Free A Cup of Murder by Cam Larson Page B

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 going 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.
    Janie handed me three orders for espresso and I
began my daily routine. Ignoring conversations proved next to
impossible to do but I resolved to not participate in any way. I
overheard two people avowing innocence of Jacob Weaver. Others nodded
their heads in agreement, but I wondered how long that loyalty would
hold.
    "I heard they found some evidence against
Jacob over at Sunrise," said a woman near the counter.
    "What was it?" asked her companion.
    "I don’t know. I just know they found
something."
    It was going to be a long day. Janie handed me
another order for cappuccino and French toast. By this time Lily was
in and so our work was evenly divided. I explained briefly to Lily
what was going on. The sympathy in her eyes was genuine as she went
right to work. There were no words necessary from Lily, Janie or me
to one another.
    "There’s someone at that back table who
wants to talk to you, Laila," said Janie.
    "Tell whoever it is I’ll see them as soon
as I’m caught up. Who is it?"
    "I think it is that Barista from Sunrise but
I’m not sure," said Janie.
    I glanced back and it was Jen Perry. She gazed out
the window and her eyes landed on Sunrise. Now I had three important
tasks to complete: work as usual, talk with Jen Perry and get to the
jail as soon as possible. I wiped my hands on a towel and told Lily
and Janie I would take only a few minutes to talk with Jen and be
right back.
    "I know you are busy, Laila," said the
Sunrise Barista, "but I had to talk with you when I heard Jacob
was arrested a little while ago."
    It was uncanny how she showed up on the Piazza
since Sunrise had not reopened yet. I told her we were swamped as she
could tell while I quickly glanced at my watch.
    "Leticia Simms was a jealous woman,"
said Jen.
    "Is that Michael's wife's name?" I
asked, making a mental note to write that on my board at home. "Tell
me what you are getting to," I said.
    "Yes. Leticia met Michael