Cupcakes and Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery (Book 5) (Frosted Love Mysteries) (2 page)

Finishing
breakfast, Chas looked at his watch and announced that he’d have to leave soon
for his seminar, and asked Missy what her plans were for the day.

“I’m
not quite sure, but I picked up several brochures from the lobby, so I know
that there’ll be plenty of options to keep me busy,” she said, looking forward
to her first full day of adventure in Cozumel. They agreed to meet up for
dinner, so she had all morning and afternoon to herself, which she found a bit
daunting but tremendously exciting at the same time. When Chas left, Missy meandered
through the tropical gardens surrounding one of the four pools at the resort,
lost in the sweetly scented beauty of it all. She heard footsteps behind her
and turned to see Raoul approaching.

“Raoul,
what a nice surprise! Good morning,” she greeted him.

“Good
morning, pretty lady,” he replied, catching up to her. “What exciting plans do
you have for today?”

“Well,
I’m on my own today, and I’m trying to narrow down the possibilities.”

Raoul
lightly grasped her arm and stopped in his tracks. “I have some time today – if
you would like, I’d be happy to show you parts of Cozumel that you won’t get to
see on the big tours. We can go to a wildlife refuge where you can see
alligators, I’ll show you some Mayan ruins and a historic lighthouse, and then
we can make a stop at Casa Mission and do some tequila tasting, what do you
think?”

“I
think that sounds amazing! Going to see and do things that are a little bit off
of the beaten path is exactly what I’m looking for. How much would you charge
for the day?” she asked, excited.

Raoul
shrugged and grinned. “My job is to make our guests happy, and if it will make
you happy to do this, of course there is no charge. I can get my jeep and
you’ll feel the refreshing Caribbean air in your hair while we travel.”

“Really?”
Missy was astounded at the generosity of his offer. “That’s fantastic! I’ll need
a few minutes to grab my camera and get ready. What should I wear?”

“Casual
is best, we’re very relaxed here in Mexico (he pronounced it Meh hee coe), and
of course, wear a swimsuit underneath. You never know when the ocean will call
you,” he grinned. “I’ll go get the jeep and meet you under the lobby portico in
half an hour, yes?”

“Yes,”
she nodded eagerly. “I’ll be there.”

Climbing
into Raoul’s aging jeep, Missy was excited for her Cozumel adventure to begin.
They hit the road and drove down a two lane highway that ran along the coast to
get to their first destination. She climbed to the top of an observation tower
in a marsh and spotted alligators, cranes and other wildlife on the refuge,
having to pause in the jeep to let a slow-moving iguana cross the road. While
during their next stop, the lighthouse on a finger of land that jutted into the
ocean was a somewhat daunting 126 steps to the top, the view of Mayan ruins,
sugar white sand and an azure ocean was more than worth it. After her mildly
strenuous morning, Missy’s stomach growled loudly, signaling Raoul to take her
to a simple but delicious restaurant that stood tall on stilts across the
highway from the beach. No one in the restaurant spoke English, but the carne
asada, and its accompanying sides, was the best she had ever tasted. Feeling
adventurous, she washed her meal down with a local beer that was icy cold and
perfect for the heat of a Caribbean day.

The
last stop of the day was at the Casa Mission Tequila site. They were given a
personal tour by the daughter of the owner, whom Raoul already knew, and shown
how the tequila was made from blue agave, then whisked away to the tasting
room. They stood with the senora around a large barrel that had six bottles on
top of it. She explained to a somewhat apprehensive Missy that the first three
bottles were examples of good, better and best tequila and were priced
accordingly. The other three bottles were flavored tequilas. Missy sampled each
of the good, better and best tequilas, finding them progressively smoother and
more complex. It was a happy surprise, because the tequila she’d tried in the
US made her shudder. Since she had already had three types of the ‘straight’
tequila, she elected to only try one of the flavored ones, and the senora
filled her tasting cup with guava tequila.

“Oh
my goodness, this is delicious!” Missy exclaimed. The guava tequila tasted like
the sweet juice, there was no evidence of alcohol.

“Yes,
this is the dangerous one,” the senora said, smiling knowingly. “It tastes so
good, you drink it and drink it and drink it, and don’t realize you have too
much until you try to stand up.”

