Goro rolled his eyes and Mom laughed. It must have been complete agony to always deal with Kumi and Chiyo and their effervescent personalities. Really, though, he was one lucky guy.
“I’m hoping that you’ll always help on any criminal investigations, just like this past one. I think you have the knack for it.”
“Really?” My chest filled with pride. “Would it be a job?”
“No,” he said, disappointed. “We couldn’t hire you, unless you went through the formal training. But our captain loves you and would like your help, if you can give it.”
I understood it wasn’t a job that would pay, so I tried to control my excitement, though it leaked out to my face. A few months ago, I would have given anything to return to the city and not come back to Chikata. Now, both Mom and Akiko needed my help, the police needed my help, and I didn’t want to leave Yasahiro either. He’d been the best boyfriend ever the last few weeks, bringing me food in the hospital, sitting with me, watching TV, holding my hand and talking about his time in Paris. I loved hearing those stories. He even fell asleep there several times, wanting to be close to me while I healed. I was falling for him, hard, and I hoped we could continue without any more crazy interruptions.
“Wow, that sounds like a great opportunity. I’d love to help out.”
I still needed to find a real job, though. A real job in Chikata would be a huge turning point for me. It would be that third chance I needed to make my life worth living. Tama thought he was going to destroy all of this. He would have loved to destroy my life and my happiness, but I couldn’t let him. Even if I succeeded in a small and quiet way, it would be enough.
Kumi pumped her fist by her side. “See? I told you she’d be into it.”
“You did,” Goro deadpanned. “I’ll let my boss know you’re interested. Okay?”
“Okay.” I just had to make it through the winter with Mom. She was certain the insurance money for the barn would come soon and we could continue on with our lives. We had very little budgetary leeway since we lost our vegetable stores and my painting supplies in the fire, plus her extra money was tied up in investments. All in all, the fire would cost us a whole lot in both money and comfort.
The crowd surged to the starting line, racers gathering into a pack of people as spectators moved to the sidelines. Goro waved to us from the crowd, and we waved back.
This race was supposed to be something completely different. It was supposed to signify my win of the challenge to find out who killed Kano. Instead, Goro was running in my place, and I was lucky to be alive. My phone buzzed in my pocket with a text from Yasahiro. “Let me know how the race goes. I can’t wait to see you later.” I smiled down at his words and took a deep breath as the starting horn blasted and the runners took off.
My life in Chikata wasn’t over. It was just beginning.
End Book One
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Thank You!
Thank you so much for reading The Daydreamer Detective. I hope you enjoyed your time in Chikata! This is certainly not the end for Mei and her adventures, so please stay tuned!
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If you want the next book in the series… The Daydreamer Detective Braves The Winter is now available! >> PURCHASE The Daydreamer Detective Braves The Winter
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Thank you again for reading and being awesome! I look forward to writing many more books for you to enjoy.
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xo, S. J.
Acknowledgments
It’s always hard for me to end a novel with the acknowledgments! I feel like the writing is truly done and over with when I get to this point, and I never want it to end!
Biggest thanks goes to my critique partner, Tracy Krimmer. She continues to be my sounding board and best writing buddy. I heart her.
To Amy Evans and EJ Wesley, both of whom gave me great ideas and helped me brainstorm even better ones for further books in this series. I can’t wait to show you how Mei grows!
To Cori Wilbur and Christina Adcock-Azbill. They both read and gave me their best impressions of how this book did with both the character development and the mystery.
And thanks to TK Toppin for beta reading!
Thank you to my entire ARC team! You all know who you are. They get the books before anyone else, read them, and then jump at the chance to review. Reviews are so important, and this team helps me get the lead on such a daunting task. I love them!
Big thanks to Lola Verroen of Lola’s Blog Tours who helped me promote this book and get some new eyes on my work.
To my new cozy mystery writing friends, Nikki Haverstock, Rachel Blalock Bateman, Kristy Price Douglas, and the other ladies of the Cozy & Traditional Writers Facebook Group. Thanks for all your advice and general happy natures.
