A Cup of Murder by Cam Larson Page A

And they
must have both used the back door, unnoticed. Of all the possible
suspects on the police list, none seemed likely to have met him late
at night unless it was his Barista. If someone else, then that person
must have known him or there wouldn’t have been two cups of coffee
served.
    The mystery person was still out there. Jacob
Weaver would never had gone inside Sunrise and sat down for a meeting
with Michael Simms. Knowing his personality, he would have accosted
him in daylight and not cared who saw him. It wasn’t like Jacob to
sneak around and kill someone in the dead of night.
    I still wanted to get to New York City and meet
face to face with James Simms. Maybe he would have a better idea who
had a grudge against Michael. The next day was Sunday. Roasted Love
stayed open early morning through five on Sundays and I would ask
Lily to have her son, Eddie come in to help out. He liked working
there and he didn’t mind the extra money either. Jacob rarely took
a day away from the coffee house and Janie worked all day on Sunday
with Monday off.
    Next, I had to think about the right person to
leave Thor with while I went to New York City to meet the Senator. My
new responsibility was something I enjoyed so far. I recalled how
someone once told me that I should think twice about wanting a dog
because they were like a child who never grew up. I was beginning to
see it was true. And like most parents, I took Thor’s care
seriously.
    Once home that evening, I debated whether or not
to call Jacob and ask him to take the dog. The fact I fed Thor a
muffin or two on occasion wasn’t lost on Jacob but I knew he had no
idea I adopted the dog as my own. I dialed my boss and he picked up
right away.
    "Do you mind if I come over for a few
minutes?" I asked him.
    "No, come on over. I’m not doing anything
in particular except putting my feet up."
    With Thor by my side, the dog willingly jumped
into the back seat of my car. One thing about this Doberman, he loved
to ride in the car. He trotted beside me when I walked up the
sidewalk to Jacob’s house and rang the bell. I crossed my fingers.
    "What are you doing with that monster of a
dog?" asked Jacob. "That is Michael’s dog, isn’t it?"
    "He’s mine now."
    A low growl came from Thor. It bordered on a
snarl. I commanded him to be quiet, and thanks to Michael’s
training, he did so immediately. Jacob swung the door open for both
of us.
    "Laila, I’ve never known anyone to be the
bleeding heart you are."
    I tried to look nonchalant and shrugged my
shoulders in answer. "He needed a home and I couldn’t just
leave him to make his way alone. Jen Perry sure didn’t want him and
I have never seen Michael’s wife anywhere around. He would have
just roamed the streets and eventually he would have been hit by a
car or something like that."
    ‘Something like that’ meant he would end up in
a shelter and may face the possibility of someone getting him who
wouldn’t hit it off with Thor, or worse yet, maybe put to death at
a pound. I couldn’t let any possibilities happen that would
endanger the animal I was now strongly attached to.
    "I have to go into the city tomorrow and
wondered if you would look after Thor for me."
    I wish I had a video camera to record Jacob's
reaction. He glanced at the large dog and back at me. Thor got the
point and growled low again.
    "All you have to do is feed him and he will
be your friend for life," I said.
    "What makes you think I want any living thing
that once belonged to Michael Simms to be my friend for life?"
    "Just allow him to follow you to your kitchen
while I get a small sack of dog food from my car." I came
prepared. There was no alternative except for my boss to take charge
of Thor.
    Apparently, Thor sniffed food odors and followed
the massive figure that went to the kitchen. I held in a chuckle when
I realized both large frames somehow matched one another. When I got
back inside and handed Jacob the dog food, Thor was happily on