A Mouthful of Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery Book 4 (Frosted Love Mysteries) by Carol Durand, Summer Prescott
Authors: Carol Durand, Summer Prescott
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positioning herself near the head of the examination table.
The
Coroner’s assistance stood at the other side of the table and looked at Missy.
“Ready?” she asked, holding the corner of the sheet in her gloved hand. Missy
shook her head, but Johnson said, ‘Yes’ in a manner that caused the woman to
fold the sheet back, exposing the face of the dead man. Missy gasped, her hand
going to her mouth as she recognized the stranger who had been hanging around
her shop. Overcome, she ran from the room and leaned weakly against the wall of
the corridor, dry heaving and crying. When Detective Johnson came out to check
on her, she held her hand out, unable to speak, horrified.
“Do
you recognize that man?” he asked quietly.
Missy
nodded, swallowing convulsively.
“Was
this the man who came into your store and called Cora Nesbitt?” he persisted.
She
nodded again, recovering a bit, but still not quite herself. “Yes, it was,” she
whispered.
“Okay,”
he nodded. “Thank you Ms. Gladstone. Take as much time as you need – whenever
you feel up to it, you’re free to go.”
“Thank
you,” Missy replied weakly, moving slowly toward the elevator, holding on to
the wall for support, desperately wanting to get as far away from this place as
possible.
Chapter
15
Detective
Chas Beckett stared hard at the report that had been faxed to him by his
contact in California. According to the report, there was no such person as
Echo Willis, but the name had been used as an alias by a woman reportedly
trying to start a new life after a dangerous run-in with some very unsavory
individuals. The woman had been a Jr. Executive with a well-known company in
Silicon Valley, and had been dating a man, Albert Jenkins, who, unbeknownst to
her, was associated with local drug distributors. Albie played the part of high
roller a little too well, and she had gotten serious enough about the man to
have moved in with him, the two of them enjoying the domestic bliss of a 7000
square foot home on the beach with an indoor/outdoor pool, until the day that
she discovered that the love of her life had a very wicked temper, and was not
afraid to work out his frustrations with his fists.
Her
story was that she had tried to run, but Jenkins had kept her captive until
some professional thugs came in to put him in his place because of massive debts
owed to their boss. They roughed up the boyfriend badly enough that she seized
her opportunity to escape, leaving the beaten man alive, but penniless,
homeless and without a clue as to the whereabouts of his former love. The thing
that didn’t add up for Chas was the total change in the woman’s persona. It was
more than odd for a former business executive to suddenly adopt the lifestyle
of a ‘life-on-the-fringe’ free-spirited bohemian who decided to move to
Louisiana on a whim. Although, if she were trying to erase her former identity
in order to not be found, she had gone about it in brilliant fashion, moving
to a small obscure town and adopting a personality that was the furthest that
one could get from what she had been. The woman’s real name, before she took
the moniker ‘Echo Willis,’ was Constance Evans. Beckett had every intention of keeping
an eye on her and finding out what she was really doing in Dellville,
Louisiana.
“I
had a date last night,” Echo confessed, delighted, when Missy came over for a rice
cream ‘milkshake,’ a few days after her disturbing visit to the morgue. She
hadn’t told anyone but Chas about it, and he felt that it was probably best
that way.
“Really?
That’s great! With whom?” Missy asked, digging into her Vanilla Bean Rice
Milkshake.
“Ian
Barker,” she announced proudly, as her friend cringed inwardly.
“Ah.
That’s…nice. What did you two do?” She didn’t actually want to know, finding it
difficult to believe that anyone could last for more than two minutes in the
company of the obnoxious trust-fund boy, but was trying to sound
The
Coroner’s assistance stood at the other side of the table and looked at Missy.
“Ready?” she asked, holding the corner of the sheet in her gloved hand. Missy
shook her head, but Johnson said, ‘Yes’ in a manner that caused the woman to
fold the sheet back, exposing the face of the dead man. Missy gasped, her hand
going to her mouth as she recognized the stranger who had been hanging around
her shop. Overcome, she ran from the room and leaned weakly against the wall of
the corridor, dry heaving and crying. When Detective Johnson came out to check
on her, she held her hand out, unable to speak, horrified.
“Do
you recognize that man?” he asked quietly.
Missy
nodded, swallowing convulsively.
“Was
this the man who came into your store and called Cora Nesbitt?” he persisted.
She
nodded again, recovering a bit, but still not quite herself. “Yes, it was,” she
whispered.
“Okay,”
he nodded. “Thank you Ms. Gladstone. Take as much time as you need – whenever
you feel up to it, you’re free to go.”
“Thank
you,” Missy replied weakly, moving slowly toward the elevator, holding on to
the wall for support, desperately wanting to get as far away from this place as
possible.
Chapter
15
Detective
Chas Beckett stared hard at the report that had been faxed to him by his
contact in California. According to the report, there was no such person as
Echo Willis, but the name had been used as an alias by a woman reportedly
trying to start a new life after a dangerous run-in with some very unsavory
individuals. The woman had been a Jr. Executive with a well-known company in
Silicon Valley, and had been dating a man, Albert Jenkins, who, unbeknownst to
her, was associated with local drug distributors. Albie played the part of high
roller a little too well, and she had gotten serious enough about the man to
have moved in with him, the two of them enjoying the domestic bliss of a 7000
square foot home on the beach with an indoor/outdoor pool, until the day that
she discovered that the love of her life had a very wicked temper, and was not
afraid to work out his frustrations with his fists.
Her
story was that she had tried to run, but Jenkins had kept her captive until
some professional thugs came in to put him in his place because of massive debts
owed to their boss. They roughed up the boyfriend badly enough that she seized
her opportunity to escape, leaving the beaten man alive, but penniless,
homeless and without a clue as to the whereabouts of his former love. The thing
that didn’t add up for Chas was the total change in the woman’s persona. It was
more than odd for a former business executive to suddenly adopt the lifestyle
of a ‘life-on-the-fringe’ free-spirited bohemian who decided to move to
Louisiana on a whim. Although, if she were trying to erase her former identity
in order to not be found, she had gone about it in brilliant fashion, moving
to a small obscure town and adopting a personality that was the furthest that
one could get from what she had been. The woman’s real name, before she took
the moniker ‘Echo Willis,’ was Constance Evans. Beckett had every intention of keeping
an eye on her and finding out what she was really doing in Dellville,
Louisiana.
“I
had a date last night,” Echo confessed, delighted, when Missy came over for a rice
cream ‘milkshake,’ a few days after her disturbing visit to the morgue. She
hadn’t told anyone but Chas about it, and he felt that it was probably best
that way.
“Really?
That’s great! With whom?” Missy asked, digging into her Vanilla Bean Rice
Milkshake.
“Ian
Barker,” she announced proudly, as her friend cringed inwardly.
“Ah.
That’s…nice. What did you two do?” She didn’t actually want to know, finding it
difficult to believe that anyone could last for more than two minutes in the
company of the obnoxious trust-fund boy, but was trying to sound
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