Crushed in Christmas River: Christmas Cozy Mystery Novellas, #3

By Meg Muldoon

A heartwarming, hilarious, unputdownable read featuring characters from the Amazon bestselling Christmas River Cozy Mystery series... Recipes included!

Kara Billings is one tough cookie. 

But after getting roped into playing Mrs. Claus again in the annual Christmas in July Parade and Play, Cinnamon Peters' best friend Kara is having trouble keeping her cool. With an ornery director, a scheming theater owner, and a grueling rehearsal schedule, Kara comes close to throwing in the wig. 

But when a string of mysterious not-so-accidental accidents hits the cast and crew of the production, Kara delays her dramatic exit and sticks around to solve the mystery. 

Unfortunately, staying on is going to cost her big time.

Can Kara stand the heat? Or will she crumble under the pressure?

Featuring one of the most beloved characters from The Christmas River series, this lighthearted, laugh-out-loud mystery of 22,000 words is the perfect weekend read and includes recipes! So curl up with a mug of hot cider and enjoy this latest entry from the world of Christmas River!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vacant Lot Publishing
• Release date: Sep 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386507253

Book preview

Also by Meg Muldoon

Christmas Cozy Mystery Novellas

Crushed in Christmas River

Christmas Cozy Mystery Series

Roasted in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery

Cozy Matchmaker Mysteries

Burned in Broken Hearts Junction: A Cozy Matchmaker Mystery

Dog Town USA Cozy Mystery

Mutts & Murder: A Dog Town USA Cozy Mystery

Bulldogs & Bullets

Crushed in Christmas River

A Christmas River Cozy Mystery Novella

Recipes included!

by

Meg Muldoon

Published by Vacant Lot Publishing

Copyright 2018© by Meg Muldoon

Copy of Caught (6)

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance whatsoever to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The Meg Muldoon Collection

The Christmas River Cozy Mystery Series

Murder in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Book 1)

Mayhem in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Book 2)

Madness in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Book 3)

Malice in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Book 4)

Mischief in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Book 5)

Manic in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Book 6)

Magic in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Book 7)

Menace in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Book 8)

Missing in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Book 9)

Meltdown in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Book 10)

The Christmas River Cozy Mystery Novella Series

Roasted in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery Novella (Book 1)

Caught in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery Novella (Book 2)

Crushed in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery Novella (Book 3)

The Cozy Matchmaker Mystery Series

Burned in Broken Hearts Junction: A Cozy Matchmaker Mystery (Book 1)

Busted in Broken Hearts Junction: A Cozy Matchmaker Mystery (Book 2)

The Dog Town USA Cozy Mystery Series

Mutts & Murder: A Dog Town USA Cozy Mystery Series (Book 1)

Bulldogs & Bullets: A Dog Town USA Cozy Mystery Series (Book 2)

The Holly Hopewell Cozy Mystery Series

The Silence of the Elves: A Holly Hopewell Cozy Mystery Series

The Broomfield Bay Mystery Series (with Jools Sinclair)

Ginger of the West: A Witches of Broomfield Bay Mystery (Book 1)

Crushed in Christmas River

by Meg Muldoon

Author’s Note: This story is told from the perspective of Cinnamon Peters’ best friend, Kara Billings.

Chapter 1

"Oh, no, no. No, you don’t. Don’t you dare come near me with that wig and those little wire frames."

Gertrude Baxter either didn’t hear me over the squeaking of her wheelchair as she rolled across the pine floorboards of my ornament shop, or she pretended not to. She stopped just short of the cash register where I had been poring over my quarterly business taxes. I’d been doing my best to wade through profits and losses for what had been an irritatingly sluggish quarter.

Thank goodness it was July and this was Christmas River. Running an ornament shop in a town called Christmas River meant that you could make up for a slow year in a matter of months once the season of giving arrived.

Gertrude's wheelchair let out a squeak so loud and unpleasant to the ears, it sent shivers down my spine.

I leaned over, looking at the plaster cast on her leg.

I’d heard about her accident — the way the whole town had heard within an hour of it happening. Small towns were like that, you know. Everybody in everybody’s business all the time. Knowing the news of a thing before any reporters or news anchors ever did. It was all cute and charming until you did something that maybe you weren’t exactly proud of. Then suddenly, living in a small town wasn’t cute and charming anymore.

That blasted dog, Gertrude mumbled. I told Benjy – any breed but a St. Bernard. They drool, they’re always leaking gas, and they shed too much. But Benjy’s got his head where the sun don’t shine ever since retiring, and he went out and got himself a St. Bernard anyway. And now I’m the one that’s gets to pay the price.

Gertrude gestured at the plaster cast.

There really wasn’t anything funny about what happened to her, but I found myself stifling back a laugh anyway.

I’d heard the story about a million times by now from everyone else: Gertrude had been in the middle of cooking a skillet of bacon when she’d stepped away from the stove for a moment. The Baxters’ new dog, Pancho, had been patiently waiting in the kitchen at Gertrude’s feet while she was cooking up the bacon, doing what any dog of his breed might do when faced with the prospect of juicy delicious pork fat.

Gertrude was too preoccupied on her way back to the stove to notice the giant puddle of drool that had formed on the floor. She ended up stepping right in the middle of it, slipping, knocking over the pan of bacon, and doing a splits worthy of any gold medal winning gymnast. Then her right leg hit the kitchen island with such force, it broke in two different places.

Gertrude lay there for an hour before a handyman working next door heard her wailing. The poor woman had been unable to get up and reach her phone to call for help.

But at least she hadn’t been completely alone during the ordeal. Local gossip said that Pancho the dog had stuck by her side the whole time, just like a loyal canine should.

That is – after he’d helped himself to the entire pan of bacon.

I was sorry to hear about your accident, Gertrude, I said, taking my eyes off her cast and glancing back at my papers. I can only imagine how much that hurt and what an inconvenience all this must be.

Gertrude was retired and she led a very active social life in Christmas River these days. She was the treasurer of the city beautification board, the organizer of the yearly Veterans’ Food Drive, and — perhaps most impacted by her recent accident — an avid ballroom dancer with her husband, Benjy.

She also just so happened to be an actor in this year’s upcoming Christmas in July Play and Parade.

Which was the main reason I wasn’t all that happy to see Gertrude come rolling into my ornament