Free Raspberry Creme Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 14 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) by Carol Durand, Summer Prescott

two
o’clock, so we don’t need you until maybe 1:30.”
    Missy
pursed her lips. “Cheryl, honey…am I missing something? This all seems to be
terribly complicated for such a simple thing,” she said, her brow furrowed with
confusion.
    Cheryl
hesitated. “Oh, sorry. Well…I…umm…omigosh, Cammie is crying – so hey, I’ve
gotta run, but you can come over at 1:30, right?” she blurted.
    “Sure,
honey, I’ll be there, but shouldn’t we…” Missy began.
    “Great!”
Cheryl cut her off. “See you then.” Dial tone.
    Missy
stared at her phone as if it was an alien creature. Cheryl had acted so
strangely, it wasn’t like her at all to hang up so abruptly. She hoped that
there wasn’t more to the story.
    “What
was that all about?” Chas asked casually, taking a sip of coffee.
    “Cheryl
needs me to babysit, apparently there’s something wrong with Ben’s car,” Missy
murmured. “So anyway, what time are we going to Echo’s?” she asked again,
looking forward to seeing the handsome detective do some manual labor while
noshing on her favorite ice cream.
    “Echo
said that the only time she has available today is at 1:00,” he replied,
getting up to forage in the refrigerator for some breakfast.
    “Darn
it!” Missy exclaimed, disappointed.
    “What?”
Chas asked, nose in the refrigerator.
    “Cheryl
needs me to babysit at 1:30, and there’s no way that I can do both,” she
sighed.
    “Well,
if Cheryl needs you, isn’t that more important? You and Echo have ice cream
together a couple of times a week at least,” he reminded her.
    “Yeah,
that’s true, but you’re never involved,” Missy pretended to pout.
    “The
way you two chatter endlessly when you’re together, it’s probably just as well
– I’d never get a word in edgewise,” Chas teased, coming back to the breakfast
bar with a container of yogurt and a bag of granola.
    “I
hate to agree with you on that one, but it’s true,” she grinned, standing and
kissing him on the cheek. “I’m getting in the shower.”
    Chas
watched her walk down the hall to shower and dropped his head into his hand,
sighing with relief.
     

Chapter 1 8
    Chas
left the house just before Missy did, and she was puzzled initially that he
headed in the opposite direction that he needed to go to get to Echo’s house,
but eventually figured that he had either gone to buy parts for the ice maker,
or needed to fill the gas tank in his car. Ever thoughtful, the handsome
detective had said that he wanted to take her to a nice late lunch after she
was done babysitting and asked her to wear the pewter dress that he loved so
much because it brought out her kitten-grey eyes.
    Missy
had a delightful time with little Cammie, and was surprised when Cheryl called
to tell her that one of Ben’s friends from grad school needed “baby practice”
because she had just found out she was pregnant, so she’d be coming over to take
Missy’s place. Missy was excited that her late lunch with Chas could now be
earlier than they expected, and texted to tell him the good news, hoping that
he had finished with Echo’s ice maker. As it turned out, he had not only
finished with the ice maker, but had gone ahead to a swanky jazz club on the
outskirts of town to see if they’d let him in without a reservation. They’d
reluctantly agreed, but told him that he’d lose his table if he left the restaurant,
so he apologetically asked Missy if she could just meet him there.
    “Just
let the valet park your car, I don’t want you to have to walk very far in this
humidity,” he’d thoughtfully instructed. Missy’s heart beat faster – she’d
wanted to see what the jazz club was like for quite some time, and now she
finally would.
    Missy
pulled into the circular drive in front of the club, and when the valet saw her
car, he spoke into a little walkie-talkie that was attached to his red blazer.
The thought crossed her mind that the poor man must be close to heat
exhaustion, wearing a