“I
can see how that would happen,” Missy nodded, finishing her sample.

“More?”
Raoul asked, indicating the guava bottle.

With
a mischievous gleam in her eye, Missy nodded and held out her cup, much to the
senora’s delight. She bought a bottle of the guava tequila to take home with
her, and a bottle of the ‘best’ to give to Chas. Raoul steadied her on the walk
back to the jeep, barely suppressing his laughter at her uninhibited condition.

“Ready
to go?” he asked, after making sure that she was safely buckled in.

“Ready
when you are, Raoul,” she agreed, slurring only slightly.

When
Missy and Raoul arrived back at the resort, he carried her bag for her and
helped her walk in a straight line as they made their way through the lobby.

“Missy?”
a concerned voice came from behind her.

She
turned at the sound of her name and was delighted to see Chas, who had just
gotten back from the 1
^st
day of his conference. “Chas!” she
exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his mouth, completely
unashamed. “It’s so good to see you,” she grinned up at him, swaying slightly.
“Raoul and I had the best time, and I tried a lot of tequilas.”

“I
can tell,” he nodded, cutting a glance at Raoul. “I’ll take it from here,” he
said curtly to the guide.

Raoul
handed him Missy’s bag and patted her shoulder. “I hope you had a lovely day,
pretty lady.”

“It
was wonderful, Raoul, thank you!” she waved, one hand still wrapped around
Chas’s neck.

“Let’s
get you back to the room,” Chas said, gently turning her in the direction that
they needed to go. “How are you feeling?” he asked, concerned.

“I
feel wonderful,” she giggled, wrapping her arms around his waist as they walked
to her room. “And so do you,” she observed, poking at his abs.

Chas
smiled, blushing and knowing that Missy would be mortified if she saw how
adorably tipsy she was at the moment. He pulled her key out of her purse when
she pawed through it and couldn’t find it, opening the door for her. “I’ll be
back here in ten minutes and we’ll go get some coffee and food and go for a
nice long walk,” he told her before she went into her room.

“Okay,”
she sang out, grinning, and planted a juicy kiss on his mouth. “Wanna come in
and wait for me?” she asked slyly, raising an eyebrow.

“I…uh…have
to…umm…no. I don’t think that would be a good idea,” he said delicately. “But
I’ll be back in ten minutes, okay?”

“Alrighty,”
she replied, her drawl profound.

Missy
was profoundly grateful the next morning that consumption of high quality
tequila doesn’t always lead to hangovers, but remembering her behavior from the
day before brought other regrets to mind. Chas had been so kind to her, buying
her coffee, making sure that she had a good meal, and walking on the beach with
her for a couple of hours, physically supporting her while she endured the
discomfort of having the world spin under her feet. By the time that she went
back to her room, she was so out of it that she had flopped on her bed fully
clothed and slept in the same position until morning, waking up stiff and achy.
She stood in the shower for a long time, washing away the cobwebs in her head
and trying to think about what to say to Chas in order to restore her dignity.
Putting in the beautiful black coral earrings that she had bought from a vendor
at the lighthouse yesterday, she heard a soft knock on the door and was
surprised to see a uniformed server with a large tray. The man didn’t speak
much English, but handed her a note that said:
I had to leave early today
and wanted to let you sleep in, so I didn’t call before I left. I hope you’re
feeling better. I thought a bit of breakfast might help – enjoy! Chas.

How
incredibly sweet! Missy motioned for the server to come in, and he set the
giant tray on her small dinette table, pulling off metal lids to reveal
platters of fruit, pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, potatoes, pastries, and a
steaming pot of coffee. Tears sprung to her eyes as she considered the depth of
his thoughtfulness. She tipped the server and sat down to nibble on the
goodies, feeling surprisingly better after having eaten her fill. She drained
the coffee pot, hoping it would provide her with the energy to do some more
exploring today. She decided to start her day with a swim in the ocean and
planned to relax on a lounger for a while before heading out again, easing into
her day.

The
beautifully clear, salt water glided over Missy’s skin, cooling and refreshing
her, and she stayed in the waves for quite some time before stretching out on
one of the loungers that was in full sun. She had liberally applied sunblock on
the front of her, but was having a tough time smoothing it onto her back.

