from The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper by Sally  Carpenter
 






Baby boomers are sure to remember ‘70s teen  heartthrob Sandy Fairfax. Countless girls swooned over his love songs and boys  enjoyed his successful TV series Buddy  Brave, Boy Sleuth. Now he’s  solving real-life crimes.

Sandy,  welcome. 
Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be here.

How many hit records did you make?
Nine in four years plus a greatest hits compilation. Each one went gold.

We haven’t seen you for some time. What  have you been doing since your show went off the air in 1979? 
Staying alive, basically. The industry isn’t kind to teen idols when they grow up and Buddy Brave, that dippy boy dick, left me hopelessly typecast. I did guest roles on Charlie’s Angels, Love Boat and Fantasy Island. I tried to shake off my pop image by playing guitar with a hard rock band, Shipwreck—an apt description of that experience. I went through a divorce and drank myself stupid. But that was then and this is now. I recently stopped drinking and I’m ready to get my life and career back on track.

Isn’t it unusual for a teen idol to get involved with a murder investigation? 
Not really. Several of my peers played detectives on TV around the same time as my  show. David Cassidy—Man Undercover  had the former Keith Partridge as Officer Dan Shay. David Soul starred in Starsky and Hutch. Shaun Cassidy and  Parker Stevenson were The Hardy Boys and good friends of mine. Shaun sang some of the backing tracks
for my 1978 Christmas album, Sandy Rings in the Holidays. Bobby Sherman is an honest-to-goodness certified EMT and reserve officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. He teaches first aid to the cadets at the police academy.

No kidding! How and why did you get involved in this case? 
I was making a guest appearance at Beatles fan convention in Evansville, Indiana. I assumed I’d fly in Friday night, give my talk Saturday afternoon and be back in LA in time to watch Saturday Night Live at home. But you know what they say about the best-laid plans (chuckles). The Mersey Marvels, a Beatles tribute band from Indianapolis, was set to play Saturday evening. But Friday night one of the musicians was murdered and I literally stumbled over the body. The local boys in blue assumed I did it and they were too busy barking up the wrong tree to find the killer.

Tell us about this case. What made it so special?
Could you repeat the question? I lost part of my hearing in one ear from the loud screaming at my concerts all those years ago.

What makes this case special?
It was certainly my first experience with a murder investigation. Buddy Brave never encountered dead bodies—the network censors wouldn’t allow it.

Because your show was aimed at kids.
Exactly. I found such close contact with a corpse quite unnerving. The strangest part of this case was that the victim left behind some Beatles-related clues.

Like the so-called Beatles death clues when Paul McCartney was supposedly killed in an automotive accident?
Only this was no hoax. The detective in charge of the case had no musical knowledge beyond Hee Haw and muzak and hadn’t a clue what the Beatles references meant. 
 
What made the case hard to solve?
First off, I’m not a detective—I just played one on television. I was flying by the seat of my pants, so to speak. I had enough suspects to cast an Agatha Christie movie. And I had to fit my sleuthing around rehearsals.

Rehearsals?
I filled in for the dead man at the concert. You know what they say, the show must go.

Did anyone help you with your investigation?
Beatrice “Bunny” McAllister was a big help. Bunny’s the president of my biggest fan club, Sandy’s Buddies.

Did people recognize you and ask for your autograph while you were trying to solve the case?
Yes, that’s up and down sides of fame. Sometimes the attention is flattering and other days, like when you’re knee-deep  in dead bodies, you’d rather slip out the back door with a bag over your head.  Right after the murder, while the detective was grilling me, a fan
came up and asked for an autograph.

What was your reaction?
Back in my heyday my handlers told me to never treat a fan rudely. So I smiled and gave her an autograph. Automatic, really. If  I ever went into a coma and someone stuck a pen in my fingers, I’d still scribble a signature.

Has this case affected your personal life in any way?
Absolutely. I learned that one should never climb on the wagon right before a murder investigation. The stress might kill you (laughs). Seriously, staying sober was a challenge, but I realized that I could function without booze. At least for one more day. I had to regain my self-confidence. My last appearance on stage was five years ago and that was a disaster. The thought of playing for a live audience terrified me. But meeting the fans was incredibly gratifying. That makes my job so worthwhile. I was happy to see that people 
still remembered the schoolboy shamus and that my music had such a positive impact on them.

So what’s next for Sandy Fairfax? 
My agent is negotiating a guest spot for me on a sitcom. That sounds safe enough. What could possibly go wrong at a movie studio?


