A Cup of Murder

by Cam Larson

  "You know, Thor, maybe I should keep walking. I shouldn’t let someone else decide my routine."

  Thor licked my hand, agreeing with me. I put him out back and looked again in my refrigerator hoping for a fully cooked meal to be waiting to be warmed up. It wasn’t there, but deli turkey and a variety of several cheese slices were. I reached for potato chips and a paper plate. Settled on the patio, I munched away. I was a little anxious about my stalker possibly showing up in the back yard. I had Thor there and so far no growls came from him, so once again I was lost in my thoughts. I wadded up the paper napkin and folded the plate over it. I tossed it all into the trash can at the edge of the outside wall and closed the lid tight.

  I reached for the door just as a raging bark from Thor came from behind me. My heart jumped to my throat and stayed there.

  "Who’s out there?"

  The quiver in my voice failed to make the demand come out with authority. Thor waited. His low growl continued to hum but he stayed by my side. Silence enfolded the small yard. In a few minutes the last of the day’s sun would sink to a final dip and then darkness.

  Dialing 911 would have been anyone’s answer at this point. I didn’t do that because it would prove useless. I was sure no one would be there by the time the police arrived. I jerked Thor’s collar with my hand and commanded him inside with me. He didn’t like that I had interrupted his duty to protect me.

  I called Daniel. When he heard my voice, he said, "What’s wrong, Laila? You sound scared to death."

  I told him about my experiences since arriving home from work.

  "I’m coming right over there," he said.

  "I just need someone to talk to so I can calm down," I said. "You don’t have to come all the way over here. My place is locked tight."

  "I’m coming anyway."

  I did want him here. I needed company and I guess that was why I called him in the first place. Fifteen minutes later he drove into my driveway. I had had to explain to Daniel why I had Michael’s dog. He accepted it better than Jacob had.

  "Whoever it was, he must be brazen."

  "What do you mean, Daniel?"

  "I mean if he is stalking you in daylight, he isn’t worried about being seen. He knows how to keep in the shadows. Maybe Thor is helping to keep him away, but one day, you might be alone and then what?"

  I gulped. "Then that means I’m not safe from him no matter where I am."

  "You have to go to the police, Laila, and report this. At least they can cruise by a little more often and check things out."

  That was good advice.

  When Daniel left, I hurried to double-bolt my doors. He had checked all the windows and found them to be secure. He offered to sleep on the couch but I knew he was on call that night. I reminded him I had Thor for protection. He had glanced at the dog and nodded his approval.

  Chapter Twenty

  The morning brought clouds that threatened possible rain. The sky clinched whether I walked or drove to work that day. Thor happily jumped into my car.

  "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 t
oday. 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."

  "Is there anything else, Sherlock?" asked Daniel. "Somehow you make a better private eye than a reporter."

  So far his teasing laugh had not grated on me.

  "By the way, just what is belladonna exactly?" I asked.

  "It’s something extremely noxious in its crude form. Ironically, it is developed in labs to convert to a medicine used for severe pain and sometimes for infections."

  "So how could medicine for pain cause death by poison?"

  "It can be very poisonous if it is used in a high dosage. In its raw form, it is immediately deadly. And it dissolves easily."

  I knew Jacob never complained of pain. He was reluctant to take any medicine. Once he told me that he never went to doctors. He said even when they knew he was healthy they thought they had to give him a prescription for something.

  "Do you want to go out to eat again tomorrow night?" asked Daniel.

  "I should meet with Jacob’s lawyer after work. We could meet at Sam’s Sandwiches for lunch around one if you want to."

  That night I went to sleep and dreamed of people harvesting a crop of belladonna. In my dream they wore heavy gloves. Guards surrounded them while they loaded trucks that took it to a huge sterile laboratory. The face of Eddie appeared as one of the drivers. The shoulders of the Senator and Janie bent over the long table. They sifted through the substance. Jacob stood apart and watched. Even Daniel was there with his arms folded and a soft laugh came from his lips. In the background flashing neon lights showed the front of Sunrise coffee house. Michael’s face loomed in the window. The bizarre nightmare jolted me fully awake.