Caffeine & Killers (A Roasted Love Cozy Mystery Book 3) (18 page)

I wondered about John Collins’ surly attitude,
but decided I could excuse it. He had a hard job to do. In his eyes,
I was just a complication that made his job more difficult.

As I drove away from Skid Row, I watched for any
signs of Licorice Billy. He wasn’t there and neither was the man
I'd talked to the last time I was here. The whole place looked to be
deserted. I figured I had Agents Collins and Stanton to thank for
that.

Then I started thinking things through. The fact
that Ricky Thomas had supposedly died in just the same way as
Homeless John didn't add up for me.

I drove straight to the precinct house.

# # #

"Hello, Laila. You're getting to be a pretty
frequent customer. What can I do for you today?"

Chief Hayes's desk was piled a little higher than
I'd previously seen it. I planned to make my visit short, so Thor
waited in the car.

"How many homeless are found dead in West
River each year?" I asked the chief.

He shook his head. "Most times, the answer is
zero. Maybe one, at the most. Other homeless people have died over
the years, of course, but they were in a hospital or a shelter when
it happened."

Chief Hayes settled back in his chair. "I
have to tell you, though, that we've never had two of them discovered
dead within days each other. And for the same reason. This may
surprise you, but generally dealers are very careful when
self-administering."

"Then – how do you explain how the two of
them died?"

"Laila, it’s entirely possible that someone
down there injected heroin into both of those homeless men. I have
information that I can't disclose to you, except to say John had only
the one needle mark on his body, while Ricky Thomas was an obvious
user on a daily basis."

My eyes widened at that news. "Don’t get
your hopes up, Laila," the chief cautioned. "There's no
concrete evidence yet. It's just a theory. The people down there are
in a constant state of survival. If a drug deal goes bad, it could
set someone off enough to harm a rival – or even get him out of the
way permanently." He paused, looking at me before continuing his
thought.

"And, while you seem to strongly think that
John was clean, it could also mean that he finally cracked. Perhaps
even with the goal of dying. If not, the two similar deaths could
indicate that there's a stronger than usual batch of heroin going
around. Even an experienced user could overdose. And certainly a new
user."

"Did Ricky Thomas have many enemies down
there?" I asked.

"None that surfaced, but dealing isn't
exactly a friendly business. I’m sure he upset some people at one
time or another. They're not exactly pals out there on the streets,
and it only takes one time to push some people over the edge."

He looked up at me. "I can also tell you,
Laila, that with his being the second case within just a few days, we
are investigating both deaths in more detail."

I gave him a slow grin. This conversation was all
I needed. Even the Chief of Police was hinting at the premise that
John had not died of a self-inflicted overdose of heroin.

When I left the precinct house, my mind was still
working overtime. My thoughts went to another piece of this puzzle:
Licorice Billy.

I knew that Billy and John had definitely argued
and did not get along. And I knew that Ricky and John had been seen
together in front of the broken-down grocery store, too.

I had some updating to do on my cork board.

Chapter Twenty Four

It was good to wake up to a day off. I really
needed the headspace to figure some things out. The more I thought
about the people on the streets down in Skid Row, the more I couldn’t
see any of them committing murder. Stealing maybe, but not murder. If
any heroin was available, I wondered if a street person would waste
it injecting somebody else.

I grabbed Thor’s leash and we headed for the dog
park down the street. He was overdue for a run and I needed thinking
time.

Thinking about my conversations with Chief Hayes,
I wondered what it was that he couldn’t tell me. I knew there was
no way I'd get it out of him. \

I let Thor off his leash inside the gate of the
dog park. Right away my cell phone rang, and without even glancing at
it, I answered it happily, hoping it was Daniel.

But it wasn't.

"
I know where you live. I know where you
are right now. Back off – or else!
"

The phone went dead.

I just stood very still for a moment with the
phone in my hand, feeling something like shock. The voice had been
very deep and sounded like gravel scraping against pavement. It was a
voice I didn't recognize... maybe disguised.

