Trafford Publishing: The Chilly Facts

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The Chilly Facts

by Bic Shapher

263 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-0873; ISBN 1-4120-0504-3; US$23.50, C$26.58, EUR19.00, £13.50

Detective Marshal Law, in the village of Corinth, N.Y., must solve the mysterious death of Waugh Paper, the HR director at the Killtree Paper Mill. Detective Law follows the suspects, including the wife, Tish U. Paper, the son, Fly Paper, the daughter, Sand Paper and former employees R.U. Sober, Bea Fair and Skip Towne.

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about the book about the author sample excerpts catalogue info

About the Book

The Chilly Facts offers a look into a murder investigation in a small upstate New York village. Detective Marshal Law and his chubby deputy, Chuck Wagon, question numerous employees that Waugh Paper, the victim, terminated from the Killtree Paper Mill. Which one took revenge to the ultimate act of murder? Was it R.U. Sober, terminated for drinking on the job? Was it Skip Towne, the accountant who left town after being convicted of embezzling from the mill? Follow the trail of suspects, all appropriately named for their behavior or for their professions, from former and present employees of the Killtree Paper Mill to possible girlfriends to family members. As the web is spun why does Roman Hands, Waugh Paper's daughter Sand's boyfriend, kidnap her? Is he the guilty party? See how detective Law ties all of the loose ends into a chilly solution.

About the Author

Rebecca Scott is the youngest of three born to a minister and schoolteacher in Piedmont North Carolina. After attending Appalachian State University and graduating from Elon College she taught elementary Physical Education for 5 years in Asheboro, NC. After taking a break from work for 4 years to raise her son she returned to the work force experimenting in various fields- manufacturing, human resource, and management. These supplied her with different experiences to write into her books. Her athletic background, varsity softball, volleyball, field hockey, basketball and her bodybuilding experience is revealed in her next book, Strike Out. Look for more adventures that may include her home town of Burlington NC, her next home in Roanoke, VA at HSN and her new retirement home in Port St. Joe, Florida.

Sample Excerpts

The Beginning

I dressed in layers as is the custom for the winters in upstate New York. Even though I'm just going outside for a moment I need the layers of tee shirt, long handles, flannel pajamas, and robe. As my morning coffee begins to brew I go out for the newspaper. We usually get the 'Post - Star', our local newspaper, around 5AM . I try to scan the headlines while eating breakfast before the rest of the family starts stirring, and the paper gets divided between sports, fashion, gossip, and whatever topic my teenage daughter has decided to appreciate for the week. As I stretched down for the paper on the front porch I felt a sharp pain between my shoulder blades. I thought I was having a heart attack until I realized the pain was originating from my back. I tried to feel behind me but I was unconscious. Quickly! No feeling! No breathing! It was so fast. I saw nothing - no lights, no person, no weapon. I only felt pain and fell to my death. There on my front porch in my pajamas I died that cold January day in the year 2000. All the healthy foods my wife had put into my diet had been to no avail. All that oatmeal and bran and fresh fruit couldn't keep this from happening. Chilly fate had won after all. The pain was one sharp stab to the back. Good-bye Tish.
Alarmed by the ringing of the front doorbell, Tish, christened Patricia Utledge, my wife of 21 years, tripped down the stairs to find our mail carrier frantically trying to revive me. Someone called 911 and more bedlam erupted.....

... My puzzled look must have encouraged Mrs. Paper to proceed. "Don't you get it Detective Law? Check out all of our names and you'll see what Waugh grew up hearing."
I checked my list:

family name Paper:
Father - Waugh
Mother - Patricia U. Or Tish
Son - Fletcher or Fly
Daughter - Sandy or Sand

Mr. Paper must have had a very good sense of humor for now I saw what Mrs. Paper was referring to:

Waugh (wall) Paper
Tish U. Paper ( Tissue paper )
Fly Paper
Sand Paper

"You must have colorful family reunions!"
"Well, we're all the family left so Waugh tries his best to be creative and to inspire family pride in the name of 'Paper'."
"Let's continue with this morning's activities. You said the mailman found Mr. Paper?"
"Yes, Minnie, our mail person, said she saw him from the road. She thought he might have fallen on some ice while retrieving the newspaper from the front step and hit his head. I wish that's all it had been." Once again Mrs. Paper strained to control her tears and emotions.
"Take your time. I have all day. Do you need some coffee?" I consoled her while hoping she'd remember everything.
Mrs. Paper took a deep breathe and continued, "The mail carrier rang our bell and yelled through the open door for us to call 911. That's when I came...