I continue to be grateful for my family especially my mother and father, Claire and Ray Bush, my brother, Brendan, and his family, my Pajonas side of the family, Vic and Karen, all of my husband’s brothers and sisters. Thanks to my girls, C and D, again for letting mommy work in the afternoons and evenings after homework was done! My husband, Keith, still thinks I’m nuts but that’s okay. I still love him.
Once again, thank you Japan for continuing to be an inspiring place that makes me happy to have met your people, traveled your lands, and eaten your awesome food. You’re the best.
Check out the first chapter of The Daydreamer Detective Braves The Winter…
I wished I could’ve erased the last two months and lived in that moment forever. Izakaya Jūshi exploded with laughter as a big party behind us ordered another round of drinks and settled into a story about ice fishing. I had no idea ice fishing was so funny, but apparently it was a laugh. December had moved into full swing, and with the temperatures falling below freezing into the coming week, the local lake would be crawling with fishers.
“Do you fish, Mei-chan?” Etsuko lifted her voice from across the table while the men behind us yammered away. Yasahiro, my new boyfriend seated next to me, squeezed my hand under the table.
I sipped my beer. “No. I like to eat fish, but I don’t like to catch them. It’s not my thing.”
“Hisashi and I love to fish during the summer. Sometimes he takes off an extra weekend a month to come with me.”
“Sometimes,” Hisashi said, waggling his head back and forth. “I’m hoping next year that won’t be an issue anymore.”
Etsuko turned to beam at Hisashi, her face wide with a broad smile. She swiped her bangs to the side and leaned in to rest her chin on Hisashi’s shoulder. “His job has been talking about moving him to this district in the spring. It’s a great opportunity. We’re planning to buy a house together.”
“Really? That’s fantastic news,” Yasahiro said, lifting his glass so we can toast to Hisashi.
“Yeah. There are a lot of new roads and unmapped areas around here. We have a lot of work to do on bolstering the satellite mapping system.”
Hisashi worked for a popular GPS mapping company. Because of Japan’s erratic house numbering system, extensive train system, and roadway infrastructure, the mapping companies were always hard at work updating to make everything easier for their subscribers. He worked in the Chiba office, to the east of Tokyo, but had been hoping to move for the last couple of years. When he came to visit Etsuko the first weekend of every month, it took him almost three hours to travel to Chikata. But he came as regular as clockwork because he l
oved her.
“I’m so happy about this. It’s about time. Maybe we can finally get married,” Etsuko said, and Hisashi smiled at her before kissing her forehead. I got the feeling this was something they’d both wanted for a long time because neither of them made a fuss about her mentioning marriage.
Etsuko had lived in Chikata all her life. She and Hisashi were high school sweethearts, dated through college, and had been apart for the last three years. Etsuko worked at Izakaya Jūshi Sunday through Thursday with her family but thought about moving to Chiba with him. Her family, though, wanted her here. So the two came up with this arrangement. They talked on the phone every night, he came to visit her the first weekend every month, and she traveled to him the third weekend. The routine worked for them.
I, on the other hand, could only spend a few days without seeing Yasahiro before I got the itch to see him so badly I couldn’t sit still. I loved being close to him, talking to him, confiding in him, even though our physical relationship hadn’t progressed any further than hand holding and cheek kissing since I was in the hospital. Yasahiro was careful with me, taking baby steps knowing that I felt betrayed and vulnerable when my former boyfriend, Tama, tried to kill me. And these were the only kind of dates we’d had since then, too — double or group dates. We only had alone time at his restaurant, Sawayaka, between lunch and dinner shifts. It wasn’t very intimate, but I took what I could get. Yasahiro was busy with work, and I was unemployed, so I did my best to bend to his schedule.
“I’m super happy for the two of you.” I raised my glass to Etsuko and Hisashi, and Yasahiro rested his hand on my knee.
“I’m happy for you and Yasahiro. I’m always glad to see the two of you when you come in here.” Etsuko winked at me, and I stopped a blush by drinking more beer. “It’s too bad Hisa-kun is only here once a month. I wish we could hang out together more.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t around the last time you were in town, Hisashi-san.”
He waved me off. “Don’t worry about it. Etsuko told me you were in the hospital. I’m glad you’re better.”