For the first time, I was afraid.

I looked around the park. An older couple sat
watching their cocker spaniel play with another dog. A young couple
ran with their two beagles, and Thor joined them.

Then a sudden motion in the trees on the other
side of the park caught my eye. I saw tree limbs sway wildly and then
stop. Someone was leaving the area in a hurry.

With shaking hands, I quickly called Daniel. His
message line switched to a dispatcher and I was told Daniel was on a
call. When the dispatcher asked if I had an emergency, I answered no.
It would take a lot of explaining and time to tell her why I thought
someone moving in the bushes near a public park was a threat to me.

But I stayed in the park for another ten minutes
anyway, to give Thor time enough to run. Then I called him to me and
we walked back towards home.

I had a weird feeling that someone was following.
I turned to glance back, but the street was empty except for the
mailman making his deliveries. I hurried Thor along and breathed a
sigh of relief when I reached my home and got inside.

I locked my front door and then called Chief
Hayes.

"The voice was disguised, I’m sure," I
told him. "It was deep and gravelly."

"All right. Laila. I'll send someone out
there right away to talk to you. Try to remember any other details,
if you can."

I thanked him and hung up. While I waited for the
cop to arrive, I searched my mind for any details I may have
subconsciously picked up from the movement I'd seen in the trees.

When the officer arrived, I described the whole
incident with the threatening phone call and the person I believed
was hiding in the bushes – and then told him that the person must
have been tall.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Well, the leaves that moved on the trees
were on some fairly high branches. If I had been walking under them,
my head wouldn’t touch them. I’m five foot six. I think whoever
it was had to be taller. But I couldn't get a good look because of
all the brush and bushes between me and him. I was also facing the
sun, which made it that much harder to see any details."

The officer finished taking my report. "If
you remember anything else, let the us know. In the meantime, keep
your doors locked and be aware of your surroundings."

"I will. Thank you." I closed the door,
knowing that little would come from the report unless I had something
more substantial for the department to go on.

A few minutes later, my phone rang again. I
panicked. The cop just left. This guy must still be watching me and
calling to taunt me.

But as I looked at the phone, I let out a big
sigh. It was Daniel. Man, was I happy to see his number show up on
the caller I.D.

"Hey Daniel, am I glad to hear your voice!"
I gave him the short recap on what had happened. I could hear the
concern in his voice.

"I’m glad you called it in to the police,
Laila," he said. "Anything else happen since then?"

"Nope. Not until you called. I thought it was
gonna be mister creepy-gravel-voice again," I smiled through the
phone, still relieved.

"Good. I’ll come by and pick you up for
dinner tonight."

I was very relieved to know that he was on his way
over. An evening out with him would go a long way towards getting my
mind off the stalker.

# # #

Daniel picked me up in the early evening and we
went to the Bistro, the same place where Anna Masters and I had
enjoyed a meal together. The crowd there lifted my spirits. Most
patrons looked to be in their twenties and thirties. Daniel and I
didn’t talk about who the caller was or who may have been watching
me at the dog park. Daniel had a way of turning subjects to the
positive and I was grateful for that.

After dinner, we took a stroll down the sidewalk.
People walked in and out of the restaurants, or walked along to do
some window shopping. It was a pleasant evening and I felt secure
with Daniel at my side. With him there, I felt nothing could harm me.

When we got back to my apartment, Daniel made
coffee and I relaxed on the couch. I rested my feet on the low table
in front of it. Daniel smiled when he brought two cups of steaming
coffee into the living room.

"Good. You look relaxed," he said. He
placed the hot mugs on the table and leaned over and kissed me. Then
he sat down and just waited calmly. I knew he would not ask me about
my unpleasant experience at the dog park until I was ready.

For a few minutes, I savored the sweet coffee and
the atmosphere of peace. "Okay, so you want me to recap the
whole thing? Maybe you can help me figure more out," I finally
said.

