Red Hot Velvet Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 32 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries)

by Summer Prescott

  Chas made his way to the bathroom and opened up the medicine cabinet, extracting a bottle of pills after taking a photo of it, and placed it in an evidence baggie. Moving toward the tiny home office, he noticed an invoice on top of the cluttered desk, picked it up and read it.

  “Looks like Andrew owed the captain at least three paychecks,” he mused aloud.

  He also slipped the invoice into an evidence bag. Realizing that he should probably have a full forensic investigation, based upon Nichimura’s findings, he called in to the station, and continued to poke through the deceased captain’s belongings while he waited for them to arrive. Once the team had been briefed and went about the business of gathering that might potentially be significant, Chas returned to the office to plan his next move.

  The detective had just sat down at his desk when he received a call from the lab, regarding the pile of what had looked like ashes on the deck of Andrew Koslowski’s boat.

  “Great, fax it over to me,” he directed the tech on the other end of the phone, drumming his fingers on the top of his desk. He hung up the phone and made notes about what he’d discovered thus far.

  Nichimura deduced that the victim had succumbed to cyanide poisoning. Chas had found a bottle of pesticide in the Guard Shack at the marina that contained cyanide. Andrew Koslowski had owed the captain a significant sum of money, which may have explained why the older man had been surly in his treatment of Andrew and his customers.

  There were two things that stuck in the detective’s craw in regard to his theory that Andrew may have killed Marco Lansing, one was the pile of ashes that would hopefully be explained by the fax that had just arrived in his inbox, and the other was the medicine that he’d found in Lansing’s bathroom.

  Sighing, Chas pulled up the faxed report of the analysis of the ashes, and what he saw made him expel his breath in confusion and frustration.

  **

  Andrew Koslowski knew a thing or two about effective lurking. Knowledge was power, and the easy-going young man had a knack for making himself nearly invisible when he wanted to observe something…or someone. He’d camped out underneath a stand of trees about half a block away, on the street behind Memorial Mortuary. The determined young man watched his ex-girlfriend, Fiona McCamish, climb into her little car and drive away, and still he waited for a few minutes.

  Andrew had been staking out the mortuary for long enough that he knew Fiona and her creepy boss followed a specific pattern of behavior. She always left first, turning out all of the lights in the “public” rooms of the funeral home, and locking the front door behind her. The mortician would then go down to the basement, doing goodness only knew what, and when the basement lights were extinguished, he would exit out the back door, roughly ten minutes later. Tonight, Andrew would be waiting for him.

  He’d watched the creepy mortician for long enough to know that, despite the fact that he was taller and larger than the younger man, he wouldn’t exactly be a formidable opponent. Timothy Eckels seemed to plod gracelessly through life. His step was heavy, his movements were slow and deliberate, and he seemed to have very few emotions, so the thin, wiry, boat wrangler really didn’t expect much of a fight.

  Andrew moved into position behind a clump of bushes near the back door and crouched low, waiting for the mortician to emerge. He’d only been crouched there for a few minutes when a thick, entirely uncalloused finger tapped him on the shoulder, making him gasp and stagger to the side, right into Tim’s arms.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” the mortician whispered with a dangerous smile, and that was the last that Andrew remembered for a very long time.

  Chapter 11

  “Well, I’d say that your grand opening was more than a success,” Missy exclaimed, hugging Echo as the last of her happy customers left the stylish candle shop.

  “I can’t believe how many people showed up, and everyone bought something,” Echo clapped her hands together. “I’m so glad that you and Spencer brought extra cupcakes.”

  “Well, it was great advertising for Cupcakes in Paradise too,” her friend reminded her. “That’s a win-win.”

  “I’m so glad,” Echo couldn’t stop grinning.

  Spencer walked over to them and she threw her arms around the surprised Marine’s neck.

  “I couldn’t have done it without you, Spence. Thank you,” she beamed at him.

  “My pleasure,” he chuckled. “I should have just enough time to get back to the Inn and get dressed to serve at the Banquet tonight.

