Free Chilled in Chattanooga (A Trixie Montgomery Cozy Mystery Book 4) by Deborah Malone Page A

and see if she’d help with Nana, but I didn’t want to interrupt her vacation. After lunch I had to make some calls.
    I jumped when Alan Jackson’s Chattahoochee rang out from my purse. I forgot I’d changed the ring tone. I looked at the caller I.D. and groaned. “Hello, Harv.”
    “Trixie. You said you’d call me back. I waited as long as I could. We’re on a deadline you know.” I nodded in agreement, but Harv kept right on going. “Are you making any progress on the Ghoston murder?”
    “Uh, I’ve been working on it Harv.”
    I waved for Dee Dee and Nana to go on to the restaurant without me. “I’ll catch up. It’s Harv.” Dee Dee nodded and put her arm around Nana’s waist as she led her forward.
    “What’s going on, Trixie?” Harv growled.
    “I was just telling the girls to go eat without me, I’d catch up.” Harv’s a taskmaster for sure, but even he wouldn’t object to me taking time to eat. “Harv, there’s been a little hitch in my plans.”
    “A little hitch, Trixie? I don’t like the sound of that.” I heard Harv’s squeaky desk chair. He needed to oil that old thing. I imagined him removing his feet from his desk and leaning over in a serious pose. “Spit it out, girl. I don’t have all day.”
    I held back the tears, I didn’t want to leave an impression I couldn’t handle my job. “I found a dead body in the deep freeze,” I sniffed.
    “I thought I heard you say you found a body in the freezer. I know you didn’t say that. Did you, Trixie?” It was time to put on my big girl panties and come clean with the truth.
    “That’s what I said.” I gulped back a sob. “Now I’m a person of interest in the case.”
    “Who was it and how did you wind up in the middle of a murder investigation?”
    “It was, Annie Henderson, my teacher, from the intensive workshop. I was the last person to be alone with her. When the police found poisoned tea in my room my fate was sealed. I’m their prime suspect. I was framed, Harv.”
    A crunch resonated through the phone. I supposed he’d bit down on his Tootsie Pop upon hearing the news. There was a prolonged silence before anyone spoke.
    “Harv? Are you there?”
    “Yes I’m here. I’m trying to think. I know this is a terrible situation, but you’re strong and you can take this and turn it around to your advantage. I know you didn’t kill that woman. Take this opportunity to write about being wrongly accused.”
    I pulled a tissue from my purse and blew my nose. “Uh, I guess I could do that.” Maybe writing about the experience would keep my mind focused.
    “Great, that settles it. I know you’ll pull through this, Trixie. I have faith in you. Well, gotta go. Check in with me later.” I heard a click indicating the conversation was over. I replaced the phone in my bag.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

    I hurried to catch Dee Dee and Nana as fast as my knee allowed. They were studying their menus. “Did you order a sweet tea for me?”
    “Does a dog like bones?” Dee Dee offered me a big grin.
    “I’m taking that for a yes.” I needed all the sugar I could get.
    Nana reached over and patted my hand. “What’s the matter sweetie, you look like you’ve lost your last friend.”
    “I just got through talking to Harv. It was all I could do to hold back the tears. He wants me to write an article about sleuthing out the real killer. He thinks my being a person of interest would help me write about being wrongly accused.”
    “Don’t you worry that pretty little head of yours. Dee Dee and I will help (she drew out help into two syllables). Hay-ulp made me feel a tad better, and I grabbed the menu and quickly looked at the offerings as the waitress appeared. “I’ll take the soup and sandwich combo.” Dee Dee and Nana opted for the chicken salad on lettuce. We sat back to wait on our food.
    I glanced at Nana and noticed her half-closed eyelids. A huge smile indicated her pain level had dropped. I’d have to keep a closer watch