Caffeine & Killers (A Roasted Love Cozy Mystery Book 3) (7 page)

"Yes, but – "

"And I don’t know of a single one of them
that's not on drugs. We don’t need drug dealers and users moving
into the Piazza. Thank God, they're concentrated in a small area for
now, but I want to stop it right there."

I kept quiet and waited for him to say more. I
didn’t have to wait long.

"My goal," he said, "is to get them
to move somewhere else unless they get jobs and move into some kind
of housing. Right now, they're bringing our city down. We want to
restore that blighted downtown area. We can’t expect businesses to
move back in there if owners and customers have to step around
vagrants just to get inside their buildings."

"How would you get the homeless to move?"
I asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, I'm glad you asked me that," he
said, with a nice white smile. "Policies can be put in place
that would prevent people from living outside on the streets –
especially from sleeping outside. I’ve been told that the two
shelters we do have in West River fill up fast. And anyway, the
homeless are only allowed to stay there at night. They still wander
the streets all day long."

"What about families with little kids?"
I asked. "I just saw a news story about a homeless woman with
two small children. If she got a job, who would care for those kids?
Day care is expensive and you've got to pay up front."

Carpenter cleared his throat. "Well, now, she
shouldn’t have gotten herself in that situation to begin with. She
probably left her husband – if she ever had one – and struck out
on her own. It was her choice to end up like this."

I stared at him. "Oh – so, most of them
choose this lifestyle? I didn't know that." I wasn't above
playing dumb to get the answers I needed. "But don’t you think
it’s a little cruel to force people to move far away from West
River if they don't want to?" I didn’t mention the fact that
no woman would choose to leave her husband and take her children to
the streets if she didn't have to.

The councilman shuffled some papers on his desk,
trying to look like he was too busy for any more talking. "It’s
for the good of the town I represent. We can’t have people like
that making an already blighted area even worse. Before we know it
they'll spread through the city – even up here."

"What if they don’t want to 'move somewhere
else,' as you put it? What's the next step?"

"Well, ma'am, if it comes to that we'll have
to make sure they go – one way or another. My goal is to get all of
them out of West River."

"What did you think about the man who died?"
I asked.

He switched two folders around and opened one of
them. Then he closed it and placed the first one on top of it. "If
you’re talking about the one who'd been sleeping outside Roasted
Love – well, he's a good example of what I’m talking about. He
once stayed downtown. Then he suddenly appeared on a street like the
Piazza and called it his home. And look at what happened. He brought
violent crime with him to our streets. Surely you don't think anyone
wants that."

He looked at me, and gave me another one of those
fake politician smiles. "If you want to work for me, even part
time, you'd have to be on the same page that we're on here in this
office. Otherwise, you'll be better off sticking with your job at
Roasted Love."

I nodded slowly. "I’ll give it all some
thought," I said. "Thanks for your time."

"Oh, you're welcome, young lady," he
said, as I got up and walked to the door. "We'll look forward to
hearing back from you!"

As I left Carpenter's office, I noticed a short
hallway that led to a side door. I saw an exit sign above the side
door, followed it, and took the back way out. Then I walked around to
the front of the building to get into my car.

I couldn’t believe that Calvin Carpenter would
actually murder one homeless person at a time until they were all
gone from West River... would he?

Just then, I saw a familiar person walk up to the
front door of the office building. It was Ronald Larch.
Well, he
does work here
, I reminded myself. But I was sure glad we hadn’t
met face to face inside.

I lost sight of him as he pulled open the door and
disappeared inside. Between Larch's unknown connection to John, and
Councilman Carpenter’s focus on getting rid of the homeless in West
River, neither one of them could be ruled out as a suspect in what I
was convinced was John’s murder.

Chapter Nine

I had a lot to think about after leaving Calvin
Carpenter's campaign office, and I didn't feel like going straight
home. So, I decided to stop for a dinner out. Daniel had not called
all day, but I was sure I'd hear from him before the night ended. It
wasn’t like him to stay mad for long.

