Buttercream Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 7 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) (7 page)

When Chas returned to his car, he drove Missy and Echo down to the police station to wrap up some loose ends.

“How did you know Jimmy Cronister?” the detective asked Echo, recording her answers.

“Jimmy was a drug-runner for the jet-set crowd that I ran with in L.A.,” she replied dully. She had tried so hard to put her troubled past behind her, but it had caught up with her yet again.

“Did Cronister ever kill anyone that you know of?”

“I never saw him kill anyone, but there were lots of rumors, and he used to brag about how good it felt to see the life drain out of people and animals,” she gagged slightly at the last part.

“He grew up on a farm and moved to California as a teenager, is that right?”

“That’s the story that I heard,” she replied wearily.

“Do you know what type of farm?”

“They raised livestock. Cows, chickens, goats, sheep, pigs.”

“Did you ever have reason to believe that Mr. Cronister was a danger to you, personally?”

Echo nodded, her eyes welling with tears.

Chas leaned forward, filled with compassion. “Echo, I’m sorry, but for the sake of the recording, can you please give your answers audibly?”

“Yes, I knew that Jimmy wanted to kill me. He was one of the main reasons that I left California,” she explained, ashamed.

“Why did he want to kill you?”

“My ex-boyfriend owed him money and skipped town, so he held me captive and told me that he’d forgive the debt if I slept with him. I pretended to go along with the plan, but when Jimmy got naked and vulnerable, I kicked him where it counted and escaped. He screamed that he was going to kill me if it was the last thing he did, but I got away. I changed my name back to the one that my parents had given me, shaved off all of my hair and bought a shabby wardrobe from a second-hand store to try to disguise myself. I found the most obscure little town that I could and started my life over. And here we are.”

Echo had begun to cry about halfway through her story, and by the end of it, she was so choked up that she could barely speak. Missy shot a glance at Chas, and he ended the session, letting the distraught woman know that they had all they needed from her. She hurried from the room and leaned against the bathroom sink, splashing water in her face to calm down.

“Chas, how on earth did you find us?” she asked. “If you had been only a few minutes later, it could’ve been too late.”

“Oh, I don’t know, you seemed to take pretty darn good care of yourself when the occasion warranted it,” he smiled proudly at her. “We traced Jimmy’s cell phone to your house and had it surrounded before he ever turned on the light switch.”

“Is he the one who murdered that poor woman?” she asked, wide-eyed.

“Yes he is. We were able to tie him to the murder in a couple of ways. First, Echo’s assistant, Donna had said that a man came over and brought a cupcake for Echo that he claimed you had asked him to deliver. Echo was too busy to eat the cupcake, so when a customer of hers saw it sitting in the freezer case, she asked to buy it, and Donna sold it to her. The cupcake was dusted with poison and killed the victim. It had been intended for Echo. We showed a picture of Cronister, along with several other similar looking men, to Donna and she positively identified him as the man who had dropped off the cupcake.

The forensics guys found hairs on the body that were a DNA match for Jimmy, and some of those same hairs were found in Echo’s house and on the scarf that was in your house. There was a thin layer of residue on Cronister’s coverall of the poison that he had used, and the shoe print that was left in the blood at Sweet Love was an exact match for his shoes. There were also traces of blood on the sole of one shoe and on the cuff of his coveralls. We ran his info through the system and found out that he’s wanted for murder and several other crimes in quite a few other states, so my guess is that he’s going to be sitting in a small cell for quite some time.”

Missy stared at him for a long moment. “So you’re telling me that the man that I chewed out in my living room is a cold-blooded killer?” she whispered, aghast.

“Of the worst degree,” Chas nodded. “You’re a pretty impressive woman.”

Missy blanched. “Suddenly, I don’t feel so good…can we go home now?” she asked leaning into him shakily.

“Of course,” the handsome detective agreed. “Your place or mine?”

“Definitely yours.”

Now that Missy had the go-ahead to reopen her shops, she threw herself into making up for lost time. Customers whose orders had gone unfilled due to the shutdown were either compensated for their loss or had their orders delivered as soon as possible, with extra cupcakes to thank them for their patience. Ben brought in a couple of friends from grad school to help with deliveries and baking, and Missy worked 12-14 hour days for at least two weeks, catching up on her backlogged holiday orders.

