Callahan's Christmas Feast

By Rebecca Barrett

It’s Christmas Eve, and Callahan and Dax are invited to the annual holiday party at the home of Billie Dean Bailey and her parents. Billie Dean’s old flame shows up, home on leave, and he has a secret mission in mind. But the festive occasion is marred by the sudden death of Bubba Bailey’s lead mechanic from his flailing used car business. Is it murder, or did the poor man get a bad cherry from the Tizzington sisters’ infamous fruit compote?

Cat Callahan, in his usual fashion, is on it—searching through clues and way ahead of the humans in the room in figuring out the solution.

This story was originally published as Trouble Under the Mistletoe by Rebecca Barrett
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Praise for Rebecca Barrett’s previous books:

“Great fun reading. Loved it!” Nancy Collings, 5 stars on Amazon

“This book and the whole series is amazing. I loved every one of them.” Chris KP, 5 stars

“As I read, I could marvel again at how skilled the author is at adding in the clues and the twists and turns.” – 5 stars for The Rat Catcher

“The cat’s narrative hooked me.......a delightful read! I highly recommend it!” 5 stars online review

“I love this series. I love the idea that each takes place in a different location.” Erin Dougherty, online review

“Richly written yet gritty, The Rat Catcher, is evocative of time and place and Rebecca Barrett vividly portrays both.” – 5 stars on Amazon

• Language: English
• Publisher: Columbine Publishing Group, LLC
• Release date: Nov 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781649141569

Rebecca Barrett

Rebecca Barrett writes historical fiction, short stories of life in the South, and children’s stories. She fell in love with cozy mysteries after discovering Lillian Jackson Braun’s series. Callahan on the Case is her first in the Cat Callahan mystery series, with more to follow soon.In addition, she is writing a detective series set in the deep South of the 1960s featuring Hugo August, a Vietnam veteran, in The Rat Catcher. She is working on the second book of the series, She Had To Die, while rocking out to the great music of the ’60s and delving into the good vibes, high times, and social unrest of that era.An avid reader since the bookmobile began coming to their farm when she was a child, Rebecca now happily lives in the lovely village of Fairhope, Alabama, situated on Mobile Bay, where she finds inspiration all around her.

Book preview

Callahan’s Christmas Feast

A Cat Callahan Mystery Short Story

By Rebecca Barrett

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Lee Ellison and Stephanie Dewey for their critical eye and kind words. They are the best editors a writer could be blessed with and they are truly appreciated by this writer for their knowledge and generosity.

Dedication

This short story is dedicated to Claudia Graf and Binnie Carol Atchinson, champions of feral cats in their community, and to the care and nurturing of animals in need everywhere. They are true angels among us.

I raise my head from the countertop where I lie in a post lunch semi-stupor. Who would have thought I’d be spending Christmas Eve at a used car dealership, but here I am. My traveling companion, Dax, is hard at work detailing a recent acquisition at Bubba Bailey’s Auto Sales. The plan is to make a good payday so we can have a Christmas feast. A Christmas Feast. Yes, that’s always a good plan. I’ve been dreaming about Lil the Librarian’s eggnog. I sometimes miss those heady days when I was the cat-about-town in Warm Springs.

Life on the road is a very a different matter. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed the adventures I’ve had since I took up with Dax. We’re both vagabonds at heart. But, since a good deal of water is involved in his newfound occupation, I’ve left him to it and found my way inside the showroom. Everyone knows cats don’t toil. And here I found Billie Dean enjoying her lunch of a roast beef sandwich and red velvet cake. Now, I’m patiently waiting for her to call it a day and close up shop.

The jangling of the bell above the door draws my attention to the man in military fatigues entering the show room. My whiskers twitch as he zeroes in on first me, then Billie Dean.

Billie Dean reads to the end of the sentence of the novel, places her finger to mark her spot, and looks up. She stands abruptly and the book slips to the floor.

Teddy. The name is barely a whisper.

Billie Dean. He stops on the other side of the counter. "Merry Christmas."

You’re home.

Well, now, what’s this? Who is this fellow that makes Billie Dean breathless? I twitch my tail, waiting to see which way the wind blows.

So it would seem, he says.

How … I didn’t know.

He smiles. I didn’t tell Mom just in case things didn’t work out.

Billie Dean takes a breath and releases it on a soft sigh. She’s happy then.

She will be. I haven’t been home yet.

Oh.

The clatter of rapid footfalls on the metal stairs that lead to the upper story gallery and the offices of Bubba Bailey’s Auto Sales draws my attention to Evan Russell, the number one salesman at the dealership.

Oh, Billie Dean says again.

I look from Billie Dean to the man she calls Teddy, and lastly at Evan. This could prove to be interesting.

Evan