... Remembering my research I asked, "What about a nurse named Miss Striper or a maintenance man named Mr. Mann? They worked there around 1992 to 1996."
"I don't recall any problems with either of them. Candy was a good nurse and helped several of my crew with burns. Handy, the maintenance man, was real good at fixing the digesters. Everyone seemed to get along okay with him. He was quite handy," completed Ernie half joking. "Didn't he die back around 1992 under questionable circumstances?"
Before the discussion could venture onto Mr. Mann's homicide I jumped into the foray of opinions, "Thanks for the info along with the coffee and doughnuts. I'll let Detective Law know each of you helped and that each of you welcomed me with open arms. Well, at least the first part. My next stop may have to be Jack's for lunch now that I've finished breakfast. Thanks again. See you again if I have any more questions."
"You might want to check into Miss Striper's extra curricular activities. She was busy with several men at the mill and other places. She told me she was husband hunting," Al said.
"Anyone you remember in particular?" Deputy Wagon asked glancing around the table.
"No one I remember. She didn't date any one very long since she was looking for a particular type," stated Lincoln.
"What type was that?" the deputy asked again.
"The marrying type of course," quipped Lincoln.
"Yeah, I told her if she wanted a money man she was looking in the wrong place. I told her to look in another town," added Ernie.
"What about Mr. Mann? Did she ever date him?" Deputy Wagon asked....

... Looking in the indicated direction the minister glanced towards the forlorn lady dressed all in black including a matching hat and gloves. The minister signed and hung his head, sadly shaking it side to side. He uttered a moan.
"Sir?" I asked. "Who is she? A family member?"
"No. Not family and probably not a close friend, just an acquaintance. That's our local mourner, the 'cat lady'," replied the minister.
"The 'cat lady'?" That was a new acquaintance for the detective. He hadn't heard about her.
"She attends everyone's funeral. She doesn't even live in Corinth. She's from Saratoga Springs. She does have an aunt and uncle here."
"So why is she called the 'cat lady'? And what is her name?" The detective asked of the minister. He was preparing to add her to his note pad of names.
"Miss Debbie Morning," Rev. Brimstone stated. "Her name fits her perfectly, doesn't it?"
"M-O-U-R-N-I-N-G?" I asked spelling it out.
"No, 'M-O-R-N-I-N-G'. Like 'good morning'," the minister replied. "'Cat Lady' because she's been known to adopt stray cats though not that many. Maples and Tea Bag, her own cats, are a part of her family, like children." The minister added. "Miss Debbie's great with flowers and plants them all around her home. Her home is always clean and orderly."
"A neatness freak?" I asked. "Obsessive behavior?"
"No. A certified nurse, though she doesn't do that now. I believe she works in some kind of office but not in Corinth. She helps everyone. She's just a jack of all trades. Miss Debbie even remodeled her own home," the minister explained. "Her pies are delicious - apple or strawberry/rhubarb. She credits...

... The telephone rang and Mrs. Paper excused herself to answer. I tagged along in case it was the mysterious caller again. "Hello," she answered tentatively.
"May I speak to Detective Law, this is Deputy Wagon."
"Yes, he's right here. It's for you, Detective. It's your deputy," she was excited to hear from my Deputy thinking all was now okay.
"Marshal," already I knew it was bad news since he was using my first name, "we are at the Lake George cabin of the Hands' and *..

... "Sand's diary and in Fly's room I found these clothes." Deputy Wagon held up some jeans pointing to one pant leg.
"Mrs. Paper, are these Fly's jeans?" I asked to ensure proper identification.
"They look like his. Why?" Tish asked. "Are they important?"
"They may be," I offered. "They seem to have a stain on the bottom hem. Any idea when Fly wore these last?"
"Probably last week if you found them on his floor. He throws his clothes on the floor of his room or the floor of his closet for a week and then gathers them into a bundle to wash." Mrs. Paper said disgustedly. "He never cleans up when I ask."
"Do you do his laundry?"
"No, that he does himself. It became his duty when he graduated from high school. Waugh felt that even though he was living at home he should be responsible for his things, his laundry, his meals, his car, that sort of thing."
"You mean he has to cook for himself. He doesn't eat with the family?" I was wondering what else Fly had been excluded from in his family.
"He can join us for any meal. He just has to share the work. He either helps cook or he helps clean up afterwards. He's become a fairly good cook. At least he can cook hamburgers and hot dogs. He's learning how to cook vegetables now." Mrs. Paper seemed proud of her son's newly acquired cooking skills.
"But he has to do all of his own laundry? Did he ever trade off some work for laundry say with Sand?" I asked. I would have traded laundry with my sister if I had had one. I'd rather wash a car any day or mow the lawn than do laundry....

Catalogue Information