Final Cycle

Marti and Nick have inherited The Bully Pulpit Diner in Logland, Illinois, and their first Christmas season has town grounch, Louella Belle Simpson, as a regular customer. She points out calorie content to other diners and lectures people on their weight. This doesn't encourage people to order pie. When Louella Belle turns up dead, there are plenty of people who were tired of listening to her, but murder seems like an extreme reaction.

Police Chief Elizabeth Friedman has few clues and little help from the alarmed Logland residents. No one at Man-Up Tatoos saw anything, and the Weed n' Feed Bar and Grill wasn't close enough for patrons to be helpful. Somebody had to have seen something, and when another senior citizen turns up dead, the chief figures someone must be trying to cover their tracks.

What do stolen bicycles, baggies with paint on them, and a brick through the chief's apartment window have to do with the killings? And does Medical Examiner Skelly figure out something that makes him a target, too? Will he be around to have Christmas Eve dinner with the chief?

As Elizabeth and the small Logland police force wade through suspects and clues, they learn some poignant facts that serve as a reminder of why we need to reach out to people who aren't easy to help. Join the eclectic mix of Logland characters as they try to solve a murder and celebrate Christmas.