A Cup of Murder (Roasted Love Cozy 1)

The more I realized how deep the rivalry between the coffee house owners had gone, the more I knew Jacob had done a good job of convicting himself. The immature actions on the parts of two grown men definitely had gone too far.

"My suggestion is for you to find all exchanges with Michael tonight and get rid of them in your home. Early tomorrow do the same thing at Roasted Love. For now, let’s get back to my corkboard. You can help me see things I haven’t figured out yet."

I glanced in his direction and saw him look at his name in bold print down the left side of the board. He may as well know I was picking at him just like anyone else that could be the murderer. He commented on how many times I had his name and actions up there.

"I had to put everything I’ve observed so far and you have to admit, Jacob, that your behavior has been a little erratic since Michael Simms first opened Sunrise."

He nodded his head. "It’s good, I guess, to see it written down and I know that once the cops interview people about me a little more, they won’t have to see it in writing. Just listening to them will give the same picture as what you have pinned up here."

"What about Michael’s wife?" asked Jacob. "I heard they didn’t get along so well."

"I’ve thought about her but haven’t gotten anything up there yet. Jen told me she and Michael were having an affair. He broke it off, telling her he wanted to mend his relationship with his wife. It is all hearsay but she could be a suspect."

I wrote ‘Michael’s wife’ on an index card, noted possible resentment at his affairs from her standpoint and pinned it on the top right side. I provided each suspect with their own column. I commented to Jacob that she would be someone who would meet with Michael at the coffee house. I didn’t even know her name at this point. I'm sure it was mentioned in the article I had read about Michael, but her name seemed to be a footnote in comparison to his and his family's accomplishments.

"Why would they not meet in their own home in that case?" asked Jacob.

"Good point," I said. "Let’s move on."

"What about the Real Estate guy that had problems with Michael when he first wanted to buy the place? What was his name?" asked Jacob.

"Robert Mitchell. I heard he moved his real estate office to Upstate New York about a week after he closed the deal with Michael. Once the deal was done I doubt he ever talked to Michael again."

We talked about Jen Perry. She was upset about Michael breaking up with her. There was no way to know how much truth was in what she had told me so far. She could be just building her own case and throwing it out to me as a test to see how plausible it was. I mentioned to Jacob her comment about Michael’s argument with his brother, the Senator on the phone.

We decided to call it a night. We both had a lot to think about.

I stretched out in bed and decided to seek Jen Perry before she approached me again on her own. I wanted to ask her more questions about her relationship with Michael Simms.

Chapter Eleven

When I left my house the next morning with Thor by my side the sun was out bright. Sun streaming through leaves on the trees was the only light I saw to begin my day. Once again I sensed someone watching me and the feeling within me was the same as the night I arrived home after Michael’s murder. I looked around and saw nothing except the usual morning activity along the street.

Thor walked alongside me and I was glad I had the dog with me. I knew all too well how ferocious he could be when called upon for protection. Rounding the corner just before Roasted Love the unsettling feeling rushed through me again and I picked up the pace while I considered asking Jacob to give me a ride home later that day.

Ahead of me at the curb was a patrol car. Two uniformed policemen were bringing Jacob Weaver out of Roasted Love, handcuffed. I stood still. He didn’t see me and I did not bring attention to myself. His face ashen, he stumbled a little when they put him into the cruiser. One officer placed his hand on top of Jacob’s head as he dipped into the backseat, out of sight. I turned to the alley behind our coffee house and came in through the back door. Janie was taking something out of the oven and I caught the whiff of burned egg hash.

"Jacob was just arrested," she said.

I reached for a hot pad and took the long pan from her hands before she let go. It seemed her whole body was on a fast course to collapsing.

"I saw them putting him into the car," I said. "What happened?"

"The two cops who were here the other day came in and asked for him. I took them back to where he was just putting the egg hash into the oven. We had several people wanting some so he went ahead and made the full pan."

I encouraged her to go on about the arrest.

"The next thing I knew they had Jacob in handcuffs and brought him through the main part of Roasted Love. Not a table was empty and I felt so bad for Jacob," she said.

I could imagine how he felt. More than humiliation, I was sure all he could think about was go

ing back behind bars again. Of all days, today would be busier than ever with everyone wanting to gossip and pick up as much information as possible about the unfolding of the mystery of Jacob Weaver’s arrest. There was no chance for me to get to the jail to visit Jacob right away.

"Did they say why they were arresting him?"

"Just that they were arresting him for the murder of Michael Simms."

My heart sank. They had the wrong man. I had no real reason to pin the murder on anyone else at this early stage of my investigation but I knew Jacob had not killed his rival. I ran the picture of my corkboard over again in my mind. I had Jacob’s name up there, Michael’s wife whose name remained unknown to me, Jen Perry and this morning while sipping my coffee I had written James Simms on a new card with the intentions of completing what I knew about him down his branch of the tree. Then there were several merchants on the Piazza who had run-ins with Sunrise’s owner in the past.