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clock out and I didn’t
miss her looking at the clock to make sure her time was up and she
could escape. I didn’t blame her. Right now, I wanted to be far
away from Roasted Love, too. Lily gave me a half smile. I believe she
tried to reassure me. So far, I had not heard her voice an opinion of
the whole situation at all. The phone rang and she took the
opportunity to answer it. Then she handed the receiver to me.
    “It’s Jen Perry from across the street,” she
said.
    It was hard to understand Jen. The Sunrise Barista
talked in a muffled tone and I heard what sounded like sobs in her
throat that tried to reach a voice she meant to be normal.
    “I have to see you again,” she said. “I’m
two blocks from you.”
    We agreed to meet in the alley once more behind
Roasted Love. Jacob didn’t need to know she was on the premises
again or I would have invited her in to join me at a back table. In
less than five minutes, she stood waiting outside the door. Thor
stood by watching and waiting. I opened the back door just as I heard
a soft growl escape his lips. I was ready in case he was still there
and fed him two cinnamon muffins and made a mental note to buy dog
food. Jen didn’t seem to have noticed the fact he was appraising
her and trying to decide whether or not to attack. Once he gobbled
the muffins and saw she was no threat he plopped on the short patch
of grass and waited. Naturally, the fact they were already acquainted
may have had something to do with it.
    “I don’t know what to do,” said Jen. Puffy
red eyes told me she either missed Michael or she was in fear of
imminent arrest for his murder. “Do you think I should reopen the
Sunrise? The police told me they will be taking the tape down in the
next day or two.”
    That was the last thing I expected from her mouth.
It was hard to believe she thought it would matter if I thought so or
not. She apparently forgot I was her competition.
    “You’ll have to make that decision on your
own,” I told her. “But what else is bothering you?”
    “All right,” she said. “I’ve seen
Michael’s brother, the Senator around. The police even let him come
in with them when they searched the place. They haven’t let anyone
else in. I’ve been sitting in my car watching off and on. He caught
my eye when he came out and I’m sure he suspects me, too. His eyes
bored right into me.” She sniffed again.
    I hadn’t gotten past what she said about the
Senator and the fact he was Michael’s brother. It finally hit me
that the man I'd seen recently was Senator James Simms. I couldn’t
believe I hadn’t made the connection. The familiarity I experienced
had to do with how much he resembled Michael. The day James Simms
came into Roasted Love was the first time I had seen him there. For
that matter it was the first time I had seen him anywhere in the
neighborhood. I asked her how long she had known the Senator.
    “I met him once when Michael and I were out for
dinner together. We were in what we thought was a secluded place
where no one would know us and in walked James. Michael took it in
stride as if he didn’t care that his brother saw us together and
introduced us. James looked more at me than at his brother, and at
the time it gave me the creeps wondering what he was thinking about
me. A few days later I heard Michael arguing loudly with someone on
the phone. He told me it was his brother James and that they didn’t
always see eye to eye.”
    I added these facts up in my head. So James Simms
and Michael Simms may be related but apparently there was animosity
between them for whatever reason. I redirected my attention to Jen.
    “Have the police talked with you again?”
    She told me they had come to her apartment and
interviewed her briefly. She then had to go down to the police
station and make a statement regarding her whereabouts from the time
she closed the Sunrise late until back at work the next morning.
Though Jen appeared rather superficial at times