A Mouthful of Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery Book 4 (Frosted Love Mysteries) by Carol Durand, Summer Prescott Page A

interested for
Echo’s sake.
    “We
went out to dinner at this cute little place called the Crawshack Redemption,
do you know it?” she asked.
    Missy
swallowed a huge amount of ice cream, driving ice picks of pain through her
brain. “I’ve heard of it,” she said vaguely, wanting to change the subject. “What
did you do after dinner?”
    “He
took me to the house that he inherited from his aunt, and talked about all the
ways he’s going to improve both the house and the land. He has such big plans
and is so excited about the possibilities.”
    “Echo,
you do realize that the reason he inherited that house is because his aunt was
murdered, right?” Missy was appalled at the thought that dear Mrs. Nesbitt
hadn’t even cooled in her grave yet and Ian was already mentally moving into
her home. The man had no soul.
    “Yeah,
it’s so sad, he showed me the exact spot where she died.”
    “Really?
Didn’t you think that was a little odd for a first date?”
    “I
try not to judge people, Missy. It was obviously on his mind, and he doesn’t
seem to have anyone to talk with about it,” Echo shrugged it off.
    Suddenly
Missy no longer wanted her rice milkshake. “Yeah, I could see how that would
happen,” she said softly, wanting to end the conversation. “Thanks for the
shake, I’ve got to run. You should stop by the shop tomorrow, it’s Mango Madness
Vegan Muffin day.”
    “Sounds
good,” Echo grinned. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Chapter
16
     
    “Chas,
I don’t care what anyone thinks, I need to talk to you, sooner rather than
later,” Missy told the handsome detective on the phone after her conversation
with Echo.
    “Not
a problem, pretty lady, I have some things that I want to share with you too,”
Beckett replied.
    “Can
you just come over?” she was a bit embarrassed at the need in her voice.
    “I
think it’s probably best if we meet somewhere else. There’s a little tavern off
of route 27 about 6 miles out of town..”
    “Off
a dirt road, tucked in behind an abandoned carriage house? Yeah, I know it.
When should I head over there?” Missy interrupted, eager to see him.
    “Ten
minutes?”
    “Perfect,
I’ll see you then.” Despite the fact that Missy was meeting Chas in order to
share what might just turn out to be important information regarding Cora
Nesbitt’s murder, she was still looking forward to being in the comfort of his
presence, and changed into a fresh outfit and brushed her hair until it shone
in long golden waves about her shoulders.
    Two
good ol’ boys were bellied up to the bar at the Pit Stop tavern, where a
hard-bitten woman with dyed blue-black hair and a stare that could frost a
flirtatious man’s soul was tending bar, and country music whined dully in the
background. Chas told Missy to grab a table in the corner, where they’d be out
of sight and out of mind, giving them privacy from anyone who might’ve noticed
their existence. He returned to the table with a Coke for himself and a sweet
tea for Missy.
    “Hitting
the hard stuff tonight?” she teased, when she saw him with a soda.
    “Guilty
pleasure,” he grinned boyishly. “So what’s got you all aflutter this evening?”
Beckett asked, gazing into her eyes in a manner that warmed her from head to
toe.
    “I
had a rather disturbing conversation with Echo this evening that I think might
be important.”
    “Disturbing?
Disturbing how?” he became all business.
    “Well,
she said that she had a date with Ian Barker, Cora Nesbitt’s nephew. After he
took her to dinner, he gave her a tour of Cora’s house that he stands to
inherit, and here’s the weird thing…she said that he pointed out to her the
exact place that Cora died.”
    Chas
sat back, frowning. “Go on,” he said, listening intently.
    “He
couldn’t have known that information, Chas. He didn’t find his aunt’s body, her
housekeeper did, and Detective Johnson told me that no one, outside of the
police who investigated the scene, was