Volume 1 of 2, p.51
He Was Deceived, page 51
part #1 of Zachary Goldman Mysteries Series
HE WAS DECEIVED
ZACHARY GOLDMAN MYSTERIES
P.D. WORKMAN
ABOUT HE WAS DECEIVED
I love this series and this book is a great addition. Zachary has his work cut out as he looks into a cold case. I love these characters and can't wait to see what happens next for him and Kenzie.
KANDY
When a grieving widower uncovers clues that suggest his wife’s death ten years earlier was no accident, he turns to private investigator Zachary Goldman for help in unraveling the truth.
One Man Seeks the Truth
Martin Dwayne’s world had been shattered when his wife was tragically killed in an accidental shooting. But his life was occupied with raising his children, so suddenly deprived of their mother’s loving attention.
Ten years later, a series of phone calls prompts him to delve deeper into the circumstances surrounding her death and he begins to suspect foul play.
With the police dismissing his concerns, Martin seeks out Zachary Goldman, a seasoned PI known for his dogged persistence in cracking tough cases. As Zachary seeks out the truth, he uncovers layers of secrets that test his resolve and determination.
Will Oliver and Zachary be able to uncover the truth behind his wife’s death and bring those responsible to justice? Or will they become victims of the same forces that are determined to keep the truth hidden?
Praise for the series:
What a great story. Fabulous plot with interesting and complex characters. I was totally involved into the wee hours. Many twists and left waiting until the end. Highly recommended
Wow! I just finished it. In one day! I could not stop reading it! This book grabs hold of you from the start. It’s a very well written detective novel. It pulls you not the story and is very emotional. You feel for the characters. This is the first novel I have read by this author but it will not be my last. I highly recommend this book.
Zachary Goldman, Private Investigator, is flawed with a capital F. Shattered by the tragedies of his own life, he will somehow still manage to pick himself up and dig just a little bit deeper than anyone else to piece together the vital clues and solve the mystery.
Maybe being broken makes it easier for others who have faced tragedy to trust him. Walk with Zachary as he solves cases that will stretch his abilities to the limit.
Even with his own life in shambles, Zachary Goldman is still the one you want on the case.
Looking for a suspenseful read that will keep you up all night and stay with you long after the last page?
Investigate this P.I. Mystery now!
Copyright © 2025 by P.D. Workman
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
ISBN: 9781774687055 (KDP Paperback)
ISBN: 9781774687086 (KDP Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781774687048 (Large Print)
ISBN: 9781774687079 (Lulu Paperback)
ISBN: 9781774687062 (ePub)
ISBN: 9781774687338 (Accessible Audio)
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To those whose lives
went in a different direction
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Epilogue
Preview of She Once Vanished
Preview Chapter 1
Preview Chapter 2
Also by P.D. Workman
About the Author
1
Zachary gazed out the front window at a delivery truck moving slowly down the street. He couldn’t help but feel anxious when he saw a courier. The last package that had been delivered to him had not been what he had expected. It would be a while before he could feel the same excitement and anticipation opening a box or envelope left on his doorstep.
“You okay?” Kenzie asked.
Zachary swallowed. He nodded and forced a smile. “Yeah, sure. I’m good.”
She evaluated him, her dark eyes serious and her bright red lips pursed. She nodded slowly, her dark curls bouncing a little, a movement that always made him want to touch it and wind the curls around his fingers. But he refrained, turning his attention to the breakfast preparations.
“Coffee is on,” he told her, though he wasn’t sure whether he had turned on the machine or she had. “I’ll pop some toast in for you…” He noticed the smell of the toasting bread mixing with that of the coffee. Obviously one of them had already done that job too. He got out plates and cutlery and found her marmalade in the fridge.
“Where are you going this morning?” Kenzie asked.
He hadn’t told her he was going out anywhere, but she could tell from his shirt—a button-up shirt rather than just a t-shirt or polo—that he was planning to meet with someone today. He didn’t dress up for computer work, going for a walk, or running errands. Or for a surveillance job, unless he was positioning himself in an office building or somewhere such an outfit would blend better than his usual work “uniform.”
