A Frozen Scoop of Murder - The Bundle Edition (Books One to Six): Cozy Mysteries

by Constance Barker

  *****

  Paige and Bruce decided to have one last cookout at their place on Sunday evening before the winter cool down marched across northern Georgia. Stormi and I brought several dishes, including broccoli salad, baked beans, coleslaw, a veggie tray and chips. I brought chocolate chip cookies sandwiched between scoops of ice cream, something new I was trying out in the shoppe.

  Bruce was busy with the hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill when Brandon, Winchester and I arrived. Brandon walked over to see if he needed any help while I tied Winchester’s long lead to the handle of my chair. The lead was long enough so he could visit with everyone.

  “Is Sammy going to join us?” I asked Paige as she gathered the paper plates and cups.

  “She will later,” Paige answered. “She’s at Colton’s right now.”

  “Never fear, we are here!” Stormi exclaimed as she and Greg walked through the gate into Bruce and Paige’s backyard. She and Greg both carried large coolers brimming with food bowls covered with aluminum foil.

  “Looks like you’re ready to feed an army…or just Bruce,” Paige laughed.

  A voice carried across the lawn. “I heard that.”

  Paige shrugged. “He has selective hearing. I can be in the same room and tell him to take out the trash and he’ll walk out like I was conversing with the sink.”

  We sat down at the long patio table and indulged our hungry bellies until we could consume no more. It was the last barbecue of the year and we wanted to take full advantage of it. Afterwards Bruce lit the wood in the fire pit and we sat around the flickering flames watching the evening sun as it was swallowed on the horizon. Only a few minutes later Sammy and Colton showed up with interesting news.

  Paige directed Colton to the food now wrapped up on the counter or in the refrigerator. Sammy plopped down in one of the lawn chairs. “Well the mystery’s been solved.”

  Stormi straightened in her chair. “Wait…what?”

  We all turned to look at Sammy. “Colton heard from Jeremy.”

  We all waited with baited breath, expect for Stormi. “Was it her…I just knew it was her…it was her wasn’t it?”

  Sammy gave her a questioning look. “Who?”

  I thought Stormi would blow a cork. “Who? Sandra Morgan! She planned the whole thing to get Jeremy out of the house.”

  Sammy shook her head.

  Stormi was confused. “Huh? Well crimony! I’m always wrong.”

  “Don’t leave us twisting in the wind daughter,” Paige piped in. “Who did it?”

  Colton emerged from the house and sat down next to Sammy. “Joshua.”

  “Who?” Stormi blurted out.

  Colton took a bite of his hamburger so Sammy answered. “You know, Jeremy’s little brother.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. That sweet young boy. “No…why in the world?”

  Sammy explained the situation to us. Seems that Patsy Morgan had an inkling that Joshua was the culprit. Which is why she decided to take the boys on the weekend camping trip to Stone Mountain Park. She knew her boys pretty well, and even though they hadn’t lived with her the last few years, she kept in touch with them almost every day. She knew Joshua was into cars and that he’d been studying mechanics, something that he didn’t share with his father who wasn’t into that sort of thing. He was more into sports and computers, which didn’t interest Joshua, so he kept his extracurricular activities to himself.

  Patsy Morgan found out, not from Joshua, but from an old friend who still lived in Caesars Creek. Her son hung around with Joshua and knew of his love of cars. And although Joshua appeared to like Sandra, that wasn’t the case. He would complain to Patsy all the time about how she was treating Jeremy and how much he hated it. He wanted his mother to come back to Caesars Creek so he could live with her, but by that time Patsy had found a dream job. She tried to get Joshua to come live with her, but like Jeremy, he didn’t want to leave the only home he ever knew.

  So Joshua concocted the idea that if he scared Sandra enough, she’d leave. Now most of us would see how flawed this plan was, but to a 13-year-old boy, it seemed perfectly logical. He’d scare her by messing with the car’s brake line, steering and maybe she’d leave, and his mother and father could mend fences. That was his best-case scenario but one that wasn’t likely to happen. What he hadn’t counted on was her blaming Jeremy. This made him very angry. She and Jeremy already had a tumultuous relationship, and now Joshua made it worse.

  He knew she took sleeping pills so he decided to crunch up a few and put it in her lemonade. He wasn’t trying to kill her, just make her ill. For some reason he thought that scaring Sandra would drive her away. Who knows what goes through the mind of a young boy who’s desperate to rid his home of someone he considers an outlier, a person who doesn’t belong.

  Patsy wanted to get the boys away from here for the night. She thought that by taking them to a neutral place, like a cabin in Stone Mountain Park, she could get them to talk. Jeremy had no idea what his brother had done, but he did help his mother to get Joshua to confess. It was a sad state of affairs, but somehow the truth came out. Patsy called her ex-husband and had him meet them at the cabin to talk things out….without Sandra.

  First they contacted a lawyer and then the prosecutor. Sandra did not want to press charges, but the prosecutor wanted Joshua sent to a mental facility for 60 days to work out his anger issues. Joshua was upset, but his father told him they would visit and that it was better than being charged for a crime. He told him he had to own up to his actions, but that the family would be there to support him, even Sandra. The prosecutor couldn’t order this, but he suggested the family get counseling as well.

