Pink Velvet Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 9 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) (7 page)

“What
have we got?” Chas asked the lab tech that handed him the reports.

“It
all checks out, Detective,” the young woman replied. “The prints on the glass
that you provided after the perp drank from it at the Gladstone house, match
the ones at Mrs. Dowler’s home, Miss Gladstone’s home, and on the windows at
the homes on the north side that reported a Peeping Tom. The scrapings from the
Gladstone house are definitely red crayon, and an officer picked up Mr. Dobbs’
suit from the dry cleaner this morning before it was cleaned, and the substance
on the jacket was determined to be the same color of red crayon,” she said,
reading from the report.

Chas
nodded. “And the autopsy?”

“Cause
of death was determined to be poison. Apparently the killer sprinkled it onto
the cake that the victim consumed.”

The
detective digested the information, tying up any loose threads. “Anything found
at Donna Chesman’s house that would indicate her whereabouts?” he asked.

“No,
but officers did find a box of crayons with the red one missing.”

“Okay,
thanks,” Beckett dialed a number on his phone and turned away, giving the tech
her cue to leave. “Hello, this is Chas Beckett, I’m going to need a warrant.”

When
Carlton Dobbs was arrested without incident in the mayor’s dining room, Chas
and a team of officers went to his opulent historical home on the north side,
and used the murderer’s keys to open the front door. Upon entering, the
detective was shocked to see Donna Chesman reclined on a sofa that seemed to be
the only piece of furniture in a house stacked with paintings and sculptures,
watching TV like a kid on summer vacation.

“Miss
Chesman, are you here of your own free will?” Beckett asked, astonished that he
had not found the teen bound and gagged in the basement.

“I’m
in trouble, aren’t I?” the girl asked, eyes wide.

“So
it would seem,” Chas answered grimly. “Come with me.”

After
booking the young lady who had the misfortune to hook up with a charming gentleman
who promised her a world of travel and riches if she kept her mouth shut,
Detective Beckett went home to tell Missy that her deductions at the scene of
the crime had been instrumental in solving the case. When he walked into the
living room however, he found her so peacefully asleep, tousled blonde curls
hiding her face, and dogs curled up on the floor below her, he couldn’t bring
himself to disturb the peaceful scene.

“Well,
with the groom in jail, it looks like I won’t have to plan Priscilla’s wedding
after all,” Missy observed, more than relieved. They had met for lunch at the
Perfect Pig, Chas filling her in on what had happened with Carlton and Donna,
and although she was disgusted beyond belief, she could see how a naïve young
girl would easily fall victim to the art thief’s considerable charm. “So,
basically, he made his living by charming women in order to get to their art
pieces, which he then stole and resold,” she summed up.

“Exactly.
Apparently he’d gone so far as to have an affair with Mrs. Dowler, the Home Ec
teacher. Her husband said that he’d suspected that something was amiss, but
could never quite figure out what. Dobbs admitted that he had planned to
blackmail the poor woman into giving up her extensive art collection, but when
she threatened to go to the police, he killed her. He had been at the bake-off
that night, saw the argument between Donna and her teacher, and seized the
opportunity to set someone else up for the crime. Donna didn’t know that
Carlton had poisoned the cake and killed Mrs. Dowler, but when police scrutiny
turned her direction, he gallantly came in and told her he’d hide her until the
investigation was called off, then take her away to an exotic location where
she’d never be bothered again. Poor girl was so frightened at having been
framed for murder that she believed him, and now may be facing charges because
she knew about his thievery and didn’t report it.”

“He
ruined her life,” Missy said sadly. “And I don’t even want to know how
Priscilla Chadwick reacted to all of this.”

“I
would imagine sedatives were needed,” Chas said wryly. “I knew this guy was a
bad character from the moment that I met him, that’s why I took the tea glass
that he had used when he faked an ankle injury, and ran it for prints. Turns
out he’s wanted internationally for art theft.”

“You
took the glass? Wow, I didn’t realize you found him that suspicious…I just
thought you were jealous,” she smiled shyly.

“Oh,
I was, make no mistake. Which just makes seeing justice done all the more
satisfying,” he grinned.

“Chas…I
have to tell you something,” she frowned sadly. “I haven’t been entirely honest
with you…” She told him about the doggie “date” in the park, and that it had
meant nothing to her, but that she just thought he should know about it because
she never wanted to have secrets of any kind come between them. He said that he
understood, and thanked her for her honesty, reaching for her hand and bringing
it to his lips.

“I
trust you, Missy,” he said huskily. “I know that Carlton Dobbs seems to have
quite a way with women, and it bothered me to see him flirting with you, but
there was never a moment when I doubted you,” he gazed into her eyes as though
he saw her soul and was more than fond of what he saw.

Missy
felt that she had reached her crossroads. It was finally time to tell this
amazing man how she felt about him, and let the chips fall where they may. She
took a deep breath, and feeling like she was standing on a high dive, she made
the decision to jump. “Chas, there’s something that I want to tell you. I’ve
had a habit of shying away from relationships for a long time, partly because I
was too busy trying to keep the business that I inherited up and running, but
also partly because I was afraid. I don’t know why, because my parents had this
amazing, warm and wonderful relationship, but, I don’t know, I guess maybe I
thought that those kinds of dreams only came true for a few people and I
probably wasn’t one of them. So, Chas, I guess what I want to say, and what
I’ve been wanting to say for quite some time now…” she took his hand and leaned
forward, her kitten grey eyes holding his captive. “…is that I…”

“Well,
well, well, look who we have here!” Mayor Felton Chadwick’s voice boomed as he
spotted them and strode to their table. Missy and Chas looked at each other,
stunned at the unexpected interruption in what was about to be a very intimate
moment, then burst into laughter at the mayor’s typically bad timing.

