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Opening my freezer door on top of refrigerator I stood looking as if something would magically leap out at me. I was in no mood to cook anything from scratch.
"A veggie pizza will do it tonight," I said. I added mozzarella and turned the oven on. "You need to get a life, Laila. You wouldn’t talk to yourself so much."
Thor had run long enough to remember it was his dinner time. He ate as if starved and we both went out to the small patio where I finished the last of the pizza. I thought about Jacob and his story about the belladonna. I believed him when he said he had no way of knowing what that was, much less getting it.
"What do you think, Thor?" I ruffled his neck and his voice sounded like a purr. "What are we missing, boy?"
Tomorrow would be another busy day at Roasted Love. I turned in early, still mad at myself for not coming up with anything to help Jacob. Just before drifting off to sleep I considered enlisting the help of Daniel. The way he looked at me sometimes, I knew I had only to ask for a lending hand.
The next morning Thor focused on me at breakfast. It was as if he accused me of intentions to leave him behind again. When I picked up his leash, he literally danced to the door. With him at my side I didn’t mind walking.
"Just be there when I need you, Thor," I reminded him.
The walk was brisk and we turned the corner at Roasted Love. I glanced at the trash bin that I once escaped to safety from the ferocious monster by my side.
"Remember how you attacked me on this spot, Thor? You’re lucky I took you in."
Thor tugged at the leash. Trash was spread out around the bin as if someone threw some in and missed the large container. I made a mental note to remind everyone to be sure trash got in under the lid. Thor was relentless while he yanked me toward the garbage. He went for some leftover food in a plastic bag.
"Get away from that, Thor," I commanded, to no avail.
He tore open the sack and quickly gobbled a half-eaten bagel with cream cheese on it. My eyes riveted on the other contents that included several envelopes. Michael Simms’ name was printed on the outside of all three of them.
I wondered how trash from Sunrise landed on this side of the street. I bent to pick it all up as I pushed Thor aside with a bite of bagel hanging from his mouth. Picking up the envelopes, I saw there was more. A picture of Michael and his brother James lay beneath the scattered stack. It was exactly like the one I saw in the Senator’s foyer except this one showed a third person in the same photo. On the back side of the photo was written: Mike, James, John. Under the names was the word ‘redemption.’
Questions flooded me again. Why did James Simms cut out John from his framed picture? I was sure John was John Andrews. Sifting through the rest of the contents were a few notes that had numbers on them and a blurred photo of a woman who resembled Michael and James. I presumed this was their mother. Glancing around me I gathered the papers and took them inside Roasted Love with me.
Janie was there alone and busy getting scones to the front of the shop. Since Jacob was no longer coming in she opened every morning and was there before me.
"Janie, I’ll start coming in at Jacob’s usual time to help you out."
She nodded agreement and headed to the front. I locked the finds in my locker and clocked in. Until Jacob was released from jail, my days would prove to be long ones.
Janie had little to say throughout the morning, even when she had the chance.
"What’s up, Janie?" I asked her when she handed me the order for a couple of Frappes.
"What do you mean? I’m just busy," she said.
For the first time since I had known her, her manner toward me appeared cool.
"You just seem a little cold toward me. Is it something I’ve done to upset you?" I could be as persistant as my server.
She gave a half smile attempt to be genuine, but failed. "I’m all right. Just a lot of stress with my kids. They need so much and it’s all just ordinary stuff. I may need to get a second job. Can you give me extra hours here by any chance?"
"I’ll see what I can do but I’ll have to talk to Jacob first to make sure it is o.k. with him."
She nodded and hurried to the couple who wanted the Frappes. The nagging impression her behavior had more to do with something other than her kids stayed with me.
Chapter Fifteen
Around eleven I took an espresso into Jacob’s office for a break. Lily and Janie sat at the back table in the front of the coffee house in case customers came in. The office appeared empty without the computers. I gathered receipts from the day before and took them to my locker. Not only would my days at Roasted Love be long ones, but they wouldn’t end when I got home. I decided it made more sense to bring my laptop to work and make the entries there.
Thor didn’t seem to mind the retractable leash I set up for him behind Roasted Love. I made sure it was long enough to give him a little exercise until I could let him off it later in the day. He eagerly accepted a dog treat when I went out to check on him. I pet him and left him happy.
"Looks like some action across the street," Janie said when I came back to the front.
A man and woman stood outside Sunrise. The man gestured to the windows and overall appearance of the place. The SUV in front read West River Realty in bold print on the side of it.
