Plain Vanilla Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 12 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) (4 page)

Chas
sent a beautiful floral arrangement congratulating Missy and letting her know
how proud he was and how much he missed her. Tears welled in her eyes, wanting
desperately to be in his arms. Ben and Cheryl, the managers of her shops,
called to congratulate her and let her know that business was booming due to
her popularity on the show, and teased her about needing to open up a couple
more locations to keep up with demand. She and Simon were given a day off to
recuperate from the extreme amounts of stress before filming the final
competition. Simon had holed up in his room, burying his nose in a novel, and
Missy chose to soak up the southern California sun beside the pool.

She
was drowsing on a lounger, a giant pitcher of iced tea on a small table beside
her, when a shadow passed over her, blocking the sun. Thinking that a cloud was
merely passing by, she didn’t bother opening her eyes.

“Melissa
Gladstone?” a deep, gruff voice demanded, looming over her.

Opening
her eyes and shielding them with her hand, Missy saw two uniformed police
officers standing over her. “Oh!” she exclaimed, sitting up and feeling
self-conscious in her swimsuit. “Hello…yes, I’m Missy Gladstone,” she smiled
uncertainly. “What can I do for you?”

“We
need to ask you a few questions, would you mind coming with me ma’am?” the
officer who had spoken first requested.

“Oh,
well, yes…of course,” she replied, gathering her cover-up around her, slipping
on her sandals and taking a sip of iced tea. “What’s this all about, Officer?”
she asked, standing and following him and his silent partner through the pool
area and back into the house.

“Detective
Fernandez will be able to answer your questions, ma’am,” the officer replied
tonelessly. “Right this way,” he opened a door for her, leading her into the
den. At the far end of the open-concept house, in the living room, Simon sat
with a man in a suit, looking bewildered, head in his hands. Wondering what on
earth had happened, and feeling more than a bit vulnerable wearing nothing but
a swimsuit and cover-up, she sat in the chair that the officer indicated,
straining to try to hear snippets of Simon’s conversation.

“As
soon as the detective is done talking with Mr. Reynolds,” the officer inclined
his head toward Simon, “he’ll come over to speak with you. Just sit tight, it
shouldn’t be too long.” Without giving her a chance to respond, or ask
questions, he and his partner headed for the door that they’d come through to
enter the conference room. Desperately wishing that she could talk to Chas,
Missy silently berated herself for having left her cell phone in her room. The
detective finished up with Simon, turned to a blank page in his notebook and
walked from the living room to the den, taking a seat across the coffee table
from her. Despite being more than a bit bewildered about what was happening,
Missy couldn’t help but notice the striking resemblance that Detective Fernandez
bore to a teen idol who had played a California highway patrolman back in the
80’s. Trying hard not to stare, she smiled when he introduced himself.

“What’s
going on, Detective?” she asked, innocently, hoping that Simon wasn’t in some
sort of trouble.

“That’s
what we’re trying to determine, Ms. Gladstone,” he replied grimly.

“Oh,
please call me Missy,” she interjected, receiving a funny look from the
detective.

“Fine.
Where were you last night, immediately following the end of the show, Missy?”
he asked, pen poised.

Confused,
she responded. “I went to a dinner party at Francesca’s house to celebrate
making it to the final round, stayed there until around 1:00 a.m., then came
back here and went to bed, why?”

Ignoring
her question, the detective continued to probe. “So you immediately left the
studio and went to the dinner party?” he asked skeptically.

“No,
of course not,” Missy smiled at the absurdity of his question. “We had just
been through an emotional wringer, so we came back her to change, freshen up and
recover a bit before we had to socialize. Simon and I tried to console Penny,
but she was so miserable, poor thing. She just threw all of her things into her
suitcase and climbed into a cab to get out of here. She didn’t even wait for
our driver.”

“Did
you ride to the party alone?” Fernandez persisted.

“No,
Simon and I went over there together so that the driver didn’t have to make two
trips,” she explained.

