A Cup of Murder (17 page)

Janie picked up a tray of bagels and headed to the
front. She did not talk to me for the next few hours except to give
me her orders at the espresso machine. I could tell Lily wanted to
find out what was going on between us but didn’t ask.

"Did you hire Claire?" asked Lily.

"I am going to call her today. Her references
checked out. I hope she can start tomorrow."

I reminded Lily that Eddie’s hours would have to
be cut back as before. She was just happy that she would get some
relief in the front of the shop.

"Does Eddie know the Simms family?" I
asked Lily after Janie left for the day.

"I think he met the Senator once at his
school. It was General Assembly Day and he was invited to talk to the
juniors and seniors. I believe it was about careers in politics or
something like that. Eddie told me he met him when it was over and
shook his hand."

"That must have made Eddie feel good."

Lily was caught up with pride in her son who got
to meet a real politician. I was glad she didn’t ask me about my
question. I returned to the kitchen when I heard Eddie come in.

"This will be your last day with longer
hours, Eddie. I’m going to hire Claire."

He told me he understood and he grabbed an apron.
Eddie was a good worker. Unlike a lot of teenagers, he got right to
work when he came in.

"Did you know Michael Simms very well,
Eddie?" I asked.

"Mostly, I knew him to be Jacob’s number
one enemy. I never met him. He wasn’t exactly someone I was dying
to know."

"Your mother told me you met the Senator face
to face. What was that like?"

Eddie got busy soaking pans. "It was great.
Just a few of us were invited to sit down with him for a few minutes.
We were picked before he got to the assembly that day. We had to
prepare our questions ahead of time. He was nothing like Michael. I
mean he was pretty nice."

"Have you ever seen him again?"

"Just from a distance and on TV, of course."

It could have been my imagination but Eddie seemed
to be banging pans more than usual.

"Janie thought she saw you and the Senator
early this morning a couple of blocks from here.

"Really? It must have been someone that looks
like me. I don’t get up any earlier than I have to."

My cell phone rang. It was Daniel Jenkins. My
heart skipped a beat and I hoped my voice was steady.

"Laila, will you have a break soon?"

"I can take a short one now. Are you in the
neighborhood?"

"I’m a half block from Roasted Love. Meet
me outside in the back."

I told Lily I was going to take a short break.
Taking my apron off, I looped it on the hook by the back door. Daniel
and I met just as he came around to the back. I let Thor off his
leash and he happily walked along the alley with us.

"I want to tell you something I learned about
Michael Simms," said Daniel. "Did you know he had terminal
cancer?" The look on my face told him I did not. "He was in
stage four with lung cancer."

"I wonder if whoever killed him knew that,"
I said.

Daniel shrugged his shoulders, "I doubt that,
since the murderer would have just waited for Michael to die of the
disease if he knew he was terminally ill." Daniel watched me in
a way that confused me.

"Is there something else you know about all
of this?" I asked him.

"I was told it was a matter of weeks before
it would have gotten him."

"What? He didn't even appear the slightest
bit ill," my head was spinning. "That seems like something
his family would know. And that means that two of my suspects are
probably eliminated. It doesn't make sense that James would have had
a reason to hurry his death along," I reasoned. "I haven't
even figured out a reason why he'd want him dead."

"Or what about Michael's wife, Leticia?"
I continued. "I had her on my list, too. At least she had a
motive. But, surely, if she wanted him dead, she could have waited a
couple weeks for him to die naturally rather than poisoning him and
risk getting caught."

Marianne Andrews flashed in my mind. She could
easily have had motive. Michael paid her off for some unknown reason.
And he left his business to her. Maybe she was greedy. She may have
killed him if she thought he was responsible for her son’s death.

Or my other suspect, Jen Perry. She had motive and
means.

"I can see that private eye mind whirling,"
said Daniel.

I told him what I was thinking.

"Where would Jen Perry get belladonna?"
he asked.

"Where would any of our suspects have gotten
it?" I countered. I could be as good a devil’s advocate as
him.