  “Wow,” Stormi replied. “I’m flabbergasted. I would never have suspected that sweet boy. Just goes to show you never know what’s going on in someone’s mind.”

  We all nodded in agreement. I was happy this mystery had been solved, but sorry it happened in the first place. Hopefully, with counseling and therapy the young boy could work through his problems and have a healthy relationship with his step mom. Maybe he’ll mature and understand that there are some things you have to accept in life. I didn’t want to divorce my husband. I tried to make it work, but sometimes you have to let go.

  But what I’ve come to realize is that letting go doesn’t mean giving up. If I hadn’t let go of my marriage when I knew it was dying, I would never have the man sitting beside me today. I knew in my heart Brandon was my destiny. I wasn’t for sure if he felt the same way though. We’d found a comfortable groove that suited us both, but I wanted more. I wanted the home with the picket fence and someone to grow old with.

  However, maybe Brandon was content with how things were. Maybe he’d never want to move past where we were. I felt my stomach churn with the realization that this may be it for us. Perhaps I would have to take me own advice and just accept our relationship for what it was.

  As the fire turned to embers and the cold night set in, I gathered up Winchester and Brandon and I made our way to his truck. He opened the passenger side door and I scooped Winchester inside. Before I knew it, Brandon put his arms around me and turned me around to face him.

  “Do you know how beautiful you look in the moonlight?”

  I put my arms around him. “You’re such a charmer.”

  He took my face in his hands and said, “I love you Tara. I want you to know that.”

  I could feel tears well up in my eyes. “I love you too Brandon.”

  We kissed under the moonlit sky.

  My stomach no longer churned. I told myself to be patient. Baby steps.

  *****

  Melted Memories

  by

  Constance Barker

  Copyright 2015 Constance Barker

  All rights reserved.

  Similarities to real people, places or events are purely coincidental.

  The day I found out Trixie had given up her son for adoption was full of discoveries about the woman I’d com
e to love as a second mother. My best friends, Stormi and Paige, felt the same way about her. That day when she came forth with stories long buried in her past, I could tell how they cut her to the core. Although she tried to hide it, her eyes spoke otherwise. The normal twinkle in her eyes was gone, replaced with a sadness or perhaps regret.

  Her first husband, afflicted with mental problems, attempted to kill her. In that attempt he himself was killed. Trixie found out later she was pregnant with his child. In her young mind she didn’t feel she was capable of raising a child, and especially a child of a man who tried to murder her. With confliction in her heart and mind, she went to an unwed girl’s home until the baby was born.

  Her parents, not wanting the townspeople of Caesars Creek to know of her pregnancy, told neighbors she went to visit an aunt in Atlanta after the terrible tragedy of losing her husband. It was never revealed until years later that he attempted to murder her and many people whispered if she in fact murdered him. The truth finally emerged when Trixie was put on the spot regarding the health of her now third husband, Ben Florez. Ben’s daughter suspected Trixie of foul play, and of course it was hogwash, but in order to free herself of any suspicion, she had to relive painful memories.

  The admission of her pregnancy and subsequent adoption must have been upsetting, although Trixie didn’t show it. In fact, she would laugh and tease like she normally did. But I could tell there was an undercurrent. She would seem preoccupied, like something was in the back of her mind. We would soon find out what it was.

  The holidays were over with both Thanksgiving and Christmas being busy as usual. My ice cream cakes were the hit of the season, along with my new cookie ice cream sandwiches. Customers ordered the cakes and sandwiches to have at their holiday parties and dinners. Of course that left me extremely busy without much time to spend with my two main men, Brandon and Winchester. But being the gentlemen they were, each took it in stride and helped out where they could. Brandon would make deliveries on his off time and Winchester, my little Westie, fulfilled his duty as official greeter at my ice cream shoppe, The Frozen Scoop.

  We also had an engagement in our little crew. Not Brandon and I, although we grow ever closer. This had to do with Stormi and Greg. He decided to spring it on her during our Christmas get together. This was actually out of Greg’s comfort zone, to be on display. But he knew how much Stormi loved the limelight and proposed by dropping down on one knee as we enjoyed eggnog after dinner at Paige and Bruce’s house.

  Of course Stormi was all a twitter while Paige and I along with Paige and Bruce’s daughter Sammy dabbed at our eyes with tissues. Greg received slaps on the back from the men folk as the women gathered around to ogle at the ring like we’d never seen it before. Actually, Greg enlisted Paige and me to help him pick out a ring for Stormi, which was a smart move. Stormi had shown Paige and me numerous times the type of stone and setting she adored, so we knew right where to steer him. I’m sure Stormi knew we had a hand in it, but there was no reason to speak it out loud.

  No wedding date had been set yet. Stormi wanted to enjoy her engagement and Greg was the type not to push. He knew with Stormi it could either be a couple of years or next week. It was the rush of the unknown with Stormi that made him love her so. And I think Greg’s stability, honesty and loving nature is what drew her to him. Stormi needed an anchor and she found a sturdy one in Officer Greg Manning.

