Fatal Fried Rice

by Vivien Chien

  “Dad!” Now it was my turn to blush.

  Adam wrapped an arm around my chair and tickled the back of my neck with his thumb. “Now, Mr. Lee, you know that’s not true. Inmates usually wear orange now.”

  The three men shared a chuckle at my expense.

  “Oh look, the dim sum cart,” I said, raising my voice above their laughter and signaling the server to stop by. “Mom, why don’t you get some food on the table to keep these men’s mouths busy?”

  My mother greeted the server and they chatted for a few minutes in Mandarin before she started selecting some dishes for the table. I watched as the server pulled out plates of pan-fried dumplings, shrimp noodle rolls, turnip cakes, black pepper short ribs, a large bowl of white rice, watercress, and BBQ pork.

  “Mom … aren’t you forgetting something?” I asked, eyeing the cart.

  “Oh yes,” my mother said, clasping her hands together. “And some chicken feet.”

  I groaned.

  My mom laughed. “Spring rolls, please.”

  It’s not that we couldn’t order for ourselves, but we just didn’t. My mother was always in charge of what went on the table for dim sum. Only on rare occasions had my sister or I taken over that duty. It was never left to my father to decide, because if we let him, he’d order seven plates of short ribs and call it a day.

  We all busied ourselves with filling our plates. I noticed that Anna May chose her selections sparingly and I wanted to tease her about it. But I was doing so well at staying quiet, I wanted to see how long I could go with keeping my mouth shut.

  I never hid my appetite from anyone. I like to eat, and I don’t apologize for it. If Adam hadn’t been okay with that, I would have sent him packing on my way to the doughnut shop. But thankfully, my guy wasn’t that sort of man.

  It was quiet for a few minutes while everyone dug into their plates, enjoying what was probably their first meal of the day.

  A-ma held up a short rib and beamed, her two silver front teeth shimmering as she smiled. “So good!”

  I laughed. “Very good.”

  “So, Lana,” Henry said, wiping the corners of his mouth. “Have you had any more problems with Detective Bishop?”

  For a moment, I thought about lunging over the table at him for even bringing it back up. Maybe I should have picked on Anna May after all. At least then the topic would be on something besides Detective Bishop and me.

  I was just about to lie to him and say no when Adam piped in. “You might as well tell him.”

  Before answering, I gave Adam the stink eye and then turned to Henry. “As a matter of fact, I did have a short run-in with him yesterday. But it’s no big deal.” I made a production of investigating my spring roll.

  My mother gawked at me. “You did not work yesterday—did he come to your house? Why did you not tell me this?”

  “No, I ran into him while I was out.” Offering up as little information as I could seemed like the best route to take. There was no point in announcing to the table that I had been at Lucky Lotus Cleaners the day before.

  I hadn’t realized it, but my sister had been scrutinizing me the whole time. “Lana … what did you do?”

  “Nothing, I didn’t do anything. Why is everyone always accusing me of doing something? As if I’m totally incapable of controlling myself.”

  Adam started to open his mouth.

  I held up a finger in his face. “If you say anything at all, you will lose your ability to finish what’s on your plate.”

  He chuckled and held up his hands in defense.

  Anna May pointed her chopsticks at me in accusation. “This isn’t a joke. Henry has been nice enough to offer you his help for free, and you’re making more trouble for yourself. This is serious business, Lana.”

  I felt the frustration rise in my chest—smoke would start pouring out of my ears at any moment. And before I could help myself, I blurted out, “Yeah? Well so is that lipstick. 1997 called—”

  “Now, girls,” my dad interjected before I could finish my sentence. “Let’s play nice in front of company.”

  If I wasn’t twenty-eight years old, I might have used the argument that she started it, but it didn’t seem right at this stage in my life. Instead, I stabbed my noodle roll and settled for glaring at my sister instead.

  The rest of dim sum went by without any more outbursts, and my parents took over the conversation talking about a cruise they planned to take my grandmother on in the coming months.

  After the bill was settled, we walked out into the parking lot and said our goodbyes. When Adam and I were alone in the car, I turned to him and smacked his arm. “Thanks a lot for having my back in there.”

  He stuck the key in the ignition and laughed. “Dollface, I was just trying to lighten the mood and make you laugh a little bit. Don’t be so mad at me.”

  “Whatever,” I said, folding my arms over my chest.

  “Ah babe, come on.”

  “Fine,” I replied. “Do you want to spend the night tonight?”

  His face softened. “See, I knew you couldn’t stay mad at me.”

  “Don’t get too excited, you’re sleeping on the couch.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Adam and I lounged around my apartment playing with Kikko until it was time to meet up with Sabrina. As anxious as I was, I thought the time would pass slowly as it often does when you’re waiting for something. But surprisingly enough, it did not.

  We left in separate cars around two-thirty and he told me that he would be situated in the parking lot of an adjoining TGI Fridays. Adam instructed me to go into the bathroom and call him right away if anything seemed strange or out of place.

