Egg Drop Dead

by Vivien Chien

  Against the far wall of the kitchen were large French doors that led out onto a deck. I could see Lake Erie through the thin lace curtains.

  She opened what I thought was a giant pantry door, but it turned out to be a refrigerator. “Would you like something to drink? We have a little bit of everything.”

  “Water would be fine.”

  She pulled out two bottles of Evian and pointed to the French doors with one of them. “Let’s go out onto the back deck and talk. It’s so beautiful outside, and I’ve been cooped up in the house all day.”

  I followed her out onto the deck. If my jaw hadn’t already dropped when I entered the home, it definitely would have hit the floor now. The deck we were standing on had stairs leading down a level. I made my way down the stone steps onto an even larger deck made up of the same stone as the stairs.

  There was a long table with seating for twelve, six chaise lounges, a firepit made out of bricks, and two large tables with umbrellas near a fence that separated the property from the lake’s shore. I could for sure fit my entire apartment in this massive space.

  Susan led me to one of the covered tables and pulled a chair out for me to sit.

  “What, no pool?” I asked her sarcastically.

  “Oh yes, there is, but it’s inside on the lower level.”

  “Oh.”

  She laughed. “You get used to it after a while. I’ve been here for a couple of years, and it doesn’t shock me as much as it did when I first started. Prior to moving in with the Chang family, I was living in a shoebox of a studio apartment over in Lakewood.”

  “I can’t imagine living in a place like this,” I admitted, thinking about the modest ranch that had been my childhood home.

  She passed me one of the water bottles. “Being a maid can have its perks if you do it right.”

  “Do you also take care of the children?” I asked.

  “Here and there. Mostly I just clean and take care of the meals. Ms. Chang likes to be very hands-on with her children. They’ve actually all stepped out for some type of outing, so we have the place to ourselves.”

  “Yeah, I ran into them on my way in. She seems like a really nice woman.”

  “She is. I love working for her.” She leaned back in her chair and looked out onto the water. “You know, this is my favorite place to be. I could sit out here for hours and watch the lake.”

  “It is nice and peaceful,” I said, sharing in the first tranquil moment I’d experienced all day. For a few minutes, we sat like that gazing out onto the water, and I imagined what it would be like to live a life of leisure, spending my days on a chaise overlooking Lake Erie with my nose in a book.

  She sipped from her water bottle and turned her attention back to me. “But you didn’t come here to ask me what it’s like to be a maid for a wealthy family.”

  “No, I came to ask you about Alice Kam. I was hoping you could tell me something about her.”

  Her expression saddened. “I was sorry to hear about what happened to her. She was such a nice girl.”

  “It seems that everyone thought highly of her,” I replied. “I haven’t found a person yet who would speak ill of her.”

  “She never gave people a reason to.”

  “What about Bryce Blackwell?”

  “Who?” she asked.

  “Her fiancé.”

  Her eyebrows crinkled together. “She wasn’t engaged to anybody as far as I knew.”

  Well, wasn’t that interesting? I knew that guy was lying about something.

  Susan snapped her fingers. “Oh, Bryce … yeah, I remember him … the DJ. She didn’t talk about him too much. But he was her boyfriend a little while back, I do know that much.”

  “Do you remember why things ended between them?”

  “No, not really, she didn’t talk about it with me. I don’t know that she talked about it to anyone, really. She could be very private about her personal life. Although we kind of lost track of each other over the few months before she was…”

  “It’s okay, you don’t have to say.”

  She gave me an apologetic smile. “It’s hard to think about knowing that something like that happened to someone you know. That’s stuff you see in crime shows and on the news.”

  “Trust me, I can understand,” I said. “I heard a rumor that she told you she was having problems with Donna Feng. Something about Donna drinking excessively and constantly berating her.”

  She tilted her head, thinking it over. “She did mention once that Donna was becoming increasingly difficult. But she expressed concern about it rather than it coming across as a complaint. Where did you hear that from?”

  “It was a thirdhand story I heard from some ladies at the plaza.”

  “Ah, like a game of ‘telephone.’”

  “Exactly,” I said, laughing. “They heard it from someone who heard it from you who heard it from Alice, and there you have it.”

  “Hm, the only person I’d talk to about that sort of thing was our mutual friend, Evie.”

  “Oh yeah, I meant to ask you about her. I’ve heard her name a couple of times in passing. Were the two of them close?” I asked.

  “As close as I ever saw Alice get with anyone. They actually started spending more time together in recent months.”

