Frostycake Murder Read online

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  FROSTYCAKE MURDER

  FOREWORD

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Frostycake

  MURDER

  Cupcakes in Paradise

  Book 8

  By

  Summer Prescott

  Copyright 2017 Summer Prescott Books

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication nor any of the information herein may be quoted from, nor reproduced, in any form, including but not limited to: printing, scanning, photocopying, or any other printed, digital, or audio formats, without prior express written consent of the copyright holder

  **This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, places of business, or situations past or present, is completely unintentional.

  Author’s note: I’d love to hear your thoughts on my books, the storylines, and anything else that you’d like to comment on—reader feedback is very important to me. My contact information, along with some other helpful links, is listed below. If you’d like to be on my list of “folks to contact” with updates, release and sales notifications, etc.… just shoot me an email and let me know. Thanks for reading!

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  FOREWORD

  * * *

  This holiday season has been particularly poignant for me, since it’s the one year anniversary of my beloved mother’s passing. There is an empty place that can’t be filled, and the things that typically bring me joy are now tinged with sadness. I hear her voice in every Christmas carol, I see the spark of her personality in every glimmering light and shining star, which reminds me that I’ll carry her with me always.

  You’ll notice that Missy is struggling with a variety of things in this book, and I know that I’m partially to blame for that. There was a bit of my projecting my angst into her character, so please forgive me for her moods. We’re all human, and we all have our moments, but in the end, we love each other despite our moods and differences, that’s what life and relationships are all about. I cried often while writing this book, and in the end…I smiled.

  Here’s wishing all of you, dear readers, the happiest of holidays. Hold your loved ones close, make that phone call, and visit that person you haven’t seen in a while. Someday, you’ll be glad you did.

  Merry Christmas!

  FROSTYCAKE

  MURDER

  Cupcakes in Paradise

  Book 8

  CHAPTER ONE

  * * *

  Melissa Gladstone-Beckett rolled over, still sleepy in the pre-dawn hour, and was saddened to find that her husband, Chas, had slipped out of bed early and was already gone to work. She tried to tell herself that it was because he had to work doubly hard, now that he’d agreed to be an interim Homicide Detective in their sleepy little beach town of Calgon, Florida, as well as trying to run his Private Investigation Agency, but deep down, she felt that he just wasn’t quite ready to have the conversation that they needed to have.

  The couple had been trying for weeks to adopt a sweet little three-year-old girl, Kaylee, whose parents had been brutally murdered. When Kaylee was abducted, shortly after the death of her parents, by a random stranger who’d been passing through, Missy suspected that the culprits were Kaylee’s aunt and uncle on her father’s side. Determined to find the little girl, Missy flew to Arizona to search for her. The grave, potentially life-changing mistake that Missy made was that she hadn’t told Chas of her plans to rescue Kaylee. In fact, she’d lied to him and told him that she was going on a spa retreat. When the little girl was found, thankfully unharmed, by a maid in a low rent hotel, Chas contacted the resort where Missy was supposed to be, and found out that she wasn’t there. His heart broken because he thought that his beloved wife had left him, he tracked her down in Arizona. She came home to a man whom she’d put through the wringer, and things had been awkward and unsettled between them ever since.

  With a groan, Missy rolled onto her back. Toffee, her aging golden retriever, nosed at her hand, sensing her mood.

  “Good morning, baby girl,” she murmured, stroking the dog’s head.

  Not to be outdone, her spunky little maltipoo, Bitsy, hopped up, placing her forepaws on the side of the bed.

  “Looks like somebody wants to go outside,” Missy smiled faintly, scratching under the tiny dog’s chin. She was rewarded with an open-mouthed doggie smile. “Okay,” she sighed, sitting up and swinging her feet over the side of the bed.

  It was time to start the day, whether she felt like it or not. She had tons of cupcakes to bake for multiple holiday events in town. Her cozy little shop, Cupcakes in Paradise, had been super-busy since before Halloween, which was good, but daunting, given her current lack of energy and preoccupation with personal problems. The Christmas season was normally her favorite time of year, but this year had caught her out of sorts and entirely unprepared.

  **

  “Good morning, Beulah,” Missy greeted her elderly employee, who always managed to get to the shop before she did.

  “Good morning, Miss Missy,” Beulah briefly looked up from the tray of cupcakes that she was frosting.

  Missy had developed a new cupcake recipe for the Christmas season, and if the delicious smell wafting through the small commercial kitchen was any indication, they were going to be amazing. The white cupcakes were filled with marshmallow cream, and were topped with a light, fluffy peppermint buttercream frosting. They would soon be decorated with edible pearls and crunchy vanilla candy snowflakes.