A new sudden thought crept into my mind. "Do
you think it's possible that Michael committed suicide, and as a last
act of revenge, tried to frame Jacob?

"I don’t know. I’m a paramedic, not a
detective." The laughter in his eyes wasn’t lost on me. "I
talked with my cop friend. He is impressed with your work so far."

"Don’t tease me. I’m trying to get Jacob
back home."

"I’m not teasing you. He really is
impressed."

"I’ll take that for now. See you later?"
I had to get back to work.

"I’ll give you a call."

Daniel’s praise was enough to get me through the
rest of the day. Thor headed for his leash. What dog would be so
willing? He deserved a dog biscuit. I returned to work with so much
stuff in my head it was hard to concentrate on frappes and
cappuccinos.

"Looks like you and that paramedic are
becoming very good friends," said Lily.

Eddie looked up and grinned at me. Mother and son
had a sense of humor.

"Okay, he is a nice person and easy to talk
to. That’s all there is to it."

I picked up more sugar packets and creamers.
Ducking my head to hide the glow of pink, I took them to the front
for purposes of refilling. To my chagrin, the containers were already
packed.

"Thanks for not telling me you had already
filled the bowls," I said to Lily.

Her melodious laugh spread across the room. "Yeah,
Daniel must be special."

I slapped her on her shoulder. Her mood was
contagious. Several customers smiled at the joke between us. At times
like that, I missed Jacob’s presence more than ever. He and Lily
would have carried on for much longer in their teasing. Jacob would
have been so bold as to let the patrons in on it all.

By the time we were cleaning up for the day, Jen
Perry came in to Roasted Love. We were five minutes from locking up.
Her face was drawn and her appearance wasn’t as meticulous as
usual. In fact, it looked like she had slept in her jacket. A minimum
of make-up was dabbed on her face. I looked at her as she sat at the
first table.

"What can I get for you?" said Lily.

The look on the server’s face said ‘make it a
bagel and get out of here.’ Jen’s look said to me ‘I need to
talk to you.’

"I know you are closing," she said. "How
about a glass of water?"

She reached into her purse and pulled out a couple
of ones and placed them on the table. Lily and I didn’t protest her
gesture. I glanced at my watch.

"I’ll close up, Lily," I said. "You
and Eddie can go on home."

The coffee house grew quiet. The water was
untouched. "The cops had me down at the precinct again over
Michael’s death." At least I was spared a flood of sobbing
tears. "They didn’t say who, but I’m sure it was Leticia or
James who swore they saw me go back into Sunrise late the night
Michael was poisoned. That’s why I was called back in." I
waited. "Michael once told me he thought the two of them had a
thing going between them. It would be like them to try to pin it all
on me."

"Did you tell the cops that?" I asked.

"Sure I did, but they brushed it all off.
They said I had motive since Michael was breaking off the affair with
me. I had access to Sunrise. Laila, I’m more than nervous. I think
it’s time for me to get an attorney."

"What about all the so-called evidence they
found here at Roasted Love?" I asked her. "I can tell you
that Jacob had nothing to do with the murder. Someone planted those
notes where the cops would find them. Did you have anything to do
with that?"

I couldn’t tell if the stunned look was genuine
or not. "How would I get into Roasted Love after it was locked
up for the night?"

I didn’t have an answer to that. "Are you a
friend to anyone who works here?"

"No. Janie lives in the same apartment
building I do, but I can’t say we are friends."

"What about Lily and Eddie? Do you know
either of them well?"

"I know who they are. Eddie’s apartment is
in the building next to the one Janie and I live in. I see him coming
in and out sometimes. I know Lily from working here in Roasted Love."

The once neatly folded napkin next to her was
crumpled. Her fist tightened around it. I wished Daniel was sitting
here. He could sift through it all and try to make sense of what Jen
was saying. She looked sincere and her eyes didn’t waver from mine.

"Michael was dying from terminal cancer,"
she stated. "He was so angry about that. I think that’s why he
acted like he did toward everyone. He felt cheated." She
unfolded the napkin as best she could. "I don’t think he
planned to mend his marriage at all. I think he was shutting everyone
out, including me."

