Strawberry Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 13 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries)

by Carol Durand

  Not only had her captor gained serious ground, but he was also headed directly for the tree in which she was precariously perched. When she looked closer and recognized him, it was all she could do not to gasp in horror. Lounge Lizard Leonard had been her captor. Her foot slid down the branch on which she was resting, throwing her off balance, and she clung tightly to the branches above her head, teetering precariously for a moment before regaining her balance.

  Leonard was certainly not an athlete, and had a pretty nasty-looking head injury as a result of his encounter with the fireplace poker, but he had somehow managed to track Missy to almost her exact hiding place. She held her breath as he passed a mere three feet away from the base of her tree, glancing about in every direction except up, thankfully. She watched his progress, thinking she could throw a rock at his ridiculous comb-over and hit it. She kept her breathing shallow, her heart pounding in her chest, and absently noticed the sensation of something brushing up against her leg.

  Tearing her gaze momentarily away from the brute below her, Missy glanced to see what was rubbing against her shin, and literally had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming. Her greatest fear was slithering along beside her, a water snake was making its way down the branch, rippling along beside her leg, and she immediately panicked, briefly considering leaping from the tree, come what may. Fortunately her survival instinct prevented the leap to almost certain death and she opted to hold her breath, all the while shuddering uncontrollably, until the creature had made its way from her branch to a neighboring one where the sunlight was more profound and it could bask in the sun undetected. She wanted to rub the sensation away from her leg, scream, cry and run toward the comfort of the civilized world, but at the moment had to content herself with no longer being in physical contact with the scary-looking predator. Her focus on the reptile had distracted her from keeping an eye on the man below her, and when she looked down again, he had gone further into the swamp, still not thinking to look above the waterline.

  Relaxing a bit, but still watching the snake like a hawk, Missy tried to figure out a strategy that would bring her to safety, ultimately deciding that her next move depended upon Leonard’s actions. The formerly harmless-seeming ice cream addict wandered around in the swamp, searching, until the sun began to sink lower in the sky. Standing with his hands on his hips, doing a 360 degree scan of the area, he shook his head and finally gave up, heading back toward the cabin, and Missy breathed a sigh of relief. As the air cooled, the snake moved down the tree, slid into the water and glided away, and she was alone at long last.

  There was no way in the world that she was going to climb down and walk anywhere in the murky water below, in the dark of night, so she resigned herself to spending the night in the tree and tried her best to get comfortable.

  Chapter 17

  After a thorough review of all the evidence collected to date, the murder charges against Frank Capetti were dropped, as were the aiding and abetting charges against Echo. Frank was charged for what he done to Echo before attempting to flee and had several outstanding warrants in other states, but Echo had returned home to Dellville, sick with worry about Missy. Evidence was collected from Leonard Koslowski’s apartment in the basement of his mother’s house that tied him to both the scene of the murder, and the inside of Echo’s bedroom, and a warrant was issued for his arrest, but there were no leads as to where he might be found.

  “There must be some sort of mistake,” Leonard’s sweet, grey-haired mother shook her head. “My Lenny is a good, caring, boy. He’s never been in any trouble, and he always has such lovely girlfriends. He doesn’t bring them home, you know, because he’s a little bit ashamed that my home is so simple and plain,” she explained sadly, looking around her spotless little house. “But he has lots of pictures. Beautiful ladies, every one of them, but things just don’t seem to last for poor Lenny.”

  “Pictures?” Chas asked, casually. “That’s great,” he smiled. “I’d really like to see them…do you know where they are?”

  “Of course,” she smiled fondly. “Follow me.” The elderly woman toddled down the basement stairs, very much enjoying the company of the handsome detective and the opportunity to show off her son’s impressive collection of “girlfriends.”

  Chas worked to keep any trace of surprise or horror from his face as Imogene Koslowski opened the door to her son’s darkroom. The detective recognized photos of women who had disappeared in several states, lining the walls. Several cold cases would be solved when Koslowski was apprehended. Leonard had been more than thorough in documenting the beauty of his victims. The photos that his mother thought were pictures of girlfriends were actually the results of years of stalking. The freshest photos were of Echo – in her garden, at work, out shopping – Chas was thankful that she hadn’t yet become a victim, but he knew that he had to warn her immediately. It was with great relief that he noticed there were no photos of his beloved Missy in the killer’s shrine.

  “Your son is quite the photographer,” Chas commented, looking for similarities and clues in the photos, anything that might give him insight as to where the killer might be.

  “He is, isn’t he?” his mother agreed.

  “Do you suppose that I could borrow some of these? Since your son is missing, they may help us figure out where he went and how to help him,” Beckett said smoothly.

  “Oh, of course, anything that will help,” Imogene nodded, wide-eyed.

  Chas instructed two forensics guys to collect the photos and anything else that might be of interest, and went outside to make a phone call.

  “Echo, it’s Chas. An unmarked patrol car will be pulling up in front of your house in no more than five minutes. Throw some things into a bag and don’t open the door for anyone except Officer Stanton.”