  “It smells so good in here,” Missy inhaled with satisfaction and smiled. Somehow, focusing on baking made all of her troubles seem less insurmountable.

  “Yep, I think you did it again,” Beulah nodded her agreement. “But I’m gonna have to eat a couple with my coffee just to make sure,” she chuckled.

  “I’m with you on that one,” Missy grinned, ever thankful for the older woman’s steadying presence. “How much more do we need to bake today to fill our Christmas party orders?” she asked, tying on her green and red striped holiday apron.

  “The baking is done, we’ve just got a mountain of frosting and decorating to do now,” Beulah informed her.

  “The baking is done?” Missy was astonished.

  “Yes ma’am. I knew what kind of day we were facing, so I got here and got to work.”

  “Beulah, that must’ve taken hours!”

  “It sure did.”

  “How long have you been here?” Missy demanded, concerned that the eld
erly woman wasn’t getting enough sleep.

  “Look, we discussed this before. This old body can only stay in the bed but for just so long, and if I’m gonna be up and about, I might as well be productive. Keeps me young,” she joked.

  “I don’t pay you enough,” Missy shook her head in wonder.

  “I ain’t gonna take more than you’re already paying. Wouldn’t be right,” Beulah insisted, with a tone that brooked no argument.

  “You’re an angel, Beulah,” Missy gave the older woman a brief hug while she continued to frost a cupcake.

  “No ma’am, not even close. Don’t be confessing that on me,” Beulah warned, making her boss laugh out loud. “I got too many issues for that,” she muttered, picking up another cupcake.

  “Join the club,” Missy sighed, taking down a tray of perfectly-baked cakes to frost.

  “Hey ladies!” a chipper voice called out, as Missy’s best friend, Echo Kellerman, came in the back door, with her precious baby, Jasmine, asleep in her stroller.

  It was beyond wonderful to see the free-spirited redhead smile again. Her beloved husband, internationally famous artist, Phillip “Kel” Kellerman, had just gotten out of the hospital after nearly dying of exposure, following a plane crash in the mountains, and then going into cardiac arrest. To say that the past few weeks had been a bit trying for Echo was a profound understatement.

  “Hey darlin!” Missy returned the greeting, her pronounced southern accent cluing her best friend into the fact that she was stressed about something. Missy had been away from her Louisiana home long enough now that her accent typically only appeared in a strong manner whenever she was feeling emotional.

  Echo gave her a long look and resolved to draw her out during their morning coffee and cupcake break. The two met together several times a week to share their mornings before the work day started for each of them.

  “I’m hoping that there’s a vegan version of whatever amazing thing I’m smelling this morning,” Echo sniffed the air appreciatively.

  “Of course there is,” Missy assured her.

  “Waste of good ingredients,” Beulah muttered, not turning around, and the two friends exchanged an amused glance.

  Beulah was old-fashioned and didn’t understand the concept of a vegan diet at all, which generated a never-ending supply of pithy comments from her, and amusement from Echo and Missy. There was quite a customer base for vegan cupcakes, so nearly for every recipe that Missy invented, she modified to make a vegan version as well.

  “I’ll just go get settled, then I’ll come back for coffee,” Echo headed for the eating area in the front of the shop.

  “Don’t worry about the coffee. You have a seat and I’ll bring it out,” Missy waved a hand at her.

  The two women sat across from each other with their steaming mugs of dark, rich brew, a platter of cupcakes in the middle of the table, while Jasmine snored softly in her stroller.

  “You look like you’re doing well,” Missy observed, as Echo took a bite of her cupcake.

  “Mmhmm,” she nodded, her mouth full. After she chewed and swallowed, she replied. “Kel is doing great, and as long as he follows the doctor’s orders, he should be fine.”

  “Is he able to work?” Missy asked softly, knowing that frostbite had claimed a small part of the fingertips of his right hand.

  Echo chased her bite with a sip of coffee. “Yep, since he’s left-handed, it doesn’t affect him hardly at all. These cupcakes are amazing, what are they called?” she took another giant bite.

  “Frostycakes,” Missy smiled faintly.

  She’d picked out blue foil cupcake papers, which featured whimsical snowmen on them, and the theme for the little cakes was snowy, frosty wonderfulness.

  Echo grinned. “Frostycakes, I love it. I bet the kids at the elementary school would love them. Are you making them for their party?”

  “Yep, and I’ll be doing some Christmas tree ones too.”

  “Perfect. I guess that means I’ll get to try the tree ones later this week?” Echo asked hopefully.

  “Exactly. The party is on Wednesday. Poor Beulah will probably be in here at three a.m.,” Missy sighed, staring into her coffee cup.

  “That woman is amazing, I hope I have half of her energy when I’m that age.”

  “I know. I don’t know how she does it.”

