Santa Puppy

Book 0: Tourist Trap Mystery

by Lynn Cahoon

Genres: Female Sleuths; Holiday books; Animal Cozy Mysteries

Synopsis

'Twas the season of Christmas, and all through South Cove, California, Santa is working overtime to deliver a special gift...

Jill Gardner has volunteered her Coffee, Books, and More to host a Christmas adopt-a-pet party. Among the potential forever friends is a male terrier named Baby, whose owner died of a heart attack. With few clues to go on, even finding the name of Baby's human is a daunting task. But there's no challenge too big for Jill this holiday season.

Playing Santa's Little Helper, Jill is determined to find out what happened — and to fulfill a long-time coming Christmas wish....

Release date: November 6, 2018

Publisher: Lyrical Press

Print pages: 112

Sample

CHAPTER 1

Home. It’s somewhere we can lay our heads at night. Where we can store our belongings and cook our food. Home is where we live with the people we love, raise our children, and cuddle with our pets. Some people live in houses. Some people live in homes. And a few, more than I’d like to admit, live in shelters and on the street, whether they be man or beast. I couldn’t do much regarding the human issue of homelessness today, but I’d had a brainstorm about the beast part.

Today, several of my friends and I were going to the Humane Society. With the window open, I could hear the waves crashing on the rocks as Greg King, my boyfriend and South Cove’s primary police detective, drove his pickup truck up the Pacific Coast Highway to Bakerstown.

Greg’s blond hair was just a little long, and the rushing wind was making him look like one of those models in the slow-motion ads. I’ll totally admit it. My boyfriend is a hottie. But his best attribute is a huge heart. He reached over and squeezed my hand. “This is an exciting project. Just think how many pets will be adopted after next Saturday’s party.”

“What if they’re not? It’s not fair that they have to be in those cages in the first place. They didn’t do anything wrong.” My resolve was wavering. Maybe I could bring home at least one small dog. Emma, my golden retriever, wouldn’t mind having a new friend.

“Jill, you know you can’t save the world. We’re going to make those dogs so irresistible that no one will be able to say no.” He turned up the volume on the stereo and started humming along with a Christmas carol.

I guess I should introduce myself. I’m Jill Gardner, and I run the only bookstore slash coffeehouse in South Cove. Well, I own the place. My aunt Jackie is the manager and she runs the store—and me, most days. Of all the places I’ve ever lived, South Cove feels like home. The town is the perfect little tourist spot right off Highway 1. We have one restaurant and a ton of art studios and galleries and a few specialty shops, so if you’re looking for coffee and a treat, it’s either my place—Coffee, Books, and More—or Diamond Lille’s. We have a pretty good hold on the food business. The closest grocery store is in Bakerstown. A fact I’d bemoaned more than once.

“Hey, when we’re done at the shelter, can we stop by the store? I need to pick up some things for the house, and I doubt that I’ll be this way again before the Christmas party.”

Greg nodded reluctantly, which was his usual response when I asked him to go shopping with me. The guy didn’t mind cooking dinner, but he hated stepping into the store. I knew I wouldn’t have much time once we stopped, so I took out my phone and started making a quick list of what I needed. I’d told Amy I’d be part of her Christmas cookie exchange, so I needed to bake eight dozen cookies before the party on Wednesday. What had I been thinking? And what was I going to do with seven dozen cookies once I got home?

“How many cookies can I bring down to the station on Thursday?” The people who worked for Greg were always looking for free food.

He looked at me, not smiling, but I could see the humor in his eyes even through his sunglasses. “You know Amy will be bringing in her extras. And Sasha’s going. She’ll bring in some even though Toby’s dating Elisa now.” Greg sighed. “That guy needs to settle down. I’m tired of the string of women flowing through the station. But that’s not my business. Anyway, cookie-wise, you’re going to have to be more creative than just dumping them at the station.”

“See, this is the problem with being friends with the people you work with. They all have the same oversupply of cookies.” I leaned my head back and let my hand hang out the window, playing with the wind currents. “I should have told Amy I was busy that night. Or sick. I could be sick and then I wouldn’t have to go. No one wants cookies from a sick woman.”

“I’ll help you make cookies Tuesday night. It will be fun. We can turn on Christmas movies and drink eggnog while we bake.” He paused, glancing at me. “Unless you want to ask your aunt to come bake with you. It would be a fun time.”

“I don’t think Aunt Jackie wants to help. Besides, she works the late shift on Wednesday.” Which was a perfectly good excuse for why she’d said no to Amy’s invitation. I sighed and checked my phone. No messages. “And she won’t let me take her shift.”

“She’s a mean one, your aunt,” Greg deadpanned.

“Not funny. You know she and Harrold are coming to the shelter today to help bathe the dogs. I don’t know what she’s even thinking. These dogs aren’t all teacup poodle–size.”

“Your aunt will be fine. She’ll handle whatever comes her way. And if the dog she’s given is too big, I’ll switch her out.” Greg turned the car onto the road that would take us to the shelter parking lot. “You’re kind of grumpy today. It’s a good thing we’re going to go work with puppies. Maybe that will cheer you up.”

“I’m not grumpy.” But even as I said it, I knew it was a lie. I was out of sorts. Maybe it was because of the upcoming holiday. Maybe it was because of the cookies. Whatever it was, I was South Cove’s version of a scrooge. I took a deep breath and sent the bad juju out of my body with my breath. The positive-mantra trick was one of Amy’s suggestions. She was way into the California New Age lifestyle, as long as it didn’t affect her surfing obsession. I believed that a bad mood happened and it never hurt anyone. Being sunny and happy all the time just wasn’t a natural state of the human condition.

Amy and her boyfriend, Justin, would be joining us at the shelter. I guess I needed to blow off. . .