Buttercream Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 7 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) Read Online Free PDF

sweetly.
    “Fine,” he sighed. “I’ll check it out,” he kissed her and stood to go.
    “Chas?”
    He turned back, enjoying the sight of the most beautiful woman he knew. “Yeah?”
    “Thank you,” she smiled.
    “Always a pleasure, ma’am,” he grinned, tipping an imaginary hat.
    Missy returned home from the café to find her yard buzzing with activity. Since Ben, Cheryl, Chris and Grayson were all currently “on vacation” until her cupcake shops opened again, they had decided to surprise her by having a leaf raking party at her house.
    “Hey Ms. G.!” Ben was the first to greet her, leaning on his rake handle. “We thought you could use some help with all of these leaves.
    “Awww…y’all are so sweet,” Missy grinned.
    “Let’s be real, Ben wanted to have a bonfire and lives in an apartment,” Cheryl joked, nudging her boyfriend in the ribs.
    “I brought hotdogs and marshmallows,” Grayson contributed shyly.
    Missy chuckled with delight. “Well team, you keep up the good work, and I’ll head inside to make some sweet tea and side dishes. Did you bring buns for those dogs, Grayson?” she asked the pale youth.
    “Yes ma’am,” he nodded.
    “Spectacular!” she approved. “Carry on, I’ll be out to join in the fun a little later. Toffee will be glad to supervise,” she teased, noting the attention that was being lavished upon the affectionate animal. Climbing the porch steps, she turned to look at the group, who had returned to their work/play and was thankful to be surrounded by such wonderful people.
    Missy hummed to herself as she brewed tea and boiled potatoes to make potato salad. Thankful that she had eaten lightly at lunch, she rummaged through her pantry looking for tasty dishes that she could use to supplement the impromptu feast. Her phone rang, and she was delighted to see Echo’s number on the screen.
    “Hey girl,” she answered cheerfully. “I’m so glad you called, I know you don’t eat hotdogs, but the gang is over here raking leaves and I thought that it would be fun to…” she began, before her friend could say a word.
    Echo broke in tearfully. “Missy, something weird is going on, and I’m really scared.”
    Missy’s mood changed instantly. “What is it, honey? What’s wrong?”
    “I went out to the market to get some veggies, and when I came back, all of the windows on the back of my house were broken. Someone had been inside and moved some things around. I don’t know if anything is missing or not, but I just feel so…violated,” she cried.
    “Oh no! Echo, that’s awful. Did you call the police?”
    “Not yet, I just wanted to talk to someone who cares, you know?” she said sadly. “Why is this happening to me, Missy? I mind my own business, try to make a living and be a good citizen, and these horrible things keep happening. I just don’t understand.”
    “I know, honey. I don’t understand either, and I’m glad you called me, but you need to contact the police right away. Did you go inside?”
    “No, I couldn’t make myself go inside. I just put the groceries back into my bike basket and went to the park,” she confessed.
    “Well, that might be a good thing,” Missy reassured her. “You didn’t disturb the crime scene. I’m going to hang up now, and head over to your house. You need to call Detective Keller so that he can try to help us figure out what’s going on, okay?”
    “Okay,” her friend agreed, scared and upset.
    “I’ll see you in few,” she promised. Missy went to the front door, and beckoned for Cheryl to come inside, giving her instructions on how to make the sweet tea and potato salad and directing her to make use of any other food that she could find in the house, promising to be back as soon as she could, hopefully with Echo in tow.

Chapter 8
     
    Detective Keller had arrived at Echo’s house before Missy did, and had cordoned off the area after Echo had collected a few things, planning to spend time at Missy’s