A Cup of Murder (15 page)

"Looks like we can get a walk in before it
rains," I said to Thor when I parked at Roasted Love.

The coffee house was dark which told me Janie had
not arrived yet. Thor, without the leash holding him back, bounded
forward. Realizing I lagged behind him, he waited until I caught up.
We walked two blocks and turned back toward Roasted Love. A few yards
before arriving Thor stood still and growled. Again I tried to find
who or what had changed his mood. A shadowed figure emerged from
around the corner. My eyes met James Simms.

I didn’t tell Thor to stay back but quickly
leashed him and held him as he tugged. James decided to edge closer.

"What are you doing in this neighborhood so
early in the morning?" I asked him.

Thor gave me more courage than I dreamed I had.

"Isn’t that Thor? What are you doing with
that dog?" he countered. "That monster should be put down.
He’s dangerous."

"The only time he is dangerous is if he
doesn’t like someone."

The Senator didn’t speak nor did he approach
closer.

"I can’t figure out why you took him. Did
Michael leave him to you?" asked James.

"Someone had to take care of him. We get
along very well."

My annoyance with his attitude toward my dog
showed itself in the scowl on my face. It didn’t deter James.

"I’ll take him to a shelter for you. Just
hand me the leash."

No words came to mind right away, and so I just
stared at him. Thor’s humming low growl said he didn’t agree with
James either.

"Maybe you didn’t hear me. Thor is mine,"
I said. "Now I have to get to the coffee house and open up."

Questions I wanted to ask the Senator ran through
my mind but I had to talk with Janie again before I asked them.
Besides, meeting James so early in the morning rattled me. What a way
to start the day.

With resolution, I continued to walk forward. One
look at Thor and James crossed the street to Sunrise. The last I saw
him he was inserting a key in the lock on the door. Had he been
expecting Janie? He must have thought she would follow her usual
pattern and be alone. I was sure of that. As soon as she arrived I
vowed to get to the bottom of her connection with Michael’s
brother. That had to be done even if it meant we opened later than
usual.

I watched out the front window as I started to
prepare the front for business. I had my eye on Sunrise until I saw
James reappear outside. He walked away just as Janie came in the back
door. I went to the kitchen and met her.

"Before you get started, I want to know your
connection with James Simms," I demanded. I was running out of
time before Jacob's case went to court and I was tired of being in
the dark about this whole case. Plus, I hated disloyal people. Janie,
dark shadows under her eyes, didn't seem shocked by my forwardness.
She shook her head.

"There is no connection. Can I grab some
coffee?"

I followed her to the coffee pot I had plugged in
on the kitchen counter. She poured a cup. Her hands were shaking as
she lifted it to her lips.

"Sit down. We aren’t opening this place
until you talk," I said.

The rain started to come down. I held up my hand
for her to wait for me. Thor was huddled near the back door. I
brought him into the small space where the time clock was. I closed
the door that led to the kitchen.

Janie’s face resembled a white sheet. Eyes
downcast, she took a deep breath.

"I don’t know him well at all. Every once
in a while he comes in here. When he first came he asked for me to
serve him. I didn’t know why. I thought he just wanted good service
and had watched me." So far she had not looked at me. Instead
she gazed at the dishwasher. "One day when I left Roasted Love,
he met me at the corner. My brother was going to pick me up since my
car was in the shop."

I noticed her fingers laced themselves in and out
several times.

"What did he want?" I asked.

"He asked me if I wanted to earn some extra
money. He knew everything about me. He knew I was a single mom and
had two kids to raise by myself. When I asked him how, he smiled and
said he would see me the next day when I opened up."

"Was this before or after Jacob was arrested
for Michael’s murder?"

"It was a day or so before."

Janie bent her head and began to cry. Her voice
rose to full-blown sobs. I waited. The composure I hoped for didn’t
come. While her shoulders shook, I thought about the implications of
what may have gone on between the Senator and my server.

"Did he ask you to plant evidence in Jacob’s
office for him?"

