Read Online A Cup of Murder by Cam Larson - Free Book Online Page B

involved in something so
dangerous? That is pure recklessness on your part. People get killed
when they get into situations like that."
    "Situations like what?" I asked. "I
simply wanted to talk with him."
    "You have no experience in solving murders
and it is impossible to understand why you would do something like
that. Don’t get involved with matters out of your league."
    "You may not realize it, Jacob, but you are
still under suspicion for his murder. I only wanted to step in and do
a little investigating on my own. I plan to take anything concrete
that I find to the police. The goal is to exonerate you."
    He glared at me and stood up. Thor’s low growl
told me the dog was smart enough to be on guard.
    "Keep out of this, Laila," he said in
measured tones. "I can take care of myself."
    He grabbed his coffee and left Thor and me in a
dumbfounded state as he stepped onto his patio and slammed the back
door. Fear slithered upward in me like a snake trying to find refuge
from an enemy. In my haste to gather Thor and his remaining food by
the door, I knocked my coffee cup over. Quickly, I reached for
whatever I could find to wipe the spill up. As it happened, there
were newspapers on the coffee table and I picked up the top sheets.
After soaking most of the small pile I pulled the drier pages apart.
My intention was to spread them out to dry in case Jacob wanted to
read them. It was then that I froze at what I saw.
    "Sell Sunrise of else" printed with a
black magic marker exposed itself in plain sight. The word ‘else’
was in dark red. I heard the back door open. I scrambled to bury the
note back where I hoped it had been.
    At the doorway to the living room Jacob looked at
me. I grabbed the remaining dog food bag and hurried for the front
door. Thor followed all too willingly.
    "I have to get home. It is getting late,"
I said to Jacob. "Thanks for keeping Thor for me."
    He remained standing where he was. His silence
told me he knew I had seen the threat in black and red letters. For
the first time, I knew Jacob Weaver was a threat to me as well.
    With Thor at my heels, my reaction of fear
mimicked the day the dog tried to attack me, only this fear ran much
deeper and the source was no animal. My hands shook violently when I
put the key in the ignition. Thor sat upright, straight as a board in
the back seat. I counted on him hanging on as I spun away.

Chapter Ten

    When I walked into my living room I felt renewed
peace around familiar surroundings. After I fed Thor and let him
outside for a while, I relaxed in my easy chair and picked up the
remote control for the TV. I needed a good distraction right now.
Thoughts of Jacob’s reactions during the evening were something I
wanted to push to the back of mind until I calmed down. I began to
search for a good movie when there was a knock on my door. My
immediate reaction was one of tenseness and I wondered who it could
be. Looking through the peephole I saw that it was Jacob. I debated
the idea of letting him in. After a few seconds, I opened the door.
    Neither of us spoke and he hesitated before coming
on in. "I’m sorry, Laila for interrupting your evening but I
want to explain some things."
    I stepped back and he came in. I gestured to the
chair and he lowered his frame easily. We looked at each other and
finally I asked him to explain whatever it was he felt he needed to
explain to me. Still on my guard, I was ready to hit 911 on my cell
phone if needed.
    "I know you saw the note I wrote to Michael.
I was caught up in the rivalry and it was to be a response to his
written threats to me. Two of his notes were worded exactly the same
in black and red letters except he printed Roasted Love instead of
Sunrise, of course."
    It was hard to wrap my head around the juvenile
actions of two grown men. I couldn’t find any words to answer Jacob
and he picked up again on his explanation.
    "I was sucked into his drama and made the
mistake of playing things his way. I have no idea why