WINTER MURDERLAND (PAPERBACK)

Chapter 1

It was a tiny, cramped office, with boxes in the corners that still needed unpacking and fine layers of dust left behind by the most recent owner. The walls were thin and let in as much of the chilly winter air as the windows did the festive lights. Even the location was less than ideal—though Blackwood Cove was not a large town, a building on the very edge of it still felt much too far away. There were very few positives that anyone could come up with regarding the cramped space, but to Jasmine, it was perfect.

"I can't believe we have our own office," Jasmine said, shaking her head. "It feels so official."

"Still needs a doggy door," her golden retriever Luffy replied. He couldn't complain much, though—an entire corner of the room had been cleared out to make space for a fluffy dog bed and a food bowl for him. There were even a few toys sprinkled about so he wouldn't get restless. Jasmine had put more thought into his accommodations than her own.

"We'll figure that out," she promised anyway. She had worked extremely hard to open her own office as an official private detective, and she would not cut corners now. "Our first task should be to find some clients, though. We need a good first case to get us on the radar."

"I can talk to some of the dogs around town. They'll know if anyone has problems that need investigating."

"We need them to come to us," Jasmine said, shaking her head. "Remember, we're not chasing down our own cases anymore. We're going to help people who ask for it, not go searching for trouble."

"Maybe once we find the case, you can convince them to ask for help?" Luffy suggested.

Jasmine shook her head again. Like Luffy, she was excited to get started, but she had read a bunch of books about starting her own business. All of them insisted that if you went begging for your first customers, people would get the idea that your service wasn't good enough to stand on its own. Jasmine and Luffy were already off to a good start with a nice stint of publicity. After all, they did solve Blackwood Cove’s very first murder case.

"So, how do you want us to find business?"

"We have to put up advertisements," Jasmine answered, opening a couple of boxes looking for some papers she had misplaced. "I already wrote up a couple of paragraphs about it, and I bet Julie Barnes will give me a discount if I want to put it in the paper."

Julie Barnes was the chief editor of Blackwood Cove's tiny newspaper and had a complicated history with Jasmine involving two separate murder cases. They were on good terms now, and she still owed Jasmine a favor for helping her to relocate. It wouldn't reach a huge readership, but it would hopefully be enough to get her new business off the ground.

Before Jasmine could find the paper she was looking for with her advertisement, there was a knock at the door. Jasmine looked to Luffy and beamed with pride. "Maybe we won't need that advertisement after all."

But alas, when Jasmine opened the door, it wasn't a perspective client waiting to try out their new business. It was only her parents, holding a gift basket with a big ribbon.

"Hey there, Jaz," her dad greeted, carrying the basket past her to set it on her empty desk. "Your mom and I just wanted to drop by and see your new office."

"We're so proud of you," her mom laughed, hugging her.

"We always knew you had a bright future, but starting your own business is even more amazing than we expected."

"Thanks, guys. I was at home a few hours ago though... did you really need to come all this way to give me the basket?"

"Your father wanted to see what you've done with the office," her mom explained as her dad walked around in the tiny space.

"Where's this door lead to?" he asked, pushing on a door behind the desk.

"Upstairs. That's where the apartment is."

Apartment was a generous word, as the entire living area comprised the same floor space as the office. Aside from a bed and a tiny bathroom, there wasn't room for much, but the landlord threw it in for free with her rental of the office space. Jasmine was sure her parents would have been fine with her staying at home while she built up the business, but she liked the independence and convenience that the little apartment provided. Besides, it made her feel like a real detective, and she would need that confidence if she wanted her business to succeed.

"I'm going to look around," her dad said, opening the door to a narrow staircase. Jasmine hadn't been able to get the light to work, so as her father went upstairs, he disappeared into the darkness.

"He's just excited for you," her mother assured her. "I am too—I've already started telling everyone about your business."

"Great. The sooner we get our name out there, the sooner we'll be taking on our first case."

"We? It's only you in here, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Jasmine said, with a glance at Luffy. He was just as much a part of the team as she was, but she couldn't exactly explain how she could have full conversations with her dog to help solve cases. "It's just one of those company things, you know? The royal we, or something like that."

"That sounds like one of those things they taught you in those college writing classes. Glad to see they're getting some use."

Their actual use would be in the ad that Jasmine had written. There was a brief lull in the conversation and Jasmine used it as a chance to move around her office, opening a few more boxes in the search for the paper.

