Murder So Sweet: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery (Frosted Love Mysteries Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the way. The knees of cypress trees rose from beneath black murky waters, and moss hung from trees in this quaint locale, and Missy had to admit that the site had a certain charm. Stepping onto the walkway, she wished for a moment that she had worn comfortable shoes rather than her grey patent leather pumps, and jeans rather than her suit skirt. The humid heat was starting to rise already, and a thin sheen of sweat beaded her upper lip as she made her way to the restaurant. She had found it more than a bit strange that there were no other cars in the parking lot when she pulled up. She had reasoned that if the restaurant opened for lunch, surely there would be someone around doing prep work by now, and typically a manager or owner would be present earlier rather than later.
    The clip clop of her heels on the boardwalk rang out in the still bayou morning, and she felt oddly chilled despite the growing heat of the Louisiana summer. Missy didn’t see any sign of activity as she neared the restaurant, but if anyone was around, they’d likely be in the office and/or kitchen anyway. Pulling on the heavy brass handle of the front door, she discovered that the front door was locked, which wasn’t really surprising. She knocked a few times, and when there was no response, she made her way across the deck that surrounded the entire restaurant, looking for the door to the kitchen. Finding that the kitchen door was locked as well, and again getting no response, she decided to follow the decking to the back of the restaurant in search of an office door, her last hope. She slapped at a mosquito that was buzzing near her ear, and felt curly tendrils escaping her carefully crafted bun. Her frustration level was rising, and she planned to use it when she unleashed her criticism upon Mr. Thibedeaux.
    Stepping around the far corner of the building, a flash of something white in the water caught her eye. Curious, she walked to the railing and peered down into the waters of the bayou, a scream of terror ripping from her unbidden as she realized what had captured her attention. The corpse of an elderly man floated face-down among the pilings below. Horrified and crying in terror, Missy pulled off her shoes and ran as fast as she could back to the parking lot, jumping into her car and locking all of the doors. Her feet bled and her pantyhose were completely ruined, but she didn’t even notice as she dialed Chas Beckett’s number with shaking hands, her stomach churning violently and threatening to eject the entire pot of coffee that she had drunk this morning.
    The parish sheriff got to the site before Chas did, arriving shortly after she hung up the phone. Next came the sheriff’s divers, an ambulance and the parish coroner. A deputy took Missy’s statement explaining how she had discovered the body, and why she was there in the first place. He looked at her skeptically and took her contact information in case they wanted to speak with her again. When Chas came jogging toward her finally, she fell into his arms sobbing, overwhelmed. He held her close, trying to maintain his professional demeanor in front of the other officers, but deeply concerned about her.
    He handed her a tissue, helping her to calm down, then turned to a nearby deputy, flashing his credentials. “Officer, are you done with this witness.”
    “For now,” was the terse reply, as the officer turned his back and headed for the bayou.
    Chas told Missy to go home, and that he’d come check on her after he found out what was happening down at the scene. She nodded numbly and limped back to her car.

Chapter 7
     
    After Missy got home and changed into yoga pants and a soft, worn t-shirt, she curled up on the couch with Toffee, trying to take her mind off of her traumatic morning by watching TV and stroking the silky fur behind her adoring retriever’s ears. Her head ached miserably, whether from caffeine or adrenalin she didn’t know, and her stomach refused to even