Frostycake Murder by Summer Prescott

Author:Summer Prescott [Prescott, Summer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cozy, Culinary, Christmas
Goodreads: 37514241
Publisher: Summer Prescott Books
Published: 2017-12-12T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

* * *

There was a little key on the bottom of the Santa Claus sculpture that Missy turned carefully, almost reverently. It had been her mother’s and the dear woman used to wind it up and let it play its selection of carols for hours on end, much to her daughter’s delight.

Missy flicked on the switch, and tinny music issued forth, bringing with it a flood of memories, and tears to her eyes.

“I miss you, Mom and Dad,” she whispered, setting the Santa Claus down in the center of a console table in the hallway.

Her parents had perished in a horrific car accident when she was only seventeen. The tightly-knit community in Louisiana, where she’d been born and raised, rallied round her and helped her keep her family’s cupcake shop open, even while going to school to get her degree. After school, she’d continued to grow the business and eventually opened up an additional location. She’d given one of the stores to a beloved staff member and closed the other one when she moved to Calgon after marrying Chas.

Her childhood was wrapped up and intertwined with the ornaments, hand-made items and strings of lights contained in the boxes and bins that Spencer had brought down from the attic, and every item that she unwrapped had a sense of bittersweet poignancy to it. Even the slightly musty smell that is common to things that have been stored every year for decades, brought back colorful memories that either made her smile or cry.

Missy had put together the eight-foot artificial tree, standing on a ladder to do the uppermost branches, and was sipping her cocoa, which had a candy cane sticking out of it, per Beulah’s orders, when Chas came in. He saw what she had been up to and smiled.

“I wondered when you were going to dive into the holidays,” he kissed her and surveyed the overflowing boxes around him.

“Well, it doesn’t look like much yet, but it will,” she promised, trying to sound enthusiastic. “Wanna help?”

“I’d love to, but I have to poke through some of the evidence in Maureen Gatling’s case,” he sighed ruefully. “If you want to save some of this to do tomorrow, I’ll try to slip away for a couple of hours to help.”

“I’ll probably be done by then, but that’s okay. I thought maybe I’d go shopping later tonight.”

“Great, that’ll be fun for you. Is Echo joining in?”

“Uh…no. I think she has her hands full with taking care of Kel,” she sipped her cocoa to avoid his eyes.

“I bet he’s quite a handful when he’s supposed to be taking it easy,” Chas chuckled.

“I’d imagine so,” Missy smiled.

“You okay? You seem…sad or something,” Chas enveloped her in a hug so warm and dear that she almost lost it.

Taking a deep breath, she replied, “I’m fine. Lots of memories in those boxes.”

“I bet,” he nodded and kissed her before releasing her. “I’m going to go change into more casual clothes, then head back to the office. Do you need anything before I go?”

“No, I’m fine.

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