Read Online A Mouthful of Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery Book 4 (Frosted Love Mysteries) by Carol Durand, Summer Prescott - Free Book Online
Authors: Carol Durand, Summer Prescott
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down the stairs to make it look like an accident. There
were fingerprints on the candlestick that didn’t match Albert’s, yours, or the
housekeeper’s. We ran them through the national database and came up empty.
Then there’s the matter of Albert turning up dead. I had staked out Sweet Love
and saw a man pull up in a van after hours, go into the shop and come out
shortly thereafter with a very large bundle. A body-sized bundle. I followed
the van as closely as I could without being detected, but lost it in traffic
once I got into a more populated area. I would bet that Albert had gone to the
ice cream shop to lie in wait for Echo, and Ian followed him there to kill him.
We’re still waiting for the autopsy to come back, so we’ll know more soon. My
guess is that when we test the DNA that was under Albert Jenkins’ nails, and
compare the fingerprints on the candlestick with those of Ian Barker, we’ll
have our murderer.”
“But
why would Ian kill his own aunt? I mean, I may think he’s a terrible human
being, but she was his only living relative and she was always kind to him. And
why, after that, would he kill Albert Jenkins, a stranger in town?” Missy was
perplexed.
“You
said yourself that Ian was a spoiled, entitled man, living off of his
inheritance. I’m going to do some checking into his finances, but I would bet
that he’s close to running out of money. Cora Nesbitt’s home, land and assets
are considerable, and as her only living relative, Ian gets everything when she
dies. It’s horrible to think about, but Ian may have planned to do this for
quite some time, and seized the opportunity when a drifter came to town that he
could frame for the murder.”
“How
do you explain the severed finger?” Missy grimaced.
“Putting
two and two together, I’d say that Ian probably saw Jenkins in the house before
he went out to the orchard to pick peaches, and killed his aunt after Albert
left. He most likely then went out to where Jenkins was working and offered him
a considerable amount of money to buy his silence. Jenkins accepted the deal,
and Ian somehow had the notion that he was then in control of the drifter. He
didn’t know that Albert had an agenda.”
“Why
would Ian have cut off Albert’s finger though?”
“That
may have been entirely personal. Jenkins had come all the way from California
because of Echo, and Ian has clearly been interested in her from the first time
he met her. I think Ian found out the real reason that the drifter had come to
town and probably wanted to let Albert know that he was in control and would
take drastic measures to keep him in his place. Men have done stranger things
to protect the woman they love,” Chas gazed at Missy warmly, making her blush.
“Using the finger to scare you was just a bonus that Ian hadn’t counted on, but
enjoyed after you rejected him pretty soundly a couple of times. In his twisted
mind, he probably saw it as a harmless prank.”
“Do
you think the snakes were a prank as well?”
“Doubtful.
I think Jenkins probably did that one on his own because he saw your growing
relationship with Echo as a threat, and he may have been exacting revenge
because you recognized him loitering and chased him down the street.”
“Do
you think Ian is a danger to Echo?” Missy worried.
“Probably
not. I think Echo just makes very poor choices when it comes to the men in her
life,” Chas shook his head. “Well, sweet Missy, as much as I’d love to stay and
chat with the most beautiful woman in Lausanne Parish, I need to get to the
office and call Johnson in to brief him on all of this so that we can bring Ian
Barker in for questioning.”
“I
can’t wait until all of this is over and we can go back to living our normal
lives,” Missy said, reaching for his hand as he stood to go.
“That
makes two of us,” Beckett agreed, leaning down to kiss her. “But then again,
when is life ever normal?”
Chapter
17
Missy
called Echo twice
were fingerprints on the candlestick that didn’t match Albert’s, yours, or the
housekeeper’s. We ran them through the national database and came up empty.
Then there’s the matter of Albert turning up dead. I had staked out Sweet Love
and saw a man pull up in a van after hours, go into the shop and come out
shortly thereafter with a very large bundle. A body-sized bundle. I followed
the van as closely as I could without being detected, but lost it in traffic
once I got into a more populated area. I would bet that Albert had gone to the
ice cream shop to lie in wait for Echo, and Ian followed him there to kill him.
We’re still waiting for the autopsy to come back, so we’ll know more soon. My
guess is that when we test the DNA that was under Albert Jenkins’ nails, and
compare the fingerprints on the candlestick with those of Ian Barker, we’ll
have our murderer.”
“But
why would Ian kill his own aunt? I mean, I may think he’s a terrible human
being, but she was his only living relative and she was always kind to him. And
why, after that, would he kill Albert Jenkins, a stranger in town?” Missy was
perplexed.
“You
said yourself that Ian was a spoiled, entitled man, living off of his
inheritance. I’m going to do some checking into his finances, but I would bet
that he’s close to running out of money. Cora Nesbitt’s home, land and assets
are considerable, and as her only living relative, Ian gets everything when she
dies. It’s horrible to think about, but Ian may have planned to do this for
quite some time, and seized the opportunity when a drifter came to town that he
could frame for the murder.”
“How
do you explain the severed finger?” Missy grimaced.
“Putting
two and two together, I’d say that Ian probably saw Jenkins in the house before
he went out to the orchard to pick peaches, and killed his aunt after Albert
left. He most likely then went out to where Jenkins was working and offered him
a considerable amount of money to buy his silence. Jenkins accepted the deal,
and Ian somehow had the notion that he was then in control of the drifter. He
didn’t know that Albert had an agenda.”
“Why
would Ian have cut off Albert’s finger though?”
“That
may have been entirely personal. Jenkins had come all the way from California
because of Echo, and Ian has clearly been interested in her from the first time
he met her. I think Ian found out the real reason that the drifter had come to
town and probably wanted to let Albert know that he was in control and would
take drastic measures to keep him in his place. Men have done stranger things
to protect the woman they love,” Chas gazed at Missy warmly, making her blush.
“Using the finger to scare you was just a bonus that Ian hadn’t counted on, but
enjoyed after you rejected him pretty soundly a couple of times. In his twisted
mind, he probably saw it as a harmless prank.”
“Do
you think the snakes were a prank as well?”
“Doubtful.
I think Jenkins probably did that one on his own because he saw your growing
relationship with Echo as a threat, and he may have been exacting revenge
because you recognized him loitering and chased him down the street.”
“Do
you think Ian is a danger to Echo?” Missy worried.
“Probably
not. I think Echo just makes very poor choices when it comes to the men in her
life,” Chas shook his head. “Well, sweet Missy, as much as I’d love to stay and
chat with the most beautiful woman in Lausanne Parish, I need to get to the
office and call Johnson in to brief him on all of this so that we can bring Ian
Barker in for questioning.”
“I
can’t wait until all of this is over and we can go back to living our normal
lives,” Missy said, reaching for his hand as he stood to go.
“That
makes two of us,” Beckett agreed, leaning down to kiss her. “But then again,
when is life ever normal?”
Chapter
17
Missy
called Echo twice
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