“Hello
Felton,” Missy grinned, as the boisterous official kissed her on both cheeks
and shook Chas’s hand.

“Well,
my dear, it looks like we won’t be working together on a wedding for a while,
but I want you to know that you will be generously compensated for the time you
spent,” he opened his arms in an overly-magnanimous gesture. “You are quite the
treasure, young lady, and when my Prissy captures a new fiancé, I’ll be looking
for you.” He turned to Chas. “And as for you, sir, fine work as usual, damn
fine work,” he clapped Beckett on the shoulder. “Pardon my French, pretty
lady,” he winked at Missy.

“Thank
you, Mayor Chadwick,” Chas replied, amused.

“It
was grand seeing y’all, but I’m afraid I’ve got some business to conduct, so if
you’ll excuse me,” he bowed and headed toward a booth in the corner.

The
mood shattered, and the moment lost, Missy and Chas signaled for their check
and left, both hoping that their delicate conversation would resume at some
point, sooner rather than later.

“Here,
you have to try this, it’s a new flavor that I created and I want your
opinion,” Echo said, placing a dish of frozen green goo in front of Missy.

Poking
at it suspiciously with a spoon, Missy asked, “ummm…what is it exactly?”

“It’s
green tea and pistachio, made with coconut milk, see what you think,” her
friend explained, leaning forward in anticipation of her reaction.

“Okay,”
Missy agreed skeptically. “Here goes.” She spooned a small bite of the glop
into her mouth.

“Well,
what do you think?” Echo prompted excitedly.

“Oh
my gosh, I’m totally shocked, but this stuff is absolutely delicious! Wow,” she
said, taking a bigger bite.

“Yay!”
the ice cream shop owner clapped her hands together. “I’m so glad! I mean, I
thought it was fantastic, but sometimes I’m too big of a fan of my own work,
you know?”

“Nope,
this is awesome,” Missy said through a mouthful of the frozen treat.

“Good!
Oh, and I have some good news too – I hired a new person to replace Donna.”

“Really?
That’s good. Sad, but good,” she nodded, still enjoying her treat.

“Yeah,
I’m going to miss that girl, but I found a guy that I think will do a really
good job. He’s close to our age and he’s an artist, so I think he’ll do really
well with presentation,” she gushed.

“An
artist?” Missy asked, surprised.

“Yeah,
his name is Antonio, he just moved here from New York. He sells his work
online, so he can live wherever he wants to, and he said the serenity here
inspires him,” she said dreamily.

“By
the look on your face, I’m guessing he’s cute,” Missy teased.

“Positively
dreamy,” Echo nodded happily.

“Careful,”
her friend cautioned. “It’s not usually a good idea to get too involved with an
employee.”

“Well,
if things work out really well, I can always fire him,” she winked.

“There’s
that,” Missy agreed, shaking her head and laughing. She pushed her bowl back,
finished with the creamy goodness.

“So
how are things with Mr. Wonderful?” Echo asked, taking the bowl to the sink.

“Oh,
Echo, I never imagined that I could care for someone so much,” Missy admitted,
smiling a faraway smile.

“Oh
girlfriend, you are head over heels aren’t you?” she beamed at the clearly
lovestruck woman.

“Never
thought I’d say it, but yes, I absolutely am,” Missy blushed shyly.

“That’s
adorable,” Echo grinned. “Have you told him yet?”

Missy
shook her head. “Nope, it seems like every time the time is right, we end up
getting interrupted by Mayor Chadwick,” she giggled.

“Odd,”
her friend commented. “Well, has he told you?”

“No,
not yet.”

“Hmm…well,
that’s kind of scary isn’t it? You being the first one to put yourself out on
that limb, come what may,” she observed, eerily accurate.

“Yeah,
it really is scary – I’ve been wrestling with it for quite some time, but you
know, I just decided that I have to do it. If I don’t, it’s kind of like I’m
keeping a really important secret from him, and I don’t want to do that.
Besides, if what I have to say is going to freak him out and drive him away, I
guess it’ll be better to know that now rather than further down the line.”

Echo
nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right, and you’re brave, and I totally envy you,”
she confessed with a fond smile. “It seems you’ve found your Mr. Right. I’d be
willing to settle for a Mr. Right Now,” she joked.

“Well,
maybe your Antonio will be willing to serve in that capacity,” she teased,
winking.

“Maybe
so,” her friend giggled. “Too bad Mr. Wonderful doesn’t have any hot eligible
friends who are looking for a carefree hippie chick.”

Missy
laughed and the two friends spent the rest of the afternoon talking about
everything and nothing. She later reflected that it was strange how things
sometimes work out. Echo, who was definitely looking for the right man to be
her soulmate, couldn’t seem to find one, and Missy and Chas, who both had an
aversion to the idea of a relationship, had somehow found each other and
overcome their fears and reservations.

Carlton
Dobbs, who had been charming enough to partially tame even the difficult Miss
Prissy, turned out to be a criminal, and Donna, the innocent-seeming teenager,
had been complicit in activities that had hurt, and even killed people in the
small town that had loved and supported her.

Missy
shook her head – just thinking about it all made her thankful that, generally,
she had a normal life with everyday concerns, and was getting along just fine.
Better than fine, actually – she had two thriving businesses, two sweet dogs, a
free-spirited and fun best friend, and a man that she loved (and eventually
she’d tell him so). Yes, life was good, and she couldn’t wait to see what
happens next.

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 what you think by leaving a review!

I’ll be releasing another installment in two weeks 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