Black Bottom Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery Book 6 (Frosted Love Mysteries) by Carol Durand, Summer Prescott Page A
Authors: Carol Durand, Summer Prescott
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store.
“Hey
stranger!” her friend called out with a smile.
“Hey
yourself,” Missy answered, glad to discover that Echo was indeed still speaking
to her.
“I’ve
missed you – what have you been up to?” Echo asked, fixing a Vanilla Bean
sundae without bothering to ask. She fixed one for herself as well, and joined
Missy at one of the tables in the seating area.
“Well,
let’s see…aside from working myself into an early grave, I’ve made up with Mr.
Wonderful, bought a new red dress, and dealt with being robbed as of
yesterday,” she summed up.
“Oh
my gosh! You were robbed? Holy cow, what happened?” her friend exclaimed, the
words muffled by a delicious bite of ice cream.
Missy
related what had happened, leaving her encounter with Safflower out of the
story.
“Wow,
crazy,” Echo said, shaking her head and licking her spoon. “Who do you think
could have done it?”
“I
have my suspicions,” Missy said gravely. “But I don’t want to say anything
until I can find something more concrete than a gut feeling to go on.”
“That’s
understandable,” Echo nodded. “Can’t be too careful these days.”
Missy
decided to bite the bullet and bring up her encounter with Safflower, glad she
could share her side of the story before the contrary little creature massaged
the truth to suit her needs. Hearing of her sister’s antics, Echo shook her
head sadly.
“She’s
always been difficult, I’ve never understood it. My parents raised us to be
free-thinkers and express ourselves, and she and I have always done that in
very different ways. I learned early on that when you treat people with
kindness and respect, you get kindness and respect in return. Safflower used
her freedom to learn how to manipulate people into bending to her will and
meeting her every need and whim. She’s never held a job for longer than a few
months, and probably never will because Mom and Dad supply her with everything
she needs. I feel sorry for her, really. She may never know the fulfillment
that comes through working hard and accomplishing something worthwhile,” Echo
lamented.
“That’s
sad,” Missy nodded, understanding. “But it certainly explains a lot.”
The
conversation moved to other, lighter topics, and the two friends never even
noticed the shadow that slipped silently away from behind the doorway to the
kitchen.
Chapter 9
Missy
was at her LaChance shop, helping Grayson box up a massive order for a church
social, when her phone rang. Pulling it out of her pocket, she saw Echo’s
number and answered the call. Her friend was in a state of panic, and Missy
couldn’t seem to calm her down enough to get a coherent picture of what was
upsetting her, other than that something had apparently happened at Sweet Love.
“Do
you need me to come over?” she asked, interrupting an endless bout of teary
explanation.
“Yes,
please,” Echo replied.
Missy
made sure that Grayson could handle the rest of packing and delivery for the
church, and headed for Dellville, parking at Crème de la Cupcake and walking
quickly across the street to Sweet Love. She was horrified at the sight that
met her eyes when she opened the front door. The entire room was filled with
colorful puddles of melted frozen treats. Echo was sitting at one of the
tables, sobbing, and her clothes covered in goo. From what Missy could deduce,
given the footprints and streaks on the floor, coupled with the mess on her
friend’s clothing, Echo had walked into the mess, skidded in the sloppy goop,
and fallen. The table as which she sat, crying, was the only one that hadn’t
been upended into the mess. Chairs were scattered about, and round cardboard
containers that had once held the now liquefied treats rolled on their sides in
various places around the seating area.
“Oh
my,” Missy shook her head, gazing at her friend with sorrow. “This is awful.”
“Why?”
Echo moaned, miserable. “Why would someone do this? So many hours of
“Hey
stranger!” her friend called out with a smile.
“Hey
yourself,” Missy answered, glad to discover that Echo was indeed still speaking
to her.
“I’ve
missed you – what have you been up to?” Echo asked, fixing a Vanilla Bean
sundae without bothering to ask. She fixed one for herself as well, and joined
Missy at one of the tables in the seating area.
“Well,
let’s see…aside from working myself into an early grave, I’ve made up with Mr.
Wonderful, bought a new red dress, and dealt with being robbed as of
yesterday,” she summed up.
“Oh
my gosh! You were robbed? Holy cow, what happened?” her friend exclaimed, the
words muffled by a delicious bite of ice cream.
Missy
related what had happened, leaving her encounter with Safflower out of the
story.
“Wow,
crazy,” Echo said, shaking her head and licking her spoon. “Who do you think
could have done it?”
“I
have my suspicions,” Missy said gravely. “But I don’t want to say anything
until I can find something more concrete than a gut feeling to go on.”
“That’s
understandable,” Echo nodded. “Can’t be too careful these days.”
Missy
decided to bite the bullet and bring up her encounter with Safflower, glad she
could share her side of the story before the contrary little creature massaged
the truth to suit her needs. Hearing of her sister’s antics, Echo shook her
head sadly.
“She’s
always been difficult, I’ve never understood it. My parents raised us to be
free-thinkers and express ourselves, and she and I have always done that in
very different ways. I learned early on that when you treat people with
kindness and respect, you get kindness and respect in return. Safflower used
her freedom to learn how to manipulate people into bending to her will and
meeting her every need and whim. She’s never held a job for longer than a few
months, and probably never will because Mom and Dad supply her with everything
she needs. I feel sorry for her, really. She may never know the fulfillment
that comes through working hard and accomplishing something worthwhile,” Echo
lamented.
“That’s
sad,” Missy nodded, understanding. “But it certainly explains a lot.”
The
conversation moved to other, lighter topics, and the two friends never even
noticed the shadow that slipped silently away from behind the doorway to the
kitchen.
Chapter 9
Missy
was at her LaChance shop, helping Grayson box up a massive order for a church
social, when her phone rang. Pulling it out of her pocket, she saw Echo’s
number and answered the call. Her friend was in a state of panic, and Missy
couldn’t seem to calm her down enough to get a coherent picture of what was
upsetting her, other than that something had apparently happened at Sweet Love.
“Do
you need me to come over?” she asked, interrupting an endless bout of teary
explanation.
“Yes,
please,” Echo replied.
Missy
made sure that Grayson could handle the rest of packing and delivery for the
church, and headed for Dellville, parking at Crème de la Cupcake and walking
quickly across the street to Sweet Love. She was horrified at the sight that
met her eyes when she opened the front door. The entire room was filled with
colorful puddles of melted frozen treats. Echo was sitting at one of the
tables, sobbing, and her clothes covered in goo. From what Missy could deduce,
given the footprints and streaks on the floor, coupled with the mess on her
friend’s clothing, Echo had walked into the mess, skidded in the sloppy goop,
and fallen. The table as which she sat, crying, was the only one that hadn’t
been upended into the mess. Chairs were scattered about, and round cardboard
containers that had once held the now liquefied treats rolled on their sides in
various places around the seating area.
“Oh
my,” Missy shook her head, gazing at her friend with sorrow. “This is awful.”
“Why?”
Echo moaned, miserable. “Why would someone do this? So many hours of
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