I pulled over, dialed Jacob, and asked him to go
over to my place and take care of Thor for me. He and my dog were
close friends. Thor had taken to my boss with the Doberman’s own
agenda: Jacob always brought his favorite treats for him.

Just as I was having my cell phone search for
nearby restaurants, it suddenly rang. I glanced at the caller I.D.
expecting to see that it was Daniel, but it turned out to be my old
friend Anna Masters.

"I want to get out for a while," she
said. "Have you had dinner yet, Laila?"

I laughed. "I'm wanting to do the same thing.
I'm looking for a place right now."

"Hey, I know just the one! You can meet me at
the Old York Street Bistro. It's only a few blocks away from where
you are right now."

Anna was already standing near the front door of
the Bistro when I pulled into the parking lot, and as always I felt a
little envy when I saw her. Her willowy figure caught everyone’s
eye and she walked like she was on a runway in a fashion show. She
was a little taller than me and her shoulder-length blonde hair
glowed with highlights under the street lamp.

"Oh, it’s been too long, Laila," she
said, as I hurried inside with her. "We should get together more
often."

"Anytime, girlfriend!" I said, and we
both laughed.

In a moment we were sitting down with menus in
hand. Anna managed a high-end boutique at the opposite end of the
Piazza from Roasted Love, and we had a fun time talking about our
work. We pretended to argue over whose job was more stressful and
whose was more glamorous, but the truth was that neither of us wanted
to trade places. Then we sat silently for a few seconds trying to
decide what to order.

And in the quiet, I heard a familiar voice behind
me. I couldn't help but glance back over my shoulder.

At a table behind ours, I saw Ronald Larch sitting
with someone who looked familiar to me. The dim lights hid the other
man's face somewhat and I couldn’t place him. He appeared to be
Larch’s age or maybe a little older, and his hair was brown. That
was all I could see and I wasn't going to sit there twisted around
and staring for long.

I quickly faced forward again. "Do you know
those men?" asked Anna.

"Well, I know one of them because he comes
into Roasted Love. I think I've seen the other one, but can’t
remember where. Do you know them?"

Anna could see the two men by looking straight
forward, and she took a close look. But just then, the server stopped
at our table to take our order. Anna decided on the Quiche Lorraine
and I opted for a tuna and vegetable dish, topped with creamy Mornay
sauce.

"I don’t understand how you keep that
perfect figure with a quiche that includes heavy cream and cheese,"
I said to Anna. "Not to mention smoked bacon."

She laughed. "Well, it does have some spinach
in it, too." I almost forgot about the two men sitting behind us
– until I saw Anna's eyes widen. "Hey – they're getting up,"
she whispered.

Sure enough, the two men stood up to leave and
walked right past our table. Larch did a double-take when he saw me,
and sure seemed to be uncomfortable about being around me.

I had once thought that the only reason he still
came into Roasted Love was because his boss, the councilman, liked
us. But I was still sure that I'd seen the tall man with him
someplace before. I just couldn't think of where.

Once they were out of earshot, Anna sat back. "I
don’t know either one of them. The just look like regular older
guys to me. Why, are you in trouble or something? Is the FBI, DEA or
KGB are looking for you?"

I sat up straight and caught my breath. "DEA!
Yes! That's where I saw him. He was at the precinct house the other
day when I went there to see the Chief of Police!"

"Why were you in the precinct house?"
asked Anna. Her bright blue eyes were round with surprise.

I quickly decided to remain neutral. I wasn’t
ready to tell even my best female friend my reasons for visiting the
Chief of Police of West River just yet. "Oh, I was in the
neighborhood and stopped in to say hello to him. We’ve known each
other for a little while now."

"Yeah, I guess you have," said Anna.
"You helped solve some murder that happened at a restaurant,
didn’t you?"

I nodded, but wanted to move away from that
conversation. Unfortunately, Anna wasn’t ready to do that. "Didn’t
you know the owner of that restaurant?"