"No. He just asked if I had seen any notes
Jacob may have written to Michael." By now she was down to
sniffling. "He wanted me to look around Jacob’s desk before
anyone got here. I didn’t see any and told him that."

"What was his reaction?"

"He was very angry and told me to do a better
job. Then he left in a huff. I wanted to tell you, Laila, but he is
powerful. He knew everything about me and that scared me. His wife is
up there, too, if you know what I mean."

"No, I don’t know what you mean."

"She is in charge of some kind of research
place. I heard someone once say she had prestige of some sort.
Someone like me can’t refuse important people like the Simms,
Laila."

Everything Janie had said so far helped me draw
more conclusions. I didn’t want to lose her confidence in me. I
patted her hand and got her a fresh cup of coffee.

"I’ll go out and open up. You get yourself
together and we will figure this out when we get a break. Don’t
worry for now. And from now on, avoid James Simms. I can vary your
hours here so you don’t have a set pattern."

"I have to be home for my kids in time."

"I’ll make sure of that. I’m thinking of
having you come in a half hour later and maybe stay a half hour later
or something like that."

A weak smile told me she was glad to unburden on
me. As for me, the load only increased. It was possible Janie played
a bigger part than she was telling me. She had access to the place
before we started the day. I wondered how she felt when I had told
her I would come in earlier.

The rain had stopped and the sun was trying to
come out. I remembered Thor and took a dog biscuit to him before I
let him outside.

"I wonder if I foiled her plans for more
crime by coming in earlier," I said to Thor. Almond eyes told me
he agreed with me.

Chapter Twenty One

That afternoon when Janie clocked out, I told her
to let me know if she heard from James Simms again. My eyes scanned
the street in front until Janie pulled from the employee parking
area. Uneasiness crept over me. Something was just not right.

"There is someone on the phone who wants to
talk to you, Laila," said Lily. "It is someone answering
the ad for more help."

I took the call in Jacob’s office and set up an
interview for the caller for the next day. Then I called Daniel. His
voice sounded like he had just awakened thanks to my call. I
remembered he worked the night before.

"I’m sorry," I said. "I forgot
you were on call last night. Were there any emergencies?"

"I had two, but it’s okay. I needed to wake
up. What’s up?"

"Can you drop by tonight? I have something I
want to talk to you about."

He agreed on seven. The kitchen door to Roasted
Love opened and Eddie waved to me. I waved back. When I finished with
Daniel, I gave Eddie instructions on things that needed to be done
right away.

"Eddie, do you like working here?" I
asked him.

I ignored the wary look he gave me.

"Sure," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"I may be able to give you a few more hours
if you have time. Are you interested?"

The grin that spread across his face restored the
familiar Eddie. He worked until closing when he and Lily walked to
their cars. I looked around once more to make sure things were secure
for the night. Thor and I got into my car. As I turned the corner I
saw the now familiar blue BMW tagging behind Eddie’s ten year old
Chevy. When Eddie turned toward his apartment, the BMW went the
opposite direction.

For a politician who had responsibilities of the
State, I wondered how James Simms had so much free time. Some of the
shop owners on the Piazza had remarked they saw more of him now than
when he was campaigning.

Thor attacked his dinner that night as if he
hadn’t eaten for days. I found a ball that I used to play tennis
with and took him outside to play.

Sitting on the patio, he couldn’t get enough of
me throwing it to the end of the yard for him. When I had enough of
it, I gave him a treat and leaned back to relax. I heard a car stop
in front and glanced at my watch. It was five minutes before seven. I
went in to open the front door for Daniel.

"Hi, Daniel," I said. "I hope you
didn’t mind coming over."

"I don’t mind at all. I’m curious about
what the detective has found out today."

His laugh warmed me to the bone. I led him over to
the corkboard that was slowly and methodically filling up. I pointed
out people I had either talked with or wanted to talk to.

"I left Jacob up here, but I don’t see any
real reason to," I said.

