A Cup of Murder (2 page)

“Don’t worry, Laila, I’ll watch myself. I
never mind competition but I just wish it hadn’t been Michael Simms
who moved in across from me. He has been out to get me from day one.”

Jacob followed me to the front of the shop when
suddenly, like a sudden storm on the horizon, his face reddened again
and the fire returned to his eyes that now focused away from me. My
gaze landed on our opponent. Michael Simms swaggered back out his
door and stood with his back to Roasted Love observing his painted
windows. There was no room for any more of his art work that I could
see. His superior manner told me he was simply admiring the display
and on purpose, flaunted his egotistical demeanor for us to observe.
This tactic worked his purpose well on Jacob Weaver.

“I’m going over there right now and tell him
to get out of this neighborhood before it is too late,” said Jacob.

I grabbed his arm and dodged to avoid his
reaction. This time it was aimed at me and I stopped him in time to
sidestep his blow. I stood there and gaped at Jacob as if the man in
front of me was someone I had never met before. The last of the
customers scurried out of the coffee house. I glared at Jacob with
flashing eyes.

“You just emptied your own coffee house of what
is left of faithful clients,” I said.

This time he chose to ignore me. His rage simmered
before he turned and I believe he muttered an apology. At least
that’s what I thought he said as he stalked back to the kitchen. I
threw my hands in the air and slammed the door behind me on my way
out. As much as I wanted to remain faithful to Roasted Love’s owner
right now, that feat was dormant, in fact, it was hidden deep enough
within me that I thought it no longer existed which scared me.

Mumbling to myself, I fumbled in my purse for my
car keys as I stepped outside. My hands shook and I dropped the keys
on the sidewalk. In an instant a menacing growl was at my heels.
Impossible to get into my car now, I raced around the corner of
Roasted Love and managed to jump on top of the dumpster while the
huge black Doberman bared his teeth at me and stood his ground.

“Back off, Thor,” said a voice. A low chuckle
escaped the man. “Don’t tell me you are afraid of a dog.”

The sneer on his face and the taunting he pointed
in my direction was equal to, if not more sinister than the attack
dog who reluctantly backed away. Short gasps of air escaped from my
throat as I attempted to regain my composure. Deep grey eyes
penetrated mine. They were similar to a foggy day when it was hard to
find ones way; in this case, unreadable. I shuddered. All of my
reactions took split seconds to swerve around throughout my body. The
question of ‘what was wrong with this man anyway’ seared my mind.
He and his dog had some serious anger issues. I wondered if Michael
Simms ever showed that side to Jen. I ignored the image of her
fluttering eyelashes.

“Why don’t you leash this monster or don’t
you know there are leash laws here?” I could be as snippy as anyone
when I chose. This man in particular managed to bring out the worse
in me.

“I advise you to quit Roasted Love,” he said,
ignoring my question. So yet another trait of his disagreeable nature
showed itself. “That place is on the road to closing down. You
surely don’t want to be left with a bankrupted business on your
resume, do you? You are the Barista, aren’t you?”

I sputtered trying to come up with a retort that
would tear all the way down to his soul. When I finally came up with
the perfect answer he had already turned on his heels, summoned Thor
the monster and strode away. I immediately forgot what that perfect
reply was going to be. Sweat that had been held in check rolled down
between my shoulders and my palms slipped when I slid off the
dumpster.

“We’ll see who bankrupts first. You don’t
deserve to be in this otherwise peaceful neighborhood, Michael Simms.
I hope that the worst thing that can happen to you will happen.” I
knew he was out of earshot, but it helped to get it said.

I continued to mutter threats to the owner of
Sunrise under my breath while I picked up my keys and opened my car.
I slumped in the seat and took deep breaths. Glad I had driven to
work that morning rather than my usual walk, I started the ignition.
I had wanted to run needed errands but lost interest in that soon
enough. I was glad I wasn’t going to be walking home after that
episode. I would have been too rattled while wondering if they
followed me, all set for a second scare. I chortled nervously. The
man and his dog were out of sight but not out of mind.

