Missing in Seattle: A Christmas Story: A Sandie James Mystery, #0

By Tessa Kelly

From the Award-Winning Author of First Edition Murder,

 

 

A missing teenager. A lost puppy. Is there a connection?

 

Christmas Eve is around the corner, and Sandie James is stranded in Seattle. Far from home, she's facing a lonely Christmas in a strange city. Until she meets Hans, a bon vivant backpacker on a trip around the world.

 

Exploring a quaint village on one of Seattle's many islands, they're accosted by a stray puppy and Marty, a boy searching for his missing older brother. Clues link the teen and the puppy, causing Sandie to think that the teenager is in serious danger. As Christmas draws near, Sandie and her new friends must save the boy and bring him home, before the unthinkable happens.

 

The Sandie James Cozy Mysteries:

 

Prequel—Missing in Seattle: A Christmas Story

 

Book #1—First Edition Murder

 

Book #2—The Deadly Art

 

Book #3—Don't Rock the Boat!

 

Book #4—The Deadly Art

 

Book #5—A Lovely Kind of Murder

 

Book #6—Murder on the Playa

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tessa Kelly
• Release date: Dec 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9798201703363

Tessa Kelly

A former teacher with a degree in French, Tessa spent several years living in an uptown Brooklyn neighborhood, frequenting its many cafes and coffee shops and getting to know it from the inside and out. During her undergraduate years, she has worked at a bakery just like the one depicted in her novel, where she developed a lifelong fondness for cheesecake brownies.  These days, when not writing, she loves to be outside exploring hiking trails, often wandering off the beaten path. Her other passions include baking, learning foreign languages, and reading.   

Book preview

Chapter 1

The email reached me at the top of the Seattle Space Needle.

Due to inclement weather, all outbound flights from Seattle have been canceled until further notice.

I stared bleakly at my phone, squeezing it hard with fingers numb from the cold. My best-laid plans for Christmas had just gone awry. Beyond the observation platform, the gray December sky unleashed a torrent of icy rain on the city.

Sure, there were far worse places to be stuck in over the holidays, but at the moment none came to mind. Especially in light of the fact that only yesterday I was on my way to the sunny Cancun.

The plan had been to join my best friend Felisha and her family in their vacation rental for a week of beach-bumming, tequila shots, and salsa dancing.

I'd been traveling for a while, far from home and friends, and the anticipation of a happy reunion was bubbling in my veins like freshly poured champagne. Then, somewhere over the Pacific, the turbulence started.

No stranger to rough travel, I gave it little thought at first. A half an hour later, I was trying not to heave as the plane plummeted into another hole when the pilot’s voice announced we were being rerouted to Seattle. 

My gaze strayed from the phone to the view of Seattle’s downtown below. From the height of the Space Needle, it lay exposed, as if captured in the palm of a giant’s hand. Beyond it, the Puget Sound and the Olympic mountain range were partially visible through the curtain of rain.

Seattle Space Needle, the proud landmark of the Pacific Northwest. The trip up here had seemed like a great idea just moments ago, before the notice for the flight cancellations appeared. Up until then, I’d thought my stopover in the rainy city would be a matter of a few hours.

Now, the view mocked me, a steely reminder that in this whole big, sprawling metropolis there wasn’t a single person I could call friend. Not a soul that knew or cared about me. Not even a passing acquaintance.

I put the phone back into my pocket and swallowed a lump in my throat. Well, that was that. Stuck in Seattle for Christmas, and maybe for the New Year as well.

Felisha would be so disappointed. Recently broken up with another boyfriend, she’d been looking forward to our get-together as much as I had.

But she wouldn’t be alone for the holidays. She had her family with her.

A gust of wind tore through the platform, blowing in the rain. I wrapped my scarf tighter around my neck and walked along the perimeter to the part that faced East. New York. More specifically, Carroll Gardens, the small quiet neighborhood where I grew up and where my family lived. I hadn’t seen them in so long!

I pictured my hotel room, a TV and a takeout dinner keeping me company over Christmas.

It had been my decision to travel. A way to put distance between myself and the past. A journey of healing after a four-year relationship ended in a spectacular crash. But on days like this, I wondered if I’d been right to let one person's betrayal keep me away this long.

I forced myself to take a deep breath, then exhaled slowly.

Enough.

Feeling sorry for myself wouldn’t change a thing. It certainly wouldn’t fix the weather. I needed to face the prospect of a lonely Christmas.

I took one last glance at the snow-covered slopes of Mount Rainier and headed to the speed elevators.

My stomach lurched as the cabin plummeted. Beyond the window, the ground advanced with dizzying swiftness that caused the middle-aged woman next to me to shut her eyes and grip the handle protruding from the wall with white-knuckled hands. Seconds later, we came to a whooshing stop, and the doors slid open.

I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my coat and stepped out into the cold again.

Thankfully, the rain was beginning to taper off, but the gray sky remained without promise. I held out hope that a chocolatey pastry and a steaming hot latte would bring some light into this miserable day.

Leaving the Space Needle, I headed toward Pike Place Market. Not that finding coffee would ever be a problem in Seattle, but I had my sights set on a small bakery I’d