A Cup of Murder Read Free Page B

help his innocence.
    From behind the counter I watched as the
paramedic’s face swerved around to a clearer view from my vantage
point. Distress lined his face.
    “That’s odd,” I said. Janie’s look was one
of questioning, but I ignored her.
    It was odd that this paramedic looked so
distressed when surely he was used to all kinds of accidents.
    “Nothing, Janie, I didn’t mean anything by
that.”
    The paramedic’s face looked familiar to me and I
remembered he was an occasionally customer here. The ambulance
remained where it was and two more cops gathered at the back of it.
By this time, the small early morning crowd on the Piazza had grown
to the point where the cops had to hold them back. Most were curious
onlookers along with familiar shop owners who watched the activity
with great interest. Several in the crowd who could pull their eyes
away from the scene glanced toward the Roasted Love coffee house. My
attention was brought back to conversations in the shop.
    “I think the man is dead,” commented one
customer who had been there since I came in. “The ambulance isn’t
going anywhere.
    Her companion nodded his head in agreement. All
eyes remained glued to the window. The whirring of coffee machines
stood silent. I moved toward the stool behind the counter and sat
down before my legs buckled under me. From where I sat, the
whimpering that came from the kitchen could be heard droning on. The
doors of Roasted Love swung open and more customers came into the
shop. No one wanted to leave the area and they chose tables where
they could continue to watch. A few stood when all chairs were taken.
    Determined no one was getting a free seat, I
motioned to Janie to start waiting on them while I readied myself at
the machines. Some looked up in surprise when Janie asked what they
wanted. They hurriedly gave their orders for expressos and frappes.
At least I had something constructive to do. The ambulance sitting
there didn’t help my nerves. There was no reason to hurry to a
hospital by now. Finally it began to move slowly away from the crowds
and picked up speed at the end of the street. It's sirens and lights
never coming to life. The next person to see Michael Simms would be
the coroner.
    “Did you see the body bag?” said one customer
to all who cared to listen. “That’s the first time I’ve ever
seen something like that.”
    Her voice was on the verge of elation and
excitement at the sight she witnessed. Voices ripped through the
coffee house and everyone had an opinion. I turned to hand the latest
order to Janie when I spotted Jen Perry across the street. She
gestured toward Roasted Love while talking with a cop. Things were
too busy for me to approach Jacob Weaver, though by now I was ready
to talk seriously with him. I had a lot of questions to ask him.
Jen’s insinuation that I observed wouldn’t be a helpful factor.
    The second server, Lily arrived for her shift.
“I’m sorry I’m a little late but I had to park a couple of
blocks from here. What’s going on around here?”
    “It appears that Michael Simms is dead,” I
said. “The cops have been all over the area and the ambulance left
a few minutes ago.”
    We made eye contact and the shock on her face told
me I had to get her back to reality. I put her in charge of the
machines so I could slip back to speak with Jacob. He still cowered
in the corner. He looked beaten and subdued. I pulled up two folded
chairs and told him to sit down. While he repositioned himself, I
took a tray of fresh sticky buns and cheese scones to the front and
returned to him. He stared at the floor. Sweat dotted his head and
face. Fingers twisted uncontrollably, opening and closing in
succession.
    “Do you know what happened to Michael Simms?”
I asked him point-blank.
    “I don’t know who hurt him, but I know there
are plenty of witnesses to say I held a grudge against him.”
    I didn’t see any better way to let him know the
facts other than to just come out