Rum Cake Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 8 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) (6 page)

Missy had just selected a movie to watch, when her phone rang, Chas’s number popping up on her screen.

“Hey, handsome,” she answered with a smile.

“Hey, beautiful,” he responded automatically. “I’ll be over in a few minutes, with big news,” he promised, refusing to elaborate when Missy badgered him with questions.

“What is it?” she pounced on him the moment he entered the door.

“Yes, I’d love a glass of wine, thanks,” he raised his eyebrows at her, heading to the powder room to wash his hands and shooing her toward the kitchen. By the time he came out, Missy had two glasses of wine poured and waiting on the coffee table, and the rest of the bottle within easy reach if they should need it. Toffee curled up under the table, happy that both of her favorite people were present.

“Okay,
now
,” Missy’s curiosity bubbled over. “What is the big news?”

The detective savored a sip of wine. “I had a call from the Smithville PD…” he began.

“Smithville?” Missy interrupted. “That’s where Ben said that he ended up on the night of the murder.”

“I’m aware,” Chas nodded, amused. “So, apparently, the sergeant on duty received a call this afternoon about an abandoned car. One of the locals had gone duck hunting on his land, and stumbled upon a car that got stuck in the swamp. They ran the plates and found out that the car belonged to Stanley Conner. The boys over in Smithville knew that we’d been investigating the murder of Stanley Conner, so they secured a perimeter and called us. My guys went out there and found footprints, hairs in the trunk that look to be a match for Ben’s hair, and hairs on the driver’s seat that don’t look to be a match with Stanley Conner.”

“What does that mean,” Missy asked, eyes wide.

“Well, we figure that whoever killed Stanley, did it in his car, outside of the hotel. Looking for a way to hide the body, they conveniently stumbled upon a man in a clown costume and knocked him out, stealing the costume. Ben was dragged out and stuffed into the trunk, and Stanley was dressed in the costume and staged in the break room, giving the killer time to drive away in Stanley’s car. The killer dumped Ben in the park, while he was still unconscious, then drove to the swamp to ditch the car, abandoning it when it got stuck. The footprints around the car had to be those of the killer, aside from the ones made by the duck hunter who found it.”

“Wow! I knew it! I knew Ben was innocent!” Missy exclaimed, tears of joy in her eyes. “And if it happened the way that you said it did, Cheryl couldn’t have done it either, because she wouldn’t have been strong enough to drag Ben’s body into the trunk or Stanley’s body into the hotel.”

“Exactly,” Chas nodded, impressed with her deduction.

“So now all you have to do is find who the real killer is,” she observed.

“Actually, I’ll need to go over the reports from the lab, but I believe that we’ve already found the killer,” Chas admitted.

“Really? How?”

“There was a very thick file folder tucked underneath the liner of the trunk which contained a wealth of very incriminating information. As it turns out, Stanley Conner had come to town because he was blackmailing Dr. Bernard Radcliffe Aston,” he revealed.

“Blackmailing him? About what?” Missy was astonished.

“Apparently, Stanley knew about Aston’s past, and his ability to…eliminate people when necessary. The two had made a pact to kill Cheryl’s mother, but, halfway through the process, while she was still in a coma and able to be saved, Stanley got cold feet and tried to talk Aston out of doing it. Aston had tasted the thrill of death before, and nothing was going to deter him from the task at hand. Stanley collected the insurance money and the two agreed to keep the cause of death a secret, but when an investigation began, Aston accused Stanley of the crime, nearly getting him indicted. Stanley held a grudge from that moment forward, and when he ran out of insurance money, he planned to blackmail Aston.

There were copies of emails between the two, which culminated in a plan to meet at the hotel during the function so that Aston could pay him off. The autopsy report showed that Stanley was given a lethal injection combined with a sedative, in the left side of his neck and that the needle was at an angle consistent with someone standing outside the car and reaching in to give the injection.”

“So, Dr. Aston is a serial killer?” Missy asked, horrified.

“So it would seem,” Beckett nodded. “While I was going over the evidence, I got a very strange call from Cheryl. I went to the hospital to pick her up, and she refused to leave Ben’s room, but she handed me a series of syringes that she had collected from the trash when Aston would leave the room late at night. Bernard Aston had been coming into Ben’s room every night to give him a dose of meds that kept him in a chemical coma. The residue in the syringes confirmed that, but even more disturbing was the final syringe,” he paused.

“Why? What was in the final syringe?” Missy held her breath.

