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At this point, I didn’t want to open Roasted Love at all until Jacob was back in charge, but I knew I couldn’t let the place close and cause lost business. Janie nodded and left. I told Lily we would not reopen until tomorrow. I needed time to think and more importantly, I needed to see Jacob. I had no idea if bail was set or what was going on and I had to know.
"I’ll write you out at your usual time, Lily, so you will get paid your hours."
"Don’t worry about anything, Laila," she said. "They will realize they have nothing on Jacob and release him before we know it."
I threw a weak smile her direction and locked the back door after she left. I collected the receipts for the day. Realizing there was no computer to enter them into I stuffed them in an empty briefcase I found in Jacob’s office and left to collect Thor. My laptop at home was connected to Roasted Love and I would enter the business of the day at home.
Once Thor was fed and had his run outside my house, I left him to visit Jacob in jail. Dreading the moment I would see him behind bars, I swallowed hard and drove downtown. As it turned out, he was brought to the visitors’ room and we sat across from each other.
"I’m so sorry, Jacob, I hoped it wouldn’t come to them arresting you. Did they tell you why they think you murdered Michael?"
"So far they have only said they found evidence at Sunrise that implicates me. I turned it all over to my lawyer. I’m hoping the Judge will set bail but I won’t find out until tomorrow."
His haggard face told me he was anxious about a night behind bars. I told him I was going to speed my own investigation along faster and tried to reassure him the best I could. Knowing he couldn’t talk me out of my detective work, he told me to be careful. I left him with a heavy heart but not before I gave Jen’s information to the policeman at the desk about Leticia Simms often coming to Sunrise at closing time. His reaction told me that would not be a big deal. There was nothing unusual about a wife meeting her husband at his place of business at closing time.
He was right. I was aware that passing that information on needed more substance than a wife meeting her husband at their coffee house. Obviously, I had a different take on the hidden meaning of a jealous wife who met her husband there after hours than the police did. I would save that for Jacob’s lawyer.
Chapter Twelve
Following Jacob’s policy, we did reopen the next day. Visibility and normalcy became an imperative move for me. By now everyone knew Jacob Weaver was in jail for the murder of his rival across the street. I noticed the yellow tape had been removed from Sunrise. I could see movement inside and recognized Jen Perry getting things in order. The flashing lights were still turned off which accounted somewhat for our full house. Apparently, the thought she didn’t have rights to the place failed to enter her mind. I thought she was taking a chance if she thought she could reopen Sunrise and carry on as if her boss and former lover had not been murdered.
"Maybe she knows Michael left it to her," I mused aloud.
"What did you say?" asked Janie.
I chose not to respond and it didn’t matter anyway. Janie and I both rushed to meet the needs of customers who flocked in. It was hard to concentrate on my job when frustration reached every level in my inability to help Jacob. I rubbed my eyes with my fingers in disappointment and pounded my fist on the counter next to the espresso machine. A light tap on my shoulder caused more irritation thinking a customer wanted something. My mood was not one of hospitality at the moment but I forced a plastered smile on my face and tur
ned around.
"You look a little stressed," said Daniel Jenkins. "Come on over here and sit down with me."
He led me to an empty table away from customers. I hadn’t seen him since the day he gave me the ride home from Sam’s Sandwiches in pouring rain. A relief swept over me when I realized he was concerned. It was then that knowing he was someone I could trust was reinforced. I told him something he was already aware of but it was good to say it out loud.
"Jacob was arrested yesterday for Michael Simms’ murder."
He nodded in sympathy and told me he had heard that. I hadn’t seen a newspaper but I was sure it was headline news. Usually, over my coffee in the morning I read news online before coming to work. Since undertaking the care of a dog I didn’t always have time to do that, or maybe I just didn’t want to read about Jacob’s arrest.
"I want to tell you something I learned about Michael Simms," said Daniel. "Did you know he had terminal cancer?" The look on my face told him I did not. "He was in stage four with lung cancer."
"I wonder if whoever killed him knew that," I said.
Daniel shrugged his shoulders. I doubted that, since the murderer would have just waited for Michael to die of the disease if he knew he was terminally ill. Daniel watched me in a way that confused me.
"Is there something else you know about all of this?" I asked him.
He shuffled in the chair and shook his head no. I asked him if he had any ideas on where belladonna came from that was found in Michael’s coffee cup. Again he indicated no idea. I decided to tell him about my visit to see James Simms. Daniel voiced surprised that I was getting so far into my quest to find the real suspect.
"I know the two brothers parted ways," he said, "but I have no idea if they ever contacted each other again or not. When John Andrews, James' campaign manager, died I knew some rift developed but never found out why."
"How did John Andrews die?" I asked.
"I believe he had a severe asthma attack. I never knew the whole story."
Could it be that whatever happened to John Andrews caused the separation of the two brothers? If the Senator was to be believed, they parted ways while John was still campaign manager. There was no more time to discuss everything I wanted to talk about with Daniel. Roasted Love was busier than ever as lunch time neared.
The paramedic ordered a Frappe this time. I guess he figured it was better to start with something cold than to let a hot drink cool down before finishing it. Lily took it to him. I wondered what was going on across the street. When I looked up I saw a familiar BMW parked in front. Senator James Simms got out and walked around to open the door for someone. I presumed it was his wife Sarah until I saw a woman step from the passenger side I did not recognize. They both walked to the front door and I noted a frown on the Senator’s face when he peeked through before using a key to unlock the door. Seeing Jen Perry inside as if she owned the place must have been the cause of the deep furrow that crossed his forehead when he turned toward the stranger with him.
The door swung open. One of our customers opened the door of Roasted Love at the same time when leaving and I heard a loud voice that belonged to the woman across the street. The door to Sunrise closed. A few minutes later I saw Jen Perry leaving. She still wore an apron that belonged to Michael’s coffee house. She left in a hurry and slung her purse strap over her shoulder, ignoring the apron. At her car door contents from her purse spilled out and she quickly bent to scoop them up before slamming her car door. I was sure I would get a phone call from her later. After all, according to Jen Perry I was her only friend.
