Rum Cake Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 8 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) by Carol Durand, Summer Prescott Read Free Book Online Page A

hungry. Sometimes I eat when I go home, other times I just can’t make myself do it,” she hugged her knees to her chest.
    “I could make you some cupcakes,” Missy offered, concerned. “Which kind are your favorites?” She might suspect the girl of murder, but she could not stand idly by while the pitiful creature starved to death.
    “Please don’t go to the trouble, I wouldn’t be able to eat them anyway,” Cheryl admitted. “Food doesn’t taste good, and I stopped feeling hungry a few days ago.”
    “That’s not healthy,” her boss warned, heart torn between mistrust and compassion.
    “I’m healthier than he is,” she replied, her eyes glued on Ben. “This shouldn’t have happened to him. It should have been me. I’d give anything to trade places with him,” she murmured, seemingly forgetting that Missy present, rocking slightly back and forth. Missy moved to the bed, and after kissing Ben’s forehead, slipped quietly from the room. Cheryl either didn’t notice or simply didn’t acknowledge her leaving.

Chapter 14
    Curious about the relationship between Sidney Christianson and the coldly beautiful Mrs. Aston, Missy decided to do a little of her own detective work. Her findings would most likely have absolutely nothing to do with her own lawsuit, or the possible charges facing Ben and/or Cheryl, but it would at least give her something to do besides sitting around waiting for the results of the police investigation. After spending a little over an hour on her computer, Missy was able to track down the address of Dr. and Mrs. Aston, and decided to go for a drive that just happened to take her past that address.
    The Aston home was a sprawling brick traditional three story house, tucked privately behind a gated brick wall with lots of trees and bushes for privacy. There was no way to see into the yard other than sitting right in front of the wrought iron, spear-topped gates, but luck was with Missy. As she turned onto the street that ran in front of the mini-mansion, a candy-apple-red convertible German car, driven by a blonde woman with giant sunglasses and a silk scarf around her neck, pulled out of the drive. The top of the convertible was up for the winter, but even through the lightly tinted glass, Missy caught a good enough glimpse of the driver to be nearly certain that it was indeed Mrs. Aston.
    Following a safe distance behind, she trailed the doctor’s wife to the country club, where she handed off the keys to a valet, and dressed for tennis, she headed for the indoor courts.
    Frustrated that her little adventure had revealed absolutely nothing, Missy started to pull away from her vantage point under some trees near the entrance, when she saw a car with a vanity plate that read, “ATTY SC,” pull into the front drive. She wasn’t terribly surprised to see Sidney Christianson climb out of the car and hand his keys to the valet, dressed for tennis.
    Hurrying home, she told Chas about her findings while taking Toffee for a walk. He listened carefully, then told her he’d found out some things about Dr. Aston that were worth looking into,  promising to fill her in at dinner.
    Missy was on pins and needles, waiting for Chas to appear. She had prepared a homemade veggie lasagna that came out absolutely perfectly – the noodles tender, the cheese slightly browned on top, and the slices firm enough to stand on their own without sliding. She opened an opinionated Cabernet that would be the ultimate complement to the dish, and put crisp, green salads out as an appetizer. The bread sticks that baked in the oven after the lasagna was done were lighter than air and slightly glazed with garlic butter. Her mouth watered at the food, and her heart skipped a beat when she heard Chas’s deep voice greeting Toffee in the living room.
    She kissed him quickly, suffered impatiently through small talk while they got settled at the dining room table, then started pumping him mercilessly for