“Meeting with a potential client. Not sure yet what kind of a case it is,” he anticipated her next question. “He didn’t want to discuss anything over the phone. And I like to meet with possible clients face-to-face in the beginning. Remote work and communicating electronically are fine, a convenient way to run a case, but I like to get a read on a person before I accept the job.”
“You never know what you might be getting into otherwise,” Kenzie suggested.
“Yeah. Surveilling a possibly adulterous spouse is one thing, if the guy is just looking for information. But if he’s lying and is really an abuser trying to find an ex who is hiding from him…”
Kenzie nodded, understanding, as she poured each of them a cup of fresh coffee.
“Can you always tell, though?”
“I’m pretty good at reading people. That doesn’t mean that I don’t ever make mistakes… but if I’m not sure, I’ll turn them down, say I’m too busy to give their case the attention it needs right now.”
“So someone else gets the job?”
“Well…” Zachary didn’t like to think that he was only delaying the abusive husband finding his runaway wife. Still, it wasn’t like he could do anything to keep the man from hiring a private investigator who didn’t have the same scruples or intuition as Zachary. If he were determined to find his wife, there wasn’t much Zachary could do other than refuse the work himself.
“Hopefully, he’s so disappointed by my refusal that he can’t bring himself to approach another PI,” he told Kenzie. “You can see how crushing that would be.”
Kenzie chuckled. She took a sip of her coffee. The toast popped and Zachary buttered it before putting it on Kenzie’s plate and grabbing a yogurt cup for himself.
“Yes, that would definitely be a consideration,” Kenzie agreed. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to be turned down by you.”
Zachary tried to figure out whether there was any secondary meaning to her statement, but decided just to take it at face value. He sat down across from Kenzie and opened his yogurt cup. He usually had a yogurt cup or a granola bar for his breakfast with Kenzie. He was more in the mood for a granola bar today but didn’t want to unwrap one with Kenzie watching him. The noise of the crinkling wrapper was like fingernails on the blackboard, and he wouldn’t be able to hide his grimace from her. She was already watching him closely enough without his giving her something else to worry about.
“Do you think it’s wise?” Kenzie asked.
Zachary looked at her, uncertain. He had probably missed something else she had said and lost the thread of the conversation.
“Taking on a new client right now,” Kenzie said slowly. “I mean… this time of year…”
So close to Christmas. She tried to avoid saying it, but they both knew what she meant. At this time of year, when he might shut down completely and not be able to do any work.
“No… I’ll check him out and see whether it is a case I want to take on. And I’ll warn him I might need to take a few days off around the holiday. People are usually pretty good about it if you let them know… set expectations.”
He was doing really well this year on the new med protocol. At this time last year, he had been in the hospital psych ward, unable to deal with the depression and control the thoughts of self-harm without professional help.
But that was last year. He was much better this year. The anniversary of the fire, that Christmas Eve disaster, was quickly approaching. It was a struggle to keep his spirits up and function at the same level as he did the rest of the year and he dreaded slipping further into the abyss. But he was functional. The work, especially the novelty of a new case, would help him to stay focused on something other than traumatic memories.
If he had to take a few days off, he could do that. It wasn’t unusual for someone to take a few days off work for family around Christmas. His client would think nothing of it.
“I just don’t want you to be overwhelmed,” Kenzie said. “It might be better if you didn’t take too much on until after… maybe in the new year.”
“It isn’t too much,” he assured her. “I mean… depending on what it is. If it’s too big and he needs answers in two days, that’s another story, but most people are not in a big hurry.”
“You’ll be careful?”
“Of course. Yes, I will.”
Kenzie nibbled her marmalade toast and studied him a little too closely. Zachary’s face warmed.
“Did I miss a spot shaving?” he asked, brushing his hand over his face to break the eye contact and allow him to look away. “Or are you just admiring my manly scars?”
The numerous small cuts from the explosion were healing, but it would be a while before they were all gone. One or two of the deeper ones that had needed stitches might leave scars. Nothing that bad. They would blend in with his other scars. And when he let his whiskers grow for a few days, as he usually did, they would be camouflaged.
