Hairline cracks reach towards the ground from each porcelain white mug 
Decades of hot drinks move between the dish pit to the server’s hands and then to a customer’s lips and back again
It was an exchange of chemicals, money and momentary relief 
Ruled by the diner and overseen by an underpaid employee
The waitress 

After a long dating period, a young man with dirty shoes and hard working hands 
Had won the affection and attention of a jaw clenching triple ear pierced waitress 
She ditched the diner and its miserly gifts of pocket change 
Once their mutual love was proven and marriage was on the horizon 

But the conclusions of a year long investigation had made the newspapers
A whole series of what at first seemed to be random deaths 
Began to be traced back to a family eatery 
Well established and not lacking in patrons 

It was eventually discovered that the coffee had been slowly poisoning people
Turning their fingernails ridged and lined like sewer grates
Their breath like the stench of a cannibal’s bowels 
Body after body filled the city morgues until a neighboring city was asked to help 
The coroners worked with gas masks
While the police scrambled to figure out why
Summoning scientists, forensic experts and toxicologists for answers
Tracing clues and following leads 

The young man rustled the newspaper he’d been gripping tightly 
Jumping slightly when the woman that captured his heart said, with a voice as soft as candied almonds,

“Would you like another cup of coffee?”