Chilled in Chattanooga (A Trixie Montgomery Cozy Mystery Book 4) by Deborah Malone Page A

Sargent, elves, and Annie in her pink bathrobe danced in my head. Nana’s voice invaded my dreams. “Get up, Trixie. The sun’s already up.” Why was she telling me to get up? Then I felt someone shaking me. I waded through the thick fog of sleep and realized Nana was not part of my dream.
    “What is it Nana?” I peeped at her with one eye.
    “Come on lazy-head. It’s eight already and you’re not even dressed.”
    Nana was decked out in a matching ensemble. She wore hot pink jogging pants and jacket over a white tee shirt. I had to admit she was cute. Fortunately, her cast came to just below her elbow making it possible for her to dress herself. She must be feeling a lot better.
    “Naaaana. It’s too early to get up; I didn’t sleep good last night.” I pulled the covers over my head hoping she’d go away.
    She pulled them right back off. “Oh no you don’t. We have some detectin’ to do today.”
    “Hey, what’s going on over there?” Dee Dee sat up in bed. “My goodness, Nana, you’re dressed already.”
    “Yep, we’ve got a job to do. We’re not going to prove Trixie’s innocence staying in bed all day.” Nana put her hands on her hips and struck a serious pose. I couldn’t help but chuckle, and Dee Dee joined in the levity.
    “What’s so funny?”
    “Aw, Nana, you know we love you.” Dee Dee tucked her feet into her kitty slippers, padded over and gave Nana a hug.
    “Come on girls, get dressed so we can go get something to eat.” This started another round of laughter. This time Nana joined in. It was good to laugh.
    Less than an hour later we sat in an IHOP eating a stack of pancakes. I knew this wasn’t the healthiest nutrition around, but it was comforting. I totally got comfort food .
    I was pleasantly surprised when I found Bubba Tate’s address. I called him up to ask if I could interview him on his invention. I filled them in while Nana dredged her bacon through a puddle of maple syrup. “He knew all about the magazine and was thrilled to be the center of attention.” I felt bad for using him to get to Bodene, but I had to find a way to talk to him.
    “What are you going to do if Bodene isn’t there?” Dee Dee drizzled warm blueberry syrup on her pancakes.
    “Let’s just hope he is.” I topped off my coffee and grabbed the sugary liquid. It looked delicious dripping down the sides of Dee’s pancakes.
    Our waitress approached the table. By the wrinkles etched on her face, she’d lived a lifetime and a half already, but she was probably only in her thirties. “I brought a fresh pot of coffee.” She replaced the carafe sitting on the table.” Is there anything else I can get ya’?”
    “Dee Dee and I said “no thanks,” but Nana asked for a couple more pancakes. Nana possessed a metabolism any woman would covet.
    “Girls, we need to find a church to attend this morning. The Lord knows we could use all the help we can get. And I feel like the need for a good dose of spiritual food. ” Nana wiped a drop of syrup off her chin.
    “What a wonderful idea. We could stop at one on the way to Bubba’s,” Dee Dee said.
    “I agree.” We waited on Nana to finish her short stack and set out on our expedition. I was thankful for the short walk to the car. My new knee had taken more punishment the past few days than it had since surgery.
    We followed the GPS towards Bubba’s, looking for a church on the way. We weren’t far from the Tate’s when Dee Dee yelled. “There! It looks like we’re just in time.” Dee Dee read the name, “Southern Church of Faith, Deliverance and Restoration.”
    I swung a hard right and pulled into the gravel parking lot. There stood the classic Southern church building. An old wooden structure, painted white, with a steeple standing guard. A mountain of steps led to the double doors. I grabbed my camera from the car and took several shots.
    As we climbed the steps, the strains of Rock of Ages drifted to greet us. I used the rail to pull