Murder So Sweet: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery (Frosted Love Mysteries Book 3) by Carol Durand, Summer Prescott Read Free Book Online Page A

and let the widow carefully drop the gruesome item into it.
    “I’ll take it to Chas and see what he can find out,” she promised. “I’ll let you know as soon I hear anything.”
    “Thank you dear. I hate involving you in all of this, but I just don’t trust that sheriff,” the elderly woman shook her head. Missy didn’t say so, but she didn’t have much faith in the good ol’ boy either, and was hoping that Chas would know what to do.

Chapter 11
     
    Chas Beckett raised his eyebrows in disbelief at the adorable but exasperating blonde sitting next to him on her couch. “You mean to tell me that you removed the murder weapon from the scene of the crime without telling the police?” he exclaimed. “I can’t begin to describe how procedurally wrong that is, not to mention the fact that it’s illegal.” Chas ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
    “Do you really think that the ice cream shop was the scene of the crime?” Missy asked, bypassing his concerns.
    “So it would seem,” the detective mused, examining the blade inside the bag without touching it.
    “Well, isn’t there anything that you can do?” Missy widened her eyes, pleading.
    Chas sighed. “I’ll take some photos, run some swabs, try to lift some fingerprints and see what turns up. After that, I’m going to show it to the Police Chief here in LaChance, as well as the District Attorney, so that there are witnesses to its existence. That way, when I turn it over to the Sheriff, if the evidence disappears, as is often the case in this Parish when the sheriff’s office is involved, we’ll have proof.”
    “Good thinking,” Missy nodded. “I knew that you’d know what to do,” she smiled at him gratefully.
    “I just want to know what the heck we’re dealing with,” he shook his head and stood to go. “I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”
    “Thanks Chas,” she said, standing on tiptoe to give him a kiss. “Can I make it up to you by cooking dinner for you tomorrow night?”
    “That’d be a good start,” the handsome detective agreed, kissing her back.
     
    After Chas left, Missy needed to unwind, so she took Toffee to the park and played fetch with a tennis ball until the sun started to set. She wanted to be home, behind locked doors before dark, so the pair jogged back, loving the summer breeze caressing their faces and the sun on their backs. Once inside, Missy emptied Toffee’s water bowl, running fresh water in for her, and gave her a chew treat to occupy the tired but happy canine while she fixed her dinner. She was boiling a pot of pasta, and had a homemade tomato sauce simmering alongside it when the power went out. Frustrated but not worried, summer black outs due to overuse of air-conditioners in the heat of a Louisiana summer were certainly not unheard of, Missy felt her way over to the drawer that held her emergency candles.
    While she fumbled through the drawer, feeling about for her box of matches, Toffee began growling softly, making the hair on the back of her neck raise in alarm. Golden Retrievers in general, and Toffee in particular, were known for their happy, gregarious natures, and this type of behavior from her beloved pet could only be viewed as a warning. Something thumped against the side of the house, and Missy jumped, hugging Toffee close. She punched in the number for Chas’s phone with trembling fingers, when flashing blue and red lights shone through the windows, making dizzying patterns on the walls. She heard a violent pounding on her front door, and was relieved to see a uniformed police officer through the peephole.
    “Ma’am, you need to evacuate all occupants from the premises please, the fire department is on its way,” the officer informed her urgently.
    “Fire department? Why? What’s going on?” she asked, terrified.
    “Please ma’am, you need to get out now,” he insisted, ignoring her questions.
    Missy told him that she needed to go back in and get her dog, and he