  Chapter 18

  Missy’s back was a minefield of knots and aches as she fought to stay awake. Her throat burned with thirst and hunger pangs had been ignored for so long that they’d evolved into a constant dull ache. She made sure she stretched each of her limbs periodically so that they didn’t fall asleep or cramp unbearably, and fought to keep her eyes open as the first rays of the dawn gave the formerly sinister landscape a rosy hue. As soon as she could see well enough to navigate her way through the swamp without fear of accidentally stepping on a snake, or twisting her ankle in a rabbit hole, she’d head in the opposite direction of the little cabin from which she’d come.

  The sun peeked above the horizon, and Missy climbed carefully down the tree, dropping the last few feet to the ground, her shoes sinking into the deep mud below the surface of the water. Pulling her shoes out of the muck, rinsing them in the murky water, and putting them back on again, she set off in the direction of the rising sun, hoping against hope that she’d run into another human being (as long as it wasn’t Lounge Lizard Leonard), sooner rather than later.

  Slogging through water and muck that sometimes rose just above her knees and being careful not to stumble over branches, tree roots and cypress knees in the water, Missy was determined to make it out of this horrible misadventure alive. She seriously considered rinsing her mouth out with the brownish water, just for a measure of relief from the dehydration that made every breath feel like crushed glass in her throat, but ultimately decided that the bacterial infections (or worse) that might result, simply weren’t worth it. As it was, she planned on getting a thorough check-up when she made it back to the real world.

  The water grew steadily deeper, until it reached nearly to her waist and Missy cried dry tears, hanging her head in defeat. She had stood a chance of walking out of the swamp – her determination would allow that, but she simply did not have the physical strength and stamina that it would take to swim in snake and gator infested waters for an indeterminate amount of time. She had come this far, only to die alone and afraid in the unforgiving waters of a Louisiana swamp.

  “Chas,” she whispered, aching to see her beloved just one last time. She raised her head and though
t for a moment that she was hallucinating. At the end of the treed area, where the swamp gave way to open water, she saw a metallic glimmer, that winked, then disappeared. Eyes straining, she fixated on the area where she had seen the glint, and saw it again. Metal meant people, or at least a fixed point where she could rest and perhaps be found. With a burst of renewed energy, she slipped into the tepid water, keeping her eyes on the spot that had become her beacon of hope, and swam with all of her might.

  Chapter 19

  The catfish fishermen were startled to see a bedraggled blonde woman swimming out of the swamp, but hauled her aboard, giving her sips of Cajun coffee out of a plastic thermos and cautioning her to drink slowly. They were met at the dock by an ambulance crew who transported the exhausted woman to a local hospital, notifying the authorities in LaChance, who had issued a missing person report on her behalf.

  Missy was given intravenous fluids and checked for injuries. The abrasions on her hands and wrists from having scraped off the duct tape had become infected, so the wounds were cleaned and antibiotics were given intravenously as well. Exhaustion claimed her and she slept for fourteen hours straight, not even waking when the nurses checked her vital signs several times throughout the night. When at last she opened her eyes, blinking in the sunlight that streamed in through the window, the first thing she saw was her beloved Chas, standing by the bed, brushing the hair from her face and smiling tenderly.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” he said softly, kissing her forehead.

  Her tears of joy and relief were immediate. “Oh Chas, I was so scared, I thought I was going to die in the swamp and I couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing you again,” she cried.

  “I’m here, sweetie,” he soothed her, gathering her into his arms. “Everything is okay,” he stroked her hair while she cried, the agony of the past several days getting the best of her.

  When Missy had calmed down, she asked about Echo, and was tearfully relieved to hear that her friend was alive and well, staying in Chas’s home with Toffee and Bitsy until Lounge Lizard Leonard was found. She recounted her harrowing experience with the stalker, breaking down a few times during the tale. She had just finished telling him about her journey through the swamp and her rescue by the fishermen when his phone rang.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie, I have to take this, but I’ll be right outside the door, okay?” he said, rising from his perch on the side of her bed and moving to the exit. Missy nodded and sipped at the ice water that he had given her while she talked. When he came back in, he clearly had good news.

  “They got him. Leonard Koslowski is in custody,” he announced with grim relief.

  “Oh, thank goodness! How did they find him?” Missy asked, relaxing.

  “When we searched his house for evidence, there were a lot of…photos,” Chas began carefully, not wanting to traumatize her. “Leonard was a serial killer, baby,” he said, taking her hand and squeezing it as her eyes grew large. “Some of the photos were taken after death, and had similarities in their backgrounds. When you were found in the swamp, we were able to search the surrounding area until we found the cabin where he’d held you captive,” he explained, intentionally leaving out the details about what had been found in the basement of the cabin. There were just some things that she didn’t need to know.

  “So I could’ve been…” she murmured, staring into the distance and unable to finish her thought.

  “Yes,” Chas said gently. “But you weren’t, and I don’t want you to dwell on what could’ve happened. You’re safe now, that’s what’s important, okay?” he brought her hand to his lips, brushing kisses across her palm. She nodded and pulled him close, gathering strength from his embrace. His phone buzzed again and he looked at it, frowning.

