Hot Coffee Iced Santa (Roasted Love Cozy 2)

"That is a huge relief for me. I have to think about Jason Miller, the high school kid, too. He's quite a flirt. I'm not so sure he wouldn't wear something strong like that thinking it was a way to get the girls." I felt now was the time to tell Daniel all I knew about Peter Darcy. I decided to let him in on the stalker, too.

"Laila, for your own safety, my advice is to hand this over to Chief Hayes. You have gathered a lot of information."

“He knows about the stalker. I don’t know if it was Peter D’Arcy or not. The Chief told me it could have been someone stalking others in the neighborhood.”

Daniel’s voice was filled with concern. “I can’t tell you often enough to be very careful. I’ll call again very soon.”

I leaned back and thought of everything we talked about. It called for courage, but I had to make another visit to Jared Freedman.

Chapter Twenty

There was no time in the next day to get to Jared's office again. My cell phone rang mid-afternoon. I had just sat down for a break with Lily. We were talking about errands I needed to run before packing up for my trip. She told me about gifts she had bought for her family.

"Hi, Laila," said Steven. "Do you have a minute? Several friends of mine are going up to Windham Mountain and do a little skiing. Do you want to come with us?"

"It sounds like a good idea, but I don't do so well skiing. I've never gotten off the baby hill."

"Don't worry. None of us are all that good except for my friend Jason. He's a ski instructor. He likes to help people out. You know, like hone their skills?"

I had to laugh. "It would be more than honing my skills. Besides, I'm on a tight schedule right now. I've got to get ready for my trip home."

He paused for a few seconds. When he returned, his voice sounded close to begging. "You need to take some time and have a little fun. It looks to me like all you do is work. And the way you have gotten into the murder mystery tells me there is no time for Laila."

I finally convinced him I would take a rain check on the invitation. If Daniel was here, I would look forward to a getaway like that. I didn't tell Steven that.

"Okay, if that's the way you want it. I can cook a dinner for you tonight, if you want." Steven Landers was leaning a little too hard on me. I had no intentions of making dinners a regular thing with him.

"What about Cassie? Ask her to go skiing with you or to one of your dinners." I thought of Cassie's lifestyle and her meager house. Steven was in a position to rent skis for her.

"She is going skiing. She's had a few lessons and is doing pretty well with it all. She told me she is too busy tonight for a special dinner."

I picked up on a slight derision in his voice in his last statement. I most definitely didn't want to fill the gap for Steven when Cassie wasn't available. When we ended the call, my inclination was to shake Steven Landers off my shoulders.

Lily and I finished our conversation while I tried to forget about Steven. That evening when we closed Roasted Love, I felt the need for company. I asked Jacob if he wanted to stop by later for a coffee with me. I needed to talk to someone face to face. I thought a different opinion on things would be good, too. I could trust Jacob.

When Jacob arrived at my door an hour after we closed, he handed me a large sack. I smelled the aroma of Chinese food. "I hope you didn't include chopsticks this time," I said.

"I almost did, but thought I razzed you enough the last time. I'm glad I caved last time and got you silverware before you starved yourself."

We both laughed at the memory. I moved stuff from the kitchen table and we spread the food out. Thor had eaten and watched us from the corner of the kitchen on his mat.

"I want to tell you about this investigation I'm into. Maybe you have some input that I haven't seen yet. I can't get the look on Frank Duvall's face out of my mind. He was so, so, well I guess so dead. His face was contorted and I think he knew a violent death was imminent."

"I remember how shaken you were when you told me how he was found." Jacob patted my hand. "You have to get that part out of your mind, Laila."

I agreed on that. "Do you know Jared Freedman? He is an investment banker or something like that in the West River Bank building."

"I remember several years back something happened at the bank that involved him," said Jacob. "I don't recall just what it was but I think it had something to do with him or his office."

I stopped eating. "Do you mean he was in some kind of trouble?"

"I just don't remember what it was all about. In his business, it most likely had something to do with a disgruntled investor. The markets aren't always that stable, you know." He picked up his chopsticks and went for a shrimp. I watched him as he successfully included a chow mein noodle and popped it into his mouth. "Why are you asking about Jared Freedman?"

I told him about seeing him in his office. "He was more than ready to end the conversation with me about possibilities of Frank investing money there. There was just something left unsaid and no way did he want to say anything else."

"He probably can't divulge bank information and was sticking to policies."

"I get that, but there was just something evasive about him. He has an angry side." I told him about the woman who interrupted us. "The look Jared gave her was none other than menacing."