Maxwell Marlowe, Private Eye...Blackmail in Paradise

By Raymond Boyd Dunn

Max has to deal with a woman who is being blackmailed over raunchy photographs taken years before, but won’t go to the Police to report it. She would rather pay up and hope the villain would honour his word...Some hope! While dealing with this, Max has to attend a wedding and a funeral.
This is the seventh book of the Private Eye Series, and follows our sleuth as he tries to balance his love life with the demands of his profession.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raymond Boyd Dunn
• Release date: Aug 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301171071

Raymond Boyd Dunn

Raymond Boyd Dunn is a "born and bred" third generation Australian. After his retirement Raymond Boyd became a grey nomad, and, with his wife, spent some time touring this vast country of Australia. He was born in the small Burnett Valley town of Monto, Queensland, and for his entire life has answered to the name of 'Boyd'. Apart from his travels he has lived all of his life in Queensland, and after satisfying his thirst for seeing first hand this wonderful country we live in, settled on the Sunshine Coast to spend his remaining years in the sunshine near the beach.He commenced his working life as a Bank Officer and resigned after thirteen years to become self-employed. At various stages he has owned a Corner Store, a small Supermarket Chain, a Butchery, a Milk Run, a Printery and a Cattle and Grain Farm. He has been involved, in various capacities, in Cricket and Tennis Clubs; Jaycees, Lions and Rotary Clubs and Aero Clubs. He was a Cricketer, played tennis, tried to play golf, and was a keen long distance runner.Upon taking a well-earned retirement he wrote his unpublished autobiography, which was for distribution among his family of six children and numerous grand-children. A visit to Cooktown, where he learnt of the Palmer River Gold Rush, was the incentive to keep writing and produce his first novel 'Palmer Gold' He then settled down to write novels, producing two more books to complete a Trilogy...'An Australian Ranch' and "Carly and Sam...Will and Effie'. There followed numerous short stories, and other novels: 'Lord of the Manor in Australia', and 'The Vintage Years'. He continues to write whilst enjoying life in the sunshine on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland.

Book preview

Maxwell Marlowe, Private Eye

Blackmail in Paradise

by Raymond Boyd Dunn

Copyright 2013…Raymond Dunn

Smashwords Edition

Because this book is classified as ‘Australiana’ genre, the Australian author has checked all spelling with the Heinemann Australian Dictionary.

Chapter 1

For a short time, the home of Maxwell Marlowe, Private Eye (that’s me ─ or should I have written ‘that is I’? Never mind, you know what I mean); for a short time, the home of Maxwell Marlowe became rather crowded.

It is only half of a duplex in Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, and originally was a place for three of us to sleep and eat. The flat is in my name, and my two flatmates were Sandra, a hairdresser, and Charlene, a solicitor’s secretary, until Sandra tricked me into allowing her beau at the time, Matthew, to move in with her, and to share her bed. (The Case of the Missing Stamp Album and Coin Collection.)

For a while, I was deluded into thinking Sandra cherished my thirty something year old body, despite the fact that I was, more or less (at the time, less) pledged to the beautiful and amorous Georgina. It was a blow to my ego when I discovered it was Matthew, and not yours truly, who was the target for her lustful desire. But, never mind, I had not severed my ties with the delectable Georgie, and our mating rituals resumed as if they had never been interrupted.

Matthew did not last long in Sandra’s bed ─ in fact, only a couple of months passed before he managed to rile her to the extent of her telling him, in no uncertain terms, that he had better make himself scarce; or else! For a while I thought she might have been reverting to her former, aggressive self. I can vouch that she packed a mean punch. I had felt in on more than one occasion. However, once she settled down after the dismissal, she became, once again, the calm and friendly person she had morphed into. In a way, I missed participating in the verbal, and sometimes physical, battles we fought; but I liked the new Sandra’s persona.

The morning after Matthew’s rather hectic departure I staggered out of my bedroom in response to Sandra’s constant nagging that, if I didn’t get up, she would come in to my room and drag me out by the ─ ears. Well, that wasn’t the word she used, but you get the general idea! I am not a morning person, and like to cling to my pillow until the last possible moment before facing the trials of the day to come. If Sandra didn’t force me to get up I would probably be late, -er later, getting to the office.

I usually manage to arrive at my office in a side-street joining Aerodrome Road in Maroochydore at about nine o’clock. My very reliable secretary, Dorothy, is always there on time at 8.30 to open up. Dorothy is a dream secretary. Her work is always accurate and up to date. She is not the sexy, long-legged, big busted blonde with a plunging neckline, normally associated with the tough, gum-chewing private eye; they are found only in paperback ‘dime’ novels. Doss is quite the opposite ─ a demure, but very attractive, young lady who is engaged to a good friend of mine, Detective Sergeant Jimmy Smith; recently promoted from DC after the discharge, in disgrace, of his former immediate superior at the Maroochydore Police Station.

Anyway, in response to Sandra’s threat, I staggered out of bed to make my way to the bathroom.

A cup of coffee wouldn’t go astray, I said, as I walked past Sandra, who was picking up her bag and mobile from the kitchen bench.

Hint, hint; nudge, nudge; wink, wink; say no more!

Charlene will get it for you, won’t you, Charlene?

Charlene was sitting at the kitchen table finishing her first cup for the morning.

Yes, I’ll get it for you, Phil.

Now, why did she call me ‘Phil’, I hear you ask? It’s because Raymond Chandler’s famous private eye Philip and I share the same surname: Marlowe! Consequently, in true Aussie style, most of my close friends call me ‘Phil’. Georgina doesn’t. She has always referred to me as ‘Max’, probably because that was the way I introduced myself when I met her while trying to locate a young lady friend, who had gone missing.

Sure enough, when I returned from my morning ablutions, the steaming cup of strong, black, unsugared coffee was waiting for me on the kitchen bench. I picked it up on the go, and took it into my bedroom to work on getting my heart started for the morning. I thanked Charlene as I passed. It was my first dose of caffeine for the day, and would be followed by another one with my breakfast, and certainly at least one more when I arrived at the office; and hopefully quite a few more as the day progressed. I’ve been warned by many people that caffeine is addictive; but I drink a lot of coffee, and I’m not addicted to it! Apart from liking it, I drink it for medicinal purposes; as I said: It keeps my heart pumping.

I heard Charlene call, ‘See you later’, and the front door close, as she left for work. She drove a small Hyundai Getz. When she first bought the little second-hand car after she came to stay with us, she offered Sandra a lift to work, but her luxury solicitors’ office is in Maroochydore, and Sandra’s beauty salon is in the opposite direction at Caloundra. I mixed some Sultana Bran and Muesli in a bowl, splashed in some milk, and hurriedly broke my fast. A few minutes later, I backed my 2003 VY Commodore Acclaim family sedan out of the carport, ready to drive off to work.

I can imagine you thinking, ‘a 2003 FAMILY sedan!’ That’s what I said! A FAMILY sedan! It’s white, it’s inconspicuous, and it is ideal for my line of work, which requires me to notice without being noticed. Apart from that, it was given to me by my father, who decided it was not the sort of vehicle to attract the opposite sex ─ that was when he was looking for wife number four. He has since acquired a new step-mother for me and my brother. Incidentally, she is young ─ about my age.

Hey, Max! Wait up!

The call came from Charlotte, the single daughter of the owner