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    Sugar Plum Bliss: A Cornwall & Redfern Mystery, #4.6
    Sugar Plum Bliss: A Cornwall & Redfern Mystery, #4.6
    Sugar Plum Bliss: A Cornwall & Redfern Mystery, #4.6
    Ebook107 pages1 hour

    Sugar Plum Bliss: A Cornwall & Redfern Mystery, #4.6

    By Gloria Ferris

    ()

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    About this ebook

    BLISS WILL MAKE CHRISTMAS HAPPEN, OR ELSE

    Not feeling the Spirit this year, Bliss Moonbeam Cornwall nonetheless must organize Lockport's First Responders' Christmas Gala. She orders the appetizers and desserts. She warns the DJ not to play holiday music or risk non-payment. The bartender is advised to have plenty of beer on tap for the cops, firefighters, paramedics, and bylaw officers. Check, check, and check.

    Although the sound of festive music blasting from every store gets on her last nerve, Bliss buys the decorations to transform St. Mary's Church hall into a holiday wonderland. Since red and green are so blah, she goes with – plum, to match the dozens of sugar plums on the menu. Just like that, she creates a non-traditional theme! The four reluctant teenagers she recruits to decorate the hall don't hate it, a warning Bliss ignores.

    The night of the Gala, Police Chief Neil Redfern, Bliss's hot, blond husband, straps on his gun. Is he expecting something other than joyful merriment at the party? Could his suspicions be connected to the media room that seems to lock and unlock itself?

    These questions are answered before the evening is over when more than fun and laughter rock the church hall. A trip to the emergency room forces Bliss to reconsider her priorities, not just for the Yuletide Season, but her future. Will she and Neil have their worst Christmas ever? Or, their best yet?

     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGloria Ferris
    Release dateNov 12, 2024
    ISBN9781738869244
    Sugar Plum Bliss: A Cornwall & Redfern Mystery, #4.6
    Author

    Gloria Ferris

    Gloria Ferris is a former technical writer who now writes mysteries, both paranormal and humorous. Her first novel in the Cornwall and Redfern series, Corpse Flower, won the Unhanged Arthur Ellis Award in 2010, and her first novel, Cheat the Hangman, won the 2012 Bony Blithe Award. Gloria lives in Guelph, Ontario.

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      Book preview

      Sugar Plum Bliss - Gloria Ferris

      Copyright © Gloria Ferris 2024

      GENRE: Mystery/Thriller & Suspense/Police Procedural/Humour

      SUGAR PLUM BLISS

      A Cornwall & Redfern Mystery

      Book 4.6 A Bliss & Neil Christmas Short

      First Edition

      ISBN: Print 978-1-7388692-5-1

      ISBN: ebook 978-1-7388692-4-4

      All rights reserved. No part of this text or cover design may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any database for the purpose of training any model to generate text, including without limitation, technologies capable of generating works in the same style or genre without the author’s express permission to do so. The author does not permit or allow the right to sublicense, reproduce, or use this text or cover design for the purpose of training such generative text or art platforms without the author’s specific and express prior-written permission.

      This work of fiction is the sole product of the author’s imagination and creativity and has not knowingly been influenced by the assistance of or generated by the use of generative text commonly referred to as artificial intelligence or large language model. The cover art is likewise the product of the creativity of the artist listed below and has not been knowingly influenced by or generated in part or in whole by any generative imagery algorithm.

      Computers make excellent and efficient servants, but I have no wish to serve under them.

      (Mr. Spock, Star Trek Season 2 – Episode 24 1968)

      Written in Canadian English

      For more information, contact gloriaferriswrites@gmail.com

      Editing: Donna Warner djwarnerconsulting.blogspot.com

      Cover Design: MJ Moores, infinite-pathways.org

      Cover Images: Deposit Photos

      SUGAR PLUM BLISS Cast of Characters

      Say Hello to the Friends You Know

      Ipicked myself off the parking lot in front of my car and brushed the snow off my coat and jeans. Would it kill Chico to have his staff come in a few minutes early after a storm and clear the lot for customers? At least get Christmas shoppers inside the building before the slippery tile floors dumped them on their asses. Bliss Moonbeam Cornwall could not afford a broken bone. Too much to do.