“Need
help?” she heard Raoul’s cheery voice ask. She shielded her eyes with her hand,
looking up at him, not having heard him approach.

“Oh!
Good morning, Raoul. No, thanks, I’ve got it,” she said, capping the tube of
coconut-scented sunblock.

“We
can’t have you getting burned, pretty lady,” he insisted, grabbing the sunblock
from her hands before she knew what was happening.

She
didn’t even have time to open her mouth in protest before his hands were all
over her back, smoothing on the lotion. “No, really, Raoul, please stop, I’m
fine,” she directed, trying to be polite.

“I
take care of you, pretty lady,” he cooed, continuing. His hands were moving
over her back, neck and shoulders in a way that made her very uncomfortable,
and when he slipped them around her sides on her ribcage and began moving
upward, she shoved him onto the sand and stood glaring at him, hands on hips.

“I
said no, Raoul,” she shouted. “You have no right to touch me that way. Get out
of here right now, and don’t come back, or your boss will hear from me!” Missy
was near tears and completely oblivious to the stares of other resort guests
and staff who had witnessed the incident.

“I
was just trying to help, chica,” he replied, grinning up at her in an
infuriating manner.

“That
was not helping, that was indecent!” she shot back, fuming.

He
tossed the sunscreen to her and stood slowly, brushing the sand from his
clothing and still entirely unfazed by her anger. “You change your mind and
need some help later, you let me know,” he waggled his eyebrows, mocking her,
and sauntered away smiling.

Missy
was utterly shaken by the incident, and contemplated cutting her vacation short
and boarding the next plane back to Louisiana, but fortunately, common sense
prevailed, and knowing that such action wouldn’t be fair to Chas, she decided
to stay. Cheryl had been texting her all morning with a million unimportant
questions, so she called her at the shop to take her mind off of Raoul’s
lascivious behavior. After a wonderfully mundane and distracting conversation
with Cheryl, she turned over on the lounge to relax and actually napped for a
short while. To add even more frustration to an already difficult day, when she
returned to her room, she discovered that she had somehow managed to lose her
room key, and had to go to the front desk for a spare. 

Relaying
the incident involving Raoul to Chas later, over an authentic Mexican meal that
was utterly divine, she noted the muscles flexing in his jaw as he maintained
control of his reaction. He wanted to go to the manager immediately, but Missy
convinced him not to, just wanting to forget the whole unfortunate incident.
They picked up snacks and bottles of juice from the convenience center in the
lobby and took them to Chas’s room, watching a movie until Missy got sleepy and
headed back to her room. For as badly as her day had gone, it ended well, as
was usually the case when Chas Beckett was involved.

Missy
had slept dreamlessly and well, until being rudely awakened just after 6 a.m.,
by a loud pounding on her door. She thought that surely someone must have the
wrong room and turned over to go back to sleep, but whoever was on the other
side of the door was relentless, so she dragged herself out of bed and pulled
on one of the resort’s white velour robes. Answering the door, she was puzzled
to see two men dressed in suits and two uniformed policemen standing behind
them.

“Melissa
Gladstone?” one of the men in suits asked.

“Yes?”
Missy responded, pulling the collar of the robe tightly around her throat.

“I
am Detective Roberto Gonzales from the Cozumel Police Department. I’d like to
ask you a few questions,” the man who had spoken explained with a heavy accent.

Having
heard the commotion when the officers were knocking on Missy’s door, Chas flung
open the door of his room and strode across the hall. “Excuse me, just what
exactly is going on here?” he demanded of the men in suits.

Detective
Gonzales measured him with a look. “And who are you?” he asked, eyes narrowed.

Chas
responded strongly in Spanish. Missy had no idea what he said, but whatever it
was caused Gonzales to look at him, then her, and back to him again. He
responded to Beckett, causing the detective to exclaim in a manner that seemed
to encompass surprise, anger and disbelief. Feeling entirely superfluous since
she couldn’t participate in the conversation, Missy turned to go back into her
room and the other man in a suit grabbed her arm, stopping her and speaking to
her in Spanish. Chas intervened, his hand locking on the man’s wrist. Gonzales
barked an order that was unintelligible to Missy, but caused the other man to
release his grip, shaking Chas’s hand off rudely in the process.

