Melted Memories: A Cozy Mystery (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book 6) Read online

  Melted Memories

  by

  Constance Barker

  Copyright 2015 Constance Barker

  All rights reserved.

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

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  The day I found out Trixie had given up her son for adoption was full of discoveries about the woman I’d come 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.”

  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.”

  Paige leaned forward. “Does this mean you’re thinking about searching for him?”

  We all looked at Trixie. “I’m not sure, and that’s why I’m here. What do you girls think?”

  Stormi spoke first. “I think it’s an awesome idea!” Of course she would. That’s Stormi, forge straight ahead and deal with the consequences later. Paige on the other hand was more practical.

  “What if you find out information that isn’t all unicorns and roses? And what if he doesn’t want to be found…or perhaps he doesn’t even know that he was adopted.”

  I looked at Trixie. “I think you’ve considered all these aspects haven’t you?”

  Trixie nodded. “Yes I have, but it’s good to have others opinions as well. What do you think Tara?”

  I thought for a second. “You’re one of the strongest women I know Trixie. I believe what ever you unearth on your son; you’ll handle it with grace and class, as always. Do you want to have a relationship with him or simply want to know what happened to him? Maybe watch him from afar so to speak?”

  A smile danced across Trixie’s lips. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. Although I was young and probably not in the best frame of mind, I made the decision to give him away. No one forced me to make that choice…I did it of my own free will.”

  Trixie leaned back in the chair. “I have no right to disrupt this man’s life. He may have led a respectable life, with a wife and children, never even knowing he was adopted.”

  “But what if he does know that he was adopted,” Stormi interjected. “Perhaps he’s wanted to find his birth mother.”

  Trixie looked down at her hands. “I doubt it. You hear about people finding their parents or kids all the time. I have a feeling if he knew about me then he likely didn’t want to know who I was. But my curiosity has taken me by force. I would like to know who he is and what he’s become, but only from a distance, like Tara mentioned. I have no right to disrupt his life, not when I gave him away so many years ago.”

  “But what if he wants to meet you?” Stormi wasn’t giving up on her happily ever after for Trixie and her son.

  Paige leaned forward in her chair. “Stormi, let’s allow Trixie to forge her own path on this one.“ Paige looked at Trixie. “How can we help besides giving you our hodgepodge of advice that’s likely got you more confused than ever?”

  At that moment Winchester woke up from his nap in the back room and jumped in Trixie’s lap. “There’s my little man.” She petted his head as he curled up in her lap.

  “Well I’m not sure where to begin. I suppose I should start at the home for unwed girls. I doubt its still there however, although I believe it was affiliated with Mercy hospital in Atlanta.”

  “Ohhh, I know who can help us!” Stormi squealed as she jumped out of her chair. “Let me go call Greg.” She scampered off to the back room to find her cell phone.

  Trixie looked at Paige and I. “What do you think she‘s up to?”

  Paige took a bite of her chicken salad sandwich. “Hopefully something useful. Trix, I hate to be a downer, but what if you find out something you’d rather not know.”

  I knew where Paige was heading and I had to admit it crossed my mind as well. First we had Daniel Crager, Trixie’s first husband and the father of the son she was attempting to find. Daniel had mental issues, so the question was, would the boy have suffered the same problems as his father. Then there was Trixie’s daughter, Eileen, by her second husband. Eileen murdered Trixie’s best friend Greta. So the family tree was littered with mental problems. This had me afraid for Trixie. Not only was there the possibility she might find out something diabolical about her son, but what if during the investigation he discovered she was looking for him and could potentially cause her harm. I didn’t want to think negatively, but it was hard not to contemplate the possibilities given Trixie’s background. Luckily Paige was saying what I didn’t have the heart to.

  Trixie petted Winchester’s soft head. “With my background I have no illusions of what I might find. In fact I’ll be surprised if he is normal. I’ve prepared myself for all sorts of scenarios. Like Eileen he could be in jail, or homeless, or even dead.”

  That last one was like a stab in the heart. That was not something I had considered.

  Paige put down her sandwich. “Trixie, are you sure you want to know? Even if you find out that he’s okay and has led a wonderful life, the fact that you aren’t a part of it will hurt too.”

  “Paige I know you’re looking out for what’s best for me. That’s why I came here today. You girls are close to my heart, but you’re all different with various ideas and advice. I knew if I asked you all about this situation that I’d come away with valuable information and possibly things I hadn’t considered.”

  She picked Winchester up and placed him on the floor. “After talking with you girls today I do believe I’ve contemplated every aspect and I’m ready to forge ahead.”

  Stormi raced out of the back room. “That’s good because Greg knows a private investigator that may be able to help us. He works with the police sometimes, that’s how Greg knows him. He’s older and a little brusque, so says my man, but he’s good at what he does. We meet him tomorrow at his office in Sinking Springs.”

  “We?” Paige asked. “Perhaps Trixie would like to handle this situation on her own.”

  Stormi’s face drooped.

  “Oh no,” Trixie exclaimed. “If you girls wouldn’t mind, I would love to have you go with me to see this….ummm, Stormi, what’s the man’s name?”

  “Mr. Strickland…and we see him at his office at 10am tomorrow.”

  So started a new adventure and one that would carry us into parts unknown.

  *****

  The next day we loaded up in Paige’s humongous SUV with all the bells and whistles to head to Sinking Springs and Mr. Strickland’s office. Trixie sat up front
with Paige and Stormi and I sat in the plush bucket seats behind them.

  Stormi sat behind Trixie. She settled into her seat and latched the seat belt. “My derriere is cold. You got one of those butt warmers in this vehicle?”

  Paige backed the vehicle out from it’s parked space in front of my shoppe where we’d all gathered for the day‘s activities. “Sadly not for those in the back seats. But Miss Trixie and I shall have warm buns all the way to Sinking Springs.”

  “That’s okay,” Stormi said. “Just blast the heat back here. I’m freezing.”

  Paige looked in the rear view mirror. “Storm, you need to wear long johns, I’m telling ya. You’re always so cold in the winter and it’s really not that bad.”

  “I would not get caught dead wearing long johns,” Stormi exclaimed.

  “Then quitcherbitchin.” Paige had no sympathy.