My cell rang. It was Daniel. I picked it up.

"Hey," I said. "Could you come down
here to Roasted Love? I need your help with something."

"Sure," he said. "I was hoping
you'd ask. I could use a cream cheese danish."

"We don't have any of those."

"A bagel?" he asked.

"Nope," I said. "We sold them all.
You know how the crowds have been."

"How about a kiss then?" he asked.

"Hmm, I might be able to do that."

"I'll be there in a few minutes," he
said as he hung up his phone. I turned to Jen.

"That's my friend," I told her. "He's
a paramedic and I trust him."

She nodded but I could tell she didn’t want to
involve anyone else. When Daniel tapped on the front door a few
minutes later I let him in. I remembered Thor was still outside and I
brought him in the back door, gave him his dinner and joined Jen and
Daniel.

Jen rehashed what she had told me. Daniel’s eyes
never left hers. When she finished, he told her to get a good lawyer.
She agreed and I locked up behind her when she left.

"She didn’t do it," said Daniel. "The
motive that cops think she had is no motive at all. She understood
Michael shutting everyone out. He wanted to just die and get it over
with. He didn’t want anyone there to see his ending."

I didn’t answer. Daniel and I left with Thor by
my side. If not Jen Perry, then who committed the murder? Marianne
Andrews was the only one left. I wondered if she knew Michael had
terminal cancer. Or was it one last gotcha by Michael himself?

I thought of Jacob who was well into his second
week behind bars. I knew what my next step was.

Chapter Twenty Four

The next afternoon I took my break in the visitor
room at the jail. Jacob’s walk transformed to a shuffle. By the
time I left I hoped his spirits would be lifted. I flashed a smile in
his direction.

"Laila, it is good to see you. How are things
at Roasted Love?"

I briefly told him about hiring Claire. "I
have some good news for you, Jacob."

"That will be a relief. My friends have been
visiting, but all they’ve done is tell me to hang in there."

"I think the police should question Janie,"
I blurted.

His face fell in disappointment. "What could
she have to do with Michael’s murder?"

"Maybe plenty."

I told him everything I knew so far, including
Janie’s story about James Simms asking her for favors. I didn’t
leave out Jen Perry’s visit at Roasted Love the night before or my
suspicions about Marianne Andrews.

"I think that when Janie told me she saw
James talking with Eddie, she herself had actually met the Senator
again. I don’t think Eddie is involved with James Simms at all. She
just wanted attention put on someone else."

I leaned back in satisfaction. With visible
relaxation on Jacob’s face, I still felt he was afraid to get his
hopes up too high. I added that Daniel knew his guilt was being
questioned at the precinct. That perked him up.

"They have been treating me a little better,"
said Jacob. "I thought it was because of my winning
personality." A hint of the old Jacob came through.

"I’ll be back, Jacob. Don’t give up. And,
by the way, Jacob, don’t shuffle when you walk. It makes you look
old."

Before I left the building I stopped at the front
desk and asked to see Daniel’s friend, David Singer, the cop. The
receptionist caught him as he came from the Chief’s door. I
introduced myself and asked if we could talk.

"I finally get to meet the astute detective,"
he said. "I’ve heard a lot about you, Laila. We’ll go in
here."

He ushered me into a small alcove that I presumed
was where criminals were interrogated. There was a dark wood table
with nicks in it and two folding wooden chairs. It wasn’t a room
intended for comfort. David was immediately likable. I spilled
everything I had put together on Janie and her connection with James
Simms. I let him know that I already knew about Michael’s terminal
illness. I added that to let him know Daniel had told me everything
David told him.

"I think Janie should be questioned. She’s
scared silly over something. I think James Simms is threatening her
in some way."

"I’ve wondered about the Senator. But what
you are saying may be a hard sell with the Chief. James Simms has a
lot of influence around the precinct."

"Are you saying it is better to bring an
innocent man to trial than ruffle a rich politician?" My voice
rose. I didn’t want to come across as an out-of-control female. "I
know Jacob Weaver did not murder Michael Simms." My voice had
returned to an even tone.