Mango Madness Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 15 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) (7 page)

“Chas,
that, that…woman…” she began.

“Is
entirely wrong and we both know it,” he said gently. “I vote that we go back
upstairs, get dressed up and head into town for a really expensive dinner, what
do you say?” he suggested, trying to distract his fuming bride. Not trusting
herself to speak, she shot a dark glance at the woman’s back and nodded. They
took a wrong turn down one of the corridors downstairs, trying to find the back
staircase to their room, and happened to end up near the administrative office,
where they heard the sound of someone crying. Peeking in the door, Missy saw
their host, sitting at her desk, wiping away tears and trying to pull herself
together enough to return to the tea party.

“Maggie?”
she knocked softly on the door frame, startling the poor woman. “Are you okay?
Is there anything we can do?” she asked, moving slowly into the office with
Chas behind her.

The
innkeeper smiled wanly, wiping her face with a tissue. “I’ll be okay, I just
spoke with the owner of the inn, and he said that he has to sell it. His wife
has been in poor health for quite some time, and they just don’t want the
hassle of dealing with yet another business,” she explained.

“Oh
no! That’s awful,” Missy sympathized.

“Yes,
it is,” Maggie nodded. “This place has been a respite for travelers for more
than a hundred years, and when it closes, not only is it the end of an era, but
it’ll be the end of my job,” her lower lip trembled and she bit down to still
it.

“What
if someone new bought it? Could it stay open then?” she asked, trying to give
her hostess some hope.

“Even
if they did, there’s no guarantee that they’d keep it as a B & B, or that they’d
retain me. Developers have been trying to get at this prime piece of real
estate for years,” Maggie sighed. “I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t even be
talking to you about this,” she shrugged hopelessly.

“Don’t
feel bad,” Missy replied. “We won’t say anything. If we can help in any way at
all while we’re here, just let us know, okay?” she offered, her southern
hospitality rising to the surface.

“Thanks,
but I’ll manage,” Maggie attempted a smile. “You two enjoy your evening.”

**

Chas
drove them into the nearest town and headed for a 5-star seafood restaurant
that he’d read about before making the trip to Florida. Since it was a weekday,
and they arrived just after five o’clock, getting in wasn’t a problem, and
sooner than they expected, they were making goo-goo eyes at each other across
the table, and enjoying an ocean view and sunset that was spectacular. They had
an amazing meal which included sweet, tender lobster tails, a chunky, creamy
clam chowder, and young, succulent asparagus. The cuisine reminded Missy of the
delightful fare that Becca Rogers had created for their wedding reception, and
the memory brought a smile to her face.

“What?”
Chas asked, taking her hand across the table and enjoying her contented
expression.

“I’m
just so happy,” she confessed, twining her fingers in his. “You know, I’ve been
thinking…” she began.

“Uh-oh,
that means trouble,” her husband teased.

She
grinned and squeezed his hand. “I’ve been thinking,” she continued, “…that with
Ben and Cheryl moving away, Echo moving away, and everything else that’s
happened in LaChance the last couple of years…maybe it’s time for a change,”
she shrugged.

“A
change? What kind of change?” Chas asked, his blue eyes dazzling her.

“Like,
maybe we should move…” she trailed off, looking at him hopefully.

“I’m
not opposed to the idea,” he answered agreeably. “What did you have in mind?”
Chas’s options were wide open. Because of his huge inheritance, he could live
anywhere he wanted to, and now that they were married, the same applied to
Missy.

“Well,
when Maggie said that the owner of The Beach House was selling it, it gave me
an idea. I’ve always thought that it would be fun to own a bed and breakfast,
and if we bought that one, we could keep it open, Maggie could keep her job,
the developers wouldn’t be able to swoop in and bulldoze it, and I could have a
cupcake bakery down here,” she enthused.

“So
you’ve already plotted out a course to save the world, haven’t you, my
tender-hearted wife?” Chas asked, loving her more every minute.

“And
the dogs would love the beach and the ocean, and we could go for long walks and
swim whenever we wanted…” she continued her previous thought.

“But
what about my work? I wouldn’t think there’d be much for a detective to do in
this sleepy little area,” he pointed out.

“Oh.
I hadn’t really thought about that part of it. Do you have to do police work?
Couldn’t you just take people out cruising in a sailboat or something?”

Chas
took a breath, thinking for a moment before responding. “Sweetie, I have to
have a purpose in life. If I’m not working at doing something that helps
people, I’m going to feel useless,” he explained.

Missy
nodded, filled with admiration for the man she married. “I understand. What
about charity work? Would that make you feel good?”

“I
do charity work along with my job,” he reminded her. Seeing her deflate a bit,
he changed tactics. “Let’s head back to the inn and do more talking,” he
suggested. “I like the idea, we just need to think things through a bit. I just
don’t know that there’d even be enough police work down here to keep me busy.”

He
paid the check and they were mostly quiet, just enjoying each other’s company,
on the way home. Missy yawned repeatedly, and looked forward to climbing into
their massive feather bed.

They
walked into the front foyer and were startled by a bloodcurdling scream. Maggie
dashed inside, wild-eyed. “There’s a body in the pool!”

Chas
and Missy looked at each other, Missy was scared, Chas was resolute. “Maybe
there’s a purpose for me here after all,” he said grimly, heading for the pool
area.

A letter from the Author

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

I’ll be releasing another installment in two weeks or so to
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Join my Book club
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Stay Curious,

Carol Durand