“Did
anything of significance happen at the party?”

“Significance?
Umm…no, not that I know of. It was mainly a time for everyone to unwind and
relax a bit after a very intense day.”

“Were
any of the judges present at the party?”

“All
of them were for a bit, but they left pretty early as I recall.”

“Did
you speak to any of the judges at the party,” he asked, leaning forward.

Missy
caught a whiff of expensive cologne. Apparently Fernandez had Chas’s taste in
male grooming products. The intoxicating scent made her homesick, and
distracted her for a moment. “I’m sorry…what was the question?” she asked, leaning
back a bit so that she could focus.

“The
judges…did you speak to any of them at the party?” the detective asked again,
more slowly this time.

“Oh,
right. Yes, I believe I spoke with each of them. Just a “Hi, how are you?” kind
of a thing. They don’t really want to have long, involved conversations with us
right before the final competition, you know?”

The
detective nodded, seeming to try to size her up.

“What
sort of relationship do you have with Kelvin Michaels?” he asked.

“Relationship?
I wouldn’t say that we have any relationship at all – he’s just one of the
judges. He doesn’t seem to like me much,” she mused.

“What
makes you say that?” Fernandez sat back, seeming almost conversational.

“Well,
he’s always been somewhat moody, as far as I can tell, but he really humiliated
me on the show yesterday. I may not have been sent home, but I certainly
thought that I was going to be after he was done yelling at me and accusing me
of attempting to murder him with a cupcake,” she shuddered, remembering.

“Murder?”
the detective repeated, a strange look passing briefly over his features.

“Yeah,
it seems to me that Kelvin is a bit overly dramatic. He choked on one of my
cupcakes and personally, I think he just swallowed the wrong way, but he didn’t
want to admit it, so he blamed the hot pepper in the recipe,” she sighed.
“Which is ridiculous, I worked really hard to balance the heat with the sweet,”
she shook her head in frustration.

“I
see,” Fernandez nodded slowly, his thick, black hair catching the light. “Well,
I think that’s all for now,” he closed his notebook and stood. “I’ll be in
touch if I need anything further,” he said, exiting quickly enough that Missy
never had a chance to ask what was going on.

When
the door closed behind Fernandez, Simon came trotting down the stairs. “Coast
clear?” he asked, looking around.

“Yes,
they’re gone. I wonder what on earth happened,” Missy said, hands on hips.

“You
mean you didn’t get the text?” Simon sounded surprised.

“No,
I haven’t checked my phone since this morning, I was out at the pool, why?”

“Oh
man, I hope you didn’t say anything incriminating…” he frowned.

“Incriminating?
What are you talking about?” Missy’s heart skipped a beat.

“Kelvin
Michaels was found dead this morning, and apparently the cops are looking in your
direction.”

“I
wish I could get away and come do some investigating,” Chas’s frustration was
evident, even over the phone. “But I just can’t, sweetie. And so far, I’m
getting nowhere trying to talk with the LAPD. They seem to be a really tight-lipped
bunch,” he sighed.

“Oh
Chas, what should I do?” Missy worried. “They won’t let me leave the state, but
the final show had been postponed indefinitely until they can find out exactly
what happened to Kelvin Michaels.”

“Don’t
do anything,” he advised. “Stay put and let the police do their jobs. Fernandez
may be difficult to communicate with, but he seems like he knows what he’s
doing, so for now, just stay out of his way. I’ll be doing what I can on this
end to try to find out what’s going on,” he promised.

Missy’s
eyes filled with tears. “I miss you,” she said, swallowing past the lump in her
throat and trying desperately not to cry.

“I
know, sweetie. I miss you, too. Just be strong for a little while, so we can
try to get this figured out, okay?”

“Okay,”
she managed to choke out, as tears rolled down her cheeks.