  “Be right back,” he promised. Missy let her head fall back against the pillows, overwhelmed at all that had transpired in the course of a few weeks.

  When her handsome detective reappeared this time, the news wasn’t good. “Frank Capetti escaped.”

  Chapter 20

  Chas ordered round-the-clock protection for Echo in the form of a patrol car stationed in front of his house when he wasn’t at home. Missy returned home and tried to resume her normal life. The LaChance shop was almost ready to reopen, the Dellville shop was busier than ever, and Brad had been replaced so that filming of The Bayou Baker could resume, but always in the back of her mind was the fact that Echo wouldn’t be safe until Frank Capetti was behind bars. Missy had temporarily moved in with Chas as well, just in case, and the two friends sat up late into the night, talking and making up for lost time. Echo had apologized profusely again and again for doubting Missy’s intuition about Frank, and vowed to never become involved with someone so quickly again.

  Ben and Cheryl had returned to work, alternating days and shifts so that one of them was always home with their beautiful little girl, Cameron Melissa Radigan. Missy had been moved to tears when they had told her the name that they had chosen, and even more so when they asked her to be little Cammie’s godmother. She’d visited her little namesake numerous times, never failing to be delighted by the perfect tiny features and adorable cooing sounds that the beautiful creature made. Echo teased her, hinting that she and Chas should have kids, and Missy replied that she happened to have two kids already, they just disguised themselves with fur coats.

  Missy was working the front counter of Crème de la Cupcake when Samantha, the newest member of the Burgundies and Books book club came in, looking rather down.

  “Hi Sam! How are you today?” she asked, trying to draw the quiet woman out a bit.

  “Hi Missy,” she replied. “I’m here to drown my sorrows in easy carbs and powerful caffeine,” she confessed, making a face.

  “Awww…I can help you with that,” Missy smiled, reaching for Mochaccino Melt and a mug for coffee. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m not quite sure,” the attractive nurse shrugged. “Marsha introduced me to the book club because she and I had become good friends and she knew that I’d enjoy it, but now that I’ve made friends with some of the other gals, she barely speaks to me.”

  “Have you talked to her about it?”

  “I’ve tried,” Sam pursed her lips and shook her head. “She just says that everything is fine and that I’m imagining things, but she never invites me to her house anymore, and hardly ever calls or texts back.”

  “Maybe things are just busy for her right now,” Missy suggested, hoping that was the case. She liked both Sam and Marsha and hoped that they’d be able to work things out.

  “Yeah, maybe,” she nodded. “Anyway, I’m so glad that you’re back, we missed you and were so worried,” Sam added, taking the mug and plate that were offered.

  “All’s well that ends well,” Missy smiled, hoping that everything actually had ended. “Enjoy your carbs and caffeine – they’re on the house today.”

  “You’re the best, Missy, thank you so much,” the grateful gal headed for a table.

  **

  Echo was bored to tears. If she had to read one more magazine or watch one more cooking show on cable, she swore she’d scream. Chas’s elegant ranch home had turned into a gilded cage where she felt protected, but trapped. It had been days since Frank Capetti had escaped, surely if he had planned to make a move against her, he already would have. She wandered restlessly to the kitchen, opened the state-of-the-art refrigerator, looked for a boredom snack, and, finding nothing appealing, closed it again. She repeated the process with the pantry, the dogs trailing around behind her, hoping for a treat.

  Plopping down on the couch, Echo decided that it couldn’t do any harm to go outside for a breath of fresh air, and then further decided that she’d be adequately protected if she took the dogs for a walk. Rather than stopping to weigh the pros and cons of such an action, she simply grabbed the leashes from the peg by the back door and returned to the living room to snap them onto the collars of the excited canines. Peeking out of the space between the curtains and th
e wall, she verified that the two unfortunate police officers who were currently tasked with babysitting her were both in the car, and headed for the back door, dogs in tow.

  Echo stepped onto the back patio, noting how incredibly excited that Toffee and Bitsy were to be going for a walk and nodded with satisfaction at having made the right decision. Just so that she didn’t worry the officers out front unnecessarily, she crept stealthily through the back yard, exiting into an alley that ran behind the house, and headed for the nearest park, feeling free for the first time in weeks. She filled her lungs with fresh air, happy to be alive.

  The carefree Californian and her canine companions hadn’t gotten very far when Toffee stopped short, staring into a hedge of evergreens and growling low in her throat, the fur on the back of her neck rising in alarm.

  “What’s the matter, girlie?” Echo asked, thinking that the mild-mannered retriever must have spotted another dog. She followed Toffee’s gaze, seeing nothing and tried to continue walking. The golden refused to budge and kept up the low rumbling. Bitsy started shaking like a leaf and hid behind Echo’s legs.

  “Okay,” Echo said, feeling frustrated. “If you don’t want to go that way, we’ll go this way,” she said, turning around and tugging on Toffee’s leash. The golden retriever was reluctant to go, and kept looking back over her shoulder as though she was being followed.

  “You silly dog, I’ve never seen you like this,” she ruffled the fur on top of Toffee’s head and received a knowing gaze 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.