  As I drove, I thought about my upcoming meeting. It’s funny how two people can look at the same situation and see something totally different. It really does all come down to perspective. Though I could understand his point of view, it wouldn’t have dawned on me that something appeared strange about Sabrina contacting or approaching me after I left the administration office. But for him, it raised a red flag right away.

  When I arrived at Hooley House, the parking lot was much fuller than I would have expected for a Sunday. I attributed it to some sports game that I wasn’t aware of.

  I parked the car and nonchalantly skimmed the Friday’s parking lot to see if I could spot Adam, but no such luck. I knew he was there somewhere … watching me casually look for him and probably mentally channeling me to act natural.

  When I walked in, I was greeted by a hostess and I let her know that I was waiting for someone. She told me another woman had just walked in a few minutes prior saying that she would be meeting someone and directed me to a two-seater off to the right side of the bar area.

  Sabrina was facing the walkway and saw me approach, waving me over in case I’d missed spotting her. “Hi, Lana, thanks for meeting with me.”

  “Sure, no problem,” I said, hopping onto the stool. “I appreciate you letting me know about what you’ve found.”

  “Did you want to order anything?” she asked, fidgeting in her seat. “The bartender should be coming back in a few minutes with my drink.”

  “I’m okay for right now,” I said. “I’m not much of a day drinker unless it involves mimosas.”

  “Gotcha. Well, let’s just get into it then.” She reached for her purse and dug around, pulling out a white letter-sized envelope. “This is what was left in my locker.” She handed the envelope over for me to inspect.

  “Um, maybe I shouldn’t touch that,” I said. “Fingerprints and all.”

  She tilted her head at me. “Really? You think they’ll check for fingerprints?”

  “Definitely.”

  I thought I saw a flash of panic in her eyes, but I couldn’t say for sure.

  “Okay, well I’ll just take them out for you then.” She opened the envelope and set down three photos and a wrinkled piece of notebook paper.

  Two of the photos showed three people outside of Barton’s Adult Learning C
enter at what looked to be late at night. The quality of the picture was very grainy, so it was impossible to make out many details. On the side of the building were what appeared to be a man and a woman huddled together getting to know each other in a very personal manner. Thankfully they were both clothed or I would have started blushing right there. The third person in the photo was another woman who was walking away from the building. Her head was turned toward the couple. She was closer to the camera, and I knew without having to make the stretch that it was Margo Han.

  And that was partially due to the fact that the last photo was a close-up of Margo sitting in her car. She’d parked underneath a lamppost, and it illuminated just enough to make the objects in the picture more visible.

  The note read I KNOW YOU KNOW. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

  I studied the pictures more carefully, contemplating what they were trying to tell me. Clearly the people in the photo didn’t take the picture … so who were the unknown parties, and why would Margo care to do something about it?

  Sabrina seemed to sense that I was lost and said, “I didn’t get it at first either, but look at the time stamps.”

  The photos that included the couple were taken five minutes before the shot of Margo sitting in her car.

  A slender, blonde woman with a pixie haircut—who I assumed to be the bartender—approached our table carrying a drink. Sabrina grabbed at the photos and note before anything could be seen.

  “Here’s your drink, miss. Sorry it took so long,” the bartender said as she set down a pint of wheat-colored beer. She turned to me and smiled, “Would you like anything?”

  “Just a water would be fine, thanks,” I replied.

  Once she’d walked away again, Sabrina set the photos back on the table, taking a sip of her beer. “Ugh, I needed this today. Normally I don’t drink during the day either.”

  “So…” My eyes focused on the photos, trying to come up with some scenario. “Someone took these pictures, and saw that Margo knew … and has proof that she sat in her car for at least five minutes. Thinking over what she’s just seen, we assume? Obviously, it didn’t take her that long to get to her car.” I considered the man in the photo might even be the one who’d sent the flowers that got tossed in the garbage. Maybe even to make up for what was happening in the photo? That little speculation would stay with me though. Divulging too much to Sabrina might not be the best idea just in case Adam was right and she was guilty of something.

  “Right,” Sabrina said, tapping the photos. “But the questions I want answers to are, what did this person think Margo was going to do? And why would Margo care?”

  “Do you recognize the people in the photo?” I squinted, trying to make out some kind of detail, but it was impossible. The only reason you could even tell that one of them was a woman was by the length of her hair.

  Sabrina shook her head. “I don’t have a clue, but it’s obviously someone at the school.”

  “And look at Margo’s face in this close-up of her in the car. She looks kind of devastated.”

  Sabrina nodded in agreement. “I thought about that too. And that she’s probably sitting there deciding what to do. I don’t think she was a creep or anything, like, just watching these people or something.”

  “How long have you been helping out at the learning center?” I asked.

  Sabrina shrugged. “Not very long, just a couple of months. I need the internship credit to graduate.”

  “Did you know Margo well?”

  “Not really. She wasn’t very talkative, but she was such a nice woman. We’d run into each other at the lockers and ask about how the day had gone. She’d ask me about my schooling sometimes, but that’s about it.”

  “Do you happen to know if she was involved with anyone?”

