by Amber Crewes
Although everything seemed to have returned to normal, there was something still playing on Meghan’s mind. Mrs. Sheridan still hadn’t been found. Meghan was reluctant to leave Las Vegas until she was found but Officer Brady had assured her that her type of disappearance was something the police dealt with all the time. What would she tell Frank if she bumped into him? She had relayed her concerns to Jack and he had been in touch with the Las Vegas law enforcement team.
Suddenly, they all heard a buzzing sound. “Did all of our phones just go off at the same time?” Trudy asked as they all retrieved their phones from their pockets.
“I’m fine,” they all said in unison as they read the text.
“Who is it from?” Karen asked.
“I don’t have this number,” Jackie commented.
“Neither do I,” Meghan said. “But I hope it’s Mrs. Sheridan. She still hasn’t been found…”
23
“S urprise!”
Two weeks after returning home from Las Vegas, Karen had insisted that she pick Meghan up after work and take her to dinner. Meghan agreed, eager to visit with her friend, and she happily climbed into Karen’s jeep after closing up the bakery.
“Where are we going? That new health food place?” Meghan asked.
“Nope,” Karen said with a glimmer in her eye. “It’s a secret.”
Karen drove her to the event barn Meghan and Jackie owned. “What are we doing here?” Meghan asked. “We don’t have food here.”
“Just come with me!” Karen commanded, and she took Meghan’s hand and led her inside.
When she threw open the doors, Meghan was shocked to find Myrtle, Pamela, Trudy, Jackie, and Mrs. Sheridan waiting for her. “Surprise!”
The barn was decorated with pink tablecloths, pink balloons, streamers, and a cake. “What is going on?” she asked in amazement. “Mrs. Sheridan! You’re here! You’re okay!”
Mrs. Sheridan embraced her. “Sorry to scare you,” she apologized. “But I had to make it back for your bachelorette party!”
“My bachelorette party?” Meghan asked. “What? We already had it in Vegas!”
Jackie shook her head. “We wanted to make it up to you,” she said softly. “I know your party was a bust, and we wanted to give you a bachelorette party you would really enjoy.”
“This is incredible!” Meghan cried as she embraced Jackie. “I can’t believe this!”
Jackie’s eyes widened. “Do you like it?”
“I love it!” Meghan assured her. “A quiet girls’ night with my favorite girls? I feel sooo lucky!”
Karen laughed. “I’m glad it was a surprise,” she said happily. “We were afraid we would give away the secret.”
“I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep the secret,” Mrs. Sheridan squawked. “Do you want to know where I’ve been?”
“Yes!” Meghan exclaimed. “I was worried about you!”
Mrs. Sheridan pulled up her sleeve and revealed a large diamond on her left hand. “I got married in Las Vegas!”
“Married?” Meghan screeched. “To who?”
“To Frank, silly!” Mrs. Sheridan laughed. “I missed him terribly, and I felt bad that we quarreled before I left. I called him up and invited him to Vegas. We got married at the Graceland Wedding Chapel! Elvis married us!”
Meghan shook her head. “I can’t believe you were in Vegas the whole time.”
“I wasn’t,” Mrs. Sheridan told her. “We were married, and then we left for our honeymoon in Phoenix. We flew out that day, and we just got back yesterday.”
Meghan shook her head. “Why didn’t you tell anyone? We were so worried.”
Mrs. Sheridan shrugged. “I didn’t think you would worry,” she admitted. “I’m a grown woman and can take care of myself. I’ve been taking care of myself longer than you’ve all been alive!”
Meghan giggled. “Well, let me give a toast, then!” she declared. “All of my favorite ladies are here to celebrate with me, and I want to give a toast!”
Jackie popped open a bottle of champagne and passed out pink plastic flutes that had Meghan and Jack’s initials intertwined inside of a heart.
“I’d like to give a toast to my dear friends!” Meghan announced. “To all of my girls who went to Vegas, and who support me in my business, and who got together to put this party together. I love you all, and I can’t wait to walk into the next phase of my life with all of my ladies by my side.”
She saw Karen dab her eyes with a handkerchief.
“You are all the best friends I could ever ask for,” she told them. “I am so grateful for you! Thank you for all you’ve done for me. I am so lucky to be marrying the best man in the world, Jack. I am so lucky to have a job I love in a town I am devoted to. And last but not least, I am so grateful to have you as my friends! Having friends like you is truly sweet!”
The End
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Is Christmas really the most wonderful time of the year? Get this book to discover how events unfold in this cozy murder mystery.
About Jingle Bells and Deadly Smells
Released: November, 2019
Series: Book 10 – Sandy Bay Cozy Mystery Series
Standalone: Yes
Cliff-hanger: No
Christmas is that season…that season of pleasant surprises…delicious smells…and family and friends to share the holidays with.
This Christmas, Sandy Bay’s lovable bakery owner, Meghan Truman, gets a whole lot more than she bargained for…plus a dead body at the door of her favorite restaurant. Some people would rather sweep this murder under the carpet but something smells awfully fishy about the events surrounding it.
Will Meghan join Detective Irvin to find the murderer or will this event serve to etch unpleasant memories of this most wonderful time of the year?