“Nothing at all. Aston was in the process of squeezing 20ml of air into Ben’s IV line in order to cause an embolism, when Cheryl, who had hidden from the nurses and stayed past visiting hours, made a sound, startling him. His hand jumped, causing him to drop the syringe, and he quickly left the room. Cheryl grabbed the syringe, relieved that the doctor hadn’t had time to inject hardly any air. When she was sure that he was gone, she called me. After speaking with her, I sent officers in to pick up Aston, and he confessed to everything. He even admitted to giving his daughter the cupcake that put her in the hospital. That’s why the empty wrapper was found near Ben’s car. Aston wanted it to look like Ben had done it, but in truth, he did it himself while Ben was in the trunk of Stanley’s car.”

“How awful! How on earth could he do that to his own child?” Missy wondered, appalled.

“Well, as it turns out, she’s not actually his child, she was fathered by Sidney Christianson.”

“So we were right about the affair!”

Chas nodded. “The important thing is that, now that the hospital staff is aware of what’s been going on, they’ve begun the process of bringing Ben out of his chemically induced coma. By this time tomorrow, he should be talking to you again,” the detective grinned.

Missy leaped into his arms. “Oh, thank goodness! Chas, thank you for giving me the best news I’ve had in a very long time!”

The detective smiled and hugged her back, but then became serious again. “I think there’s someone else who could probably use a big hug right now,” he said gently.

“Cheryl,” Missy whispered, suddenly contrite. “I was so mean to that poor child, and all the while she’s been lurking in Ben’s hospital room after hours, gathering evidence to convict a serial killer. Oh Chas, I feel awful. Why was I so ugly to that girl?” she moaned.

“Because you thought she might have killed someone and put your beloved Ben in danger,” he reminded her. “But, I’m guessing that an apology would probably do both of you good,” he encouraged.

Missy nodded. “You’re absolutely right. I’m going down to the hospital now. Do you think she’ll be there?”

“I know she’ll be there,” Chas said confidently. “I arranged for special visiting hours for her, so that she can stay with Ben 24/7 until he’s well enough to come home.”

“Chas Beckett, you’re an amazing man, you know that?” Missy said, leaning her forehead against his.

“Stop it now, you’ll make me blush,” he teased, kissing her soundly. “Now go get your shoes, and I’ll drive you to the hospital.

Missy poked her head into the door of Ben’s hospital room. Today was the day that he was supposed to be fully conscious again, and true to form, he was sitting up in bed, eating a cupcake that Grayson had brought, against doctor’s orders. Her entire staff surrounded the bed, and it touched her heart to see all of the people that she considered family here supporting Ben. Seeing Missy in the doorway, he waved her over, his mouth too full of red velvet cupcake to speak. Tears in her eyes, Missy moved as though in slow motion to stand at Ben’s bedside. Her dear loyal Ben opened his arms wide, and she moved in for a hug, no words needed. Her tears wet his thin hospital gown, and he didn’t mind a bit.

“Hey, Ms. G.,” he soothed, after swallowing his massive bite of cupcake. “It’s okay, I’m all good now.”

She pulled back, drying her eyes with the back of her hand. “I was so worried about you,” she confessed. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t recovered.”

“Well, fortunately I had a stubborn little guardian angel watching over me from the recliner in the corner,” he joked, reaching for Cheryl’s hand. “And she’s going to need some help planning our wedding, if you don’t mind.”

“The wedding is back on?” Missy asked, overjoyed at the news. “Oh honey,” she said, glancing over at Cheryl. “We have work to do – we’ve lost nearly a whole month of planning time with all of this murder nonsense.”  Everyone in the room laughed at the abrupt change of focus, and once again, life was on its way back to normal.

Cheryl wrung her hands nervously as Missy tucked stray curls up into her elaborate up-do on a beautiful Spring morning.

“You, my dear, are just a perfect vision,” Missy proclaimed, gazing at the bride, who was beautiful from head to toe.

“Thank you so much, Ms. G., I couldn’t have done this without you,” she replied, tears welling in her beautiful blue eyes.

“Oh no, darlin, don’t do that!” she exclaimed, jumping up to fan the girl’s face. “Your makeup will run.”

“I don’t care,” the lovely young woman said, reaching for Missy’s hand. “I want you to know how much you mean to me, and to Ben. Neither of us has our mom anymore, but believe me when I tell you…we both think of you as our new mom. You’re always there for us, and we know that we can count on you, no matter what.”

“Oh, honey, now you’re making me cry,” Missy smiled through her tears and hugged the beautiful bride. “I love you two with all my heart, and I love it that I get to marry off my son and my daughter on the same day,” she giggled.

