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

by Cam Larson

  "I’ll drive your car and follow the ambulance to the emergency room," said Daniel. He leaned down and kissed me. "Thank God you're safe, Laila."

  I gave him a weak smile and closed my eyes. My nightmare was finally over.

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Daniel and I left the emergency room a few hours later. I had to have some gravel picked out of my hands and face and got a tetanus booster.

  Daniel asked to be relieved of EMT duties for the rest of the night. "I’ll pick up my car tomorrow," he said, "and drive you home in your car now. Thor's probably been into your refrigerator by now."

  "Oh! oh, Thor!" I couldn’t believe that my poor Doberman, my best friend, had completely slipped my mind. Daniel was right; it was well past doggie dinner time.

  When we arrived home, Thor greeted me briefly and then ran for the back door. Daniel let him out and then went to my refrigerator.

  "Not much in there that Thor would have a feast with," I said.

  Daniel opened the refrigerator door. "Hmm. You're right. Do you have any soup?"

  I pointed to the pantry door and he found something that caught his eye.

  I had been ordered to stay propped up on the couch. My face looked like a war zone, but the emergency room doctor had assured me that the scratches and cuts were superficial and would soon heal.

  The worst of it, though, was my throat. It was still very sore and bruised from where John’s hands had squeezed my neck. I raised my hand up and touched the bruises.

  Daniel saw me, and frowned. "Let’s not relive your nightmare," said Daniel. He looked at me with concern. "That is, unless you want to talk about it."

  I shook my head. "No. I'd rather eat and watch a good movie."

  "You got it."

  We both enjoyed some delicious chicken soup with buttered toast. Very soon I found myself nodding off during the flick. Daniel woke me up long enough to tell me to head for bed.

  He insisted on sleeping on the couch all night. "You don’t need to be here alone tonight. I’ll be right here in case you need something."

  I wasn't about to argue. That night I slept like the dead and woke up around eight the next morning to the aroma of fresh coffee. I took a nice hot shower and then joined Daniel out in the kitchen.

  "Where did you get eggs and bacon?" I asked him.

  "Well, not in your refrigerator," he said. The twinkle in his eyes drew me in. "I’ve been up since six. Thor's had a good run, I’ve been to the grocery store, and now you have breakfast."

  "You are amazing," I said, and meant it. "Are you going back to work today?"

  "Well, I'm supposed to, unless you need me here."

  "No. I'm fine. Really. But thank you."

  After Daniel left later that morning, my phone rang. It was Jacob. He'd heard about my ordeal and was calling to insist I stay home until tomorrow. That suited me fine, because I wanted nothing more right now than to see Chief Hayes. I wanted full details on what could possibly have motivated a Drug Enforcement Agent to kill two homeless men.

  Besides, I was supposed to come down to the precinct house this morning anyway to give a statement regarding my near-death experience of the night before.

  # # #

  At eleven a.m., I pulled up in front of the precinct house. Chief Hayes’s look of concern when I walked into his office touched me more than I would have expected. He came around his desk, took my arm, and led me to the chair across from his desk.

  "How are you, Laila?" he asked. "Are you sure you're up to this today?"

  I grinned, feeling better than I had last night and relieved that things were going to go back to normal. "I’m more than up to it. I had no idea John Collins was anyone other than an officer who had his head on straight."

  "Well, we've had our eye on him for the last few weeks, along with some higher-ups in the DEA," said the chief. "At first things appeared to be only rumors with no evidence to back them up. But Collins started spending too many extra hours in the old downtown. He confiscated a lot of drugs, but the problem was that his reports didn’t match what he actually turned in. It was easier for us to watch him than fellow DEA agents."

  I looked up. "Are you telling me he was a drug dealer, too?"

  Chief Hayes nodded. "Well, in a way. He wasn't pushing on the street, but doing bigger deals by confiscating drugs from street dealers. But he wouldn't arrest them so he could keep the supply coming. And I'm sure you being down there talking to someone like Ricky Thomas, made him nervous too. There were a few people down there who knew he was crooked."

  I moved around in the chair, trying to get comfortable. The chief noticed and spoke with genuine concern for me. "Laila, you go home and relax the rest of the day. You’ve been through a lot. We can get your statement later. I can even send a couple of officers to your house and take care of that."

  "Sounds good to me. I guess I am a little sore this morning." Actually, I was a lot sore, but I didn't want to let on how much.

  Chief Hayes came around and took my arm again, and then walked with me to my car.

  "Laila, Larch has been a friend of John Collins for a long time. It seems he had his own suspicions, but didn't know Collins was being watched. Larch was ready to tell everything he knew, but until Linda confided in you, he was worried his own life would be endanger. I don't think he thought we'd believe him. So, in a way, you were part of the catalyst for bringing everything together and solving this case." He paused.

  I just wish I'd thought about the possibility that Collins would attack you like he did last night. I didn’t put it together that he was your stalker until it was too late."

  "Hey, I'm fine. It's dangerous work. I know that."

