Chapter 24
“What can I get you today?” the barista asked.
“I will just have an Americano,” Evan said.
“Anything added to the drink?” The girl, dark-haired and in her early twenties, tilted her head and smiled as she waited for Evan’s response.
“No. Just plain,” he said.
“Okay. And any pastries or anything?”
“No, thanks,” Evan said.
“Not a problem. For here or to go?”
“I’m going to sit out front. So for here, I guess,” Evan said.
“You got it. A name for the order?”
“Steven.”
She tapped away at the screen in front of her at the cash register then gave Evan his total.
He paid in loose cash from his pocket, dropped the change into the tip jar by the register, and walked to the area by the sugar and cream to wait on his order.
A minute or two later, he was seated out front of the coffee shop sipping his drink.
Evan swung his bike bag off his shoulder and pulled out his tablet.
The furniture store was going to remain closed for the day, possibly a couple of days, Myles had said before sending home the employees.
Evan had questioned whether that was needed, but the order had come from corporate.
He’d offered to stick around to continue working on his training and product knowledge, but he was told that he could resume his work when the store reopened.
Evan had done his best to drag his feet while leaving, even going so far as to say that he needed to add a couple of things that he’d forgotten to his police statement.
Yet when all his attempts to remain on scene were exhausted, he was shown the door and told that someone would get in touch with him when the store planned to reopen.
Evan powered on the tablet and connected to the coffee shop’s internet.
He went straight to one of the local news outlets.
“Breaking News” was in a banner across the top of the page.
Right below the banner was an image of the front of Newman’s furniture with the headline “Body found under mysterious circumstances.”
Evan smirked and clicked the link to read the article.
Another page loaded and seemed to have a video accompanying it.
Evan breezed over the article, disappointed at the lack of details.
The article just said that a body was found at the store, it appeared to be foul play, and there was talk that along with the body, some message had been included for the police.
A note at the bottom of the article said that it was a developing story and to check back for more details as they became available.
Evan groaned and lifted his bike bag onto the table beside his coffee.
He unzipped the pocket on the side of the bag, reached inside, and pulled out his headphones.
He twisted in the left then the right earbud, had a sip of coffee, then played the video that accompanied the article.
After two annoying thirty-second ads that he couldn’t skip, a video began.
A reporter stood in front of the furniture store saying not much more than what was contained in the article.
“I wonder if they’ve read the letter yet,” Evan said.
The words were supposed to be a thought but had slipped from his mouth. With the headphones in his ears, Evan wasn’t certain how loud he’d said it. He quickly looked left and right but found nobody looking at him. The words apparently hadn’t been loud enough for anyone to hear.
Evan searched a different local news channel.
He found another article that didn’t have much more than the first. Two more local news outlets provided similar coverage.
While they all seemed to be reporting on the homicide, it was clear that it was just too early for them to have anything more.
With only a few hours having passed since all the cops and detectives descended on the furniture store, Evan needed some patience.
It appeared, though, that Evan telling Dave, the warehouse guy, about the body before anyone else had been the right choice.
Evan needed someone else to spread the word, and a few days before, Evan had learned that Dave’s girlfriend handled social media for the Channel 12 television station.
Evan figured that Dave would immediately tell her, and chances were good that she would take it upon herself to tell anyone in her building who would listen. It would only spread from there.
After removing his headphones, Evan put them and his tablet into his bike bag. He would check in on the investigation again after a couple of hours. He was all but certain that the evening news would have far more information, and it would turn the city on its ear.
Evan smiled. He gulped what remained of his coffee. What the cops would do when they read the letter, Evan didn’t know, but he was eager to find out. He glanced at his watch. It was about time to go check in on things.