Sally Carpenter grew up near Evansville, Indiana, the setting of her book, and now lives in Southern California. She has a master’s degree in theater from Indiana State University. While in school two of her plays were finalists in the American College Theater Festival One-Act Playwrighting Competition. Sally also has a master’s degree in theology and a black belt in tae kwon do. She’s worked as an actress, freelance writer, college  writing instructor, theater critic, jail chaplain and tour guide/page for a  major movie studio. Her current job is at a community newspaper. She’s a member of Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles Chapter. Sally’s debut novel, The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper, is  scheduled for release Aug. 29 as the first book in the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol series. The book will be available on Amazon and through the publisher, Oak Tree Press. Contact Sally at scwriter@earthlink.net. Learn more about Sandy at www.SandyFairfax.com.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

      
 
 
 from The Tourist by Jack Everett & David Coles


 


Detective Inspector White has just moved to the Ridings Regional Crime Squad taking over control of a team of 30+ detectives and support staff. His patch – territory – is the largest in the UK with several cities, airports and shipping ports spread hundreds of miles apart.

He is a fast track officer, university educated and extremely young – early thirties – to be promoted to such a position. His new job takes him away from his home and an aging widowed father.

 
Detective Inspector White, tell us what made this case so special.
This case was special because it was the first in my new job. I had enough on my plate after the first day in my new job when a report of murders taking place on a major trunk road leading to my area landed on my desk. I guess I knew the perpetrator, a male, was heading towards us. The first murder on my patch made me sit up and notice pretty quickly. After reading the report of the first killings I assumed them to be retaliatory, a case of a mugging gone wrong, the most recent one was something entirely different-- a prostitute in a small town strangled. There was no obvious similarity but I knew in my bones it was the same man.
 
What made the case hard to solve?
It was hard to solve because we thought we had the man identified as an Alan Cleghorn, an American citizen married to an English woman. We knew he had flown in from Florida. His passport had been checked on arrival and his details registered but his fingerprints didn’t match; neither did his DNA. Only then did I smell a rat and that was when I asked for information from Florida--his point of departure.
 
Did anyone outside of the police department help you solve this case?
We had advice from a Floridian Sheriff helped identify the perp but the solving was all my own work aided by an able female Detective Sergeant. I must admit at this point that my sergeant was a mild distraction to me because I found her extremely attractive.
 
Has this case affected your personal life in any way?
Well, the knowledge that she was married and pregnant did appear to put the mockers on any sort of a relationship. So apart from a lasting affection, there has been no effect on my personal life.

 
Thank you for talking with us, Detective Inspector White. We wish you the best in your new position.

 
 
Jack Everett & David Coles has written as a team for over 30 years and wouldn’t want it any other way. The Tourist is due out August 2011 from Acclaimed Books. For information on their books, visit their websites at www.jackleverett.me.uk or www.DavidBColes.co.uk.  

From Vintage Murder by William S. Shepard


We have interviewed police and detectives from across the country. Today we have a different kind of crime solver.


Mr. Cutler, would you tell us about yourself and your agency?
I am Robbie Cutler an American Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State.

When did you first become interested in solving crime?
I was a student at Brown University. I happened to be in a jewelry store when an armed robbery took place. I kept my cool and furnished solid information to the police which helped secure convictions. I became fascinated with crime and detection and retained that interest and ability after I passed the Foreign Service Examination.

Is it unusual to solve crime in your role?
I have found that crime breeds everywhere, and an observant diplomat can help solve the most difficult international crimes.

Tell us about this case.
The Basque terrorist ETA organization is blackmailing the great Bordeaux vineyard owners. One of the victims calls on me, the Acting Consul General at the American Consulate General in Boirdeaux. He has heard the blackmailer’s voice and thought it sounded like an American.

What could you do to help?
I went through the visa files and located a possible suspect. Because I was already working with the French police and their FBI equivalent to share information on terrorism, cooperation to solve this crime was the logical next step, particularly when Ambassador Adams in Paris gave his approval.

Did you have any outside help in solving the case?
I had an enthusiastic helper in Sylvie Marceau, a French newspaper reporter. I am very logical, and Sylvie has the people smarts.
 
Thank you, Mr. Cutler, for taking the time to talk with us today. I wish you the best in your job as you solve the most difficult crimes across the globe.



William S. Shepard  had the idea for a diplomat sleuth one late night when he was duty officer for the Secretary of State. There were so many different reports and intelligence sources that he thought a sleuth would be in seventh heaven. Vintage Murder is the first of four in the Robbie Cutler diplomatic mystery series.  Information on his books can be found on his website www.diplomaticmysteries.com