  He looked down at me with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, but that's why you should leave it to the professionals, young lady. Understand?"

  "Yes. I understand. I'm just glad it's over for everyone."

  "So am I." With that, I got in my car and drove away.

  I had one more stop to make before going home. I planned to take things slow today, but I wanted to have everything ready for Daniel when he came back later in the evening.

  # # #

  When my doorbell rang, I opened the door to Daniel and Benji Junior. The little dog raced past me towards Thor while I reached for Daniel and pulled him inside.

  I gave him a kiss and a big smile. I turned and reached for a wrapped gift that I'd had made especially for him.

  Daniel pulled the ribbon from the package and held up a framed picture of the two of us. "It’s perfect," he said. "Thank you, Laila. I sure remember this day well. You practically forced that kid to take our picture in front of that fountain."

  "Aw, he didn’t object that much when I gave him five bucks to do it. I’m just glad you like it. I know I’ve neglected quality time with you and for that I apologize."

  "Thanks. Apology accepted." He set the picture down on my coffee table. "I saw on the news just before I left that Agent John Collins was arrested for the murder of John Wilkins. There are other charges to come, according to the report."

  "Good. I'll look forward to his trial." Daniel looked sideways at me, but I just laughed and walked with him to the kitchen.

  I pulled out fresh tortillas along with chicken strips and everything else I knew Daniel liked in his enchiladas. I had a lot to tell him and so I jumped right in as we worked together to fix our dinner.

  "According to Chief Hayes," I said, "John Collins was spending way too much time on Skid Row. At first everyone thought he was seriously trying to rid West River of drugs. Instead, he was stealing small amounts of the confiscated drugs and hiding the stuff in a small storage locker. The rest he turned in for appearances, of course, but he was dealing the stolen stuff out to some small syndicates for extra money.

  "Anyway, I guess he made the mistake of listing more confiscated drugs than was actually in the inventory."

  "Yeah. I heard tonight from Leo Swenson that Collins was trafficking in narcotics," said Daniel. "He threatened
everyone down there so they'd keep their mouths shut."

  "It seems that a couple years ago, there was wind of a possible investigation and Collins had to get rid of his dope stash," I said. "So, he moved it into Steven Wilkins apartment and framed him."

  "I think Steve's brother, Homeless John, must have figured it out and threatened him. And after Agent John killed Homeless John, he threatened Ricky that he would die like Homeless John if he didn’t keep quiet. I think Ricky must have threatened to say something to Agent Stanton, who recently started working along side John Wilkins, because Ricky was killed right about that time."

  "So – Collins killed Ricky Thomas, too?"

  "Yes. The reports said that Collins put some sleeping pills into a beer he offered to Ricky. He tried to come across to Ricky as a co-conspirator, and for once Ricky let his guard down. They walked around to the back of the grocery and that was when John shot the heroin overdose into him. By that time, he was too drugged from the sleeping pills to resist."

  "Didn’t you tell me that Steven said his brother felt like someone was tailing him? Was that John Collins?"

  "It seems so. Apparently, he lured John Wilkins to a nearby bar by faking an interest in helping to get Steven out of prison. Instead, he got sleeping pills into Homeless John's drink. They left the bar together and the next thing we knew, John Wilkins was dead of an overdose."

  "I heard a cop say there was stuff that belonged to John Wilkins found in the alley near Roasted Love’s dumpster?" asked Daniel. "Is that true?"

  I nodded. "Well, from what Chief Hayes said, Collins dumped some of John's things in and around the trash bin in the alley, hoping it would look like John was throwing away his prized possessions before killing himself.

  "And it almost worked." I sat quietly for a few seconds. "I’m so glad for Steven Wilkins. I don’t doubt he'll be released from prison very soon."

  "I hope he appreciates how you believed in him, Laila. And I know that drugs that get confiscated can be a real temptation to some in the police departments," said Daniel. "But John Collins took it to the next level for sure."

  I nodded. "I think people can lose track of the important things in life, and without warning find themselves in a downward spiral." Then I looked up at him, and smiled gently. "As for me, I’m just glad you're around to keep me on the right track."

  "When have I steered you away from a downward spiral?" Daniel’s dark eyes danced.

  "That’s just it. You don’t allow me to even be tempted." I got up and walked to a small cabinet in the corner of the room. "How about playing a game of Clue tonight?" I said.

  Daniel threw his hands up. "Not tonight, please. Don’t you think we’ve had enough of solving crime for a while? Let’s get those doggies out for a good walk instead."

  I put the board game back and reached for his hand. As if on cue, both dogs waited patiently for us at the door. We stepped outside and walked into the beautiful night together.

  THE END

  The adventure continues...

  Cam Larson's Other Books:

  Roasted Love Cozy Mystery Series!

  A Cup of Murder

  Hot Coffee, Iced Santa

  Coconut Chronicles – Almost Tropical Mystery

  Coconut Chronicles: Burglar

  Coconut Chronicles: Ransom

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