"You’ve certainly brought enough notebooks," her mother said, picking an empty one out of a box Jasmine had left open. "These boxes must have been a pain to get out here."

"I used to work in a bookshop. I managed."

At long last she found the paper she was looking for. The edge was still rough from where she had torn it out of a notebook and the handwriting was messy, but it would only take a few minutes to type up the whole thing and send it to Julie. She might even walk it there herself and step inside for a brief chat. She hadn't talked to Julie in a long while, and she could use some time in a properly climate-controlled building.

"It's not much of an apartment," her father frowned, ducking his head a bit as he came down the stairs.
"Quaint, I'd say, or cozy. What are those words that sound sweet but really mean tiny?"

"I know it's small. But the apartment is just where I'll be sleeping. I'll have a lot of work that'll keep me busy, and I know my way around town well enough to find things to do when I'm not."

"Speaking of things to do," her mother said. "Have you heard about that carnival they're bringing to town?"

Jasmine shook her head. She's been too busy getting the paperwork done for the new business to listen to any of the town gossip or even pay much attention to the news.

"Oh, well, it's all very exciting. It's all winter themed and they've got some really nice ice sculptures and fun sled rides for kids. I hear they even have rides and performances and everything that goes along with a usual carnival."

"And it's coming to Blackwood Cove?" Jasmine asked. The town was usually far too small to host anything like that. The only time she could ever remember going to a carnival had been when she was in kindergarten and her parents drove her three hours out of town to spend her birthday at one.

"Your father was surprised by that, too. I told him it was nothing to be too shocked by after all the publicity you and that Marlon Gale fellow brought in."

"They are coming here though," her father confirmed. "In fact, it looks like they'll be setting up pretty close to here. You know that stretch of road between here and the main town area? That's going to be their main area."

"Out where that old field is?" Luffy whined. "That field was one of my favorite parts of this place. Why did we even rent it if I'm not going to have a place to play?"

"Isn't that technically a park?" Jasmine asked, trying to rephrase Luffy's concerns.

"It was at some point, I suppose," her father agreed with a shrug. "But there are really only a few benches around there, and the carnival will only be here for the season. Probably too cold for most kids to be outside, anyway."

"It'll be lovely being so nearby," her mother encouraged, as if she could read the trepidation in Jasmine's voice.
"You should look at some pictures online—it's not at all like those traditional carnivals with the bright colors and obnoxious lights—all the ice and snow give it a really nice blue tone; it's almost graceful."

"Alright," Jasmine said. It didn’t thrill her, but she knew her parents had no more of a say in the matter than she did. She would get used to the carnival, and then once winter was over, they would be gone and she would be able to renew her focus on her detective work. She imagined that by then she would be a well-established private detective, and she would have far more important concerns than whether a traveling carnival was celebrating next door. Until then, it was good to stay positive about the whole thing. "Maybe I'll even stop by it sometime and see if it's any fun."

"That's the spirit. It can't be much colder than it is in here."

"If it's too chilly for you in here, why don't you and dad head on home? I still need to unpack everything, and I'm thinking of running into town to see if I can get Julie to run an ad in the paper for me."

"We can give you a ride," her father offered.

"It's not far," Jasmine said. "I can walk—maybe I'll even stop in the park and let Luffy get a few final moments of enjoying it before it gets turned into a carnival."

"And you're sure you don't need us to help you unpack?" her mother asked again.

"I am absolutely sure. You guys are acting like I've never been on my own before. I've got this."

"We just want to help you succeed."

"But if we're being stifling, we'll leave you alone," her mother promised. "We'll be at home if you need anything. Feel free to call or just stop by. Heaven knows Lulu would be excited to see you."

"I'll be around often. Just don't make me regret basing the new business in Blackwood Cove."

"Of course, of course," her mother said, finally moving towards the door. "We'll leave you alone now."

"Good luck with this," her father added. "It's a big step, but I know you're ready to make it."

With those final words of encouragement, Jasmine's parents left her alone. She sat down at her desk and leaned back, taking a deep breath. "That was... a lot."

"I think we should go see them next," Luffy said, wagging his tail. "I can play with Lulu and you can talk to your parents more."

"You just want to play with Lulu's fancy new toys."

"That's not true!" Luffy protested, but when Jasmine stared at him, he added: "I also enjoy running around the big house. There's not exactly much space to play here."

"That's what the park was supposed to be for. If you're feeling restless already, we can head out now."

"Yes!" Luffy agreed enthusiastically. "Let's go to the park."