  “Oh my goodness, Echo! We need to get dressed,” Missy exclaimed, glancing at her watch.

  “You two go ahead and take off, I’ll lock up here and join you shortly. Kel is picking me up at seven.”

  “Perfect,” Missy grinned, kissing her friend’s cheek. “Ready, Spence?”

  “Yes ma’am,” he offered his arm and they headed to the car.

  **

  Maggie, the innkeeper that Missy and Chas had kept on when they bought The Beach House, looked positively elegant in her sleeveless, floor-length red gown, and she had insisted upon greeting each incoming couple herself so that Missy and Chas could enjoy their evening without worrying about hosting. Once Maggie seated the couples in the elegant, candle-lit ballroom with an orchestral trio playing love songs in the background, the catering staff took over, and their tuxedoed wait staff was more than impressive.

  Spencer was mixing drinks at the bar, and there would be dancing after dinner. Missy and Chas had a table for four, because Kel and Echo would be joining them. Missy’s black, slightly low-cut, trumpet-skirted gown skimmed her curves perfectly, and her handsome husband couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Chas looked dashing in his black tux with its red satin lapels, and the couple together was more than striking.

  Echo and Kel made their entrance, dazzling other guests with their matching formal wear. Kel’s jacket was a teal and black brocade, complimented by his date’s teal chiffon gown, which was breathtaking with Echo’s curly red hair.

  “Oh honey, you look beautiful,” Missy’s eyes were moist as she embraced her best friend.

  “Check you out,” Echo replied, taking in her friend’s lovely and slightly daring gown.

  Kel nudged Chas with an elbow. “Detective, we are indeed the most fortunate men in the room,” he remarked with a grin, admiring Missy and Echo.

  “Can’t argue with you there, my friend,” Chas agreed. “Shall we get these lovely ladies a drink?”

  “Capital idea,” Kel replied, as he and Chas went over to see Spencer, who already had their drinks prepared, precisely the way that they liked them.

  “You’re irreplaceable, young man,” Kel raised his glass to the Marine.

  “That’s my goal, sir,” he flashed his dimples, momentarily distracted when he saw Fiona enter the ballroom…with Tim. Spencer’s smile faded and he looked down quickly, pretending that he hadn’t seen the new arrivals. He wasn’t quite fast enough though, Chas had witnessed the subtle and lightning-fast change of expression and followed his line of sight, surprised to see the mortician and his assistant in attendance.

  By the time that Kel and Chas returned to their table, Echo had wandered over to say hello to her new neighbor. Kel joined her, finding the strangeness of both of the new arrivals entertaining. Fiona, since she wasn’t bound by the constraints of workplace attire, had selected a dull grey damask dress that looked like it had been made from funeral drapes, which had a high, fan collar that gave the pale skinned young woman a vaguely vampirish appearance. Add to that black lipstick, nail polish, and a collection of thin, black leather belts criss-crossed over her body, and it wasn’t difficult to understand why Spencer found her presence at the function disturbing on more than one level.

  Tim, to his credit, had polished up nicely, and wore a sedate, dark blue suit. Gone were the coke bottle glasses – they’d been replaced by contacts, and it looked as though he had a new, somewhat stylish haircut. Chas gazed at the couple, lips pursed, for quite some
time.

  “Sweetie, don’t stare,” Missy admonished him in a whisper.

  “Sorry,” the detective shook himself from his reverie and kissed his beloved’s hand. “I was just thinking about my latest case.”

  “Are you going to be able to stay here, or do you need to get back to the office?”

  “I should be able to stay. I don’t have anything concrete…yet. I’m just working on finding evidence for a particular theory. If you don’t mind though, I could use your help.”

  “Of course, anything, just tell me what you need, love,” she twined her fingers through Chas’s silky black hair.

  He leaned in, as if to share an intimate moment, and whispered some instructions in her ear. Missy’s eyes widened briefly, then she turned her head to brush a kiss across her husband’s cheek.

