’Twas the night before Christmas… and Homicide Inspector Rebecca Mayfield is called to a shopping-center parking lot where a man dressed as Santa has been found dead.

Richie Amalfi is driving a vanload of old friends—twelve men dressed as Santa Claus—to a “special event” in San Francisco. But when the old men drive off with the van—without Richie—he goes to the police for help finding them. Instead, he suddenly finds himself a major link to Rebecca’s investigation.

With one dead Santa already on her hands and twelve more Santas suddenly popping up all over the city, Rebecca has plenty of questions for the man who somehow “lost” them. Who is the missing Santa? What happened to him? And why does Richie Amalfi seem so determined to get involved?

Rebecca doesn't know Richie, doesn't trust him, and certainly doesn't appreciate his interference. But as the mystery unfolds, the irritating stranger may know more than he's telling—and may be the only person who can help her figure out what happened to the thirteenth Santa.

Set well before the Rebecca Mayfield Mysteries begin, this special Christmas novella introduces Rebecca and Richie at their very first meeting. Their story continues in One O'Clock Hustle, the first full-length Rebecca Mayfield mystery.