By the time that she showed up at Chas’s doorstep for Thanksgiving dinner, she was once again exhausted from working too hard, but had made a point of still reserving time for romps in the park with Toffee, romantic evenings with Chas, and quiet cups of tea with Echo. She carried a heated container for her homemade pecan pie, and a crockpot full of the most moist, flavorful oyster stuffing on the planet, hoping to win Chas’s heart even further, via his stomach. He was preparing the turkey and an array of side dishes, including some vegan offerings for Echo, who would be bringing Missy’s favorite Vanilla Bean “Ice Cream” made with rice milk.

The sight of the handsome detective nearly took her breath away when he answered the door, dressed in perfectly tailored trousers, a crisp white button down shirt with a purple paisley tie, and a stiff-cloth apron featuring a smiling pineapple and the caption “What’s Cookin’?”  Taking the crockpot and pie container from her, Chas bent down to steal a quick kiss before heading to the kitchen. Missy had dressed for the occasion in an emerald-green dress that hugged her graceful curves in a way that drew the detective’s gaze whenever she happened to pass by. Toffee trotted into the immaculate home like she owned the place, and immediately settled in front of the fireplace.

Taking in the sight and scent of various pots simmering and sizzling on the stove, Missy nodded appreciatively. “It smells delicious in here Detective Beckett,” she grinned, moving over to where he hovered at the stove.

Chas put down his spatula and took her in his arms. “It looks pretty darn delicious in here too, Miss Gladstone,” he returned, devouring her with his eyes. He lowered his head to kiss her, and just as their lips met, the doorbell rang.

“Echo,” they said in unison. Missy giggled and ran to the front door to admit her dear friend, who always seemed to have the worst timing.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” Echo sang out when Missy opened the door. She carried and insulated case with the Vanilla Bean ice cream, and another bag, that when Missy took it from her, was surprisingly heavy.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” she replied, kissing her friend’s cheek. “What’s in here?”

“A little gift for you and Mr. Wonderful for taking such good care of me during the whole nasty Jimmy Cronister thing,” she smiled gratefully.

“Ooooh! I can’t wait to open it,” Missy’s eyes lit up with anticipation.

“Well, you’ll have to open it before dinner, that’s for sure,” Echo said mysteriously. “And the sooner the better.”

The two women entered the kitchen. Echo gave Chas a hug, handing off the insulated case to him so that he could transfer the ice cream to the freezer, and Missy set the heavy bag on the counter, already removing the tissue paper that obscured its contents. She pulled out two very expensive bottles of wine, one white, one red, with delight.

“Oh, Echo, you didn’t have to do this!” she exclaimed, touched at the thoughtful gift.

“But you’ll be glad I did,” her friend made light of the contribution. “Open up that red and let it breathe, and put the white in a bucket of ice to chill,” she instructed. “It’s a party, right?”

“Good food, good friends and good will…yeah, I’d say it’s a party,” Missy agreed, choking up a bit. The last couple of months had been tough for both of them, and it was more than pleasant to be able to relax and enjoy each other’s company with no worries for a change. The two women embraced, both teary, just as Chas came back into the room.

“Hey, what did I miss?” he asked, noting the emotion in the room. “And more importantly, how do I get in on this action?” he moved to them, arms open wide for a group hug that left them all laughing.

Missy set up wine glasses while Chas opened the bottle of red, and Echo filled the silver ice bucket for the white. The three friends laughed and talked during the rest of the food prep, then sat down together at a table which the multifaceted detective had decked out in white linen, fine china and silver, complete with candlelight and crystal. They ate until they were more than satisfied, and Missy and Echo decided to go for a walk before indulging in dessert, while Chas insisted upon doing cleanup all by himself. Shooing them out the door, he donned his apron once more and tackled the mountain of dishes that awaited.

“So, when are you and Mr. Wonderful going to take it to the next level?” Echo asked boldly, tucking her hands into the pockets of her coat as they strolled through the detective’s peacefully elegant neighborhood.

Missy giggled at her friend’s complete lack of restraint in asking direct personal questions. “I have no idea what you mean,” she hedged, still smiling.

“Don’t give me that,” her friend nudged her playfully with an elbow. “You know exactly what I mean. You two have been dating for months, you’re clearly crazy about each other – surely you’ve discussed the future,” she challenged.

“Umm…well, not in so many words.”

“What does that mean?” Echo persisted.

“Well, I guess it means that neither of us really thinks in those kinds of terms. I mean, I don’t have any plans for not being with him, and I’m pretty sure that he has no plans of not being with me, but we’re both so busy just living life that the subject hasn’t really come up,” Missy shrugged.

“You two are so weird,” Echo shook her head in mock-consternation.