JINGLE BELLS AND DEADLY SMELLS CHAPTER 1 SNEAK PEEK
I t was going to be a white Christmas in Sandy Bay, and Meghan Truman could hardly contain her excitement as the glittering white snowflakes tumbled from the sky. Meghan shivered as she adjusted the pink tartan scarf around her neck, thankful for its comfort as she stepped outside into the chilly evening. Meghan set off down the street toward Spark, a new boutique in town. She was ten minutes late for her shopping date with Jackie, her close friend, and Meghan trudged through the snow in her knee-length brown boots.
“Can you spare a dime, Miss?”
Meghan bit her bottom lip as a homeless man on the corner beckoned her toward him. She nervously ran a hand through her long, dark hair, shaking her head as she passed.
“I’m sorry,” Meghan muttered as she looked down at her boots. “I don’t have any cash.”
Her heart sank as she walked away from the homeless man, and her cheeks burned with shame. She truly did not have any cash on her, but Meghan’s chest tightened with guilt as she considered the man’s plight. “Perhaps I could have given him my gloves,” she thought to herself. “Or I could have dashed home and fetched some treats for him from the bakery.”
She was the sole owner of Truly Sweet, a wildly successful bakery in Sandy Bay. She had opened the bakery after moving to Sandy Bay from Los Angeles less than a year ago, and now, after months of pe
rsistence and perseverance, Truly Sweet was one of the most popular bakeries in the Pacific Northwest. Meghan’s orders had more than quadrupled in the last three months, and she was thankful for the help of Trudy, her assistant, and Pamela, the high-school girl she had hired to help with the heavy workload.
“I have so much stale bread and old pastries sitting in my pantry,” she murmured, still distraught by her interaction with the homeless man. “It is so cold tonight, and he needs to eat. I will just have to be a few more minutes late to my shopping date.”
Meghan turned around, treading back through the heavy snow. She unlocked the front door of the bakery, smiling as the familiar sound of the little silver bells attached to the door jingled merrily. She heard her little twin dogs barking upstairs in her apartment, but she ignored them, sprinting into the kitchen of the bakery and removing a bag of old pastries and breads from the closet.
“Perfect,” Meghan said, satisfied as she filled a cloth sack with the food. “I can drop these off with that man, and hopefully, he will go to bed with a full belly tonight.”
She raced out of the bakery and back onto the slippery streets. She nearly fell as her feet slipped beneath her, but she regained her composure and marched off toward the corner where she had encountered the homeless man.
“Oh no,” Meghan sighed as she arrived to find the man had vanished. “He’s gone. I was too late.”
She hung her head, wishing she had had something to give the man when she first met him. “Maybe I’ll see him again someday,” Meghan considered as she rested the bag of food down on the side of street. “Maybe he’ll come back. I’ll leave this food here for now. I hope he finds it.”
Jackie chastised Meghan as she entered the shop. “Where have you been? You are too late, girlfriend. This is the second time this week you’ve been late to a hang out.”
Meghan’s cheeks burned, and she sheepishly apologized to Jackie, explaining why she was late.
“Oh, Meghan,” Jackie said kindly as she saw the tears in her dark eyes. “You were full of the holiday spirit. I’m proud of you. What a good person you are.”
Meghan shrugged. “I just think everyone deserves a full belly and a warm bed.”
Jackie smiled. “Your heart is truly sweet, Meghan. Hey, speaking of Truly Sweet, are you doing the desserts for Jack’s holiday party?”
Meghan grinned at the mention of Jack Irvin, her handsome detective boyfriend. “No,” she explained to Jackie. “Chief Nunan reached out and asked me to do the desserts, but I decided to pass the chance up; I want to go to the party as a guest, and I think dealing with the desserts would be a lot of stress.”
Jackie nodded. “That makes sense,” she told Meghan. “Well, the Sandy Bay Police Department Christmas Party is always a huge event in town. Everyone dresses up, and there is mistletoe, and it’s just magical.”
Meghan smiled. “I need to find the perfect dress; do you think I would look nice in red velvet?”
Jackie squinted her eyes at Meghan, looking up and down at her curvy frame. “Yes,” she finally replied. “I think with your dark hair and olive skin, you would glow in red velvet. Come on! Let’s see what this shop has to offer.”
“Ladies!”
Meghan and Jackie turned to find Kirsty Fisher beaming at them, her blonde bob sitting elegantly just above her shoulders, and a strand of tiny pearls wrapped around her thin neck. Kirsty was a dedicated philanthropist and organizer in the community; if there was an event or party, it was likely that Kirsty had planned and put on the event, and she was always looking for favors as she dreamed up new functions for the town.
“So good to see you girls,” Kirsty cooed as she gave Meghan and Jackie air-kisses on both cheeks. “In fact, I was just thinking of you, Meghan. What are you doing next weekend?”
Meghan grimaced. “Why do you ask, Kirsty?”
Kirsty adjusted her red and green sweater set and smiled warmly. “I’m organizing a celebration of Christmas carols, and I would love if you could help me.”
