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"The only thing Steven heard was Cassie's voice. She told Frank she would kill him if he didn't keep it a secret. He had no idea what the ‘it' was and that's all he picked up on."
"I hope he gave the police that bit of information," I said.
"He didn't want to get Cassie into trouble. He is sure she wouldn't actually carry out a threat like that. It's like Steven said. ‘We all make threats like that one time or another when we argue.'"
I could recall times when I may have thought that, but never said it out loud.
"Steven said Cassie has a tendency to get a little melodramatic at times. He just knew she was mad at Frank for some reason."
"I don't have any ideas on that but I still think Steven should have told the cops about it. I wonder what makes them so sure Frank didn't accidentally let the door close. He may have locked himself in there without meaning to."
"If that's the case, then what about your blood evidence?" said Daniel. "Frank has worked in restaurant kitchens for the past six years, according to Steven. I doubt he would ever make a mistake like that. Most restaurants have a mechanism on the inside of freezers to free anyone who is caught inside. You have to remember the lock was tampered with outside the freezer. That would mess up any means of getting out. That tells us that it was done on purpose so no one would find Frank too soon. The murderer had to have time to cover evidence that might implicate him."
"That's true. He gave himself all night and into the next afternoon to cover his tracks."
The man across from me wrinkled his forehead. "I'm thinking of postponing my trip home a few days. I can't leave Steven like this."
I reached for his hands that were clasped on the edge of the table. "You need to get home to see your family. You are long overdue for that." I knew Daniel had to make amends to his father for something. Prolonging that wasn't a good idea since there had been a time when they were very close. "I don't leave for another week. I'll take over for you. I promise I'll see that Steven gets fair treatment."
I knew I had to tell him about Steven showing up from nowhere and changing the tire. I just wasn't sure now was the time. He was so loyal to his friend. Daniel smiled at me and his face smoothed out once more. He made me promise to keep him informed more than once a day. I promised him that every time something opened up in the case I would call him first.
Daniel resigned himself to my promise. He really had no choice. His family was more than excited to see him from what he had told me. I was sure his father was included in that. Steven Landers would be fine. He had nothing to worry about if he was innocent of murdering his dishwasher. The only thing that kept me looking for clues that would exonerate him was the fact I cared about Daniel and Steven was his friend. I was doing it for him.
We stood up. I had to get to work and finish the day at Roasted Love. Daniel had to get packed. He told me he was going to call Steven. "I'll tell him to call you if anything comes up," said the Paramedic. I shuddered but didn't object.
When he left the coffee shop, I rejoined Lily. We finished the day together with the help of Jacob and Lily's son, Eddie. We all left at the same time. I had Christmas shopping to do. Jacob promised to go by my apartment and take care of feeding Thor. He and my dog were best buddies.
I headed for the specialty jewelry shop a couple of blocks from Roasted Love. I had seen a necklace I thought would be perfect for my mother. She never left the house without her jewelry on. This one was a Crystal Cube Firejewel necklace, and one I knew she would love. I drove my car down to the other end of the Piazza and parked in the only space left at the front door of the shop. I moved between customers until I got to the display case near the register. The crystal stones shone under the lights. I breathed a sigh of relief that it was still there.
"Hello, Laila," said Melissa, the shop owner. "I see you are looking at the necklace again."
"Yes, and I'm buying this time."
I watched as she opened the glass display cabinet and placed the necklace across the surface. The necklace would be perfect for any outfit my mother wore. Melissa offered to wrap it for me and I accepted. Gift wrapping would take more time than I wanted to spend on Christmas. Besides, I would never get it to look like Melissa's. When she returned with it, I complimented her on the artistic way the box looked. My nex
t stop was the mall.
At the center of the mall I noticed a Santa sitting in a large chair. Two elves were on either side of him and a painted mural gave the backdrop for them. It looked like the North Pole in the distance and Santa's sleigh and reindeer were in the forefront of the picture.
My attention was brought back to the real scene in front of me. Children lined up waiting their turn with Santa. The child on Santa's lap puckered up, on the verge of tears. Santa told the little girl not to cry and that he only brought toys to children who were good. Those remarks were all it took for the irate mother to yell at Santa.
"She is good. What crazy Santa would say such a thing?" she screamed at him.
The little girl burst into tears. Down the line more children could be heard sobbing. Parents were either scolding their children or consoling them. It was then that I realized Santas who tried to make children happy during holiday time had a hard time of it. As for me, the hassle alone would motivate me to get another job. The whole scenario made me understand how people stressed out during this season. It would only take one upset parent to take it all out on a defenseless man trying to give some cheer at Christmastime.
Maybe a child's parent had gotten mad at Frank. Overly-protective parents could take things personal when it came to their children. I had observed that on occasion when in stores or restaurants. I moved away from the unhappy events surrounding Santa and finished my evening at a nearby bookstore. My father loved books about past wars across the world. I knew the one to get him so it didn't take long; then to finish his gift at the hardware store.
Next, I drove to Steven's Steakhouse with the intentions of asking employees if any parents disliked Frank for the way he treated children. I pushed aside negative thoughts about the owner. I was taking this case on for one reason only. That was because Daniel was adamant on proving his best friend innocent of murder.
I didn't want any long conversations with Steven Landers. I mainly wanted to talk with his employees. It is all for Daniel, I reminded myself.
Chapter Five
By the time I arrived at Steven's Steakhouse, my watch read 9:00. There was a light on behind the counter. I knew the restaurant didn't usually close this early. When I got to the door, the sign reminded me they were closed temporarily due to the crime. I pressed my face to the glass door and saw Steven under the muted light. I took a deep breath and tapped on the door. He waved at me and came to let me in.
"Come on in," he said. "As you can see, we aren't open for business."
I told him I wanted to thank him for helping me out the night before. Then I got down to business at hand. "How long are they going to make you keep your business closed?" I asked him. I vowed to keep my voice steady.
