LAPD Detective 1200: The Marilyn Monrovier Case aka Cemetery Blossom

Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, 1962. Suburban housewife Paula Leonard, builds a career and new life as a model and aspiring actress thanks to her visual likeness to Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe.

Inevitably, moving on outside of her pedestrian suburban environment and ultimately her marriage, she is drawn to exciting new possibilities. Adopting a too busy being beautiful attitude, Paula's half Sister Mary Jane Oliver moves in to take over the domestic duties Paula has neglected.

Already referring to herself as 'Marilyn,' husband Ed Leonard is convinced that his wife is in need of medical help and books an appointment with a Shrink to have her analysed, butthe shrink finds Paula a customer with her head screwed on alright!

However, Paula then discovers from old family papers, that her forebears came over from France to Scotland before emigrating to California, and were called the Monroviers. Paula is beside herself with this apparent demonstration of her destiny, and promptly and without consultation with her husband, changes her name.

More than the saucepans start simmering in the house on Paradise Drive, Ed Leonard realises he has married the wrong sister, a situation of force majeure arises when Ed acts like a man and says to Paula that the marriage is a farce, Paula agrees and green lights Ed and Mary Jane getting together sexually.

Thus Korean War Hero Ed Leonard and Mary Jane start to build a nice life together, whilst Paula gallivants from party to party and modelling job to modelling job. Ed, ever the gentleman. decides to follow Paula to one last photo shoot, after which a party is to be held, attended by mainly gay male friends of the gay Photographer Byron Purcell.

Ed seeks advice from LAPD Lieutenant Ray Prentiss over Paula's behaviour, Ray Prentiss was an Intelligence Officer in the Korean War that Ed Leonard rescued injured from a shell hole and helped back to the American lines, for which Ed received the Silver Star medal.

Prentiss advises Ed to have George Grogan, a retired LAPD Detective, now Private Investigator, follow Paula to Idyllwild in the San Bernadino Mountains to the photo shoot. Grogan reports all is well and is stood down by Ed.

Ed goes to take a look for himself and then the whole shebang goes bent with the wheels coming off in a big way!

Cut to 2002 and Ex- LAPD Lieutenant Jim Wendell has made a New Year resolution to write about his time in the LAPD for his grandchildren. After five pages, he hits a writers block - because he has come to the 'Marilyn Monrovier' case as it was known, the case involving Paula Leonard.

Wendell learns through a Police Magazine that Ray Prentiss is terminally ill, and decides to visit him at his care home. Curious to find out what Ray may know of the case, Wendell and another LAPD veteran Will White, start digging again, forty years on with the help of the LAPD's Santa Monica Open Case Unit.

But there are other people out there who want the digging stopped.

People with a lot to lose.... A Hell of a lot!

The 'Marilyn Monrovier' case is the culmination of Series 1 of the Detective 1200 Short stories.

LAPD Detective 1200 Dave Dreyja works the Open Case Unit Detail out of Santa Monica with Detective 711 Rico Brenham and Lt. Dan Wilberforce investigating old open cases, where new information or evidence comes to light. But Dredge is still a Cop, and he has the obligation to respond to crime, just like any other Cop.

They call Dave Dreyja ‘Dredge,’ because no one ever gets his name right (it is pronounced ‘Dray-jer,’). ‘Dredge’ digs deep; he literally dredges for the truth, hence the epithet.

The Detective 1200 Dreyja short stories are written in the style of the 1950’s Jack Webb ‘Dragnet’ television stories, as 45 minute television episode length works, ideal for those who want a commuter journey length story. The author has also written the full length novel “LAPD Hollywood 121: The Olivia Pages case’ which is also available in the Kindle store.