Hazy Grooms and Homicides (A Raina Sun Mystery #8)

by Anne R. Tan

  “Well, it’s your neck. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I would hate to find you stuffed in a laundry bag.”

  Raina shivered at the horrid thought. “Don’t you want this business to clear up as quickly as possible?”

  Hendricks shrugged. “I don’t particularly care.”

  “If Willie finds out about the security holes in your department, you might care then.”

  He scowled at her. “Are you threatening me?”

  She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. The man was starting to sound like a broken record. “No. I’m trying to save your bacon. Like you said, at the end of my vacation, I’m going home. But with you, you’ll have to deal with the fallout from the police investigation. I’m not sure you want them to talk to Willie about the gaps in your security.”

  Hendricks appeared to consider her words. His brows furrowed into deep lines on his face. “What are you proposing?”

  “I’m not sure. If you see anything suspicious, maybe we should talk about it. I’m good at connecting the dots, and I don’t need any credit for capturing the murderer.”

  “Why me? Shouldn’t you work with the police?”

  “The police don’t need a nosy civilian,” Raina said. “Besides, if you get news coverage of the takedown, think about what it could do for your career. Maybe you could spin this somehow. Transform yourself into an elite security consultant for other hotel-casinos. Imagine that.”

  Hendricks frowned for a long moment as if considering her words. When he finally held out his hand, it was all Raina could do to keep from doing a fist pump at the victory.

  “As long as I get to take down the bad guy,” he said.

  They shook hands on the deal.

  When Raina got away from the casino floor and into the convention area, she texted her grandma.

  Where are you?

  Her grandma replied.

  Sorry. I had a wardrobe malfunction. A cone fell off. I’m with Maggie making wedding arrangements.

  Raina blinked at the message. Nope, she didn’t misread the words. Sometimes she wondered if it was worth the trouble of having her grandma tag along in these investigations. Not that she was brave enough to say no to her grandma.

  She put the phone away and headed toward the plastic table still in front of the main hall. There was no one there. She pulled out the program from her purse and looked at the events for today. It was a battle of the bands on stage. The exhibit hall was also open. And there was a film playing in one of the smaller conference rooms. That was a lot of ground for Raina to cover on her own.

  Raina went into the main hall and walked along the edge until she was next to the stage, waiting for the amateur band to finish playing. She would have to take a page of her grandma’s playbook.

  A few minutes later and after the applause died down, the amateur band gathered their instruments to get off the stage. There were a few minutes of intermission while the next band set up.

  Raina ran on stage and grabbed the microphone. “Has anyone seen Gloria Tanaka? Got a message for her from her boss.”

  She squinted against the bright spotlight and scanned the crowd in front of her. People were getting up and moving around. But one lady stood up and pointed toward the exit sign on Raina’s right. Underneath the sign was an alcove large enough for performers to mingle while they waited their turn to go on stage. Raina thanked the woman.

  By the time Raina made her way down the steps and toward the alcove, the music started again, and Raina made her way toward where Gloria Tanaka was last seen. She ducked into the alcove, surprised at the dim light and the break on her ears from the boisterous music. The band on stage had more enthusiasm than rhythm. When her eyes adjusted to the dim light inside the alcove, Raina realized she wasn't alone.

  Gloria, with stars in her eyes, was listening to a man who was delivering a speech that could change her life. He leaned into her personal space, twirling a strand of her hair with one finger. His mouth was inches from hers and no doubt Gloria could breathe in each one of his breaths. She was ready for seduction.

  Heat rose to Raina’s face. She didn’t want to watch what would happen next. In her mind, she could hear Po Po’s voice singing “Super Freak.” She took a step closer and cleared her throat. “Gloria, we need to talk before the police arrest you for Claire Boucher’s murder.”

