Election Day Murder: Jackson Hole Moose's Bakery Not So Cozy Mystery #5 (Jackson Hole Moose's Bakery Not So Cozy Mysteries)


 
 
 
 Election Day Murder
 A Jackson Hole Moose’s Bakery Not So Cozy Mystery #5
 
 
 
 
 Sue Pepper
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
 Copyright © 2023 Sue Pepper
 All rights reserved.
 No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any forms, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the author. Trademarked names appear throughout this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, names are used in an editorial fashion, with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark(s).
 Cover by Sue Pepper
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Created with Vellum
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Content Warning
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 2
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 3
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 4
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 5
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 6
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 7
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 8
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 9
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 10
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 11
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 12
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 13
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 14
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 15
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 16
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 17
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 18
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 19
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 20
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 21
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 22
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 23
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter 24
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Author’s Note
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Acknowledgments
 
 
 
 
 
 
 About the Author
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Also by Sue Pepper
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 For SDB. The world is yours.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.”
 
 
 
 
 
 —Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first Jewish woman and the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Content Warning
 
 
 
 
 
 Aside from the traditional off-page murder in this book, this book also includes peril from a fire. Adultery including an age-gap relationship is a major plot point. In Chapter 23, the villain brandishes a gun and threatens to shoot two characters and themselves. As always, while a certain brown dog might get into mischief, he is happy and well at the end of the book.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter
 One
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 “I
 love the smell of local politics in the morning!” Kendall Craig shouted, raising her voice to be heard over the eighteen-wheeler roaring by. She expertly spun the oversized ‘Paige Gates-Ortiz for Mayor’ sign she held, and the trucker rewarded her with a horn toot.
 Sadie Moose grimaced but waved a gloved hand at the semi driver. She blew out a puff of air and stomped her feet to warm them. It was chilly for the first Tuesday in November, even in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
 “You gotta smile!” Kendall encouraged her, a wide grin pasted on her face. She was a muscular white woman in her early twenties with close-cropped dark hair and delicate piercings along her ears, both currently shoved under a Carhartt beanie. She executed a behind-the-back sign spin move and Sadie rolled her eyes.
 “Not everyone’s as professional as you, Kendall,” Sadie said. She was a full-figured white woman with long brown hair, freckles on her nose, and glasses. She waved her sign at a red pickup that gave her a rude gesture in return. The driver honked and thumbs-upped at the sign wavers for Paige’s competitor, Wade Fisher, across the busy intersection. He was decided, then.
 “That’s true,” Kendall said. “Back in college, I waved signs for the Original Bob’s sub shop. Not Bob’s Original, mind you. Much different.”
 “Like the difference between Alfredo’s Pizza Cafe and Pizza by Alfredo?”
 “Is that an Office
 reference?”
 Sadie frowned. “Yes.”
 “You’re such a millennial,” Kendall sighed.
 “And you’re such a Gen-z-er,” Sadie sighed back.
 “That’s why we’re such great business partners,” a new voice said behind them, and Kendall’s eyes lit up.
 “Babe!” She put the sign over her arm and spun to pick her fiancé and business partner, Claire Cabot, up in a giant hug. “You’re back early!”
 Claire, a petite white woman with pale blonde hair and hazel eyes, wrapped her arms around Kendall’s neck and laughed as they twirled. They kissed, and Sadie’s heart swelled with happiness for them. Claire had been gone on a business trip overseas for weeks, and Kendall had been lonesome without her. Of course, that meant she’d been even more attached to Sadie than normal, but considering how busy things were at the bakery and coffee kiosks they ran together, it had been okay. She’d been forced to partake in a lot of TikToks, but that was to be expected when a celebrity TikToker hung around.
 “My, if that’s what Paige Gates-Ortiz stands for, you can count me as a yes,”