Colin Payn
Writer


Coming Soon

2025
Work In Progress
'A selection of short stories based on the Private Investigators, Peter Staithe and Petra 'Pussy' Willow.
​
Due to be published mid 2025. Watch out for the cover reveal.
A Small Extract Just To Whet The Appetite
The Dog
“We don’t do dogs!”
“I know. But this is The Commander, famous from Acle to Wroxham, across the Broads community. There will be publicity, very good publicity if we find him.”
Peter Staithe was not impressed.
Petra ‘Pussy’ Willow, his partner in both life and profession, was not to be put off. “We could do it pro bono, free of charge as a contribution to the community, although I would be quite happy if he had been kidnapped and shipped abroad. When he came on our boat, he peed up the mast. I considered tipping the gangplank when he left, to see if the horror could swim.”
”We’re busy enough with these stolen ropes from Knott & Hangem, if we come across him we’ll do what you said, but he’s probably just lying, bloated behind a butchers shop somewhere.
Why the ropes had been stolen was part of the mystery. Most of them were old, having been exchanged by new boat owners. The company kept and graded them, then sold them through the Internet - a very profitable little sideline. The Police couldn’t find any CCTV footage and no local crooks had an MO for stealing old ropes. Staithe and Willow had been called in.
Pussy left early for her dental appointment so she could enjoy a spot of window shopping as she strolled along the High Street, but it was hard to see into windows for the lost dog posters. The pet shop was plastered with them, but Pussy’s eyes were drawn to the startlingly colourful display of dog toys in pride of place. All made of rope.
“What a wonderful window display,” she enthused at the startled shop owner, not used to compliments from striking young women. “I particularly enjoyed the artistic layout of the dog ropes. are they a new feature?”
“Errr, yes, only had them in for a few days, a new supplier, and a good price,” he added.
Sadly for the shopkeeper it did not prove to be a profitable line after Pussy popped into the Police Station with her exhibit. The new toy manufacturer, based in a barn where a small team dyed and tied the stolen ropes, was charged with theft and dog-napping, when The Commander was found in their lorry, where he must have been sniffing the ropes on his nightly wanderings.
Knott & Hangem paid handsomely for the return of their rope, and immediately started production of dog toys.
Staithe and Willow, Private Investigators, received extensive publicity for their pro bono work in finding The Commander, and were inundated with lost pet requests, all of which they turned down.