Kenzie smiled and shook her head. “It must be the manly scars,” she said lightly. “I just can’t seem to tear my eyes away.”
He blushed further, even knowing she was teasing him. His ears burned and were probably bright red.
She dropped the conversation thread and didn’t insist that she knew better than he did about managing his business at this difficult time of year.
She was having her own difficulties this year, and Zachary wondered whether that was one reason she was so concerned about his state of mind and traumatic memories. Either empathizing with him because of her own feelings or trying to distract herself by focusing on someone else’s problems.
Zachary needed to pay attention to Kenzie’s mood and stress levels, not just his own. She needed his support just as much as he needed hers.
2
Zachary had agreed to meet Oliver Dwayne at a coffee shop. Neutral ground. They were past the morning rush, so the venue was not too busy. But it wasn’t empty, either. People came and went, both individually and in pairs or small groups. Zachary and Oliver would not stand out.
Zachary ordered a pot of coffee, and the waitress placed a couple of mugs on the table for him. He kept an eye on the door, watching for the man he was to meet.
Most people who walked into the coffee shop went directly to the counter or a table and ordered what they wanted. They either settled in to work on a computer or tablet or left with a “to go” cup as soon as they were served. They didn’t look around to try to find the person they were to be meeting with.
Then, a man walked in, stopped, and looked at the other customers. Tall and distinguished, dark hair with streaks of gray at the temples. A short, carefully shaped mustache and beard. His cheeks were prominent, face narrow. He looked like someone who had been through a lot, but he was strong and confident. Well-dressed, but a little weatherworn and vulnerable, too.
Zachary stood partway up from his seat, and the man’s eyes met his. He walked over. He put out a hand and raised his brows. “Mr. Goldman?”
“Zachary, please. Mr. Dwayne?”
“Oliver.”
“Have a seat,” Zachary motioned to the table, and Oliver sat down. He poured himself a full mug of coffee and drank it immediately, no cream or sugar. He gulped it so fast it must have burned his throat.
“This is difficult,” Oliver said. He put his cup down and dabbed his lips with a napkin. “I suppose we do all of the usual small talk first.”
“Sometimes it puts people at ease,” Zachary told him, smiling slightly. “But we don’t have to. Whatever you’re most comfortable with. If you want to jump straight into the case, you can.”
“I just want to get on with it. It’s hard enough without having to deal with social conventions. I have no idea what the usual protocol is for something like this.”
“There really isn’t one. Everyone approaches it differently.”
Some people wanted to get to know Zachary and build that relationship first. Some of them beat around the bush, hoping Zachary would guess what they were there about. Some blurted it out and then cowered back, waiting for the fallout of having spilled their guts and made themselves so vulnerable.
Oliver seemed to need some questions to get closer to the issue. Zachary evaluated him. Not married, he didn’t think. He didn’t wear a ring. Didn’t have that “cared for” look, the confidence that he was going back to someone who was waiting faithfully for him. So there was probably not an unfaithful spouse to tail. That was a relief because he really didn’t like those jobs.
A business deal gone bad? Industrial espionage? It didn’t feel like it.
Maybe a missing person? Maybe someone he had lost touch with long ago and wanted to reconnect with?
“This is a personal matter?” Zachary guessed.
Oliver nodded. “Yes. It’s personal.”
“Family? Someone you’ve lost touch with?”
An expression of sadness settled over Oliver’s face. An expression that was clearly natural for him. Profound sadness. But not a sadness that he shared with others. He put on a different face to deal with Zachary—his public face.
Not a missing person. A loss, yes, but not someone he had lost touch with or fallen out with.
“Someone you lost?” he amended.
Oliver nodded. “Yes… I don’t even know why I am here. I dealt with this a long time ago. I put it behind me.”
Cold cases were difficult. Evidence disappeared. Witnesses forgot what they had seen and heard. Alibis were almost impossible to establish. And the longer ago it was, the harder it was to get any traction.
“How long ago?”
“Ten years.”
Zachary nodded. Better than twenty or fifty, but still difficult.
“Who? What happened?”
Oliver gave a long sigh. He turned his coffee cup in place on the table, rotating it in a circle once, twice, and a third time before he could get anything out.