  “I’ll be right back,” she whispered.

  The graceful blonde drew more than her husband’s gaze as she glided across the room to join Echo and Kel at Tim and Fiona’s table to chat. When everyone had been re-introduced, with Tim looking glassy-eyed and uncomfortable with the intense level of social interaction, Missy notice a necklace that Fiona was wearing.

  “Oh my, what a lovely pendant you have,” she exclaimed, gazing at the hollow red glass horn that looked like it was half-filled with sand. “It looks like something that’s very precious to you.”

  “Thanks. It has my dead sister’s ashes in it,” Fiona said, nonchalant.

  Missy was rendered speechless for a moment, so Echo stepped in to rescue her.

  “That’s so sweet, you’re keeping a piece of her right there next to your heart. What a beautiful sentiment,” she smiled at the young woman.

  “Hmm…never thought about it that way. It kinda reminds me that life is short, so I should have as much fun as I can while I’m alive,” Fiona shrugged, looking bored. Just then, their waiter approached with their dinners, so Echo, Kel and Missy wandered back to their table.

  When Missy sat down, she leaned over, looking like she was giving Chas an affectionate hug, and whispered in his ear.

  “Hey you two, save it for later,” Echo teased, looking happier than she had in a while.

  She and Kel held hands and stayed close to one another, making Missy light up like a Christmas tree, overjoyed for her friends. Dinner was a warm occasion, filled with good food, good friends and laughter. Once the dishes had been cleared, a dance band took the place of the orchestral trio, and couples made their way to the dance floor.

  During a slow dance, Kel made his way to the band platform, holding Echo’s hand as she trailed along behind him. The band leader grinned at him conspiratorially, and eased the song to a close. As the dancers clapped politely, Kel mounted the steps to the platform, taking Echo with him. The band leader handed him the microphone and everyone stood watching expectantly.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, pardon the interruption, we’ll get back to the dancing momentarily,” Kel began. The acclaimed artist was more than accustomed to public speaking, and everyone’s attention was riveted on him.

  “I have two surprises for our lovely hostess, Mrs. Melissa Beckett, this evening. The first is that finally, after an agonizing wait that I thought would never end, her best friend, the lovely Echo Willis has agreed to marry me,” he beamed first at Missy, then at his bride, who wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him in front of the Calgon glitterati.

  “For the second surprise, I’d like to ask her to join us on the platform,” Kel held out his hand, beckoning to a teary-eyed Missy, who was nudged forward by Chas. When she reached the stage, she kissed Kel’s cheek and wrapped her arms around an equally teary Echo.

  “Now then, ladies, there’s more to come,” Kel chuckled as Missy and Echo held hands and dabbed at their eyes. “For this one, however, Missy, I’m going to have to ask you to close your eyes, and don’t open them again until I tell you to.”

  Missy looked at Echo wide-eyed, and her impish, redheaded friend merely grinned at her and nodded. Missy smiled uncertainly and covered her eyes with her hands. She waited what seemed like and eternity, and finally, Kel began to speak again.

  “Now, dear Missy, there are two more people whom you know and love dearly, who have made the decision to commit to each other forever. Open your eyes and congratulate them,” Kel announced, grinning from ear to ear.

  Missy slowly lowered her hands and looked out into the crowd in front of her, not seeing anyone that she knew and loved who wasn’t already married. There was the police chief and his wife, the mayor and his wife…she was baffled. Then, Echo stepped back, and standing next to Missy on the platform was Grayson and his glowing fiancée, Sarah.

  She gasped and her tears fell like rain as she embraced the young man that she loved like a son. Missy had given her successful cupcake shop, Missy’s Muffins and More, to Grayson, who had been her long-time assistant, when she and Chas had moved from Louisiana to Calgon. He was an incredible artist and had started working for Missy as a way to put himself through art school because his mother was a less than reputable parent who pickled herself in alcohol and took all of her angst on her sweet and sensitive son.