Chapter Two

Thoughts of Jacob’s outburst earlier flooded
over me. He had never showed anger like that in all the time I had
known him. He certainly had never come even close to hitting me. His
rival was to blame for bringing forth such wrath in Jacob Weaver. My
boss harbored anger deeper than I had ever seen in any man. I was at
a loss as to how Jacob allowed the owner of Sunrise to get to him. He
neglected his own business now that the seething inside him mounted
on a daily basis. Jacob was losing sight of the quality business he
had built over the years and that would do him in, not Michael Simms.

Clearing traffic, I pulled from the curb. Neither
the owner of Sunrise, nor his Barista Jen Perry, was in sight which
was fine with me. It was time to get home and forget the nightmarish
day. I loved my job but maybe I had outlived it all and should search
for something else. Something told me now was not the time to toy
with ideas like that. Besides, I had rent and utilities to think
about. The day I found my cute little bungalow was my lucky day. I
had overheard someone in the coffee house saying they had a rental
available and I pounced on it. It was small but I loved it. Best of
all, I could afford it.

When I reached my driveway, I was still a bit
unsettled. I needed a distraction. I called my best friend Sara and
ask how her day had gone. My longtime friend’s voice never failed
to soothe me. I didn’t tell her about mine except the incident with
the dog attack. I felt somewhat better once I heard Sara’s story of
the oddities of a new employee she worked with at the bookstore
several blocks down on the Piazza. I hung up slightly recovered and
was ready to go relax a bit with a light dinner and a book.

An uneasy feeling overtook me when I put the key
in my front door lock. I glanced around and everything looked as
normal as usual. I vowed to calm down. My neighbor, Ed from next door
waved when I caught his eye. He was retired and now spent most of his
time making his yard a showplace with blooming flowers and greenery
in just the right places for all of us to admire. If my tulips came
up in the spring I was happy with my yard but the more he worked at
his, the more meager mine looked. At least I had chosen a
neighborhood with friendly people. All the houses were similar to my
small bungalow but none looked identical to any of the others. Hues
of varied colors gave each a special identity of its own.

I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder once
again before I swung my door open. I had no known enemies, unless I
now counted Michael Simms and Thor. As unsettling as my experience
was, I strongly doubted they had followed me home. Allowing my scare
to cause paranoia was not something I planned to let happen. I
dropped my purse on the small cherry table inside my bedroom and then
deposited an empty latte paper cup in the trash and sat down. I was
certain my jumpiness had to do with the scare Thor the monster gave
me, and his master’s response was hard to shake from my head. But
Jacob’s actions bothered me even more. Deep breaths came in handy
at times like this.

While cutting vegetables for a salad and seasoning
the pork chop for searing, I realized I wasn't going to shake off the
events of the day. I finally accepted that and directed thoughts down
a more productive avenue. I knew a detailed plan to retrieve Roasted
Love’s business was imperative and had to be done sooner than
later. It would prove no easy task unless I could persuade Jacob to
curtail his temper and focus on our customers and their satisfaction.
He had to be made to realize he was driving customers away ever since
Sunrise opened a month earlier. Losing the rest of our clientele
would only prove Michael Simms right. That was not an option.

I took my food out to the bricked patio with a
glass of fruit-infused sparkling water to complete the meal. I
savored my food and watched two birds at the cherub-shaped fountain a
few yards away. The fountain had been here since before I moved in. I
liked watching the birds tease each other when they splashed in the
water. Ground cover surrounded the cherubs and a large red maple
towered over the scene. The birds seemed to be arguing or was that my
imagination? I shook my head and breathed in the refreshingly cool
evening air. I had no intentions of watching anyone else get mad at
anyone and especially two birds that should have been, in my
estimation chirping happily and getting along.

Thoughts of how to save Roasted Love flooded over
me but none in particular hit like I hoped. The idea of calling Jacob
and telling him I wanted to meet with him away from the coffee house
entered my mind. I rethought that inspiration. My day did not need to
be extended any further. Instead, I decided to face my boss directly
the first thing in the morning. I hoped he had managed to control his
mood by that time.