  The man stiffened. He glanced at Raina and then back at Gloria, the smile frozen on his face. “I should get back to Brian.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Gloria said, ignoring Raina. Though her voice sounded sweet and unconcerned, the hand holding her purse strap tightened into a white-knuckled grip.

  “I know who stole the super drone research,” Raina said.

  Gloria’s head swiveled toward Raina. Her eyes widened in surprise. “What did you say?”

  “Meet me in the hallway,” Raina said. She marched out of the alcove. The ball was now in Gloria’s court, and Raina had no doubt the NASA woman would want to play.

  Fifteen minutes later, Raina was still in the hallway by herself. She glanced at the digital display on her cell phone again. Even if Gloria wanted a quickie with her friend, she would have been done by now.

  As Raina trotted to the alcove again, she berated herself for her arrogance. She had assumed Gloria’s curiosity would be as strong as hers for finding answers. After all, Gloria was a NASA researcher. Wasn’t curiosity a requirement for the job? And this was her livelihood at stake. Wouldn’t she want information about the person who stole her research?

  Instead, Raina probably spooked the NASA researcher. Unsurprisingly, the alcove was empty. She would have to start her search for Gloria all over again.

  10

  Wrong Move

  Raina collapsed onto her bed, stuffed to the gills. Dinner with the senior citizens had been fun while they regaled her with their adventures at the wedding chapel and shopping for wedding clothes. She didn’t discuss the case with them because the details were a jumbled mess in her mind.

  Before she could work up the energy to take a shower, someone knocked on her door.

  “It’s me, Rainy,” Po Po called out. “Let me in.”

  Raina groaned. As much as she loved her grandma, she was hoping for some quiet time. She got up and opened the door. Standing in the hallway was her grandma with a little red suitcase.

  “Where are you going?” Raina asked.

  Po Po stepped around Raina and came into the room, dragging the suitcase behind her. “Since Matthew isn’t here, I’m moving in with you.”

  Raina closed the door and locked it. “Why?”

  “Why do you think? It’s awkward to be in the same room with Maggie and Frank.”

  “But you’ve shared a room with them before.”

  “That was before they got engaged. I don’t want to be around when they do the lovey-dovey thing.”

  Raina could see why her grandma no longer felt comfortable with the sleeping arrangements. She glanced at the king-size bed. There wasn’t enough room on there to escape her grandma’s kangaroo legs when she was in a deep sleep. She sighed. Tomorrow she would need an extra coffee to get through the day.

  Po Po unzipped her suitcase and made herself at home, pulling out her toiletries bag and shaking out her pajamas. “So what happened after I left you with Hendricks?”

  Raina told her grandma about her deal with Hendricks and the miscalculation with Gloria.

  “So who’s on the suspect list now?” Po Po asked.

  “There’s Brian Anderson. His name badge was found near the scene of the crime. He is not exactly a big guy, so he could have dressed up as the killer maid.”

  “But what is his motive?”

  “The missing ten thousand dollars? Organizing the convention is his only link to Claire.”

  Po Po frowned. “If Claire had stolen the money from the convention, why would he kill her for it?”

  Raina got back onto the bed and watched her grandma move about the room. “What if Claire did
n’t steal the money? What if Brian did? He was the original convention organizer. Claire only filled in because he got sick. What if she found out about the missing money and confronted him about it?”

  “That’s a good theory, but she was a thief herself. Why does it matter to her if Brian stole money?”

  “Maybe she was blackmailing him? This could be an opportunity to squeeze blood out of a turnip.”

  “Who else is on your list? The NASA woman?”

  Raina nodded. “Gloria Tanaka’s livelihood is at stake. She believes Claire stole her super drone research. She came to this convention to confront Claire but probably didn’t get anywhere. She could have killed Claire in a fit of anger.”

  “How did Gloria know Claire would be in the laundry room?”

  Raina stared off into space for a moment. Someone had mentioned something. She swung her legs out of bed, grabbed her purse, and pulled out her little notebook. She flipped through the pages until she got to her conversation with the costume saleswoman. “Claire lost her cell phone before her death.”

