm blue waters of Baja California in his 56-foot sailboat, the Victory. You may read an account of this adventure on his website at www.pennwallace.com. This is when Penn started his third career, as a writer.
Penn currently resides in San Diego, but expect him to pull up anchor and set sail for the Panama Canal and the Caribbean soon.
You may contact Penn at http://www.pennwallace.com/contact-penn.html and visit his web site at www.pennwallace.com.
Mirror Image Sample . . .
If you liked Cat, then you have to read the first Catrina Flaherty Mystery, Mirror Image.
Based on a real-life tragedy, Mirror Image is a heart-stopping tale of horrific abuse.
Female PI Catrina Flaherty tackles one of her most difficult cases. Cat specializes in women’s issues, infidelity, messy divorces, spousal abuse, sexual harassment, etc. But her newest client, Mandy Alcott, has an unusual problem; her abusive husband is the chief of police.
What do you do when your abuser is The Law?
You call Cat Flaherty.
Cat sees in Mandy the same terror she herself endured at the hands of her police officer ex-husband. Can Cat save Mandy from her life of fear? Can she extricate Mandy and her two children safely?
Mirror Image
Seattle is a city defined by water. To the west, the great inland sea called Puget Sound, doorway to the Pacific Ocean, dances and sparkles in the summer sunlight. It broods maliciously under dark, wet winter skies.
The Ship Canal connects the Sound to the first of the lakes. Following the canal through the Hiram Chittenden locks, the watery trail leads to Lake Union, a heart shaped body of water in the heart of The City. The Ship Canal snakes into the top of the lake on the west side and slithers out again at the top of the east side, a great artery leading to Lake Washington.
Lake Washington, a forty-mile long body of water, marks the eastern boundary of The City. To Seattleites, the cities of the East Side, Bellevue, Kirkland, Renton, etc. are foreign soil. East of the first rank of East Side cities lies Lake Sammamish, running parallel to Lake Washington's path.
With all of the waterways cutting through the metropolis, Seattle is a north-south city, and just to the north of Lake Union is the Wallingford neighborhood.
To the casual observer, Wallingford is a cheery urban village. 45th Street runs east and west though the heart of the neighborhood, filled with mom and pop businesses. Not a single big box store, franchise fast food restaurant or chain department store soils the area.
But appearances can be deceiving. Under the thin veneer of a bright young city lies a murky heart and soul.
****
Darkness seeped into every corner of the alleyway, the broken streetlight helpless to penetrate the gloom. A weak incandescent bulb above a steel door offered the only illumination.
A tall middle-aged woman in a blue track suit with white stripes running up the arms and legs walked cautiously past the green dumpster. As she looked quickly from side to side, her short blonde hair whipped around her face. She stopped and glanced behind, her legs spread apart with her weight on the balls of her feet, fists clinched, crouched for action. No trace of anyone following her.
Her long legs floated soundlessly over the pavement, her gray eyes constantly checking her perimeters. Where is he?
She stopped to listen. No sound escaped the black hole of the alley. She took a fleeting look at her wrist watch.
Thirty seconds. Any time now.
She knew what was happening. No matter how many times she did this, the panic still crept up her throat, her arms and legs felt shaky and weak. The palms of her hands and the soles of her feet tingled. She took a deep breath. Her rib cage expanded against her tight sports bra. The sudden influx of air felt good. She forced the panic back down her chest.
Without warning, she felt an arm around her neck, smelled hot breath on her collar, saw the black wrist beneath her chin. She leaned back into her attacker. "Always use your opponent’s weight against him," she shouted, then stomped down on the top of her attacker's foot.
He screamed and jumped back. She pushed back harder and he stumbled. She turned in his grasp, slamming her elbow into his solar plexus as she turned. He
released his grip and reached in his back pocket, producing a swing-blade knife.
"Once you've broken free," she yelled, "take every opportunity to run. Scream your head off. Never try to fight with your opponent unless you have no choice."
She lashed out with her right foot and caught the attacker in the side of his knee before he had a chance to close in on her. His leg crumpled and he dropped to one knee. She kicked out at his hand and the knife went flying. One final kick to his helmeted head and he fell backwards.
"Now is the time to run."
The house lights came up and the audience burst into a roar of applause.
"Hi, I'm Catrina Flaherty." She ran both hands through her hair and fought to control her breath. "I'll be your instructor today. You can call me Cat. This poor battered soul," she reached down and offered her former opponent a hand, "is my partner, Jonathon Jefferson. He goes by Jeff."
Jeff removed his helmet to reveal a movie-star handsome black face, complete with a shaved head and gold earring. "Hi, y'all. I gotta find a new line of work." He shook his head as he removed his body armor. He got a nervous trace of laughter from the audience.
"I've been where you're sitting," Catrina began her lecture for the umpteenth time in the gym of Wallingford's old elementary school turned community center. "My husband beat and abused me. You wouldn't believe some of the things he did to me, and I was a trained police officer. Then one day, I decided I'd had enough." She paused as the memories came flooding back. "Since I recovered, I've dedicated my life to helping others in my position."
In the front row a petite brunette with a haunted look in her eyes caught Catrina's attention. She'd seen that look a thousand times before. Dressed in a pretty flower print dress, the woman stood out. Everyone else was dressed for action.
"Please stack your folding chairs," Catrina waved towards some dollies on the perimeter of the gym, "and let's get to work."
She watched the small woman. Her movements were slow, zombie-like, like she had to stop and think out every action before she moved. Her eyes, filled with a sad, faraway look, constantly darted from side to side. This woman is clearly in trouble.