I took an index card and wrote Janie Donovan on
it.

"Why are you adding Janie?" he asked.

I told him everything that had happened that
morning.

"I don’t know how much, if anything, I can
believe that she told me," I said. "It just seems
far-fetched that a Senator would ask a server in a coffee house to
help him out. Anyway, why would he want to put false evidence in
Jacob’s office?"

"I agree with that. If he wanted to frame
him, he could have just planted something on his own in Sunrise. I
would think it would have been easier than trusting someone he barely
knew. Or does he know Janie well?"

"She told me he knows everything about her.
According to her, she knows very little about him. She’s scared,
Daniel. She's scared of the Simms family because of their wealth and
prestige."

"You don’t have anything, really, except
hearsay from Janie."

He was right. There was nothing to say she told me
the truth about James Simms. It could be something else that had her
scared. I had other issues to discuss with Daniel regarding the
mysteries that kept unfolding on the Piazza.

"Do you think Michael’s wife, Leticia and
James have a thing going?"

A chuckle came from Daniel. "What makes you
think that?"

"I saw them together soon after Michael’s
death going into Sunrise."

"Maybe it was because one of them was his
wife and the other one was his brother."

"Do you have to keep making sense of things?"
I said. "You are tearing down all my hard work."

"I’m just pointing out things that a cop
would point out to you if you were talking to one. I’m sure the
police are very much on top of things."

"Obviously they aren’t. Jacob Weaver is
still sitting in a cell." My voice was heated and I knew it.
"Look, we both know Jacob is innocent. I’m just trying to find
out who really killed Michael Simms."

Daniel reached for my hand. "I didn’t mean
anything by that. I just meant that without solid reason, no one is
going to take what you say seriously. It could be that the cops doubt
they have the right man in jail. They can’t let him go since traces
of belladonna were found on the note in Jacob’s office."

"So you know for sure they have doubts?"

"I can tell you confidentially that my cop
friend told me there are questions about his guilt. Jacob has denied
everything and sticks to his explanation. He has a very good lawyer
and he is trying to find out how belladonna got there without Jacob
knowing it."

I was silent. Janie invaded my mind. Could she
fear Jacob’s lawyer for some reason? I had talked with him on
several occasions and I knew the lawyer was questioning all who were
associated with Roasted Love. We had all been cooperative. We wanted
Jacob released from jail. At least, I thought everyone wanted that.

"I have something I want you to get tested,"
I said. I handed Daniel the envelopes found near Roasted Love’s
trash bin.

"I’m not sure I can get this done for you
but I’ll see."

"I have something else."

Opening the small drawer of my computer desk I
pulled something out that was loosely wrapped in a paper towel.

"When I took my break this afternoon, I
walked Thor in the alley and around the parking lot. Something caught
my eye just under the edge of the trash bin where I found the things
that belonged to Michael. I think it was in the trash bag that the
dog tore open."

Daniel carefully opened the towel. The syringe was
there next to the small pharmacy bottle, now empty.

"Laila, you have to give all of this to the
police. They should be the ones to test it all officially. This could
be something really big."

"What if it just gives more ammunition
against Jacob? I found it next to Roasted Love’s trash bin."

We both sat down and looked at each other. Thor
scratched at the back door and I went to let him in. He bounded
toward Daniel as if an old friend.

"Will you agree to let me call my cop friend?
He isn’t working today. I could get his advice."

I hesitated. "Once he knows, won’t he be
obligated to turn it all in?"

"He’s one of the best cops I know. He would
tell us if it had to be turned in." He rubbed his chin. "And,
yes, if he knew it to be the right thing, he would do that."

We discussed pros and cons of the situation. We
both knew something had to be done with what I found or it would be
useless to have it.

"You could give it to Jacob’s lawyer and
let him decide," said Daniel.

"That’s good," I said. "It would
be his responsibility and he could use it to Jacob’s advantage. It
might even get Jacob out of jail sooner than we expected."