Chapter 1:

Jessica Fletcher sat in her favorite plaid armchair by the window of her childhood home in Cabot Cove, Maine, sipping chamomile tea and reading her newest favorite book, Twilight.

Now this is what I call writing, she thought with satisfaction.

Yes, it sure was a fine day for the 81 year old woman. The sun shined through the opened frame, carried by wisps of salty air from the nearby harbor. Jessica was about to get to her favorite part with the jumper cables and the moaning, when there came a knock upon the door.

"Now who could that be?" spoke Jessica out loud.

It wasn't Sunday, so that meant it wasn't Henry the postman coming for his weekly protection money. Cabot Cove had a bit of a mob problem in the postal services

She stood from her chair, hobbled to the old wooden door, and opened it slightly to peek out the side.

It was good ole' Sheriff Douglas!

Jessica opened the door wide open. "Why, hello there, Sheriff!"

Douglas tipped his hat to her with a wink. "Morning Ms. Fletcher!" he greeted.

Jessica folded her arms and raised an eyebrow knowingly. "Let me guess, you need me to solve more murders which for some reason keep happening everyday in our little town?"

"No, no, the police are actually doing some work for once. What I need from you is to take this letter." Douglas reached into his pocket, and pulled out an envelope, stained brown by a coffee spill. He handed it to Jessica, who tucked it in her sweater pocket.

Douglas scratched his chin "For some reason I keep getting your mail. I'll have to start paying extra in protection fees to get the mailman on track."

She smiled and nodded to the sheriff. "Thank you very much Douglas. Goodbye, now!"

Douglas waved goodbye, and walked back to his police car, whistling that ominous tune from Kill Bill for some reason.

Jessica closed the door and sat at her dining room table, fetching her reading glasses along the way. She took out the brown envelope, and noticed a stamp of a snowman on the top right corner.

"Oh! I know that stamp anywhere! This means the letter is from my dear sister Muriel from Scotland, whom I haven't seen or heard from in ten years!" she exclaimed to nobody in particular. She has a habit of talking to herself in inconvenient moments.

She tore open the envelope with an antique letter opener, and read aloud what it said:

Dear Jessica,

How are you, sis? I haven't seen you in so long. Oh my, it must've been 10 years by now! Me and my husband Eustace are still here in Nowhere, so I'm not certain whether or not you've been getting my letters of invitation. We have pretty bad postal service in the middle of Nowhere. Any who, I cordially invite you to Courage's 8th birthday! If you haven't been reading my earlier letters, he's my new doggie! Well, not really my new dog, I've had him for about 8 years now, but you've never met him. I would be honored if you would come down and attend with the rest of our family. I promise, nothing ever happens here, so there won't be any mysteries that you'll be forced to solve. Toodles!

-Forever Yours,
Muriel

Well that was quite a shock for old Mrs. Fletcher. It has been such a long time since she's seen her estranged sister. What did she look like now? Was she still as thin and beautiful as the last time? Jessica didn't know. Perhaps it was the proper time to reunite once more.

She reached for her old-style dial phone, spent five minutes turning the wheel numbers, and booked a train trip to the middle of Nowhere leaving tomorrow morning.

"I haven't been on an adventure since three days ago. It's time for a change!" Jessica exclaimed, raising a fist in the air as a sign of challenge. If only she knew of the strange adventures that awaited her...