**

The
two of them talked for a few more minutes, Chas not wanting to hang up until he
was sure that she’d be okay, then said their goodbyes, with him promising to do
all that he could. Despite the seasoned detective’s many warnings, Missy’s mind
whirled as she tried to think of ways that she could try to figure out what
exactly had happened to Kelvin Michaels.

After
a handful of texts explaining that filming was on hold and that Missy and Simon
would continue to occupy the “Bake House” during the course of the
investigation, Francesca had simply stopped communicating. That being the case,
Missy knew that she’d have to find another source of information – someone with
whom she could strike up a conversation without having them regard her with the
cool suspicion that had been evident in Francesca’s texts.

Sitting
down to a dinner of Chinese delivery, Missy pushed her noodles around on her
plate and looked up to see that Simon was doing the same. Feeling her gaze, he
glanced up from his food and attempted to smile.

“This
sucks,” he sighed, dropping his fork with a clank onto his plate.

“Simon…you
realize that I didn’t do this, right?” Missy asked, her eyes pleading for
understanding.

“Yeah,
I’ve never thought it was you,” he replied easily. “But I can’t figure out who
snuffed him.”

Missy
wilted with relief. At least her housemate didn’t suspect her of murdering the
judge. “I know,” she nodded. “I wish there was some way that we could figure
this thing out.”

“Well,
I don’t know about you, but solving murders isn’t exactly my thing,” he
admitted. “Just the thought of messing about with that stuff makes me want to
crawl under the covers and lock the door.”

“I
hate to say it, but I’ve actually run into this kind of thing before, and I
can’t just sit back and leave my fate in the hands of a detective who doesn’t
know me,” she crossed her arms, determined.

“So,
what are you going to do?” Simon asked, impressed with her feisty and
self-sufficient attitude.

“I’m
going to figure out who I need to talk to,” she mused, mulling over the
prospects.

“Good
luck with that,” he replied dismissively. “No one wants to talk to you right
now. Sorry, just being honest,” he shrugged.

“Maybe
not,” she said with a sly grin. “But I’ll bet they’ll talk to you.”

Simon
flopped into a living room chair, disgusted. “I’ve talked to Kelvin’s
boyfriend, his chauffeur, the housekeeper, and even the pool boy. No one knows
anything. Kelvin was having some relationship problems, which is probably why
he was so darn cranky all the time, but his lover, Roger, didn’t strike me at
all as being violent, and he seemed genuinely devastated at the loss of his
mate. He didn’t owe anybody money, he didn’t have any affairs going on, and he
was more than gainfully employed. There is literally nothing in this man’s life
that would make someone want to kill him,” he sighed, giving Missy the
run-down.

“Strike
three,” she murmured, shaking her head.

“Don’t
tell me you’re defeated?” Simon raised an eyebrow at her.

“No,
there has to be some clue, somewhere, as to what happened,” she insisted. “We
just have to figure out a different approach.”

“What
if he offed himself?” he speculated, leaning his head back in the easy chair
and swiveling on the rotating base.

“Well,
if there was no reason for anyone in Kelvin’s life to kill him, how likely
would it be that he killed himself?” Missy asked rhetorically.

“Good
point,” Simon nodded. “So now what?”

“Good
question,” she sighed, rubbing her forehead in frustration.

“Put
your thinking cap on, Sweets, I’m headed for bed,” he said, standing and
stretching.

“I
will. Hey Simon,” she called out as he started up the stairs.

“Yeah?”
he replied, over his shoulder.

“Thanks
for trying,” Missy smiled sadly, her shoulders slumped.

“No
worries. We’ll figure it out. Sleep well,” he waved, trotting up the stairs.

**

Clarence,
Missy and Simon’s driver, had arrived early to take the pair to the mall, just
as an excuse to get them out of the house for a while. They both wore hats and
sunglasses to disguise their identity. Kelvin had a huge fan base, and since
Missy was indirectly implicated in his murder, she’d already received hate mail
and direct threats to her safety. The police had told her that it was best if
she stayed in the house or yard rather than venturing out, but she was going
stir crazy having nothing to do but obsess over who might have killed Kelvin
Michaels, so Simon suggested an outing. They were traveling quite a distance to
go to a mall in a remote suburb, in hopes of not being recognized.