  Po Po raised an eyebrow. “Oookay. What am I supposed to do with this information?”

  “Maybe Gloria stole Claire’s cell phone. Or one of the other suspects did.”

  Po Po’s eyes widened. “And hacked into her emails or text messages. This could explain how the killer maid knew about the rendezvous location and got there before Matthew and Claire did.”

  “And now there is Willie,” Raina said. “I didn’t see this coming. From my conversation with Hendricks, it sounded like she role-played fairly often in her free time. But why would she do it at work?”

  Po Po shrugged. “Maybe she hates her job? Maybe she’s pushing the boundaries to see how much it would take for them to fire her? Who knows?”

  “And how serious is her relationship with Brian? Would she kill for him?”

  Po Po shrugged. “That’s above my pay grade, Sherlock. You’re the brains of this operation.” She pulled something out of her suitcase and tossed it on the bed. “I got you a stun gun.”

  Her grandma often supplied Raina with weapons of mass destruction. Some items were homemade by the Science Ninjas Club, and others were bought off the Internet.

  “Is this legal?” Raina asked, eyeing the lipstick tube doubtfully.

  “If a three hundred pound man is coming after you, would you care?” Po Po asked.

  “No.”

  “There’s enough voltage to curl his chest hair.“ Po Po cackled like it was the funniest joke ever.

  “Do I need to charge it?”

  “It’s fully charged.”

  Raina put the stun gun on the bedside table. She never used one of these before, but she would add it to the drawer of gadgets in her dresser at home.

  Po Po went into the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed. While Raina had hoped for some solitude, she understood why her grandma came over.

  However, having her grandma in the suite only reminded Raina of Matthew’s absence even more acutely. By herself, she could pretend her fiancé would return any night now. With her grandma in the room, there was no pretense left.

  Raina’s cell phone rang, and she pulled it out of her purse. When she saw the caller ID, her heart leapt to her throat. She tapped on the screen to take the call with a shaking hand.

  “Matthew?” she whispered.

  “Hi, Rainy,” Matthew said. He sounded exhausted like he hadn’t had a decent night of sleep in a while.

  “Are you done with your freelance job? When can I see you again?” The words tumbled out of her mouth, making her sound needier than she wanted to appear.

  “Um, there is no freelance job.”

  Raina blinked, trying to process what he’d just said. “Where are you?”

  “Home,” Matthew said.

  “Seriously, where are you?”

  There was a long pause.

  Raina took a deep breath, but it didn’t calm her down. Maybe he was being obtuse because the line wasn’t secured. If he really were in Gold Springs, she wasn’t sure what she would do to him the next time she saw him. Heat rose to her cheeks along with her rising anger. “Well?”

  “The Chief called, and I had to go. I was hoping you wouldn’t notice. I was planning to come back on the weekend to pick you up.” Matthew was a homicide detective in their hometown.

  “You think I wouldn’t notice my fiancé ditched me in a hotel room? With the grandmas?” Raina asked, not bothering to hide the irritation in her voice.

  “Sorry.” He sounded sincere.

  Raina couldn’t believe this. Did the man think an apology would be enough for what he did? For his abandonment?

  “Go have a good time. Charge whatever you need to the room. I’ve got to go. I have to respond to an emergency. Love you, Rainy,” Matthew said. His voice sounded far away like he was already back on his police work.

  Raina stared at the phone. How could he do this to her? She thought they were getting married in Las Vegas. She even packed a lovely dress for the ceremony. “Are you planning to come back?”

  There was a long pause again.

  “Can you book a flight home?” he finally asked tentatively.

  She could imagine him ducking from an invisible blow because that was what she felt like doing to him at this moment. “If you don’t come back here, the engagement is off.”

  Raina hung up without waiting for an answer. He was such a selfish jerk. Not only did he leave her behind, but he also left his grandma behind. His half-blind grandma.

