Raspberry Creme Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 14 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) Read Free Page B

puzzled.
    “Because
there’s no way that Sam should’ve known about Sally, even if she is a nurse.
Sally wasn’t taken to the main part of the hospital, she was pronounced dead on
the scene and was taken straight to the morgue to await the coroner’s autopsy,”
Chas said grimly. “How well do you know Sam?” he asked.
    “Not
well, she’s new, but she seems nice,” Missy said, worried. She suddenly
remembered the tense conversation that she’d overheard between Sam and Sally at
book club, and related the story to Chas, who took notes.
    “I’ll
need her contact info,” he said, pen poised.

Chapter 4
    Samantha
Lemmon sat at the nondescript laminated table in the interrogation room across
from Detective Chas Beckett, whom she’d never met before today. She was dressed
in the scrubs that she had worn to work, and her hands twisted nervously in her
lap.
    “Can
you tell me about the last interaction that you had with Sally Higgins?” the
detective asked, taking in the young woman’s clueless demeanor and nervous
motion.
    “Umm…sure.
I, uh, called Sally yesterday morning. We were supposed to head up the Garden
Walk committee this year, and I needed to know what I should be doing for that.
Sally told me that she and Marsha had always done the planning and that it
didn’t seem fair for her to replace Marsha without asking her if she still
wanted to be involved,” she explained, avoiding eye contact with the intimidating
man in front of her.
    “This
is Marsha Mueller?” Chas clarified, having already spoken with her.
    “Yes,”
Sam nodded. “Marsha is the one who introduced me to Sally. Sally is…or was, the
leader of our book club,” she said sadly. “We had become such good friends in
such a short time. Actually, I became closer with Sally than I was with Marsha,
even though I’d known Marsha longer.”
    “I
see,” the detective stared at her, looking for non-verbal clues. “How did you
respond when Sally told you about the need to consider Marsha for the
committee?”
    “I
was disappointed, but I told her that I completely understood and that I’d be
willing to help out in any way that I could.”
    “And
did she indicate whether or not you’d be able to help with the project?” Chas
persisted.
    “She
said that she’d look into it,” Sam shrugged.
     “Did
you and Sally ever have a disagreement?” he probed, remembering what Missy had
told him that she witnessed in Sally’s kitchen.
    Sam
shook her head. “No, not that I can think of…we got along really well
together,” she answered guilelessly.
    Chas
questioned Samantha for another hour or so, then sent her home, letting her
know that she shouldn’t leave town without notifying him, in case he needed to
contact her for more information. The detective tapped his pen on the cheap
laminate table, thinking. Something about his interview of Samantha Lemmon
bothered him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it just yet.
    **
    Missy
was going over a delivery order with Cheryl at the front counter of the
LaChance shop when the bells over the door jangled, announcing the arrival of a
customer. It was Marsha Mueller, and Missy immediately came out from behind the
counter to give the fragile-looking woman a hug.
    “Marsha,
honey, how are you holding up?” she asked, knowing how close she had been to
Sally Higgins.
    “I
still just can’t believe she’s gone,” Marsha replied, gazing despondently at
the floor.
    “Here,
come sit down,” Missy led her over to a somewhat secluded table in the corner.
“You get comfortable, and I’ll be right back with cupcakes and coffee,” she
directed, resorting to the most comforting measures that she knew. She returned
to the table with two steaming mugs of freshly-brewed Costa Rican coffee and
two Cardamom Brulee cupcakes. “Sweetie, I’m so sorry about Sally,” she said,
patting Marsha’s hand.
    “It’s
so crazy, it doesn’t even seem real,” the distraught woman shook her head. “And
to