Hot Coffee Iced Santa (Roasted Love Cozy 2)

"Right now we are learning Jazz/Hip Hop. If you don't believe me, I can get the card that tells you the name of the studio. You can check it out. We sign in and out of every class."

Jason went to his locker and pulled out a card. Then he opened his wallet to show me his membership number. The classes were given at the YMCA. I was surprised that someone with a reputation like Jason's was interested in dance lessons. Maybe there was hope for him after all.

I took the business card and tucked it in my pocket.

"Instead of looking at me, they should be looking at the owner of the Steakhouse. He had more reasons than I did to kill Duvall. I just liked to harass the old man when he pretended to be Santa. Kids shouldn't be told a man in a red suit can give them anything they want. It just gives parents an excuse to lie to their kids."

I got to the point. "What reason would Steven Landers have to murder his dishwasher?" I asked.

Jason opened his mouth to answer just when a loud bell shrilled through the hallways. "That's the signal everyone has to leave the school grounds," he yelled above the clanging noise. "Come on out with me and I'll tell you plenty."

I followed him to the parking lot. We agreed to meet at an ice cream shop a block from school. When we got to the destination, I got into his car after parking next to his. He kept the heater running. I kept myself aware of the door handle in case I needed a fast escape.

"So tell me why you think Steven Landers killed Santa," I said.

Jason scowled at the mention of Santa but he looked me in the eye. "The owner had a thing going with one of his servers. Cassie Johnson and he were pretty close if you get my drift."

I got his drift. "How do you know that?"

"Before I was banned from the restaurant, I ate there once in a while. It was a good place to take a date if you wanted to impress her. Everyone knew Cassie Johnson dated the old man. None of us could figure that one out. Then the next thing I knew she and Steven Landers had it going. The looks they gave each other couldn't be missed."

It could mean nothing. Steven Landers was a womanizer. "That doesn't mean he killed Frank."

"He is someone who should be a suspect. I heard him argue one night with the old Santa guy over something when they left the restaurant. He accused Steven of hanging out with Cassie on his break times. Steven yelled back that it was none of his business since the old man and Cassie had broken up."

"What were you doing at that time of the night near the restaurant?"

"Some friends of mine were with me and we were just walking around. Most of the stores were closed by then. We went to the back of the employee parking area to hang out. They were the only two out there and getting ready to go home, I guess. From the sounds of things, I would say they didn't get along well."

Here was someone who had a reputation for getting into trouble more than once with the law. At the same time, Jason Miller studied dance, which said there might be a little substance to the kid. I believed him when he said he had nothing to do with murder. He was a mixed up teenager, but I didn't get the impression he would stoop to killing anyone. The tale he told me about Cassie and Steven was something new.

"There were plenty of times when the old man and Steven glared at each other. I guess the dishwasher wasn't so happy about his boss dating his young girlfriend. I don't think that sat well with him."

"Okay, thanks for the information. Keep out of trouble so you won't be a suspect again," I said as I opened the car door. "This talk doesn't get you completely off the hook, though."

I had to keep the fear going in him. I meant to keep him on his toes if nothing else. It was time for me to get back to Roasted Love and finish my workday.

"Yeah, all right," said Jason. The last I saw him he sauntered into the ice cream shop. I watched him wave to a group of his friends. When he sat down in the booth, his long legs sprawled into the aisle for anyone to trip over his feet. I doubted that mattered to him.

I was pretty sure I could eliminate Jason Miller as the killer. He didn't have the best of reputations when it came to getting into trouble, but I decided a lot of his antics were for show. His status as suspect fed his ego in front of his friends.

I wished Daniel and I could get together. There was too much to tell him in a phone call. Facial expressions and body language were important in our conversations. Sometimes we read each other like a book.

I tried to imagine Daniel with his family. From what he told me, his extended family gathered daily throughout the holidays. I wondered what that would be like. I was an only child. I had a few cousins but none lived closed to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

I reran the talk with Jason Miller in my head. I came up with nothing that pointed to him. Steven Landers loomed big as a possible suspect. It was news to me that he dated Frank's former girlfriend, and it all happened right under the dishwasher's nose. That surely rattled the atmosphere and fed the animosity between them.

Jared Freedman wasn't far behind. I had to learn more about my increasing suspect list.

Chapter Eleven

Later that evening, I called Daniel to let him know the latest in regard to Jason Miller and the news he gave me.

"Did you know Steven was the younger person Cassie dropped Frank for?"

"I had no idea it was Cassie. I knew he was dating someone," said Daniel, "but he didn't tell me who she was. Until you and I went to eat there I hadn't seen Steven for a few weeks."

"I guess we should remember that it was Jason Miller who gave me that information. He may be trying to implicate someone so the police will leave him alone," I said. "Do you think Frank could have been blackmailing someone else? It wasn't beyond him to do that to Cassie Johnson."