Winter Festival Murder Read online

  Of course the audience gave a little polite applause like a good Minnesotan audience always does. Ronald grinned and I took the chance to look around the crowd a little bit. It seemed like most of the town had turned out and I was happy to see Clark towards the back of the crowd standing next to Rich and Charlie. Mandy and Trevor were standing not too far away from me. I wasn't sure if Trevor actually looked happy for once or if I just knew he was happy to be with Mandy and so he looked happier than he used to. Either way, I felt like this experience had also brought me a tiny bit closer to Trevor. If nothing else, it helped me not hate him anymore.

  "The biggest reason I called all of you here was because there is a townsperson here who needs some special recognition," Ronald was saying.

  My stomach dropped when I realized that townsperson was me. I knew he would try something like this, but for some reason, it still blindsided me. All I could think about was how I was supposed to get on stage if I was in a wheelchair.

  "Tessa, if you could please come up on the, ah, to the, umm," Ronald started to stutter as he looked around, realizing there was no ramp for me to be pushed up. "Oh dear."

  "Don't worry Ronald, I'll bring her up."

  Max appeared next to me, my knight in shining armor as ever. He bent down and put my one arm around his neck hoisting me up like I weighed nothing. Max might be on the shorter side, but he is built like a bodybuilder.

  He walked me up the stairs onto the stage where Ronald was waiting. I felt a little awkward, but Ronald just looked happy that we had figured out a way to get me up on stage.

  "Oh good, thank you Officer Marcus," Ronald said before turning back to the crowd. "I'm sure you've all read the newspaper this morning, so I will save you from my replay of the story, but suffice to say that Tessa has saved the medallion hunt and the festival so that it can happen again next year. So this year, I think it's only fair that we show our appreciation by presenting her with this year's medallion."

  The crowd clapped and Ronald pulled the medallion out of his pocket, making a big show of holding it up in the air before presenting it to me. I took the medallion from him, not exactly sure what to do with it besides hold it in my hands.

  Max thankfully gave a little wave and walked me back down the stairs before it got too awkward. He set me down in the wheelchair and then started to wheel me back towards where Clark was standing next to Rich and Charlie. Clark smiled at me, but seemed kind of distant. I hoped he wasn't too upset about Max carrying me up onto the stage. He shouldn't be; it wasn't like he'd offered to help.

  "I'm glad you're okay Tessa," he said before excusing himself. I couldn't help but notice that he was headed right towards where Chelsea was standing in the crowd. I chose to ignore that for now and turned back to Charlie and Rich.

  "Tessa, I'm not sure how I can repay you," Charlie said. He bent down and shook my hand. "Not only did you help to get me out of jail, but now my father knows about my money troubles and he's agreed to help me. I feel so stupid like I should have just asked for help at the beginning but at least now everything is falling into place. And you are who I have to thank for it."

  "The next time you stop in for dinner at the Loony Bin, it's on us," Rich said. "The next few times, I suppose I should say."

  Charlie and Rich excused themselves to get back to work at the bar and Max and I were left together. He wheeled me over and parked me next to a park bench before running to get us two large, warm soft pretzels. And while we watched the snow fall, we ate our pretzels in silence. It felt good to be next to someone I think I was falling in love with again. Maybe, just maybe I was done dating casually. I just hoped that Max felt the same.

  Other Books in the Series

  Book One:

  Halloween Hayride Murder

  Tessa Schmidt was floating through life after losing her husband Peter in a car accident until her parents convinced her to return to her hometown of Shady Lake. Moving back to the small town in Minnesota where she grew up provides a welcome retreat as she helps run the B&B where her parents live while hanging out at her best friend Mandy's donut shop. She has even started to go out on a few dates, mostly with her high school boyfriend, Max and the new teacher in town, Clark.

  With the annual Halloween Hayride coming up, Tessa is excited to be part of the committee that runs the town's largest fundraiser. Everything is going great, until Earl Stone tries to personally profit from it.

  As everyone tries to make sure the Hayride is on track, Tessa finds something that really might shut it down for good: someone murdered Earl in the field where the Hayride takes place. And they did it by running him over with the Halloween Hayride!

  Can Tessa figure out who killed Earl and get the Halloween Hayride back on track before it's too late?

  Read it now on Amazon. (Also available in Kindle Unlimited.)

  Book Two:

  Christmas Shop Murder

  Tessa Schmidt, lover of all things seasonal, is happy to hear that Shady Lake is going to have their very own Christmas shop. Sue Peterson is going to turn the Used-A-Bit, her second hand store, into a Christmas shop set to open on Black Friday. Tessa's family owns a bed and breakfast and she has decided to undertake the large task of decorating for the holidays, so the new shop is just what she needs. Unfortunately, the landlord of the building has died and the new landlord, Claire Freeman, is not willing to cut Sue any slack on her past due rent. Once December is over, Sue's store is out and Claire's self-service dog washing and grooming salon is moving in.

  As if Tessa isn't busy enough decorating and working at the bed and breakfast along with volunteering to help Sue set up the Christmas shop, her mother slips on a patch of ice and breaks her leg leaving, all of the family holiday preparations to Tessa. Tessa has so much on her plate that it is almost overflowing.

  But then Black Friday comes and Claire is found dead in the Christmas Shop just before the grand opening. Multiple people close to Tessa come under suspicion, so once again she finds herself investigating a murder to make sure that everyone can be home in time for Christmas. Will Tessa be able to solve the murder while maintaining her holiday cheer?

  Christmas Shop Murder is available now on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited.

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  About the Author

  Linnea West lives in Minnesota with her husband and two children. She taught herself to read at the age of four and published her first poem in a local newspaper at the age of seven. After a turn as a writer for her high school newspaper, she went to school for English Education and Elementary Education. She didn't start writing fiction until she was a full time working mother. Besides reading and writing, she spends her time chasing after her children, watching movies with her husband, and doing puzzle books. Learn more about her and her upcoming books by subscribing to her weekly newsletter.

  Note From the Author: Reviews are gold to authors! If you've enjoyed this book, would you consider rating it and reviewing it on Amazon? Thank you!

  Copyright

  Winter Festival Murder by Linnea West

  © 2018 Mikki Tuohy

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:

  [email protected]