A Murder Moist Foul: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery (Frosted Love Mysteries Book 1) (8 page)

Missy awoke, afraid to turn her
head or open her eyes, fearing that a debilitating headache would strike yet
again.  She needn’t have worried, however, after a full night’s sleep and
several bags of intravenous fluid, she was feeling much more like herself when
she at last, courageously, slowly opened her eyes.

Looking to her left, she
immediately saw Detective Beckett sprawled gracefully in an
uncomfortable-looking mauve-colored hospital chair.  He was studying her intently,
and as soon as she met his gaze, he smiled softly.

“You’ve had quite a night, Ms.
Gladstone,” he observed quietly.  Missy just smiled ruefully, indicating her
agreement.  Chas picked up a cup of ice water and held the straw to her lips. 
Drinking deeply, the water felt amazing on her still-parched throat.

“Thank you,” Missy reached up and
took the cup of water gratefully.  “Now that I’m not woozy from whatever drugs
that psycho used on me, tell me what happened,” she ordered, continually
sipping her water.

“Well, as you might have suspected,
we stumbled upon the person who murdered Darryl Davis, and…” the detective
frowned slightly, leaving his sentence unfinished.

“...And my sister?” Missy supplied,
closing her eyes at the thought.

“Yes,” Beckett confirmed.

“Who was it?  Was I right, was it
that terrible woman from the flower shop?” she demanded, tears slipping slowly
down her cheeks.  Chas reached out to brush her tears away lightly with his
fingertips.

“No, it wasn’t Amanda Madison.  She
owns the Fleur de Lis, but it wasn’t her, it was her assistant, Armand
Thibedeaux.  Apparently he had dated Darryl Davis briefly, prior to Darryl
meeting and becoming infatuated by your sister.  He tried and tried to rekindle
an interest in Darryl, but Darryl was so fixated on Sherilyn that he had eyes
for no one else.  Even after your sister rejected him again and again, Darryl
refused to go out with Armand.  We found information in his cabin that
indicated he had plotted your death years ago, as a result of the recipe
incident. Armand was fiercely protective of Darryl for some reason, and anyone
who could be perceived as a threat to him was targeted for destruction.”

“Why did you take my lipstick?”
Missy asked, suddenly remembering.

Chas sighed and shook his head.  “You
knew you were a person of interest.  When the lab results came back from the
cigarette butt that you provided me, there were trace indications of lipstick. 
No DNA, just lipstick, so I wanted to do a cross-check that would hopefully
rule out the possibility that it was yours,” he admitted, shrugging
apologetically.

“Well it doesn’t take much
detective work to determine that,” Missy scoffed, “Charles Beckett, you know I
don’t smoke!”

“That’s what you had told me, yes,
but I had to be certain.”

“So whose lipstick was on that
cigarette butt?” Missy was mystified.

“We didn’t find out until later. 
It seems that Armand had a willing accomplice,” Chas began.

“What?  Who?” Missy interrupted,
sitting up straighter in the bed.

“Darryl’s sister, Rhonda,” the detective
replied, shaking his head.

“But...why?  Why would his own
sister participate in his murder?” Missy was astounded.

Beckett grimaced, dreading the
prospect of what he had to tell her next.  “She didn’t help Armand murder
Darryl, she helped him murder Sherilyn.  The boy that Rhonda loved when she and
Sherilyn were in high school committed suicide when Sherilyn refused to go to
the prom with him and Rhonda never got over it.  She also was next in line to
inherit Darryl’s Donuts if something happened to Darryl, despite never having
worked in her life, so even though she was unwilling to participate directly,
she knew of Armand’s plans to murder Darryl and went along with them.”

“So why was she lurking around my
house at night?” Missy wondered.  “That doesn’t make sense.” She shook her head
trying to take it all in.

“You loved Sherilyn, you raised
Sherilyn, and you had the successful life, against all odds, that Rhonda had
always longed for but didn’t know how to achieve.  She figured that if you were
murdered, it would seem as though the murders were related to the food industry
or local business owners rather than personal vendettas, so she volunteered to
take you out on Armand’s behalf.  She’d own Darryl’s Donuts, she would have
vengeance for lost love, and no one would be the wiser, but you were beginning
to figure things out, so Armand kidnapped you himself to speed up the process.”

Missy sipped her water, stunned. 
“So...how did you find me?”

“Your neighbor let us in to your
house when we realized you had gone missing, and I found the notebook that
you’ve been keeping.  I read about the Cheesecake lady and the hydrangeas and
decided to dig deeper.  Amanda told me all about the huge crush that Armand had
on Darryl, and I got a warrant to search his apartment.  While I was there,
gathering evidence that linked him to Darryl’s murder, I received a call from
the state police that Armand had wrapped his car around a tree just a few miles
from the cabin that he had inherited from his grandmother a few years ago.  He
was conscious enough to question and admitted that you were being held captive
in the cabin. You pretty much know the rest from there.”

“So he’s going to jail?” Missy
queried, eyes round with fear, remembering her harrowing ordeal.

“He and Rhonda are both going to
jail for a very long time,” he assured her.  “You have nothing more to worry
about,” he patted her hand gently and smiled.  “You just focus on your recovery
and let me worry about the bad guys okay?”  Missy smiled in response, nodding. 
“Good - because when you get out of here, I’m guessing you’re going to be
hungry for a nice juicy steak.”  For the first time since she had known him,
Chas grinned broadly, and she was filled with hope.

A letter from the Author

To each and every one of my beautiful readers:
I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I
enjoyed writing it.  Let me what you think by leaving a review!

I’ll be releasing another installment in Late February 2015 so to stay
in the loop (and to get free books and other fancy stuff)
Join my Book club
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Stay Curious,

Carol Durand