Sweet Success! Cathy Dilts

Catherine Dilts's mystery short story, "The Jolly Fat Man," will be published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine in April 2013. The magazine will be available on bookstands and at online bookstores.

Dr. Charles Jerome Harrison, scientist at a gasket factory, plays the role everyone expects of him--the jolly fat man. When a back-stabbing employee is murdered, Charles cannot fathom how he lands in the center of the investigation. He is certainly not the only employee to have opportunity and motivation. His new intern, a skinny college kid with a bad case of ebonics, suggests that being African American makes them both the focus of police scrutiny, a paranoia seemingly confirmed by the detective’s probing questions. Besides, as the kid points out, threatening the victim just hours before her demise doesn’t exactly make Charles look innocent.

Cathy Dilts is a long time member and volunteer with Pikes Peak Writers. Her day job as an environmental scientist provides fodder for fiction by the shovelful. In addition to short stories, she also writes cozy murder mysteries, environmentally-themed stories, and apocalyptic inspirational fiction. In her spare time, she enjoys raised-bed gardening, which her husband claims look the perfect size for burying bodies, while reminding her that you can’t get rid of the bones.

We love to hear of fellow Pikes Peak Writers' Sweet Successes, including story acceptances, winning contests, getting published and book signings. Please email DeAnna Knippling at dknippling [at] gmail [dot] com if you've got a Sweet Success you'd like to share.