The two birds now perched close together. I was
satisfied they had come to terms with whatever put them at odds
earlier. The sky turned to night and dozens of glittering stars
appeared that soothed my being. It'd be nice if you could actually
see the millions that were up there, but such is life in the city.
Once back inside, though, the events of the day seeped back in. The
restlessness I felt covered me again. It was going to be a long of
fitful sleep and tossing and turning.

After the attack dog Thor had threatened me and
his master taunted me, it goes without saying that my sleep was
taunted with dreams of a huge black creature lunging at me and again
and again. In the middle of each nightmare, I awoke in time to escape
the large sharp teeth. In one such dream, a laughing man stood in the
background watching as if his choice lion was in the arena and sure
to win over the weak prey set before him.

I finally got out of bed around four in the
morning and sat at my kitchen table. I decided I may as well start
getting my plan to save Roasted Love in action, or at least get a
plan down on paper. The coffee pot cycle ended and I stumbled to get
a cup from the cabinet. Settling at the table again I noted the paper
was still as blank as my mind. I laid my head on the shiny oak
surface and fell asleep.

If I knew what caused my unrest the night before,
I’m not sure it would have made any difference.

Chapter Three

Jerking awake when my head rolled to the edge of
the hard table top I noted six a.m. on the wall clock. Once showered
and renewed, I made up my mind that this day was a blank palate to
paint a new outlook for Roasted Love. The sunshine flowed through my
windows and I knew today was a good day to walk to work. The only
requirements for me this day was to take a positive look at my job
and do it to the best of my ability. All errands could wait to be
taken care of until later in the week.

I decided that some early morning exercise would
lift my spirits, and despite yesterday's run-in, I was going to walk
to work. Neighbors on the tree-lined street were moving toward their
own day. A couple of them were outside retrieving newspapers or
getting into their cars. I knew at least two of them would be in
Roasted Love for their favorite lattes before heading on to work.

“It’s going to be a beautiful day,” I said
to no one in particular.

Talking to myself so much was probably not a good
idea. It could be one of those habits that one day people would look
at me and point to the lady babbling to herself. I decided I didn’t
really care what people thought down the road. Nothing was going to
spoil my day today.

It didn’t take long to discover that the day was
not going to be so beautiful after all. I was a block from the Piazza
when I heard sirens. When I turned the corner to Roasted Love, the
street was dotted with police cars and an ambulance. The revolving
lights interrupted the beams of sunshine. I saw two officers roping
off the street with yellow tape that extended to the Sunrise. Dread
overtook all optimism I felt earlier and I wondered what had
happened.

My eye caught sight of a muscular young man was
helping load a gurney onto an ambulance. His thick black hair was
short and between the sun rays and flashing lights it looked like
lightning strikes hitting it. My eyes shifted to the form that was
covered on the stretcher. A shock of blond hair could be seen from
under the edge of the unzipped covering. I froze.

The handsome paramedic glanced in my direction
with a half smile as he hurriedly finished zipping the bag. I bumped
into the door of Roasted Love and quickly grabbed the rail to steady
myself before walking inside. A few customers sat in front of now
frothless lattes and cappuccinos and stared out the window. Partially
eaten French toast and blueberry muffins were arranged on Roasted
Love’s signature plates. Janie, the server behind the counter cast
large luminous eyes in my direction and motioned toward the kitchen
behind her. Without a word, I kept going toward the kitchen.

Jacob sat in the corner near the time clock
wringing his hands and muttering incoherently. I heard words like ‘I
can’t go back to prison again’ or similar but I got the meaning
of what he was saying. Not ready to talk to him, I ignored Jacob,
getting a sicker feeling in my stomach by the minute. I punched the
time clock, shoved my stuff in my locker and continued past Jacob as
if he was not there. He didn’t look up at me, but kept moaning
which told me he didn’t know I passed by him.