Caffeine & Killers (A Roasted Love Cozy Mystery Book 3) Read Free

do."
    "Oh, yeah. She was a smart kid," Daniel
agreed. He decided the oil in the skillet was hot enough and began
dumping in the chicken and peppers and onions, along with dashes of
the assembled seasonings.
    I smiled as I watched him. Daniel loved his job as
an EMT and was well respected by his fellow firefighters, as well as
among law enforcement. He didn't mind being called out at odd hours,
either, though I was very glad that tonight was his night off. Those
were the times when we planned dinners together.
    "Let’s catch the news and see if the little
girl made it on tonight," I suggested. I wanted to see if Daniel
was on the video, too. He deserved some recognition for the work he
did. On the other hand, I knew that he wasn't in this line of work
for attention and if he'd seen cameras pointed at him, he would have
dodged them.
    We sat down to eat and watched the local news. The
first story did concern the little girl and her bravery. "Oh,
look! There you are!" I watched as he helped lift the gurney
into the ambulance, very excited to see him on TV even if he did have
his back to the cameras. "I'm so proud of you!"
    "Aw, just a normal day's work," he said,
but he did give me a quick smile before turning back to his plate of
stir fry. "How about some music? I guess we've seen the best
part of tonight's news."
    Just as I started to answer I heard the reporter
mention something about the homeless. "Wait – I want to hear
this," I said as I slowly set down my plate as I listened to the
field reporter on the screen.
    " The homeless man was known in the
community only as 'John.' He was found dead from a suspected drug
overdose. That is all they are releasing at this time. "
    I stared at the screen. The reporter wiped her
hair away form her face. " This emphasizes what Councilman
Carpenter has been saying for months now: that drug use and the
homeless are issues that must be addressed. " The switched to
a clip of a man campaigning at a podium with a few important looking
people standing beside him.
    Stunned by the news, I could only sit motionless
and try to think. "I can’t believe John is dead," I
finally said. "How is that possible? I just saw him this
morning!"
    "Is that the homeless man that you give
coffee to? Are you sure it's the same John?" asked Daniel.
    I nodded slowly, still trying to make sense of
what the reporter had said. "What other Homeless John is known
in the community. He's the only one that I know. He and I talked as
usual today, around mid-morning. He told me Councilman Carpenter was
making a big deal about the homeless littering the streets. Those
were the councilman’s words. I heard him call them 'rats' one day
at Roasted Love."
    I shook my head, and stared up at Daniel. "I
can’t believe that poor John is dead."
    Daniel leaned back and sighed, though his eyes
held sympathy. "Laila, it can be hard to understand just how
tough it really is to break an addiction. This guy was probably using
on a regular basis just to get through his day. Being homeless is a
tough way to go through life."
    My jaw tightened. "He didn’t do drugs,"
I said.
    Daniel shrugged. "I’m just saying that it
can be hard to tell whether someone is an addict or not. Depending on
where you catch them in their high, they can appear as lucid as you
or me."
    I just sat there in silence. Daniel lowered the
volume on the TV and then, almost as an afterthought, switched it
off. The only other sounds in the room were Thor and Benji munching
dog food in the corner of the kitchen.
    Finally I looked over at Daniel. "I just feel
sure that John was not an addict. He told me only this morning that
he never used at all – not after he saw what happened to his
brother."
    "What happened to his brother?"
    "Went to prison for possession of cocaine,"
I said quietly. "And selling to an undercover cop."
    Daniel just nodded silently, and turned back to
his plate again.
    Slowly I reached for my own plate, but only pushed
the food around with my fork.