Finding Jessie: Grace deHaviland Bounty Hunter Series

By David DeLee

Christmas. That special time of year when help can come from the most improbable of places.

It's Christmas Eve and bounty hunter Grace deHaviland's got plans. For once in her life, she actually won't be spending Christmas home alone.

But when a custody case results in a little girl being kidnapped, yuletide festivities will have to wait. As the weather outside turns frightful, Grace gets to work. Yet, even with all hands on-deck, meaning every police agency in the state on the lookout, and her best friend Sheriff's Deputy Suzie Jensen by her side, it may not be enough. What Grace needs to find Jessie before time runs out, may just be a Christmas miracle.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dark Road Publishing
• Release date: Mar 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215288771

David DeLee

David DeLee is the author of the Grace deHaviland Bounty Hunter series, including the novels Fatal Destiny, Pin Money, With Intent to Deceive, and Take Down. David's also written many short stories featuring Grace, most notably Bling, Bling, which appeared in the anthology The Rich and the Dead edited by Nelson DeMille, and Fatal Tryst, an audio version of which is available for free from Crime City Central http://crimecitycentral.com/crime-city-central-no-49-david-delee/ David's other work includes the novel Crystal White which SUSPENSE MAGAZINE called "...a dark portrayal of the evil that men—and women—can do.", the second Nick Lafferty thriller Out of the Game and a collection of short stories called Murder, Mayhem & Mystery: An Omnibus of Crime Fiction. David is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. He holds a Master's Degree in Criminal Justice and is a former licensed private investigator. A native New Yorker, David currently resides in New Hampshire. For more information be sure to check out his publisher's website - www.darkroadpub.com

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FINDING JESSIE

A Grace deHaviland Christmas Story

REBECCA GERRICK IGNORED the cell phone buzzing in her coat pocket. She couldn’t take the call. Not now. Not while she was working. Besides, she knew who it was. Matt. Her boyfriend. The same as the last seventeen text messages and nine voicemail messages he’d left, blowing up her phone for the last hour and a half.

It was late afternoon on Christmas Eve. She was at the Easton Town Center mall. The shopping center was a mixed-use indoor and outdoor shopping mecca on the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio.

She sat on a bench outside. It was cold. A Christmas tree decorated with blue lights and a white star topper towered over the town square. A group of costumed carolers stood on Townsfair Way and sang Silent Night. Mostly shoppers hurried by and paid little attention, their full bags rustling, banging against their legs, often deep in conversation or texting on their phones.

Rebecca sang along under her breath.

The sky had grown dark with the approaching evening. A gentle snow had begun to fall.

Festive, Rebecca thought approvingly, even as she shivered as the air grew chillier. She pulled the faux fur collar of her winter coat up around her neck and jammed her wool-gloved hands into the pockets of her coat. With her legs crossed, she bobbed one leg, hoping the movement would keep her warm. Thank goodness for her wool-lined Uggs. At least her toes were warm and toasty.

Rebecca’s phone buzzed again.

Again, she ignored it. Matt couldn’t understand why she had to work on Christmas Eve. It wasn’t civilized, he complained. No one works on Christmas Eve.

What about the clerks in all the retail stores, dummy?

It’s a supervised visit with his kid, Rebecca had tried to explain. And it’s Christmas. It would be heartless to not let him see his little girl on Christmas Eve.

Rebecca was a case worker for the Ohio Public Children Services Agency, the state’s child protective services. She was at the mall because one of her kids—she thought of them all as her kids—had a scheduled supervised visit with her father.

The man’s a criminal and junkie, Matt complained.

He should still be able to see his daughter on Christmas Eve, Rebecca had argued. Not that she had any choice in the matter. The visitation was court-ordered. There wasn’t anything Rebecca could do about it, even if she wanted to.

Which she did not, as she emphatically told Matt earlier in the day.

Across from where she sat, she could see the pink winter coat Jessie Armento wore with its white fur trim. She and her dad, Patrick, stood in a small crowd listening to the carolers sing. They’d moved on to Away in the Manger.

Jessie was a cute and funny nine-year-old. She had long brown hair that she’d asked Rebecca to tie into two cute ponytails. One tied off with a red ribbon, the other with a green one.

For Christmas, she’d said. For Daddy.

In addition to the belted pink coat, she wore a white wool hat with dangling pompoms and matching wool mittens. She stood listening to the singers with her back to Rebecca, her arm clutched around a well-loved, soiled white bear she’d named—appropriately enough—Teddy.

She also held her daddy’s hand.

Rebecca didn’t think much of him. A gangly man with hard breath. Thin. He had ugly pock-scarred cheeks. His long brown hair was greasy and unkempt. His eyes were always bloodshot and watery. Tonight,