      I nearly made it to the entrance, but my ringing phone distracted me and I fell on my butt, staying where I was while I fished my phone from my tote. It was a text from my manly, blond, hunk of hotness, known to the town of Lockport as Police Chief Neil Redfern. We were four months married but the magnetism between us had only intensified, despite our many differences. For instance, he enjoyed the Christmas season and I tried not to be too humbug about it.

      Bliss, where are you?

      CT pkg lot. Wr r you? Leaving most of the vowels out of my messages usually threw him off my track.

      How did you get out of our driveway?

      Amed fr gtes nd flrd it.

      There was a moment of non-activity. What’s that sound? Are you playing Christmas Carols in your car?

      As if. I was on the ground close to the automatic doors. Every time I moved my arm, the doors opened and closed. When it opened, the notes of Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas rolled out. Quite entertaining, other than the music.

      After a few more nonsensical questions about my whereabouts, he disconnected. He wanted very badly to tell me to go home and stay off the roads but he was too smart for that.

      I got to my feet again, the back of my jeans soaked through to my skin, and lurched into the cart area where I grabbed one that was sure to have a wobbly, squeaky wheel. Using it for balance, I made my way safely across the wet floor and pointed the cart at the swinging barricade, the purpose of which nobody knew. My cart had four squeaking wheels.

      Other than the wheels and the carols, perfect timing. Last night’s storm forced shoppers to stay home for an extra hour to shovel out their driveways. I was pretty much alone in the vast store. First on the agenda, find my buddy, Chico Leeds.

      Being the owner/manager, he did as he pleased which meant he usually hung around the paint department and re-filed the little sample chips discarded by shade-challenged customers. Trouble was, Chico, like many men, had trouble with blues and greys. As a result, the blue section looked like a Roman mosaic bathhouse. An occasional lavender chip caught the eye, like an interior decorator elf worked all night to make it pretty.

      He stood behind the paint counter sorting a pile of grey chips, frowning in concentration. A green garland decorated with red balls draped across the counter. Red and green. Big yawn. Hey, Chico.

      He jumped a foot, and his handful of sample chips flew from his fingers and landed by his feet. Bliss. What are you doing here?

      Uh, shopping. I need decorations for the First Responders’ Christmas Gala tomorrow night. You promised to come and take pictures. Chico was a skilled, amateur photographer and we usually had loads of fun at social functions with his camera and my photogenic-ness.

      "I remember. Don’t you forget to bring my cheque."

      I spoke to the top of his curly head since he was on the floor picking up bits of paper. Glory signed the cheque and you’ll get it at the party. I’ll keep it safe in my shoe.

      I’d rather you store it in your bra. Did Glory include a seasonal tip?

      Have you met her? Glory Yates was the mayor of Lockport, and I worked as her part-time assistant as well as running my own cleaning business and a few side hustles, like on-line shopping for an exclusive clientele who appreciated designer handbags and shoes. Glory might be wealthy, but you know what they say — the rich don’t stay rich by giving away their money. Even if the money came from the taxpayers. Glory belonged to that club. Don’t worry. I’ll set up a tip jar.

      What do you want? Kind of late to be buying decorations for a Christmas party tomorrow night. Not that I want to talk you out of buying more, but you bought a lot of stuff last year for the greenhouse party. Why don’t you use those?

      That belongs to the greenhouse and will be used again next week for the community food drive after the parade. The First Responders’ budget is coming out of the town coffers, so I’ll need a good deal.

      "Can’t help you there, Bliss. This is the first week of December. Christmas paraphernalia won’t be marked down until the 22nd. Except for the odd loss leader. You can check the

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