“Maybe that’s why we’re so good together,” was the cheeky response.

“Maybe so,” Echo grinned back, finally letting the subject drop. “So what are we going to do about our Sweet Crème Sandwiches?”

Missy sighed. “Well, I’m good with continuing to offer them every Friday, if you’re okay with that. Have you heard any more from our “friend” Jonathan Michener?”

Echo giggled wickedly and nodded.

“What?” Missy asked, wondering what had her so amused.

“He agreed to leave us alone and not try to copy the idea, but made me promise that if we ever did decide to sell out, that we’d give him a call,” she replied, clearly still suppressing important information.

“Aaaaaand?” Missy prompted.

“And…he asked me out,” she giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Ha!” Missy shrieked. “Oh my goodness, what did you say?”

Echo raised her eyebrows and put on a haughty tone. “I told him to look me up whenever he was in town.”

The friends burst out laughing at the thought of wealthy and proper Jonathan squiring free-spirited “hippie-chick” Echo around the thriving metropolis of Dellville.

Eventually, they made their way back to Chas’s house to indulge in pecan pie topped with Echo’s Vanilla Bean ice cream, and ended up napping in the living room afterward, with Chas and Missy snuggled on the couch and Echo crashed out in the easy chair. Upon waking, they decided to play several rousing rounds of penny poker, followed by a trip downtown for a Chinese-food dinner. It had been a lovely day for all of them, and, returning to Chas’s house long after the sun had set, they all went their separate ways, content.

“Ms. G., can I talk to you for a minute,” Ben, her loyal Dellville manager asked, after turning over the Closed sign at the end of the day.

“Of course, Ben, have a seat,” she indicated a chair at one of the tables in the seating area. “What’s on your mind?”

The young man blushed, clearly nervous, and Missy’s heart sunk, hoping that he wasn’t going to tell her that he needed to quit his job.

“Well, uh…you know that Cheryl and I have been seeing each other for quite a while now,” he began, hesitant.

“Yes, the two of you seem to be so good for one another, it’s adorable,” Missy beamed, wondering where this was going.

“Right? Exactly!” Ben nodded vehemently. “So that’s why, I wanted you to know that…I’m going to ask her to marry me,” he confessed, seeming glad to get it out.

Tears sprung to Missy’s eyes. “Oh Ben! That’s so wonderful, I’m so happy for you,” she reached across the table to squeeze his hand, excited beyond belief. Ben was like a son to her, and she was as proud of him as any mother would be.

“Thanks,” he blushed again. “But there’s something that I need to ask you, and if you say no, it’s okay. I understand how busy you are all the time and…”

“What is it, Ben? What do you need?” Missy interrupted, eager for him to get to the point and hoping that she could help him in some way if he needed it.

“Well, neither Cheryl nor I have any family to speak of, and neither of us has planned a wedding before, so I was kind of hoping that maybe you could work with Cheryl to make everything happen? It doesn’t really seem like a “guy thing” to do,” he shrugged.

Missy giggled with delight. “Of course, Ben. I’d be honored to help her with the planning. I’m sure she’ll want your input on some of the decisions, but yes, we can make things happen. When are you going to propose?”

“I’m taking her to New Orleans this weekend. We’re staying at a really cool bed and breakfast place and we’re going to take a carriage ride to a fancy French restaurant. After dinner, we’re going to a ballroom that’s all candlelit with velvet upholstery, where they play big band music and it’s really dressy. I called ahead to the ballroom, and right in the middle of a song that we’re going to be slow-dancing to, the leader of the band is going to pause and make an announcement that it’s a very special day, and call us up onto the stage. I’m going to propose to my beautiful girl in front of everyone in one of the most awesomely romantic settings in the whole state,” he explained, excited.

“That sounds magical, Ben. I’m so happy for you both. Whatever you two need, please don’t hesitate to ask,” Missy directed, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Thanks, Ms. G., I knew you’d be there for me. You always have been,” Ben stood and hugged her impulsively. She hugged him back, overwhelmed with emotion.

“And I always will be, Ben,” she promised, as he headed for the door with a shy wave.

Melissa Gladstone had her share of setbacks, but it seemed that the sun always shone a little bit brighter after making her way through a rough patch. She had two thriving businesses, an outstanding man in her life, a zany and lovable best friend, the best dog in the whole world, a “son” who was going to marry the love of his life, and a future bright with promise. Life in LaChance, Louisiana was working well for this sunshiny southern gal, and she went to sleep that night anxious to see what her tomorrows would bring.