Missy
had been wearing the same seven outfits since her arrival in California and was
very much looking forward to spending some of her performance money on new
clothing, just for a change of pace. She also planned to purchase a few books
to help pass the time, and, at the moment was just enjoying seeing the palm
trees whipping by as Clarence eased onto the freeway, mercifully encountering
no traffic. Southern California was absolutely beautiful and all Missy had been
able to see of it was the inside of the Bake House and the inside of the
studio.

She
and Simon shopped gleefully in a nearly deserted mall, not recognized by
anyone, and piled their purchases into the trunk, feeling carefree and relaxed
for the first time since Kelvin’s demise. Buoyed by her newfound freedom, Missy
asked Clarence if he would stop briefly so that they could at least walk on the
beach and put their toes in the ocean. Holding her hat to keep it from flying
off of her head in the warm breeze, Missy thrilled at the sound of the waves,
the salty-scented air, and the sun on her limbs. For a few minutes at least,
she was able to forget about death and lies and all of the negative things with
which she’d been dealing, allowing herself to just get lost in the experience
of a blue California sky on beautiful day. Nature soothed her, and she breathed
deeply taking it in.

When
they arrived back at the Bake House, Missy had the strangest feeling that
something was wrong. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but somehow, something
felt…off. Walking slowly up the stairs to her room while Clarence brought her bags
in from the SUV, she opened the door, gasping at what she found.

The
feather pillows from her bed had been torn to shreds and feathers covered every
horizontal surface. A giant X had been sliced into her comforter and ripped
through the mattress as well. Foul words were scrawled on her mirror in her
favorite shade of blood-red lipstick, and every piece of clothing that she
owned had been thrown out of her open window. There were pieces that had been
tossed into the pool, and a light sweater hung from a palm tree just outside
the window. Missy backed out of the room, horrified, nearly crashing into
Simon, who had run up the stairs when he heard her gasp.

“Simon,
who would do this? Why would someone do this?” she asked, shaking her head and
trembling with fear.

“It’s
a weird, wicked world, Missy, and some sick soul has taken things a bit too
far,” he replied quietly, gazing at the mess.

“Did
this happen to your room?” she asked, and Simon shook his head.

“I
don’t feel safe here,” she whispered.

“Understandable.
Let me call Francesca and see what needs to happen,” he offered, pulling out
his phone. He first called the police, who arrived in minutes.

Officers
spoke with Missy while a team of investigators collected evidence, but they
seemed to have already decided that the damage had to have been done by one of
Kelvin Michaels’ fans who was trying to send a message because they thought
that Missy had murdered their idol. She was frustrated and afraid, feeling like
the police were going to be of no help whatsoever.

The
results of Simon’s phone call to the producer were somewhat disastrous. The
studio had decided to give up the idea of a final showdown between Missy and
Simon indefinitely, since apparently the police hadn’t made significant
progress in finding Kelvin’s killer. This meant that the studio would no longer
be responsible for putting up the two bakers, protecting them, or providing
transportation. Simon was advised to leave the area, since he was not a
suspect, leaving Missy on her own, with no accommodations, no transportation,
and no protection. She wasn’t allowed to leave the county, which meant that she
had to find a place to stay and a way to get there.

In a
daze, Missy packed the few items that she had purchased at the mall into her
suitcase, which had mercifully been left untouched. Simon called a cab for her
before Clarence drove him to the airport, and she asked to be driven to a
somewhat secluded hotel in the suburbs, where she would wait for a breakthrough
in the case. Hugging the young man who had been her only friend in California
one last time, she climbed into the waiting taxi, alone and afraid, as police
swarmed the Bake House, collecting evidence.