  She blinked at the burning tears in her eyes. She got herself involved in a murder investigation because she wanted to help him—the bearded man from the video feed. When all along, he had been home working. She understood dedication to the job, but this was going too far. She couldn’t very well elope without a groom.

  Po Po stepped out of the bathroom. “Who were you talking to?”

  “Oh, I’ve been such a fool,” Raina said. The tears spilled down her cheeks. She normally wasn’t one of those weepy women, but she was so frustrated at this impasse in their relationship again.

  Po Po handed Raina a tissue and listened. Everything came tumbling out: her fear of Matthew’s involvement, the bearded man coming outside of the laundry room, and her conversation with Matthew.

  “I don’t understand how he can do this to me,” Raina said. “If he was involved with the murder investigation, I could forgive him for not being here. I thought he was trying to protect us by keeping away from us, but for him to just go home and resume his life? I don’t know what to think.”

  “What else did he say?” Po Po asked.

  “He wants me to fly home with the two of you and the dog.” The more Raina thought about the situation, the angrier she got. She wiped the tears off her face.

  “Let’s think this through,” Po Po said, sounding way too calm. Normally, her grandma would be the one who was quicker to anger and plot revenge.

  Raina crossed her arms and snapped her mouth shut. Fine. If her grandma didn’t want to hear her whine, she could berate Matthew in her mind. But it didn’t make sense for Matthew to leave Las Vegas without them. If he had to drive back to Gold Springs for work, why didn’t they all check out and go home together?

  And Raina and the grandmas were the only family he had. He would move heaven and earth to see them safe and out of harm’s way. Leaving them in Sin City with no transportation and no idea of when he would return wasn’t the kind of thing he would normally do.

  Wait a minute. Did he tell her a white lie, hoping she would get on a plane to go home? Now, this would be more like him.

  “What is it, Rainy?” Po Po asked. “You look like you had a brain fart?”

  Raina ignored her grandma’s comment. “I think he is trying to get us out of Las Vegas.”

  “Um, are you sure?” Po Po asked doubtfully.

  “First, his grandma is half blind. There is no way he would abandon her anywhere. Think about it. When you visit the Bay Area, you
and Maggie have to leave town first and then call to let him know you are gone. If he knows about your trips beforehand, he tries to talk you out of it or wants to tag along.”

  “He hovers like a mother hen.”

  “Second, he tells me he’s at home. So naturally, I would run home to yell at him.”

  Po Po laughed. “Yes, I can see reverse psychology here.”

  "I think he is still here at the hotel. He sounds exhausted like he's been catching cat naps here and there.”

  "Well, if he is still at the hotel, it's not like he could book another room using his identity if he's working incognito."

  Raina’s worry returned like the blast of a bomb. Her poor fiancé. Normally, when he worked a case, he had a team helping him out. With this freelance gig, he had to do it alone, worry about his family, and probably sleep like a homeless person around the casino-hotel.

  “And don’t forget about the bearded man in the video feed. He moves like Matthew,” Raina said.

  “Oookay, but I still don’t understand what all this means.”

  “I think something went deadly wrong with his freelance gig. And now he’s trying to fix it and hoping we’ll get out of here before things get out of hand.”

  “You mean Claire Boucher’s death?” Po Po asked.

  Raina nodded.

  Po Po took a moment to process what Raina said. “Do you think we should check out in the morning? I don’t know if we can get a flight home this quickly.”

  “I don’t know. He’s working this case alone. Yes, we could potentially get in the way, but we can also help him.”

  “He’s not going to want your help.”

  Raina’s jaw tightened. “Until he surfaces, he won’t have much of a choice. He said I should have a good time, so that’s what I plan to do.”

  “Are you going shopping tomorrow?”

  “No, shopping is no fun.”

  “Then what’s fun?”

  “Squeezing the suspects for answers.”