Read Rum Cake Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 8 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) for Free Online Page A

crew had to cut the top of the car off to get him to safety.”
    Missy had begun crying as Chas described the series of events, and shook her head in horror as he finished. “Oh Chas, that’s awful,” she cried. “But it’s so strange that Ben’s brakes didn’t work. He’s meticulous about maintaining his car.”
    “That’s one of the disturbing details,” the detective grimaced. “After Cheryl told the officer who was interviewing her about the brakes, he had another guy on the scene check out the car, and they discovered that the brake lines had been punctured.”
    Missy’s hands flew to her mouth in horror. “You mean someone…” she couldn’t finish the sentence.
    Chas nodded. “Someone either wanted Ben hurt, or…”
    “Dead,” Missy whispered. “But who would do such a thing? Ben is a sweet, innocent young man.”
    “Maybe someone who didn’t want him to confess what he knows about the murder,” the detective raised his eyebrows.
    “Cheryl?” Missy asked.
    Beckett opened his mouth to answer, closing it again when a doctor walked into the room.
    “Detective Beckett?” the doctor asked, ignoring Missy entirely.
    “Yes, and you are?” Chas asked holding out his hand.
    The doctor shook it perfunctorily. “Dr. Aston,” was the terse response. “I’ve been monitoring Ben Radigan’s progress. He seems to have stabilized, but has not yet regained consciousness. Since I’m assuming that you have better things to do, I’ll advise you that sitting here, waiting is really just a waste of time. We’ll notify your office when…or if, he regains consciousness,” he said, without the slightest touch of compassion.
    Missy stood, wanting to speak to him before he left the room. “Dr. Aston, my name is Meliss…” she began before he cut her off.
    “I know who you are, and I have nothing to say to you,” he said, arrogantly. “Detective,” he nodded in Chas’s direction, and left the room.
    “Chas!” Missy grabbed Beckett’s arm. “Isn’t this some sort of conflict of interest? I don’t feel comfortable with Ben’s doctor being the man who is suing him,” she exclaimed. “You saw how uncaring he seemed. What if he tries to get back at Ben by not giving him proper care?”
    The detective placed a comforting arm around her shoulders, leading her from the room. “Let’s maintain a little bit of perspective here, shall we? There’s no way that Dr. Bernard Aston would throw away his career just because he was angry and involved in a lawsuit. His responsibilities as a caregiver are the same, regardless of whom he’s treating,” he explained gently. “I know you’re upset, but we just have to trust that Ben is in good hands. He’s a young, strong guy – he’ll be fine. Would you feel better bringing Toffee over and staying at my place tonight?” he asked, at a loss as to how to comfort her.
    Missy shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine at home. I’m just going to go to bed,” she replied numbly.

Chapter 11
    Missy lay under her hand-stitched quilt, staring into the darkness of her room. Sleep seemed an impossibility as her mind whirled with thoughts, doubts, fears and anger. In the morning, she would have to close her LaChance store, because Cheryl would need to stay home and recover, and even with the decrease in traffic, she couldn’t expect Grayson to run it by himself all day every day. She had called to let the sensitive youth know that he needed to report to the Dellville store the next day. He agreed immediately, wanting to do whatever he could to help. Little did Missy know that, since he didn’t have a car, he’d have to get up extra early and ride his bike to Dellville, thanking his lucky stars that at least Louisiana winters were generally pretty mild. Had she known, Missy would’ve picked him up herself, but the polite young man didn’t want to impose, so he kept his transportation woes to himself.
    Both of her managers were unable to work, leaving one shop