A Mouthful of Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery Book 4 (Frosted Love Mysteries) Read Online Free PDF Page A

of a threat?” she worried.
     Johnson
looked at her for a long moment before replying. “Miss Gladstone, if I find out
that you somehow put the finger in the basket to throw suspicion on someone
else, you should be very worried indeed.”
    “You
think I did this?” Missy was appalled. “I am a law-abiding citizen who has done
nothing wrong, and I will not have you stand there and falsely accuse me. You
are welcome to leave, Detective,” she directed, opening the door, eyes flashing
fire and fury.
    Johnson
moved to the door at a leisurely pace. “Interesting that the victim’s blood is
on your pants,” he mused, on his way out.
    “I
already explained how that happened, Detective. Goodbye!” she slammed the door
shut, locking it behind him. She was so angry that she shook, from head to toe.
Ben advised her to get out of the store for a while, until she recovered a bit.
She had concocted a vegan flax seed breakfast muffin that she wanted Echo to
try, so she decided to take her one and headed across the street. Maybe, once
her stomach settled a bit, she’d try another ice cream flavor.
    “Hello?”
Missy called out, entering the deserted shop. Echo didn’t open for several
hours yet, but had a habit of leaving the front door unlocked.
    “Back
here!” she heard her friend’s voice from the back room.
    Wading
her way past stacks of eco-friendly paper products, she wound her way to the
kitchen, where Echo was on her hands and knees with a bunch of towels, mopping
up a mess. Moving closer, Missy gasped.
    “Echo!
What happened?” she said, seeing the pool of blood seeping into the towels, the
coppery smell nauseating her even further.
    “Clumsy
me,” her friend chuckled. “I spilled an entire bowl of raspberry puree. Why
don’t you have a seat up front, I’ll be out shortly.” Missy nodded, thankful
that her original impression had been incorrect. She rationalized that she must
have imagined the smell of blood after her traumatic morning.
    She
sat at a table for two in the corner, placing the white paper bag with Echo’s
muffin in it at the seat across from her. Her friend soon came bustling back
into the seating area, holding a paper towel around one finger. Missy’s heart
nearly came out of her chest, until she noticed that the unfortunately clumsy
woman still had all fingers firmly attached, she had just hurt herself somehow.
    “What
happened?” she managed to ask, sounding somewhat normal.
    “I
cut myself on a can lid this morning, it’s nothing really,” she dismissed her
friend’s concern with a rueful laugh and a wave. “Would you like some herbal
tea? I have an organic chai that is just to die for,” she offered.
    “That
would be nice,” Missy nodded. “I’ve had a rough morning. I brought you one of
my new vegan creations to try,” she rattled the bag.
    “Awesome,
I’m starving!”
    Echo
brought their tea, and she wasn’t kidding, it was the best tea that Missy had
ever tasted, and it soothed her somehow. Or, it may have just been the company
of her feisty, irreverent friend that raised her spirits, but either way, she
was feeling much better than when she had come over, managing to forget, both
about the finger in the peach basket and the pool of raspberry puree that
smelled like blood.
    “Oh
Missy, this muffin is the best,” Echo raved, her mouth full of moist muffin.
“I’m seriously going to buy a hundred of them and live off of them for the next
few weeks.”
    “Let
me try some more vegan recipes before you commit to a hundred of this
particular one,” she teased, pleased that her creation was a success.
    “Good
idea,” she nodded, still chewing. “Want to try another flavor?” she asked
gesturing to the glass fronted freezers behind them.
    “Well,
since you twisted my arm, I guess I’ll have to,” Missy grinned, standing to
peer into the cases.
    “Pick
any one you’d like, or more than one, whatever,” Echo waved breezily, still
enjoying her muffin and