“You
can’t go anywhere at the moment, Missy,” Chas said gently. “The detective needs
to talk with you for a bit.”

“About
what?” Missy felt the beginnings of alarm rising within her.

Chas
sighed. “Your tour guide, Raoul was found dead on the beach this morning.
Witnesses said that his body was draped over the lounger that you were sitting
in when you had your altercation yesterday.”

Missy’s
hands flew to her throat in horror. “Oh my, that’s horrible! I just saw him
yesterday, I can’t believe he’s dead,” she exclaimed, wide-eyed. “But why do
they want to talk to me? I don’t even know his last name.”

Beckett
paused, looking into her eyes and wishing he didn’t have to say what he needed
to say. “They think you did it, Missy. There were quite a few witnesses to your
fight on the beach yesterday, including staff members.”

“But…there’s
no way…I was angry, true, but I would certainly never kill anyone,” her eyes
filled with tears.

“I
know,” he nodded, trying to reassure her. “Just tell the detective everything
that you know, and answer all of their questions. It’s going to be okay.”

Missy
nodded numbly. “Can I get dressed first?” she asked.

Chas
said something to Gonzales, who sighed audibly, then gave his begrudging
assent. Missy didn’t need to speak the language to figure that one out and said
thank you, disappearing into her room before the detective changed his mind.

The
detectives took Missy to the nearest police station and questioned the
frightened American at length, seemingly not satisfied with her answers. She
answered everything truthfully, frustrated when Gonzales would ask the same
question several different ways, even though the answer was always the same.
They didn’t allow Chas to be present during questioning, and it was sometimes
difficult for Missy to understand what her interrogators were saying, but she
managed to communicate nonetheless, and finally, after several hours, she was
allowed to go back to her room.  She noticed that the portion of the beach
where she had been the day before was marked with crime scene tape, and
shuddered at the thought that earlier, Raoul’s body had been found at that very
spot. All she wanted to do now was go home, but Detective Gonzales had been
very direct in letting her know that if she tried to leave Mexico before the
case was solved, she’d be arrested and jailed.

“Chas,
what am I going to do now?” she worried, pushing food around on her plate at
lunch.

“I’ve
dropped out of the conference, and from now on, I’ll be working on finding out
who killed Raoul so that we can clear your name and get you home,” he said,
reaching across the table to give her hand a reassuring squeeze.

“I
know that it might be terrible of me to say this…or to even think it, but if
Raoul was that aggressive with me, could he have done something similar to
someone else who might have overreacted and killed him?”

“That’s
my hunch,” he looked at her with admiration. “I’ll be interviewing fellow staff
members and guests who saw what happened to see if they’ve witnessed anything
similar with other guests. If we can establish that this is a pattern of
behavior for him, it’ll take the suspicion away from you.”

“So,
what should I do?” she asked again, miserable.

“Do
what distracts you,” he suggested.

“I
can’t go to the beach,” she shuddered at the thought of walking past the scene
of the crime. “I don’t actually even want to leave my room,” she admitted,
laying her fork down in defeat.

“Then
don’t,” Chas shrugged. “Create some recipes. Your room has a full kitchen, bake
some unusual cupcakes. Use this time to do what you came here to do. You’ve
been exposed to some exotic foods and flavors, use that.”

Missy
looked at him, eyes shining with a feeling that stirred deeply within her.
“You’re so right,” she nodded. “From the time that I was a little girl, I’d
bake whenever I’d get sad, or angry, or unsure about something. It’s the
perfect thing for me to do right now. It’ll clear my head so that I can think
straight and figure out how to find Raoul’s killer.”

Chas
smiled at her naiveté. “Whoa, tiger. Let’s leave finding the killer to me,
shall we? It’s kind of what I do,” he teased.

“Well
you know that I’m not the type to just sit around and do nothing,” she reminded
him.

“Yes,
I know. So we’re going to go to a local market and stock up on baking
supplies.”

“Okay,”
she agreed, knowing that he was right, but hating the feeling of helplessness
that consumed her.