Just then a heart-stoppingly handsome Chas Beckett, fully decked out in a tuxedo because he had the honor of escorting Cheryl to the altar, knocked softly on the bedroom door. Ben and Cheryl were getting married in the gazebo in Missy’s spacious back yard, and it was nearly time for the lovely bride’s entrance.

“Are we ready?” he asked, grinning with pride.

Both ladies nodded, brushing away tears. Missy kissed Cheryl’s cheek and headed down to check on Ben, who was waiting to get in place before the arrival of his bride.

“Hey, darlin,” Missy greeted him with a hug. “You ready for this?” she teased.

“More ready than I’ve ever been for anything,” he confessed, blushing.

“Y’all are going to be so happy. I’m proud of you, Ben. You’re one of the most amazing men I know,” she pinched his cheek fondly.

“And maybe one of the others will be putting you through all of this sometime soon,” he waggled his eyebrows at her, teasing.

“Get on up to that altar, young man,” Missy grinned, kissing his cheek. “Your bride will be down here any minute.” She practically floated to her seat in the front row, her sage-green chiffon dress billowing gracefully around her.

A lively piece of classical music began, and Ben filed in with Grayson and Chris to stand at the altar. Bridesmaids were not necessary, as Grayson stood on Cheryl’s side. The sweet, quiet youth was her best friend, and the only attendant that she would accept. Toffee was the ring-bearer, and wagged her tail wildly, prancing proudly down the aisle to stand with Ben. The music changed, and all the guests stood and turned as the first strains of the bridal march began to play.

Missy’s heart was in her throat as she witnessed the precious picture made by the angelic bride, and her handsome escort. Tears sprung to her eyes as they made their way, formally in step, down the aisle. She couldn’t help but wonder how it must feel to be in Cheryl’s shoes, making your way to your soon-to-be-mate, promising him an eternity of life, laughter and love. She’d always shied away from the idea of marriage, but the serenity and joy in the faces of Ben and Cheryl made her wonder, if only for a moment, about the wisdom of her choice.

Her glance moved to Chas Beckett, the most handsome man in the room, or in the world, as far as Missy was concerned. How would it feel to walk down the aisle knowing that he would be waiting for her, hand outstretched, at the end? A sudden warmth swept through her, from her head to her toes, as she realized, powerfully, irrevocably, that she was in love with Detective Chas Beckett, and in this moment, should he have chosen to let go of the bride and take her hand instead, she would have followed him to the altar, or to the ends of the earth.

Ben and Cheryl’s wedding had been a touching, warm, heartfelt affair that had total strangers dabbing at their eyes with tissue. The love between the newlyweds was an alive, nearly tangible thing that moved anyone who was lucky enough to witness it. While Missy’s back yard was large enough for the ceremony, the reception was being held, ironically enough, in the grand hotel where Ben had been rendered unconscious and stuffed in a trunk. The event was catered, but the couple had insisted that, instead of a traditional wedding cake, they had to have a “cake” made of just over one hundred and fifty of their favorite cupcakes. The entire staff had made an event of baking the ‘cake’ the day before, with a cupcake extravaganza at the LaChance shop, fueled by pizza, beer and fun and supervised by stand-in father-of-the-bride, Chas.

Chas danced with Cheryl for the father-daughter dance, and Missy danced with Ben for the mother-son dance, with Grayson catching the garter and 90 year old Mildred Feldman catching the bouquet. The evening was filled with laughter and dancing, and Missy was delighted to find that her tall-dark-and-handsome boyfriend certainly knew what to do on the dance floor. After a rigorous combination of 80’s dance tunes, she and the detective plopped down happily at a table next to the dance floor for some rest and refreshment.

Caught up in the sweetness of the moment, Missy gazed out at the dancers with a smile lighting her face. “What a perfectly wonderful day,” she sighed, taking Chas’s hand.

“Mmm…” he nodded, brushing her cheek with a kiss. “I never thought about this stage of life, getting married, that kind of thing, but it’s pretty amazing to see it happening right in front of me, to two people that I care about,” he mused.

“I know exactly what you mean,” Missy nodded. “I found myself thinking about things differently today, as though a whole world that I’d never considered before could actually be a possibility.”

“I’m surprised that you’ve never been married,” Chas admitted. “How is it that no Prince Charming ever swept you off of your feet and put a ring on that elegant finger?” he asked, kissing her hand.