  Sabrina paused, her eyes shifting left and right. “I don’t think so, but I did notice a difference in how she dressed herself.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, it seemed as though when I first started that she was more dressed up, at least compared to what she looked like by the time you met her. I’d say about two months ago is when I noticed a change in appearance. At first, I thought she wasn’t feeling well, but she wasn’t acting any different.”

  The bartender returned with my water, and Sabrina reached for the photos and note once again, this time putting them back into the envelope and tucking them back into her purse.

  While I sipped my water, I took a few moments to contemplate what all of this meant. I had a sinking suspicion that she was secretly involved with someone. Now I started to wonder if that someone was the man in the photo. But who the heck was it?

  “So, what now?” Sabrina asked, breaking the silence.

  I shrugged. “I’m not really sure, to be honest with you.” I didn’t want to tell her too much about what I was thinking, in the event that Adam was right and there was something off about this girl. But from what I could tell right now by talking to her, I didn’t suspect her of anything. Now if Adam had been in the room with me, I don’t know what he would have made of all this. I wished he could have come in with me so he could see the photos for himself.

  “But you think I should definitely turn these photos into the police?”

  “Absolutely,” I said. “This might be a huge clue for them. Can I ask you something though?”

  “Sure.”

  “Why didn’t you find the photos right away? I mean, Margo was murdered on Tuesday.”

  Sabrina seemed to be slightly offended that I would ask. “Our work lockers have a shelf at the top, and I don’t use mine at all. I just hang up my purse and jacket if I have one. It must have been the way I opened the locker Friday morning that moved it and I saw the edge of the envelope hanging over the side.”

  “Did you tell anyone else about it?”

  She shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t dare. I mean, let’s face it. This was left by someone who works there. I don’t really want to get mixed up in whatever these photos are about. That’s why I asked if you think I definitely need to turn this stuff in to the cops. Because what if it gets out that it was me who turned it in? Right now, the person who dropped these off doesn’t realize that Margo didn’t get the photos to begin with.”

  “That’s true,” I said, wondering if I should encourage her to turn them in after all. If she did and something happened to her, I’d feel responsible. I needed to ask Adam before saying anything else. “Maybe hold onto them for a little while so I can think about it. Unless you want to just go with your gut?”

  She tilted her head to the side and puffed up her cheeks, then exhaled slowly. “I wish I wouldn’t have found these damn pictures to begin with. I only have a few weeks left to intern there and then I could have been far removed from this whole situation. All I care about is graduating.”

  “Believe me, I can understand not wanting to get dragged into this kind of stuff. I feel like that’s my life story at the moment.”

  We talked for a few more minutes and I told her I’d be in touch. I needed to get going. Adam couldn’t just hang out in the parking lot of Friday’s all day long while I chitchatted.

  Sabrina had decided to stay so she could finish her beer. Before I left, I turned back around. “Just one more thing…”

  She set her beer back down and gave me her full attention.

  “When we talked on the phone, you said you stayed late to look into some things. What is it that you were trying to find?”

  “Oh that. I was trying to compare the penmanship from the note to some of the staff’s handwriting in a logbook we have in the admin office. I thought maybe if I could match up the writing, we could figure out who left the note.”

  “Did you find anything?” I asked.

  “Nothing even remotely close.”

  CHAPTER 20

  Adam followed me back to my apartment, and I couldn’t wait to get inside and talk through my sit-down with Sabrina. I really wanted to know what he thought once I
told him about the photos and the note.

  Megan was nowhere to be found, and I assumed she was working a shift at the Zodiac. I’d have to repeat myself again later that night.

  Adam stayed silent through the entire story, not interrupting me once. He appeared to be letting everything soak in, casually petting Kikko who sat diligently at his side.

  “Well? What do you think?” I asked, after I’d finished the story with a flourishing hand gesture. Vanna White had nothing on me.

  Adam leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and steepling his fingers in front of his face. “I don’t like it, I think it’s too convenient,” he responded. “If I was working this case, that Sabrina girl would be at the top of my list.”

  “Really? I will agree you made some valid arguments when we talked after the movie, but after talking with her today, she seems pretty innocent to me. I think she just got stuck in a bad situation.”

  Adam raised an eyebrow. “Babe, come on. She runs after you when you leave the office and agrees to help you if she can find anything useful. Normal people—and don’t take this the wrong way—but they wouldn’t offer to help you. You’re a stranger.… How do they know you’re not involved somehow?”

  “Okay, true.”

  “Then, as luck would have it, she stumbles upon the most convenient evidence that could provide a solid motive?”

  “It could happen,” I mumbled.

  He snorted. “You watch too many of these murder mystery shows.”

  “Well, what about truth is stranger than fiction? You hear that all the time.”

  “I doubt it. That’s all I’m saying. I mean, yes, anything is possible. But is it likely in this situation? Probably not.”

  “Ye of little faith,” I said, holding up my chin. “I think she’s telling the truth. Partially because I don’t know that she’s cunning enough to orchestrate all this. She doesn’t strike me as the elaborate mastermind type.”