Meghan paused. She had intentionally slowed her schedule over the last week, and she was looking forward to some much-needed rest and recuperation after such a busy, eventful year in Sandy Bay.
“Kirsty,” Meghan began. “I’m not really taking on new orders right now; I’m not even doing the desserts for Jack’s holiday party. It’s been a hectic year, and I am trying to give myself, along with Trudy and Pamela, some time to catch our breath.”
Kirsty shook her head. “I don’t want your treats,” she informed her. “I need your voice. I am trying to recruit anyone and everyone to participate, and for a small donation, you can join in the fun.”
Meghan raised an eyebrow. “I have a terrible voice,” she told Kirsty. “It’s horrendous; I was actually cut from my middle-school choir because I am tone-deaf.”
Kirsty waved her hands dismissively. “You can just lip-sync, then. Jackie, I’m sure you can sing on pitch. Would you join us?”
Jackie wrinkled her nose. “My voice isn’t good…”
Kirsty huffed in frustration. “This is for a good cause, girls,” she informed Meghan and Jackie. “The donations are being given to the local homeless agency, and with the holidays just around the corner, it is important to think of others.”
The image of the homeless man on the corner from earlier flashed through Meghan’s mind, and she nodded emphatically. “Yes, you are right,” she said to Kirsty. “We’ll both be there.”
Kirsty tossed her blonde hair behind her shoulder and smiled haughtily. “That’s what I wanted to hear,” she told both ladies. “Wonderful. Just bring something for the homeless folks who attend. You can even bring something store-bought, Meghan. Just make sure you have something for them, as well as your donation. Toodles, girls! See you at the Christmas carol.”
Jackie rolled her eyes as Kirsty sashayed out of the boutique. “How did we just get roped into that?”
Meghan shrugged. “Kirsty is right,” she told Jackie. “It’s the season of love and giving. I can whip up a batch of cookies to take with me, and we’ll both go. Besides, it’s only for a few hours, and it’s for a great cause. What could go wrong?
On the evening of the event, Jack picked Meghan up from the bakery. His blonde hair was smoothed down with gel, and Meghan thought he looked handsome in his green Christmas sweater.
“Thanks for going with me tonight,” Meghan said to Jack as she leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him softly on the lips.
“Of course,” he replied. “It’s a good cause, and I’m proud of you.”
Meghan smiled. “It will be fun. It’s always good to give back.”
Jack and Meghan drove to the Sandy Bay Community Center, and as he helped Meghan out of the car, her eyes sparkled with joy. “Look at the decorations,” she cried, pointing to a ten-foot high Christmas tree positioned outside of the main entry. “It’s beautiful.”
Jack playfully swatted Meghan on the arm. “Don’t you know by now that Sandy Bay knows how to celebrate?”
Jack took Meghan’s hand as they entered the massive main room. Meghan saw Kirsty assembling carolers onto bleachers, and she waved at Jackie from across the room. “I’m going to go get settled. Can you put my cookies on that dessert table over there?”
Jack nodded, taking the bag from Meghan’s hands. “Of course. You go have fun!”
Meghan scurried over to where the singers were corralled, but as she began to ascend the stairs to her row on the bleachers, she heard a shout. Meghan turned to see four men shoving each other next to the dessert table.
“I want all of those cookies. You ate too much cake.”
“Don’t be selfish. My kids need some food too.”
“This stupid party was the only way to get some good food, and I’m going to take what I want.”
Meghan saw one of the men reach into the bag and take out her cookies. From his tattered clothes and greasy hair, she presumed he was homeless. She watched in horror as he threw her cookies onto the
floor.
“I’ll be right back,” Meghan whispered to Jackie as she took off across the room. “Hey, sir? Sir? I only made enough so that each person could have two cookies.”
The man scowled, but he nodded at Meghan. “Sorry. I was just excited.”
Meghan felt a hard tap on her shoulder. She heard Jack’s deep voice coming toward her. “Don’t you touch her!”
Meghan’s heart beat faster as she turned around. Jack ran to her side, but as she made eye contact with the man who touched her shoulder, she gasped.
“What do you think you are doing?” Jack demanded as he stepped between Meghan and the man. “Keep your hands off of my girlfriend.”
The man chuckled, winking at Meghan. “Who do I think I am? Meghan, honey? Wanna tell ‘em?”
Meghan’s jaw-dropped. “Daddy,” she whispered. “Daddy, I can’t believe you are here.
Click here to find out what happens next in Jingle Bells and Deadly Smells, the 10th book in the Sandy Bay Cozy Mystery Series!
ALSO BY AMBER CREWES
The Sandy Bay Cozy Mystery Series
Apple Pie and Trouble (Book 1) – OUT NOW
Brownies and Dark Shadows (Book 2) – OUT NOW
Cookies and Buried Secrets (Book 3) – OUT NOW
Donuts and Disaster (Book 4) – OUT NOW
Éclairs and Lethal Layers (Book 5) – OUT NOW
Finger Foods and Missing Legs (Book 6) – OUT NOW
Gingerbread and Scary Endings (Book 7) – OUT NOW
Hot Chocolate and Cold Bodies (Book 8) – OUT NOW