  After ringing in the New Year, business was slow. Not that I minded. The previous year had been good and I was ready for a slow down. I decided it was a good time to empty my freezers and give them a good cleaning so I closed the shoppe to customers the first two weeks of January. I could only clean one freezer at a time, moving my ice cream barrels from one freezer and fitting them into my other freezers. Paige came over to help Stormi and I. Normally she worked with her husband Bruce next door at his financial planning business, but his business was slow the first of the New Year as well. That left them either looking at each other the entire day or Paige coming over to help me. She opted for the latter.

  We cleaned two of the freezers and by then it was time for lunch. I warmed up a can of chicken noodle soup for lunch while Paige ate a chicken salad sandwich and Stormi ate a salad.

  “I want to fit into a size 10 wedding dress,” Stormi said as she nibbled on a bit of kale.

  I brought my bowl of soup over to the table where the girls were sitting. “Stormi, you look beautiful the size you are. You’re healthy right? That’s all that matters.”

  Stormi shrugged. “I’ve always been a bit pudgy. I guess on my wedding day I wanted to look like I have an hourglass figure.”

  Paige dropped her sandwich on her napkin. “Woman, you have an hourglass figure now. Some women would kill for your curves.”

  Stormi looked as if she was deep in thought. “But you know how white will make me look like a giant polar bear marching down the aisle. Greg may turn tail and run!”

  Paige rolled her eyes. “Greg loves you the way you are. You start making changes…then he may run.”

  Stormi looked at the droopy piece of lettuce resting at the end of her fork. “Yeah, these salads aren’t doing it for me.”

  I took a sip of my soup. “Don’t eat them everyday. I’d get burned out too if I ate the same thing all the time. Mix it up with soup one day or a sandwich then a salad the next.”

  Stormi nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Which I think I will start today. Do you have another can of soup around?”

  Paige shook her head. “Here…have the other half of my chicken salad.”

  Stormi picked it up and gave it a bite. “Lordy, did you fix this yourself? It’s delicious.”

  Paige wiped her lips with her napkin. “Yep. I swiped it on the bread all by myself.”

  At that moment there was a knock on the front shoppe door. I kept it locked while we were closed but I figured someone must have seen us through the large plate glass window eating at one of the tables. When I saw who it was I raced to unlock the door.

  “Miss Trixie, how are you?” I gave her a hug. The girls all rose to hug her as well and we invited her to sit down with us.

  Trixie reached out and grabbed Stormi’s hand. “I heard through the grapevine that you were engaged. Let me have a gander at that ring.”

  Stormi displayed it proudly while Trixie studied it. “Boy howdy! That is gorgeous. It’s so big it almost blinds me!”

  Stormi giggled and Trixie patted her hand. She asked how our holidays had been and we asked about Ben. Everything was good she said. They’d had a nice time, even with Ben’s daughter.

  But she wasn’t here to talk about the holidays. She had other things on her mind.

  “Over the holidays Ben and I talked at length about a certain situation. It’s something that’s been on my mind quite a bit since the incident with Ben’s daughter Gracie.”

  Trixie had our full attention. She sighed and went on.

  “I buried my past as best I could. There were things from back then I didn’t want to think about anymore. They happened and I felt it best to leave the past in the past, especially where my first husband was concerned. But also with the son I put up for adoption. I knew I couldn’t care for him the way a two parent household could. And how could I bring him up in Caesars Creek with everyone whispering about his father and me? It just didn’t make sense to do that to a child.”

  Trix shifted in her seat. “So I had a talk with myself once I got home after giving birth. I told myself that what was done was done. My husband was dead and my baby adopted. I couldn’t change any of it so it was time to look forward and not backward. That’s when I started working and met my second husband. We had a wonderful life together and he took good care of me until his death. Honestly, during that time, I didn’t look back. Oh I might have had a moment here or there when the boy popped into my head, but it was too painful. I’d immediately shut that door. I wasn’t one to wallow in self pity and definitely wouldn’t allow it to consume me.”

&nb
sp; This was exactly how I envisioned Miss Trixie. A powerful woman with a strong reserve. She could handle anything life dealt her, and she had. Most people would crumble if they’d lived through even a portion of what Trixie had. Even her recent past was full of tragedy with the confession of her daughter to killing Trixie’s best friend Greta. Sometimes I wondered why so much heartbreak settles on certain people. We all go through it at different times in our lives, but there are a few people where tragedy strikes on a regular basis. Trixie was one such person.

  I watched as this amazing woman continued. I had an inkling I knew which way it was headed.

  “After the episode with Gracie and with what happened to my daughter Eileen, I finally allowed myself to think about the boy. Actually he’d no longer be a boy, but a man now. The last few months I’ve talked about him to Ben, wondering what kind of man he became, what his adoptive parents were like, if he married, or even had children. So many unanswered questions. But do I really have the right to these thoughts? I gave him up with the intention of never rattling that cage, yet here I am considering it.”