McKell's Christmas: Mendenhall Mysteries

By Marcelle Dube

Deputy Chief of Police Rob McKell doesn't trust Christmas. Two of his ex-wives left him at Christmas. Besides, bad guys don't take time off during the holidays so why should he? But when the chief orders skeleton crews at the detachment for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, he has no choice but to comply. Not that he minds, really. He has a Christmas Eve date with the lovely Jillian, a gemologist with an independent streak, for the all-important meeting of her friends.

 

Jillian isn't like any woman he's ever met, and soon he's revising his opinion of Christmas—and of long-term relationships. But before the evening ends, Jillian's dangerous past will put both their lives and their fragile new relationship at risk… and prove that McKell's misgivings about Christmas are well-founded.

 

A short Mendenhall Mystery featuring Chief Kate Williams and Deputy Chief Rob McKell by the author of The Shoeless Kid, The Tuxedoed Man, The Weeping Woman, The Untethered Woman and The Forsaken Man.

 

About Marcelle Dubé:

Marcelle Dubé writes mystery and speculative fiction novels and short stories. Mostly. She grew up near Montreal. After trying out a number of different provinces and living in the Yukon for over 35 years, she now lives in Alberta—which is much like the Yukon in all the ways that count. Her short fiction has appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Falcon Ridge Publishing
• Release date: Sep 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9780991874644

Marcelle Dube

Marcelle Dubé writes mystery, science fiction, fantasy, contemporary and—occasionally—romance fiction. She grew up near Montreal and after trying out a number of different provinces (not to mention Belgium) she settled in the Yukon, where people outnumber carnivores, but not by much. Her short stories have appeared in magazines and award-winning anthologies. Her novels include the Mendenhall Mystery series (a number of her short stories are also set in the world of Mendenhall Chief of Police Kate Williams) and The A'lle Chronicles, as well as standalone fantasy and mystery titles. Her work is available in print and in electronic format. To find out more about Marcelle, visit her at www.marcellemdube.com.  

Book preview

McKELL’S CHRISTMAS

A Short Mendenhall Mystery

by Marcelle Dubé

CHIEF WILLIAMS WAS already at the duty desk when McKell walked out of the locker room where he had changed out of his uniform. The duty room was empty except for the chief, who had her back to him. The room was big enough to accommodate five scarred desks, mismatched chairs and blinking computer screens, plus the duty desk at the front on its six-inch platform. It sure hadn’t taken long for day shift to clear out. Everyone wanted to be home on Christmas Eve.

In contrast to the locker room’s permanent odor of shampoo and overripe boots, the rest of the detachment—even the lock-up—smelled faintly of cinnamon. Hard to avoid with all the Christmas cookies sitting in the lunch room.

The radio was tuned to a Christmas station and some group was singing I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.

Huh. He hadn’t pegged the chief for a fan of Christmas.

Hearing him, the chief looked around and her eyebrows rose.

Who are you and what have you done with my deputy chief? she asked with an uncharacteristic twinkle in her eye. He kinda liked it when she teased him.

McKell grinned. He looked pretty good, even if he did say so himself. New black wool trousers, a green tweed jacket that matched his tie, his favorite white shirt... He was pretty sure he’d pass muster with Jillian’s friends.

Going out for dinner, he said, then could have kicked himself. She didn’t need to know that.

She nodded thoughtfully, her gaze fixed on his chest.

Nice tie, she said.

He controlled a wince. Trust her to notice the one thing he wasn’t wearing by choice.

Jillian had given him the tie because, as she’d informed him gravely, she would otherwise have to start calling him Grinch. That had smarted a little. He wasn’t a Grinch. Not really. But two of his three ex-wives had left him at Christmas time. They hadn’t understood that he couldn’t just tell the bad guys Time out just because it was Christmas.

In almost thirty years first as a military policeman and then as the deputy chief of the Mendenhall Police Department, he’d learned that the bad guys didn’t necessarily take a break at Christmas. So, yeah, he was having more and more trouble buying into the warm