  “Would you mind putting me in contact with her?”

  “No problem. I have one of her cards in my purse. I’ll grab it on your way out,” she said.

  We talked for a little while longer, and she told me the little she knew about Alice. She hadn’t lived in Cleveland long, and her first job in the city had been with Brenda Choi. The only boyfriend or romantic interest she’d heard even a peep about was Bryce. But once they broke things off, Susan had forgotten all about him because Alice never brought him up. She expressed a little surprise at the fact that Alice had recommended Bryce for Donna’s party, but attributed it to Alice being a nice person.

  On my way out, she stopped in a small mudroom off to the side of the main entrance and dug through her handbag. “I know I have one in here somewhere.” She started to remove her wallet, a compact, a cluster of receipts … it was like the clown car of purses. “Ah-ha! Here is it.” She handed me the card. “Just tell her that you’re friends with me.”

  “Thanks, I really appreciate this,” I said. I noted how not one time had she even asked me why I was inquiring, and I was grateful for the fact I didn’t have to explain myself or come up with some ridiculous story that only partially made sense.

  I took the card from her and looked it over. “Wait, this is a business card for Yvette Howard. This is the party planner Donna used for her birthday.”

  “Oh yeah … that’s her, Yvette Howard. Evie is her nickname.”

  CHAPTER

  21

  So Evie and Yvette were the same person. And Yvette had been the party planner. How convenient. It appeared as though Alice was charitable to more than just Bryce in her recommendations. Donna hadn’t mentioned to me that Evie/Yvette was chosen as a referral from Alice. But the party planner situation had never come up in our conversations. The night of the party, I had thought it was a little odd that Donna had chosen to hire a party planner to begin with, because party planning and organization was her own specialty. But I had dismissed it, figuring it had something to do with her recent mental capacity. Who doesn’t need help every now and then?

  As I pulled away from the Chang house, I considered whether or not I had the mental capacity to check in with the other housewife that Donna had starred on her list, Denise Jung. I decided I did not. I headed home instead and hoped that Megan hadn’t yet left for her shift at the bar.

  I made it home in time to catch her still getting ready for work. I found her in her room, putting the finishing touches on her makeup. Kikko was beside her on the floor, nibbling on the head of her favorite stuffed duck, and she barely paid me any attention as I walked in.

  “It’s nice to actually run into you at home,” Megan laughed. “
I feel like we’ve barely seen each other this past week.”

  “That’s because we’ve haven’t.” I plopped down on her bed and put my head in my hands. “I’ve about had it with this whole thing. The minute I think I’m getting somewhere, I find out that I’m completely wrong.”

  “Sorry I haven’t been much help. The extra shifts at the bar have been sucking up a lot of time. Do you know I didn’t even wake up until two p.m. today? I haven’t slept that late since we were in college.”

  “Wow, that is a record for you.”

  “I had just enough time to make it to the gym, eat, do a load of dishes, and start getting ready for work. By the way, it’s your turn to grocery shop this weekend. I can’t do it.”

  “That’s fine. Adam is coming over tonight, but I’m off tomorrow. I’ll swing by the store tomorrow. Do you have a list of things you want?”

  “On the fridge,” she said. “There’s also some money in an envelope with it.”

  “Are you working all weekend?” I asked.

  She groaned. “Yes, unfortunately. I’m there almost all day tomorrow. There’s another person coming in for an interview, and I told Shane he has to make a decision at some point. I keep threatening to quit, but he never believes me. I can’t keep picking up the slack like this. The others aren’t offering to help. They all have some excuse—kids, school, whatever.” She touched up the corner of her eyeliner. “The whole thing is ridiculous. I’ve seen lemonade stands run by five-year-olds function better than this.”

  “I’ll try to come in tomorrow night, have a couple of drinks. I wouldn’t mind it after the week I’ve had.”

  “So tell me what happened. I have about twenty minutes before I have to head out.”

  I followed Megan into the bathroom as she did her hair and told her about everything that had gone on throughout the day. By the end of the story, she was as flummoxed as I was.

  “I can’t believe she’s not willing to hire this Lydia woman. If anything, that would help so much. I mean, the woman already knows the backstory, it’s not like you’d have to bother explaining it all over again to her.”

  “What’s worse is that if Lydia is right, and the mob is involved, you could be in danger, too. Donna doesn’t seem to be worried about that fact, though.”

  “I’m not worried about it that much, either,” Megan said, readjusting a bobby pin. “It’s not the first time we’ve taken a risk. And we’re careful. Besides, on the slim chance the mob was involved, we’d probably be dead already.”

