Caffeine & Killers (A Roasted Love Cozy Mystery Book 3) by Cam Larson Page B
Authors: Cam Larson
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"I hope you found something to eat,
Jacob. You know you didn’t have to stay here with Thor the whole
time."
"I brought in some burgers and fries for
myself," said my boss. "I did get into that bottle of wine
you've got, for one small glass. Not bad. How was your evening out?"
"Oh, I had a great time. Went out with my
friend Anna Masters. I don't get to see her nearly enough."
"Well, good. You need a little down time."
"Sure." I debated whether or not to say
anything about my ongoing private investigation of John's death. I'd
promised Daniel I would not tell Jacob about the official notes that
he'd shared with me. And Officer Leo Swenson wouldn’t appreciate
that information going out to just anyone, either.
"Did any calls come in for me?" I asked,
as Jacob got up from the easy chair and picked up his jacket.
"I heard your house phone ring a couple of
times, but I'm not about to check your messages." He did have a
sense of humor.
"Oh, that's all right. Thanks for taking care
of Thor."
Jacob just waved his hand. "My pleasure. I
like hanging out with him. See you tomorrow, Laila." He opened
the door and left, closing it again rather loudly behind him.
I went straight into my bedroom and checked my
messages, but neither was from Daniel – it was nothing but
telemarketers. I was just sitting on the edge of the bed feeling
disappointed when my cell rang.
My heart leapt when I saw Daniel’s name. "Hey!
How are you?" I said, a little breathless.
"Hey, Laila. I’m sorry I haven’t called
you sooner. I guess I just needed time to cool off."
It seemed to me that twenty-four hours was plenty
long enough for that, but I didn't mention it. "It’s all
right, Daniel. I know I upset you. And I'm sorry."
"Laila, I just don't want you walking into
stuff that's far more dangerous than you realize. Okay?"
I couldn't help but smile. "Okay." It
was nice to have somebody worry about me, I had to admit.
"So – you're going to leave the
investigating up to the cops from now on. Right?"
I hesitated. And that wasn’t lost on Daniel. He
sighed deeply. "Laila – just don’t go back down to West
River’s Skid Row. That’s the most I can ask of you."
Suddenly I really wanted to talk to him about
John’s death. "Daniel," I said, "I could sure use
you as a sounding board. I respect your concerns. I really do. It’s
just that – I miss John and I feel pretty bad about him dying alone
on the street. That shouldn't happen to anyone."
He paused, and I was sure he was smiling. "I
miss our talks, too, Laila. I’m on call for the rest of tonight,
but can I take you out for dinner tomorrow? Or if you want, we could
get take-out someplace and just stay in."
I jumped at the invitation. "You bet."
"Okay, then. I'll bring Chinese to your place
tomorrow evening."
"Perfect. See you then."
I hung up the phone, feeling better than I had for
quite some time.
Chapter Ten
While working at Roasted Love the next day, it was
hard to keep my mind on my job. I kept thinking of Councilman Calvin
Carpenter and my talk with him.
Somehow I had to find a way to get into his files
at his campaign headquarters. He'd said how much he wanted the
homeless to "just disappear." In my mind, there was a very
real possibility that he was responsible for the murder of poor John.
But actually killing someone would have been a
huge risk for the councilman, I reminded myself. By the time I'd left
his headquarters the other day, he was already suspicious of me for
just wandering in and asking to work on his campaign. My little ruse
hadn't been lost on him.
# # #
Once I was off work that evening, I decided to
drive by Carpenter's headquarters before meeting Daniel at my
apartment. I wanted to know how long the office stayed opened at the
end of the day, and then I could set my plan in action.
Lights were on in the back half of the building.
Those who worked in the front answering phones and taking care of
other matters had left for the night, but the offices
Jacob. You know you didn’t have to stay here with Thor the whole
time."
"I brought in some burgers and fries for
myself," said my boss. "I did get into that bottle of wine
you've got, for one small glass. Not bad. How was your evening out?"
"Oh, I had a great time. Went out with my
friend Anna Masters. I don't get to see her nearly enough."
"Well, good. You need a little down time."
"Sure." I debated whether or not to say
anything about my ongoing private investigation of John's death. I'd
promised Daniel I would not tell Jacob about the official notes that
he'd shared with me. And Officer Leo Swenson wouldn’t appreciate
that information going out to just anyone, either.
"Did any calls come in for me?" I asked,
as Jacob got up from the easy chair and picked up his jacket.
"I heard your house phone ring a couple of
times, but I'm not about to check your messages." He did have a
sense of humor.
"Oh, that's all right. Thanks for taking care
of Thor."
Jacob just waved his hand. "My pleasure. I
like hanging out with him. See you tomorrow, Laila." He opened
the door and left, closing it again rather loudly behind him.
I went straight into my bedroom and checked my
messages, but neither was from Daniel – it was nothing but
telemarketers. I was just sitting on the edge of the bed feeling
disappointed when my cell rang.
My heart leapt when I saw Daniel’s name. "Hey!
How are you?" I said, a little breathless.
"Hey, Laila. I’m sorry I haven’t called
you sooner. I guess I just needed time to cool off."
It seemed to me that twenty-four hours was plenty
long enough for that, but I didn't mention it. "It’s all
right, Daniel. I know I upset you. And I'm sorry."
"Laila, I just don't want you walking into
stuff that's far more dangerous than you realize. Okay?"
I couldn't help but smile. "Okay." It
was nice to have somebody worry about me, I had to admit.
"So – you're going to leave the
investigating up to the cops from now on. Right?"
I hesitated. And that wasn’t lost on Daniel. He
sighed deeply. "Laila – just don’t go back down to West
River’s Skid Row. That’s the most I can ask of you."
Suddenly I really wanted to talk to him about
John’s death. "Daniel," I said, "I could sure use
you as a sounding board. I respect your concerns. I really do. It’s
just that – I miss John and I feel pretty bad about him dying alone
on the street. That shouldn't happen to anyone."
He paused, and I was sure he was smiling. "I
miss our talks, too, Laila. I’m on call for the rest of tonight,
but can I take you out for dinner tomorrow? Or if you want, we could
get take-out someplace and just stay in."
I jumped at the invitation. "You bet."
"Okay, then. I'll bring Chinese to your place
tomorrow evening."
"Perfect. See you then."
I hung up the phone, feeling better than I had for
quite some time.
Chapter Ten
While working at Roasted Love the next day, it was
hard to keep my mind on my job. I kept thinking of Councilman Calvin
Carpenter and my talk with him.
Somehow I had to find a way to get into his files
at his campaign headquarters. He'd said how much he wanted the
homeless to "just disappear." In my mind, there was a very
real possibility that he was responsible for the murder of poor John.
But actually killing someone would have been a
huge risk for the councilman, I reminded myself. By the time I'd left
his headquarters the other day, he was already suspicious of me for
just wandering in and asking to work on his campaign. My little ruse
hadn't been lost on him.
# # #
Once I was off work that evening, I decided to
drive by Carpenter's headquarters before meeting Daniel at my
apartment. I wanted to know how long the office stayed opened at the
end of the day, and then I could set my plan in action.
Lights were on in the back half of the building.
Those who worked in the front answering phones and taking care of
other matters had left for the night, but the offices
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