The Bad Penny by Cate Martin

Dorothy Lundegaard and her brother John spent Thanksgiving 1936 in different cities. And they spent Thanksgiving 1935 grieving their father. All Dottie wants is for Thanksgiving 1937 to be a little better. A simple meal with her brother. That's all she longs for.

But even a simple meal costs money. And money is something the Lundegaard siblings always have too little of.

Then a friend from Dottie's past comes to Lundegaard Investigations for help with a family problem. The same long lost cousin keeps turning up. Uncovering which of the cousins belongs at the family table in time for the holiday presents a challenge. But when the reward is a family dinner of their own, the Lundegaards rise to meet it.

"The Bad Penny," a short story in the continuing Dorothy Lundegaard Mysteries.