Book Promo: Excerpt & Giveaway! Out From Under, Pea Pod Investigations #1 by Melanie Donithan, Dee Middleton-Taylor & Suzanne Curry

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Three small town, middle-aged women with big town dreams open up The Pea Pod Girls’ Investigations. Gigi VanWey, the Amazon Queen, Tallulah Dewy Townz, the pint-sized rebel who can open a can of whoop ass, and Babs Rosencrantz, the Jewish Guru, had no idea how much trouble they could stir up with their first case. These extremely resourceful women are three peas in a pod who know how to get a job done.

Their first client, trophy wife and recovering-sugar-daddy-addict Cyndi Lou Montgomery, wants to find out how one minute she’s watching the Douglas County 4th of July celebration and the next, waking up in the Douglas County Prize Bull Barn in a most un-lady-like situation. Now Cyndi is being blackmailed, and given specific instructions to follow. The Pea Pod Girls didn’t know that a home explosion, being shot at, missing evidence and unwanted help from the new town sheriff, Jackson Lee – who, by the way, is so hot you could fry an egg on his fine ass – would be part of the job.

The case comes to a head when the Pea Pod Girls set a trap for the blackmailer at the annual Midnight Madness Costume Ball. Will the Pea Pod Girls be able to solve the mystery before the clock strikes midnight?

Pea Pod Girls all think on the same wavelength; some would say we can read each other’s minds. We work so well together, we often finish each other’s sentences, and our priorities are similar. Instead of escaping, I asked Cyndi Lou how she was being blackmailed. Immediately, she reached into her designer Italian bag, telling us that she had received the bag prior to being saved. The bag was as big as the carry-on luggage I purchased at Shop-N-Go.

Anyway, Cyndi pulled out a purple box tied with a pink bow. She told us she found the box on her door step three days ago when she was on her way to the Venus Gym for Real Women. She thought it was a surprise from Ham, but quickly changed her mind after opening it.

Just then, we were startled by a knock on our office door. Arizona popped her head in and informed us that we were as slow as slugs and to hurry up and open the damn box! She was holding a glass in her hand and I just knew she was using it to eavesdrop on our interview. OMG! How can one argue with Arizona and win? The answer is: you don’t argue and you don’t win.

Cyndi Lou opened the box and all of us peered inside. The box contained a small cassette tape and some black and white photos of Cyndi Lou in all sorts of compromising positions. Gigi started to grab the cassette tape and stopped mid-way to ask if I had purchased any rubber gloves for handling evidence? While Babs was reminding us that we’re a latexfree zone, Arizona barged in again with a pair of yellow rubber dish gloves she used to clean the toilet. In unison, we told each other we needed to purchase rubber gloves and Ziploc bags for evidence purposes. We agreed in the interim to use Arizona’s rubbers.

Gigi quickly put the gloves on and picked up the tape. Gigi is rather resourceful and broke out the fingerprint kit that she had purchased at a policeman’s garage sale. She dusted the tape for prints and found a few. Cyndi told Gigi she had touched the tape only once and then put it back in the box before coming to us. Gigi got three usable prints off the tape. Next, she took the photos out and dusted them, too. This time she managed to get two prints off one photo. Babs

left the office quickly, saying she had to go to her car while Gigi and I looked at the photos. There were six photos of Cyndi. Two of them showed her on her knees facing a partially-clothed male. Her arms were wrapped around his bare ass and she was at an angle with her head tipped back and a smile of joy on her face. Well, Gigi and I knew Cyndi was tinkering with the guy’s plumbing. One of the three remaining photos showed Cyndi lying in a pile of hay with her tank top hiked up so half of her expensive, bought boobies were at full salute and her size zero jean shorts were down at her knees. Cyndi informed us we were viewing her imported French magenta silk thong panties she wore that day.

I was just about to blurt out I was wearing my beige nylon panties imported from China when Babs scuttled back with a cassette player in hand. Gigi had a smirk on her face because she knew what had been going through my brain and what almost came out of my mouth. At that point, I was considering taking one of Babs’ “Get Balanced in 5 Easy Steps” seminars. Babs popped the cassette in and turned the volume up as we all leaned in to listen. We were all—even Arizona—quiet as mice. Then we heard the laughter of Mrs. Bling-Bling along with some groans and “Ooh! That feels wonderful and I want more.” Cyndi’s voice was somewhat slurred and in the background we heard various noises, all of which we would hopefully identify later.

The tape lasted about three minutes and at the end a garbled voice said, “The demands are $100,000 in unmarked bills and no cops involved. If the demand is not met, your beloved husband, Ham, will receive the same package, and other people you care for will get hurt. Further instructions will be coming soon.”

Melanie, aka Pea Pod Girl Number One, is a forty-something mother of two. She works in the legal field in her hometown of Wenatchee, WA, and is a member of Write on the River.

Dee, aka Pea Pod Girl in the Middle, lives in Wenatchee with her husband Glenn and American Bulldog Abbee. She has a BS in Corrections and has worked in the criminal justice field for more than 28 years. She expresses her abundance of creative energy through writing mysteries, drawing, remodeling her home, sewing Pea Pod costumes, and cooking.

Suz, aka Pea Pod Girl Number Three, lives with her husband Dennis in Tucson, AZ, where she enjoys watching sunsets, practicing tai chi, painting, and Skyping on a regular basis with Mel and Dee. Suz has a Master’s degree in school counseling and has worked with at-risk youth and families for the past 20 years.

The longtime friends are hard at work on Book 2 in the Pea Pod Girls Series. Out from Under is their debut novel.

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