Read Online Strawberry Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 13 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) by Carol Durand, Summer Prescott - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Carol Durand, Summer Prescott
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for her trouble. Bitsy ran ahead,
acting like she wanted to get as far away from whatever had provoked her canine
friend as possible. The trio moved forward, but the mood had been tinged with
the slightest hint of fear.
From
behind her, Echo heard a familiar voice that sent adrenalin shooting through
her veins at light speed.
“I
told you that Florida wasn’t the end of things between us, Echo. We’ve got some
business to take care of,” Frank Capetti stated in a calm, sinister voice, his
arms crossed over his chest as he stood in the middle of the road about 50 feet
behind her. Toffee lunged at her leash, barking and showing her teeth, her coat
standing up in an aggressive ridge that ran from her neck to her tail.
“Control
that animal or I’ll break its neck with my bare hands,” he called out, raising
his voice to be heard over the din.
Echo
was terrified, both for herself and for Toffee. She had no idea what to do.
Should she release their leashes so that they could either charge Frank or
escape? Should she try to quiet the agitated animal so that she didn’t get
hurt? Should she run?
Fortunately,
she never had to make any of those difficult and problematic decisions. Two
uniformed officers ran out from the side of a house to the left, weapons
raised, and when Frank darted to the right, he was intercepted by another cop
who had been waiting behind a clump of juniper bushes. He struggled and fought,
but was ultimately no match for the team of determined officers.
Echo
ran all the way back to Chas’s house, where he and Missy greeted her with open
arms.
“I
was so scared,” she cried into Missy’s shoulder. “I have no idea how those
officers knew exactly where to find me. I had sneaked out the back door on
purpose and they found me anyway. It’s like they were guardian angels or
something.”
“Well,
before we start attributing supernatural powers to my guys, you should know
that they staged the whole “sitting out front and leaving the back unattended”
thing in order to give Capetti false confidence. We figured that you’d get
bored and sneak out, and we also thought that when you did, it was likely that
Frank would be lying in wait for you, so we stationed officers throughout the
neighborhood for those very reasons, and it turned out that sitting around in
the bushes for several days and being patient paid off,” Chas explained with a
wry grin.
“Wow,
I feel like an idiot,” Echo giggled, wiping away the traces of tears from her
eyes and cheeks.
“You
shouldn’t,” the detective replied. “You did exactly what we expected you to do,
which helped us catch the bad guy. That’s certainly not anything to be
embarrassed about.”
“I’m
just glad that it’s finally over,” Echo shuddered.
“Me
too,” Missy agreed. “It’s been horrible looking over my shoulder and jumping at
shadows, I’m ready for life to return to normal.”
“Has
your life ever been normal?” her boyfriend teased.
Missy
stuck her tongue out at him. “Just for that, mister, you’re making dinner,” she
decreed.
“In
that case, into the car, ladies, we’re going out for Cajun tonight to
celebrate,” he gestured to the door.
“Don’t
you have to go interrogate Frank or something?” Echo asked.
“Nope,
the officers on duty will file a report, and Capetti can cool his heels in a
holding cell until I get darn good and ready to talk to him,” Chas grinned
wickedly.
“Couldn’t
happen to a nicer guy,” she nodded appreciatively.
Chapter 21
Chas
cradled little Cammie Melissa in the crook of his arm while the contented
infant slept peacefully.
“For
someone with no experience, you’re pretty amazing with babies,” Missy observed
with a tender smile. She loved seeing this sensitive side of the keenly
intelligent detective who was accustomed to dealing with tough guys and
criminals. Ben and Cheryl had reluctantly gone out to dinner for the first time
since little Cammie came along, and had
acting like she wanted to get as far away from whatever had provoked her canine
friend as possible. The trio moved forward, but the mood had been tinged with
the slightest hint of fear.
From
behind her, Echo heard a familiar voice that sent adrenalin shooting through
her veins at light speed.
“I
told you that Florida wasn’t the end of things between us, Echo. We’ve got some
business to take care of,” Frank Capetti stated in a calm, sinister voice, his
arms crossed over his chest as he stood in the middle of the road about 50 feet
behind her. Toffee lunged at her leash, barking and showing her teeth, her coat
standing up in an aggressive ridge that ran from her neck to her tail.
“Control
that animal or I’ll break its neck with my bare hands,” he called out, raising
his voice to be heard over the din.
Echo
was terrified, both for herself and for Toffee. She had no idea what to do.
Should she release their leashes so that they could either charge Frank or
escape? Should she try to quiet the agitated animal so that she didn’t get
hurt? Should she run?
Fortunately,
she never had to make any of those difficult and problematic decisions. Two
uniformed officers ran out from the side of a house to the left, weapons
raised, and when Frank darted to the right, he was intercepted by another cop
who had been waiting behind a clump of juniper bushes. He struggled and fought,
but was ultimately no match for the team of determined officers.
Echo
ran all the way back to Chas’s house, where he and Missy greeted her with open
arms.
“I
was so scared,” she cried into Missy’s shoulder. “I have no idea how those
officers knew exactly where to find me. I had sneaked out the back door on
purpose and they found me anyway. It’s like they were guardian angels or
something.”
“Well,
before we start attributing supernatural powers to my guys, you should know
that they staged the whole “sitting out front and leaving the back unattended”
thing in order to give Capetti false confidence. We figured that you’d get
bored and sneak out, and we also thought that when you did, it was likely that
Frank would be lying in wait for you, so we stationed officers throughout the
neighborhood for those very reasons, and it turned out that sitting around in
the bushes for several days and being patient paid off,” Chas explained with a
wry grin.
“Wow,
I feel like an idiot,” Echo giggled, wiping away the traces of tears from her
eyes and cheeks.
“You
shouldn’t,” the detective replied. “You did exactly what we expected you to do,
which helped us catch the bad guy. That’s certainly not anything to be
embarrassed about.”
“I’m
just glad that it’s finally over,” Echo shuddered.
“Me
too,” Missy agreed. “It’s been horrible looking over my shoulder and jumping at
shadows, I’m ready for life to return to normal.”
“Has
your life ever been normal?” her boyfriend teased.
Missy
stuck her tongue out at him. “Just for that, mister, you’re making dinner,” she
decreed.
“In
that case, into the car, ladies, we’re going out for Cajun tonight to
celebrate,” he gestured to the door.
“Don’t
you have to go interrogate Frank or something?” Echo asked.
“Nope,
the officers on duty will file a report, and Capetti can cool his heels in a
holding cell until I get darn good and ready to talk to him,” Chas grinned
wickedly.
“Couldn’t
happen to a nicer guy,” she nodded appreciatively.
Chapter 21
Chas
cradled little Cammie Melissa in the crook of his arm while the contented
infant slept peacefully.
“For
someone with no experience, you’re pretty amazing with babies,” Missy observed
with a tender smile. She loved seeing this sensitive side of the keenly
intelligent detective who was accustomed to dealing with tough guys and
criminals. Ben and Cheryl had reluctantly gone out to dinner for the first time
since little Cammie came along, and had
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