  Neither one of them could speak, but no words were necessary as they shared the warmth of a family embrace. Shy, sweet Sarah had been rescued from drowning in the Gulf by Spencer months ago, and had moved to Louisiana to work for Grayson when she met him during the Christmas gathering at the Inn. They had both endured the hardship of having abusive mothers, and had bonded instantly. Missy couldn’t be happier, and told them so.

  After several more rounds of hugs, the band started playing again and chairs for the newly-engaged couple were added to Missy’s table, where the excited chatter began in earnest, only to be interrupted moments later. A very drunk Andrew Koslowski staggered in and began making a scene at Tim and Fiona’s table.

  Spencer quickly and quietly ushered him out, restraining him until Chas caught up with them.

  “You have a lot of explaining to do after you sober up,” the detective said grimly. “Spencer, I’m going to need your help.

  “You got it, sir,” the Marine nodded, keeping a firm grip on Andrew’s wrists, which were contained in one of his strong hands. The other hand was attached to the back of the young man’s collar. He wasn’t going anywhere or doing anything without Spencer’s direction.

  Chapter 12

  The blood sample report and toxicology reports from Marco Lansing’s death were among the strangest that Chas had ever seen, and he shook his head in frustration, poring over them yet again. When he couldn’t reach Nichimura on the phone, he called to see if Tim Eckels was at work yet. When his new Funeral Services Rep assured him that her boss was puttering around in the workroom of the mortuary, he tucked his notebook into the inside pocket of his sport coat and headed to his car.

  “This doesn’t make any sense,” Tim shook his head, peering closely at the two reports, side by side.

  Chas frowned. “I’m no expert in this realm, but something didn’t quite look right to me either. What do you see that’s unusual?”

  The mortician raised his head from the report to stare at the detective. He put the reports side by side on his desk.

  “See this?” he pointed to a graph point on the toxicology page that was nearly off the charts. When Chas nodded, he continued.

  “This is the level of toxin found in the sample. It’s cyanide, and it’s the highest level I’ve ever seen. For the level to be this profound, it would have to have been directly injected into the bloodstream in a huge amount, right before the sample was taken.”

  The detective stared at him. “I can’t even imagine a scenario where something like that would be possible, outside of a hospital or a doctor’s office.”

  Tim nodded. “What’s even more troubling is when you consider this,” he pointed to a column on the bloodwork report.

  “Why?”

  “Because one result contradicts the other,” the mortician shook his head, blinking rapidly.r />
  “These are an indicator of a strong presence of cardiac enzymes, which you’d find in the blood stream of someone who’d had a strong heart attack.”

  “And why is that contradictory?”

  “For a couple of reasons. First, the level of cyanide in the blood stream would have inhibited the production of the cardiac enzymes, and with levels being this high, the lungs would have given out, and the heart muscle would have literally degenerated too much to go into arrest and produce any enzymes.”

  Chas stared at him for a moment, trying to absorb all of the information. “Can you paraphrase that for me, please?”

  Tim blinked again, thought for a moment, and broke it down as best he could in layman’s terms.

  “To summarize…this much poison being dumped into a human body would’ve killed it almost immediately. There wouldn’t have been time, or the possibility of a heart attack, yet the blood work clearly shows that a massive heart attack occurred.”

  “Could he have had the heart attack before being poisoned?”

  “Anything is possible,” Tim stared at the reports. “But why would someone poison a body that was already dead?”

  “The level of enzymes indicate a fatal heart attack?”

  “No question. No one could’ve survived that. It would be interesting to take a look at the heart tissue to see what exactly happened, in what sequence.”

  “You really know a lot about this stuff,” Chas observed.

  Tim shrugged. “The body fascinates me, and I’ve seen enough of them to see patterns and the effects of different substances. They’re not usually terribly mysterious – the clues are there, it’s just a matter of finding them,” he replied, handing Chas the reports.

  “I’d be happy to take a look at the deceased if you’d like,” the mortician offered.