“Well, I took over running the store, while going to school, when my parents died, and that basically set the course for my life. I’ve dedicated myself to running my shop since I was 17, and just never had the time or inclination to commit entirely to a relationship,” she shrugged.

“And now?” he asked, his eyes holding her captive.

Missy’s heart pounded as she weighed the possibilities of just how honest she was willing to be. Ultimately, she trusted Chas Beckett, and if her feelings for him scared him away, it would be better to find out sooner rather than later, so she opted for honesty. “And now…I can see more possibilities than I could before,” she swallowed hard, wondering how he’d react. She’d never shared her feelings quite so intimately with anyone before, this was scary territory.

“Meaning?” he prodded, encouraging her to share how she felt.

“Meaning that…” she began.

“Hey you two! Why so serious over here?” Mayor Felton Chadwick boisterously interrupted the intimate moment. “It’s a party – time to eat, drink and be merry!” he patted his generous tummy looking like he’d been indulging in two of the three at the very least. “Miss Gladstone, may I request the pleasure of your company on the dance floor?” he held out a pudgy hand.

“I…uh…” Missy was at a loss, still not having recovered from nearly telling Chas exactly how she felt about him.

“That’s a great idea, sweetie,” Chas helped her out. “Go have your dance with Mr. Mayor, and I’ll meet you back here with a gin and tonic, sound good?” he grinned conspiratorially.

Relieved at having been eased back into reality, Missy nodded gratefully, taking the Mayor’s hand while Chas headed toward the bar.

Despite his considerable size, Mayor Chadwick was quite the graceful dancer, much to Missy’s surprise. As he skillfully whirled and twirled her about, she learned the real reason for his dance invitation.

“Now Miss Gladstone, I have to say, you’ve outdone yourself with this lovely reception. Not only were those wedding cupcakes heavenly, but everything from the set-up to the food selection and the décor is just absolutely perfect. I don’t know if you’re aware, but my lovely daughter, Priscilla is getting married next year. Her sweet mama, bless her soul, is a lovely woman of good character and refinement, but the poor dear can’t plan an event to save her life. I don’t even want to get into the fiasco that occurred when my dear Prissy graduated from high school,” he shook his head in disgust. “My question to you is this…would you be willing, for the right price of course, to help my Priscilla plan her wedding? It would mean so much to my family,” he smiled, anticipating a yes. Mayor Chadwick was a man who was not accustomed to being turned down.

“Oh, Mayor Chadwick, I’m flattered, but I’m not a wedding planner. I helped out Cheryl because she has no family to speak of, but this isn’t something in which I have a whole lot of experience,” Missy answered honestly.

“You know my dear, I’ve often found that sometimes the things that we’re really good at, take us by surprise when we’re not even looking for them. You clearly have a gift for this sort of work, maybe it’s something that you should consider doing. In this particular case, I’d make the effort more than worth your time. My little princess is getting married, and I swear to you, her wedding will be the biggest and best that this parish has ever seen. If you make that happen, little lady, you can write your own ticket. You think about it and you let me know,” he smiled at her benevolently.

Missy was speechless. “Umm…okay, Mr. Mayor. I’ll let you know.”

“Darlin, there’s no need for such formality among friends, please, call me Felton. I’ll look forward to hearing from you,” he said, bowing and kissing her hand as the song ended, then leading her back to where Chas mercifully waited with a tall, icy, gin and tonic.

“What was that all about?” Chas grinned at her, having noticed her discomfort on the dance floor as she considered the mayor’s proposition.

She told him what Chadwick had proposed, and that she had tried to demur.

The detective swirled the ice cubes in his glass. “Felton Chadwick is not a man who takes no for an answer, you realize that, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, I definitely picked up on that vibe,” Missy agreed, taking a sip of her crisp, bubbly drink and letting it soothe her.

“So what would be so terrible about doing it?” Chas asked reasonably. “You’d make a ridiculous amount of money, because that man doesn’t believe in doing anything cheaply, you’d be doing something you enjoy that showcases your talent, and who knows…it could be yet another business pursuit for you. Besides, it’d be good practice for you if you ever need to plan your own wedding someday,” he added with a faint smile.

“Like that would ever happen,” Missy laughed softly at the thought.

“Who knows what the future may bring?” the detective remarked enigmatically, draining his glass. “I’m getting a refill,” he said, standing. “Would you like anything?”

“No, I’m good,” Missy murmured, unable to look away from the stunning man in front of her. When he kissed her cheek before heading to the bar, she raised her hand to the spot where his lips had been, emotions flooding her with a fear-tinged delight.