  Echo gazed at her friend, who still hadn’t looked up from her coffee. “Things still rocky with you and Chas?” she asked softly.

  When Missy raised her eyes, they shone with moisture.

  “Yes and no,” she drew in a shaky breath. “We’ve both been so busy that we haven’t had the time that we need to sit down and talk.”

  “You need to make time,” her friend gave her a pointed look.

  “I know. I just don’t want to,” Missy whispered the confession.

  “Why?” Echo’s brow creased in a frown.

  “What if…what if he feels like we’re not ready to adopt Kaylee because I violated his trust? I lied to him, Echo. I love him more than anything, and I lied to him,” Missy shook her head.

  “And he loves you,” Echo covered Missy’s hand with her own. “Talk to the man. Give him the benefit of the doubt. In the whole time that you’ve known him, has he ever been anything less than amazing?”

  “No, of course not. He’s the best,” Missy bit her lip.

  “Then talk to him. Your relationship has been based on trust and understanding since day one. The only way to get that back is to be open and share with him, for better or worse. Think about it, if I was in this situation with Kel, what would you tell me to do?”

  “Talk to him,” Missy sighed.

  “So do that,” Echo squeezed her hand.

  “Maybe I’ll ask him to take me out to dinner…you know, get out of the house for some couple time?”

  “Or…you could make him his favorite dish, light some candles and have some wine to show him how much you care,” Echo countered.

  “Make him feel special,” Missy nodded.

  “Precisely.”

  “He so deserves that. I feel terrible about what I did.”

  “Well, there you go. After you close the shop today, go to the grocery store and make it happen.”

  “I will,” Missy replied, with a glimmer of her natural determination showing.

  “These cupcakes ain’t gonna frost themselves, ladies,” Beulah called out from the kitchen, making Missy and Echo laugh.

  “Duty calls,” Missy rose, collecting the empty coffee cups.

  “Yeah, I have to get to work too. With the holidays, the bookstore and the candle shop have both been busy,” Echo commented, referring to the adjacent businesses that she operated in a quirky vintage building downtown.

  “It’s better than the alternative,” Missy encouraged.

  “I keep telling myself that,” Echo replied with a wry smile. “Have a good day, and let me know how it goes with Chas,” she gave Missy a big hug.

  “I will. Take care of yourself, darlin, and let me know if you and Kel need anything.”

  “Will do.”

  **

  When all of the cupcakes for various parties had been delivered, and the morning rush had finally ebbed, Missy sat down behind the counter with a notebook and began making an ingredient list for the dinner that she planned to make for Chas. She’d only gotten halfway through her list when a pleasant looking middle-aged woman came in, seeming tired and distracted.

  “Hi, you look like a gal who needs some cupcakes,” Missy greeted her with a smile, despite the interruption.

  “Yes, I didn’t sleep well, and I’m cranky and I really just want some amazing sugar bombs to get me through my morning,” the woman admitted with a half-smile.

  “Well honey, you are in the right place. Go ahead and take a look at the case and see what you’d like,” Missy invited.

  “I’d like one of everything, but for now, I’ll restrain myself to just one German chocolate and one Frostycake,” she pointed.<
br />
  “Both good choices to brighten your morning,” Missy approved, boxing the treats up. “How about some coffee to wash them down?”

  “Goodness, no. If I had caffeine right now, I’d probably jump right out of my skin,” the woman pulled out her wallet and Missy gave her the total.

  As Missy handed her the receipt, the woman’s phone rang, and as she looked at it, the color drained from her face. Snatching up the bag of cupcakes, she practically ran for the door.

  “Have a nice day,” Missy called after her with a concerned frown.

  The woman didn’t even pause or turn around, and seconds later, the screeching of tires could be heard as she ripped away from the curb.

  “Poor thing must’ve gotten bad news,” Missy murmured to herself, grabbing a towel to wipe down the counter. When she went around to the front of the register, she noticed a wallet sitting there, which must belong to the woman who had fled. Opening it up, she looked at the driver’s license and confirmed that it did indeed belong to her last visitor, whose name was Maureen Gatling. Feeling like an intruder, she flipped through the wallet, looking for contact information, and found nothing.

  “Good thing I’m married to a detective,” she mused, closing the wallet. She locked it in the cash drawer for safe-keeping, in case the woman came back for it, and figured that she could just take it home to give to Chas, so that he could track her down if she didn’t come back in.

  The rest of the day passed quickly, and she was heading home with a car full of groceries before she knew it. She would be serving fried chicken, potato salad, and fluffy homemade biscuits with Chas’s favorite beer, keeping the mood casual and fun, rather than ultra-serious, in the hope that they’d both relax and open up during their discussion.

  **

  Chicken sizzled and crackled in the pan when Chas came into the kitchen after work.