At the first break, Catrina sought out the distressed woman. "Hi, I'm glad to see you here today."
"Thank you." Her voice was low and soft.
"What's your name?" Catrina had to get her talking.
"Mandy."
"Hi Mandy, I'm Cat." Catrina held out her hand.
Mandy hesitated for a moment, then took it. Her grip was soft and cool, like shaking hands with a corpse.
"What brings you here today, Mandy?"
"I . . . I don't know. I think this was a mistake. I should go. . ."
Catrina held onto Mandy's hand when she tried to break free and turn. "Mandy, you're here for a reason. I can see you're hurting. Can we talk about it?"
"No. . . I mean. . . if my husband finds out about this. . ."
"We're just getting started. It'll be fun."
"If I get a run in my panty hose, he'll know. He'll kill me."
Mandy's as nervous as a cat at a dog fight.
Catrina handed Mandy a business card. "If you need help, even if it's just someone to talk to, give me a call. I'm available twenty-four hours a day."
Mandy studied the card. It said Flaherty & Associates, Investigations. "I better just go home before he misses me."
"Is he at home now?" Catrina held Mandy's shoulder with one hand.
"No, but he's out and about all day. He drives by the house or has one of his squad cars check on me several times a day."
"One of his squad cars?" Catrina didn't like where this was going.
"He's the chief of police." Mandy turned and walked away.
Chief of police? Holy shit.
Also by Pendelton C. Wallace
Catrina Flaherty Mysteries
Mirror Image
Based on a real-life tragedy, Mirror Image is a heart-stopping tale of horrific abuse.
Female PI Catrina Flaherty tackles one of her most difficult cases. Cat specializes in women’s issues: infidelity, messy divorces, spousal abuse, sexual harassment, etc. But her newest client, Mandy Alcott, has an unusual problem; her abusive husband is the chief of police.
What do you do when your abuser is The Law?
You call Cat Flaherty.
The Ted Higuera Thrillers
The Inside Passage (Ted Higuera Series Book 1)
Somewhere on Canada's Inside Passage, terrorist plot to destroy a cruise ship filled with celebrities and VIP’s. Ripped from today's headlines, a group of Canadian-born terrorist plan to bring their war to the Western Hemisphere.
It’s also the story of a young Latino man coming of age in an Anglo world. Ted Higuera and his friends stumble upon the al-Qaeda plot to blow up the cruise ship and the clock starts ticking.
Can Ted and his friends act in time to save the thousands of people aboard the Star of the Northwest?
Hacker for Hire (Ted Higuera Series Book 2)
If Clive Cussler had written Ugly Betty, it would be Hacker for Hire.
Hacker for Hire, a suspense novel about corporate greed and industrial espionage, is the second book in a series about Latino computer security analyst Ted Higuera and his best friend, para-legal Chris Hardwick.
When you’re already in the top 1% of the country’s money makers, how much is enough?
Ted and lovely PI, Catrina Flaherty, are led deep into Seattle’s Hi-Tech jungle as they stalk a killer. But the killer is also hunting them. Can they find the killer before the killer finds them?
This is the introduction to Cat Flaherty. If you’re a fan of hers, you have to read this book.
The Mexican Connection (Ted Higuera Series Book 3)
In The Mexican Connection, the third book in the Ted Higuera series, Ted and Chris are lured to Mexico by an old nemesis. They are dragged into Mexico’s drug wars and have to confront the corruption of Mexico’s law enforcement. They meet a colorful cast of characters as they search from border towns to the cosmopolitan Mexico City to ancient Aztec ruins.
In the meantime, Cat is in Mexico on a mission of her own. Her client, a Seattle housewife, if thrown into jail when her drug-dealing husband disappears, leaving her holding the bag.
You will meet old friends, make new ones and encounter new villains as our heroes cut a wide swath through our neighbor to the south. Throw in a magical Jaguar and an Aztec god and you have a rollicking adventure tale.
Bikini Baristas
Bikini Baristas is a tale of Dick Randall, the owner of a chain of bikini barista stands in the Seattle area and Clayton Johnson-White, a teenage kid who thinks he’s smarter than the rest of the world.
The story begins when Dick’s pickup truck is discovered burned-out in the California desert. What happened to him? Did he fake his death to escape his sleazy past or did the past catch up with him?
Catrina Flahery and Ted Higuera are hired by his wife to find out what happened.
To get away from his trailer-trash life, Clayton drops out of school and runs away into the woods of Camano Island. He breaks into vacation homes and steals what he needs.
The case is handed to Ted’s best friend, Chris Hardwick, his first grown-up lawyer case.
What do these two cases have in common? In the end, they come together with the force of two colliding freight trains.
Other Books by Pendelton C. Wallace
Blue Water & Me, Tall Tales of Adventures With My Father
Blue Water & Me is a high-adventure true story of author Penn Wallace's magical first summer fishing with his father, Blue Water Charlie, off the coast of Mexico at age eleven.
Christmas Inc.
Amazon.com’s #1 best selling political satire.
What would happen if Santa decided to go public and sell shares of Christmas on the NASDAQ? What would happen to the elves if he outsourced toy making to China?
Warning: This is not a children’s book. Exposure to children under 12-years
old may cause the child to stop believing in Santa Claus or take a cynical view of Christmas.
Murder Strikes Twice: A Catrina Flaherty Mystery, Book 2 (Catrina Flaherty Mysteries) Page 13
