Abigail Beecher

The Phony Kidnapper Abigail Beecher

AS THE SUN SET over Pasadena on a Monday in July 1969, private investigator Camille Stuart is accosted by a rage-filled wife beater determined to kill her. The thug is angry because Camille advised his wife to leave him, so he sticks an automatic pistol in her gut but she's a black belt and quickly disarms him. She then lets him go. That was 29-year-old Camille back then . . . fearless, tough as nails, but too often, a pushover. The next morning, an unknown criminal kidnaps Winston Van Bridger, one of Pasadena's wealthiest men, calls granddaughter Paula Van Bridger, demands a $100,000.00 ransom, and warns her not to contact police. Paul Jäger, Paula's fiancé, insists on going alone in the middle of the night to Pasadena's Brookside Park where he is supposed to drop off a briefcase full of cash. Paula worries that Jäger will get in over his head, so she hires Camille to protect him from vicious criminals who are supposed to exchange Van Bridger for the money. Jäger reluctantly agrees to let Camille come along and, when they arrive at the ransom drop-off point, two men come out of nowhere, knock them out, and steal the ransom money. With the ransom gone and Winston Van Bridger still missing, Camille and her uncle, Lieutenant Charles Holland of the Pasadena Police Department, snooker Paul Jäger into helping them solve the case . . . something he does in a way no one expects. The Phony Kidnapper is a one-hour novel that takes readers on an enigmatic journey of justice and redemption while presenting an insightful look into life in Southern California back in '69.