Creamsicle Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 11 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) Read Online Free

case any of my men need me,” he said smoothly, indicating a
group of uniforms with a tilt of his head.
    “Of
course, I understand,” she smiled sweetly, padding out onto the tiny porch and
sitting gingerly on the steps, gazing up at Chas with big blue eyes. Seeing
that Missy was hovering nearby, she frowned. “You’re still here? Why? Why is
that happening?” she demanded, her voice rising.
    Without
a word, Missy merely shook her head, turned on her heel and headed for Chas’s
car. Once there, she leaned her head back against the seat, feeling limp. It
wasn’t bad enough that a friend of hers had been killed in a terrible accident,
but now she’d had to put up with being berated by a spoiled princess who
accused her of murder, for being 37 seconds late with a cupcake delivery. Her
head pounded, and the rising temperature of the bayou compounded her
discomfort. She slipped into a fitful sleep, waking up glistening with sweat
when Chas opened his door.

Chapter 6
    “You
okay?” Chas asked, brushing back damp curls from Missy’s forehead.
    She
nodded, still drowsy. “I just wish that I had some water,” she sighed, a hand
over her eyes to block out the sun streaming in the windshield.
    “Your
wish is my command,” Chas said, reaching into the back seat. He jiggled the lid
off of a small cooler and pulled out a bottle of ice cold water, which reminded
Missy of Ian and brought tears to her eyes. To distract herself from thoughts
of her dead friend, she asked about Ivana.
    “So
how did things go with the Ice Queen?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.
    “Not
so bad. She seems to think that you had something to do with Ian’s murder, but
I can’t quite figure out why. She’s having a rough time right now,” he said
quietly.
    Missy
snorted. “A rough time? Yeah, I can see how it would be hell to have your
custom-made cupcakes arrive 37 seconds late,” she said, her voice dripping with
sarcasm.
    “I
think there’s more to Ivana’s story than anyone realizes,” Chas returned, his
voice a mild rebuke.
    Missy
looked at him in wonder. “You do realize that she’s an internationally famous
actress, right?”
    “Meaning?”
he raised an eyebrow.
    “Meaning
that it’s her job to convince people all over the world that she’s someone or
something other than the uber-spoiled diva that she is. She pretends for a
living, Chas, and she’s really good at it. Don’t you think there’s the
slightest possibility that she’s playing you? And if she is, there may be a
darn good reason for it!”
    A
muscle in the detective’s jaw flexed repeatedly as he chose his next words very
carefully. “Yes, she’s an actress, playing make-believe is her job, and she’s
good at it. My job is to find facts, not indulge in fiction, and I’m good at
what I do too,” he reminded her. “Just because people are famous, doesn’t mean
they’re happy. Ian Carson was her lover, Missy. I’m sure that she had nothing
to do with his death,” Chas looked at her, adamant. “She does, however, think
that you had something to do with it,” he sighed.
    “What?
Why on earth would she think that?” Missy demanded.
    “Ivana
was distraught when she heard the news, and ran to Ian’s dressing room to cry.
When she got there she found one of your cupcakes, half-eaten, next to his
water bottle. She thinks that you went there to give him a cupcake and seduce
him, but when he didn’t respond, you ran to the prop room and switched out the
gun,” Chas explained.
    “That’s
preposterous,” Missy exclaimed, shaking her head at the nerve of that
unpleasant woman, trying to frame her.
    Chas
paused for a moment, not wanting to ask the next question, but needing to. “Did
you take him a cupcake?” he asked in a quiet voice.
    Missy’s
mouth fell open. Never in the entire time that they’d been seeing one another,
had Chas ever mistrusted her. One of the reasons that the two of them got along
so well was that they were completely honest and