"Um, yeah. I mean, Daniel knew him. We ate
there the night it all happened." I grabbed the chance to change
the subject. "Hey, where are you going on vacation this year?"
I asked, and we had a little fun chatting away about where we'd like
to go. Anna could afford to go someplace more exotic than I could, so
I often allowed myself to live vicariously through her.

I really did enjoy the rest of my night out. The
food was great and so was the girl talk that went with it. By the
time I arrived home, I felt a lot more relaxed. A night out with Anna
was always a good thing.

# # #

When I opened the door to my home, I found Jacob
sitting comfortably in my easy chair watching TV. Thor had his head
resting on Jacob’s knee. "I hope you found something to eat,
Jacob. You know you didn’t have to stay here with Thor the whole
time."

"I brought in some burgers and fries for
myself," said my boss. "I did get into that bottle of wine
you've got, for one small glass. Not bad. How was your evening out?"

"Oh, I had a great time. Went out with my
friend Anna Masters. I don't get to see her nearly enough."

"Well, good. You need a little down time."

"Sure." I debated whether or not to say
anything about my ongoing private investigation of John's death. I'd
promised Daniel I would not tell Jacob about the official notes that
he'd shared with me. And Officer Leo Swenson wouldn’t appreciate
that information going out to just anyone, either.

"Did any calls come in for me?" I asked,
as Jacob got up from the easy chair and picked up his jacket.

"I heard your house phone ring a couple of
times, but I'm not about to check your messages." He did have a
sense of humor.

"Oh, that's all right. Thanks for taking care
of Thor."

Jacob just waved his hand. "My pleasure. I
like hanging out with him. See you tomorrow, Laila." He opened
the door and left, closing it again rather loudly behind him.

I went straight into my bedroom and checked my
messages, but neither was from Daniel – it was nothing but
telemarketers. I was just sitting on the edge of the bed feeling
disappointed when my cell rang.

My heart leapt when I saw Daniel’s name. "Hey!
How are you?" I said, a little breathless.

"Hey, Laila. I’m sorry I haven’t called
you sooner. I guess I just needed time to cool off."

It seemed to me that twenty-four hours was plenty
long enough for that, but I didn't mention it. "It’s all
right, Daniel. I know I upset you. And I'm sorry."

"Laila, I just don't want you walking into
stuff that's far more dangerous than you realize. Okay?"

I couldn't help but smile. "Okay." It
was nice to have somebody worry about me, I had to admit.

"So – you're going to leave the
investigating up to the cops from now on. Right?"

I hesitated. And that wasn’t lost on Daniel. He
sighed deeply. "Laila – just don’t go back down to West
River’s Skid Row. That’s the most I can ask of you."

Suddenly I really wanted to talk to him about
John’s death. "Daniel," I said, "I could sure use
you as a sounding board. I respect your concerns. I really do. It’s
just that – I miss John and I feel pretty bad about him dying alone
on the street. That shouldn't happen to anyone."

He paused, and I was sure he was smiling. "I
miss our talks, too, Laila. I’m on call for the rest of tonight,
but can I take you out for dinner tomorrow? Or if you want, we could
get take-out someplace and just stay in."

I jumped at the invitation. "You bet."

"Okay, then. I'll bring Chinese to your place
tomorrow evening."

"Perfect. See you then."

I hung up the phone, feeling better than I had for
quite some time.

Chapter Ten

While working at Roasted Love the next day, it was
hard to keep my mind on my job. I kept thinking of Councilman Calvin
Carpenter and my talk with him.

Somehow I had to find a way to get into his files
at his campaign headquarters. He'd said how much he wanted the
homeless to "just disappear." In my mind, there was a very
real possibility that he was responsible for the murder of poor John.

But actually killing someone would have been a
huge risk for the councilman, I reminded myself. By the time I'd left
his headquarters the other day, he was already suspicious of me for
just wandering in and asking to work on his campaign. My little ruse
hadn't been lost on him.

# # #

Once I was off work that evening, I decided to
drive by Carpenter's headquarters before meeting Daniel at my
apartment. I wanted to know how long the office stayed opened at the
end of the day, and then I could set my plan in action.