A Pinch of Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery (Frosted Love Mysteries Book 2) by Carol Durand, Summer Prescott Read Free Book Online

t like and was guessing that today would be no exception. Slathering a sun-dried tomato concoction onto her bagel, she asked about what Chas had been researching last night.
    “ Well, I don ’ t know if it ’ s going to turn out to be significant or not, but I was able to turn up a bit of dirt on Taylor Whitcombe. It has nothing to do with Marta Cambridge, but it does at least point out that he ’ s capable of coloring outside the lines to advance his position. It seems that while in college, an enterprising Mr. Whitcombe ran a high-priced escort service with some of his classmates. Apparently he would sleep with young coeds and threaten to tell their ultra-wealthy parents about their indiscretion unless they agreed to ‘ go on dates ’ with his ‘ friends ’ . Unbeknownst to the girls, Taylor would collect fees from the gentlemen beforehand, who then went into the date with an expectation of a return on their investment, to put it delicately. ”
    “ That ’ s despicable! ” Missy gasped, horrified.
    “ Indeed, but apparently he was pretty successful at it, earning thousands of dollars a semester until he got caught. One of the girls refused to let him hold her misbehavior over her head and told her parents about what she had done with Whitcombe and what he had demanded she do to keep it quiet. University authorities were brought in, and Whitcombe was politely asked to leave campus. A sizable donation from a wealthy uncle ensured that no charges were pressed against him, and his record was sealed. ”
    “ So how did you find out about it? ” Missy wondered, wide-eyed.
    Chas smiled faintly, “ It ’ s my job to know things. ”
    “ So what did you find out about the security tapes, did you figure out who broke into my room last night? ” she asked, munching her bagel.
    “ No. I found out what happened, and how the intruder managed to get in, but there was no way to even get an accurate description, ” the detective admitted, frustrated.
    “ So how did he get in? ”
    Beckett sighed. He wasn ’ t going to show her the tape, but he would tell her about it and hope that she wouldn ’ t have nightmares as a result. “ The housekeeper came by to check on your room after we left for dinner, ” he began.
    “ Oh that ’ s right, ” Missy remembered, “ I had forgotten and left the ‘ Do Not Disturb ’ sign on my door all day yesterday.
    “ So she parked her cart outside your room, obscuring the cameras view of the door quite a bit. When she went into the room, leaving the cart in the hallway, a black gloved hand reached up from underneath it and intentionally spilled a bucket of cleansing solution in the hallway. The housekeeper came out and saw the mess and ran toward the utility closet that was on the other side of the building from your room. As soon as she was out of sight, whoever was hiding under the linen bags on the cart, slipped into your room, hung the ‘ Do Not Disturb ’ sign on the door and closed it. When the housekeeper came back with a bucket of water and a stack of towels to clean up the mess, she noticed the sign on the door, and, assuming that you had returned to your room, left immediately after mopping up the cleanser, ” Chas explained, watching Missy carefully for a reaction.
    “ Wow … someone was really determined to get in there, ” she remarked, frowning. “ But why? What on earth could they have been looking for? It wasn ’ t a robbery; all of my jewelry is still here. What could I possibly have that would be worth the planning and risk of doing something like that? ”
    “ It probably wasn ’ t that you have something that they wanted, it was that they thought you might have something. Did Marta provide you with any paperwork or a contract or anything? ” Chas asked, considering all possibilities.
    “ No, nothing, ” Missy shook her head. “ And why would someone else be interested in a franchise agreement anyway? ”
    “ From what I understand, Marta