“Me too.”
Etsuko reached into her bag and pulled out a phone that lit up and rang with an incoming call. She held her finger up in the air as she glanced at the screen. “Just a moment. I’m going to take this outside.” She jumped up from the table and headed out the front door, pressing the pink, owl-embossed phone to her ear. A little owl charm dangled from the case as she walked away. I returned my focus to the table, but Yasahiro and Hisashi were now talking about baseball, one subject I couldn’t hack. Baseball bored the heck out of me. I glanced down at my beer, but my attention was drawn to Etsuko’s phone sitting on the table. Huh?
Movement outside caught my eye so I stared at Etsuko talking on her phone. She must’ve had two phones? Her face turned from happy into a frown, her eyebrows pulled together. And although it was only eight degrees outside, she wasn’t clutching her arms around herself to keep warm. Making chopping motions with her hand and raising her voice to whomever was on the other side of the conversation, she paced back and forth. I strained my hearing, hoping to catch a word or two, but the men next to us were too loud to hear anything. Etsuko finished off her conversation but didn’t re-enter the izakaya right away. She stayed on her phone for a while, typing out something, her fingers and thumbs flying across the touchscreen.
When she turned towards the door, I returned my attention to the table. I didn’t want her to think I was spying on her.
She sat down and sighed, sipping on her beer before rubbing her hands together to warm them.
“Everything okay?” I whispered, not wanting to draw attention to her if she didn’t want to mention it. The guys were too involved in their baseball conversation to notice, though.
She returned her smile to her face, less bright than it used to be. “Fine. Everything’s fine. Are they talking about baseball again?” She rolled her eyes. “Hey, did you watch this week’s episode of I Love Tokyo Legend? It was so good!”
Etsuko and I had a fondness for detective shows on Asahi TV and this was our new favorite.
The door to the izakaya swung open before I could answer her and in came Kumi and Goro. Kumi and Etsuko had known each other since high school, so they were all a big group of friends that I’d only recently become a member of since I’d moved back home. I waved them over and Kumi sat down next to me and Goro next to Etsuko.
“We were just about to talk about I Love Tokyo Legend,” Etsuko squealed to Kumi.
Goro rolled his eyes. “Switch places with me Etsuko, so I don’t have to talk about these shows.” Goro, the police officer, couldn’t stand detective shows. He watched them and all he could do was pick out the errors and exclaim, “That’s not how it’s done!” Kumi had banned him from watching.
“Fine, but don’t get Hisa-kun riled up about the Lions. You know he’s a diehard Swallows fan, and I’m the one that has to hear about it forever if you continue to bash his team.”
“I cannot make any promises,” Goro said, switching seats.
I smiled at my new group of friends, placing my hand on Yasahiro’s knee under the table and squeezing. He smiled at me before I got sucked into gossiping about TV. I may not have had much in life, but at least I had some girlfriends to gossip with.
Etsuko took another look at her phone as the screen lit up with a message. She frowned before turning it off and dropping it into her purse.
“Let’s order another round of drinks first.” She raised her hand to catch her brother’s eye, and then we descended into a serious discussion of ghosts and local legends and whether we believed them or not.
I totally believed, but that’s just the kind of person I was.
Purchase The Daydreamer Detective Braves The Winter now!
Also in the Miso Cozy Mysteries Series
The Daydreamer Detective
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The Daydreamer Detective Braves The Winter
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Ozoni and Onsens: A Daydreamer Detective Novella
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The Daydreamer Detective Opens A Tea Shop
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The Daydreamer Detective Returns A Favor
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About the Author
Stephanie (S. J.) is a writer, knitter, amateur astrologer, Capricorn, and Japanophile. She loves foxes, owls, sushi, yoga pants, Evernote, and black tea. When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about writing or spending time outside, unless it’s winter. She hates winter. Someday she’ll own a house in both hemispheres so she can avoid the season entirely. She’s a mom to two great kids and lives with her husband and family outside NYC. They have no pets. Yet. When it comes to her work, expect the unexpected. She doesn’t write anything typical.
Find her online at…
www.spajonas.com
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