"Go ahead. Take your time."

I took a deep breath and told him the scary little
story. "Daniel, do you have any thoughts on who it could be?"
I asked him. "I hate thinking someone is following me all the
time."

"Let’s start by eliminating people that you
feel can be taken off the list," said Daniel.

I tried to think. "Now, even though street
people might not have much of anything else, a lot of them do have
cell phones. But would they have come all the way to my neighborhood
just to watch me take their call?"

"I doubt it. You're probably right about
that."

"And I think we can eliminate any close
friends of mine, too. That's a no-brainer."

"I should hope so," Daniel smiled at me.

"Okay. Next would be people like Ronald Larch
or Linda Henson," I said. "I know Larch despises the
homeless population, but I really can't see him trying to actually
kill them off."

"Yes. But what do you make of Linda Henson?
Has she contacted you since your bizarre meeting with her at the
mall?"

I shook my head. "I seriously doubt there was
any truth that Larch planted drugs in Steven Wilkins’ apartment. It
just doesn’t make sense. I know he never liked John Wilkins, but
framing his brother wouldn’t serve any purpose that I can see. I
think Linda was just angry with Larch for more personal reasons."

Daniel nodded. "I’m glad you see it that
way. He wouldn’t have anything to gain by breaking into Steven’s
apartment to plant drugs there. Besides, that's kind of a dirty job
and I don't think Larch would do that kind of work. You know?"

I thought of the impeccable clothes Larch always
wore. "I don’t think he would venture down to Skid Row,
either. I get the feeling that going to a rough, dirty place like
that would be – would be beneath him."

"Yeah. I think you're right about that."

We sat in silence and finished our coffee. I stood
up and reached for Daniel’s cup. "I’ll do the refills,"
I said. "You sit here and come up with a good suspect."

He laughed. "I'll do my best."

When I returned, he waited until I'd put down the
coffee. Then he reached up and took my hand, drawing me down to him.
My heart skipped a beat when he kissed me again. Then he sat back on
the couch as I sat down beside him.

"Let me run this by you," he said. "I
may have an idea of someone else it could be."

I sat up straight. "Who? Tell me!"

He shrugged, a little self-consciously. "It’s
just an idea. I don’t have any proof, of course."

"Daniel, nobody's got any proof of anything
right now. So – what's your idea?"

"Well... what if it was someone was hired to
do all this dirty work?"

I blinked. "Hired?"

"Yes."

"Like –
who?
And by who?"

"I don't know. But it is a possibility. We’ve
gone through everyone else we can think of. Maybe for political
reasons. It's just a wild idea. Maybe the cop on the beat got tired
of shooing John away and decided to fix it permanently. There are bad
cops. Though I have to admit, I don’t know of any cop in this
precinct who turned bad in the past."

My mind was racing. "I suppose. Can we be
certain to rule out a homeless person?"

"Well, no. Nobody be ruled out for sure. I
was just throwing something else out there. Until this phone call you
got, I was sure there was nothing out of the ordinary. But, unless
it's a real nut, you must have done something to get someone worried.
An honestly, I think the Councilman is the only one you've mentioned
that you've out right accused."

"Yeah. I understand. But, as you mentioned at
the time, he has too much to lose." I looked at Daniel.

Daniel was silent as I continued to think. "I
know only a couple of the cops by name. But – seriously. Would a
cop do something like that? I mean, why? It would be a huge risk to
his career. Imagine what jail would be like for a cop who'd murdered
a homeless guy."

"Or who had framed an innocent person and put
them away." said Daniel.

"Yeah." I looked up at him. "I'd
never thought about cops being criminals before."

"By the way," Daniel said, "my cop
friend Leo Swenson did not give me a copy of Ricky Thomas’ autopsy
report. He did, however, did give me some information. He said it was
a self-inflicted overdose of heroin. The needle was still in Thomas's
arm."

"Just like John," I said.