  “Gee, that’s comforting,” I said. “I’m gonna have to tell Adam. I can’t keep him in the dark about Donna anymore. If something does end up happening, then he needs to be prepared.”

  She turned away from the mirror and gave me a sympathetic look. “I can see his reaction already. He is just going to love this.”

  * * *

  After Megan left for work, I thought I might take a quick nap. I felt completely drained and would be useless in entertaining Adam if I didn’t get some sleep. Kikko and I curled up on the couch together, and I listened to the sound of her snorting breaths to help fall asleep. It turned out I didn’t need as much help as I thought because the last thing I remembered was resting my head on the couch’s decorative pillow. Then waking up to the sounds of someone pounding on the front door.

  Kikko sprang to attention and barked her whole scuttle to the door. She sniffed the crack and whined while her curlicue tail wagged at high speed. The sun had begun to set and the living room was dim. I was groggy, and it took me a moment to understand where I was.

  The pounding on the door continued. “Okay, okay,” I yelled. “Hold on a minute.”

  I hobbled to the entry, my left leg sore from the position I had been lying in, and pressed myself against the door to look through the peephole. It was Adam.

  A moment of panic rushed through me. What time was it?

  I flung the door open, and the look of frustration on his face was clear by the setting of his jaw. His lips were sucked into his mouth, and his brows hung low over his eyes. “Lana … you’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days. I’ve been calling you for over an hour.”

  Standing to the side, I ushered him in and shut the door. “I’m sorry, I think my ringer is off. I fell asleep and forgot to set an alarm.”

  Kikko pawed at his legs, and he knelt down to give her a good back scratch. “I saw your car in the lot, so I knew you had to be here. You sleep like the dead.”

  “You’re not the first person to tell me that,” I said, stumbling into the kitchen. “Do you want some coffee?”

  “If you’re going to make it anyway, sure, I’ll have a cup.” He went to sit on the couch and Kikko followed him, resting her front paws on his lap as he sat down. “I take it you had a busy day.”

  “I did. Busier than I would have liked.” I scooped out the appropriate amount of coffee, filled the water reservoir, and turned the pot on before joining him in the living room.

  Kikko appeared unwilling to move from her position in the middle of the couch, so I sat on the other side.

  “How was your day?” I asked.

  “Usual stuff,” he replied.

  Since the beginning of our relationship, Adam had never been very forthcoming about his work or what was happening with his cases. For the most part, he liked to leave his job at the station. But I also suspected that he didn’t want to discuss it too deeply with me, in particular.

  “I’m more interested in hearing about your day. I was surprised that you weren’t working at the night market tonight. I was planning on stopping by and surprising you.”

  “With everything going on, I thought it might be good to cancel for a week. With any luck, we can get back to normal by next weekend.”

  “So what happened?”

  The coffeemaker beeped, signaling that the coffee was done. I got up, prepared two cups, and brought them back to the couch.

  Once we were situated, I went through the painstaking task of repeating the story of my day, yet again. Our conversation was a lot longer than mine and Megan’s because I had to explain the backstory on Donna Feng. I swore him to secrecy, and if I thought it would do any good, I would have asked him to pinkie-swear. He did, however, agree that he would not utter a word about this to anyone.

  He took a few minutes to absorb all of the information. “So, none of your day involved Warren?”

  My eyebrows lifted. “That’s what you have to say after everything I told you?”

  “A man has to wonder.” He smirked playfully, sipping from his coffee mug and resting his free hand on my leg. “Lana, I’m teasing.”

  “This is serious, Adam.”

  “I agree,” he replied. “It also explains a lot of Donna’s behavior. I always knew there was something that woman was hiding. I just couldn’t figure out what it was.”

  “Well, now you know.”

  “And she refuses to hire this private detective?”

  “She doesn’t think it’s necessary,” I said. “I can’t decide what I think. I keep going back and forth between the options of mild danger and severe danger. What do you think?”

  “You already know my feelings on everything you end up getting involved in,” he sighed. “But we’ve already come to the conclusion that I can’t stop you from anything.”

  “So, as a professional, what do you think?”

  He took a moment to mull it over. “I think we should grab some dinner and then watch a movie. Maybe have a few drinks, see where the night takes us.” He nuzzled my neck playfully.

  I couldn’t understand his lackadaisical manner. This was completely unlike him. Every other conversation we’d had resulted in him being too serious and me trying to make jokes as if I were auditioning for a stand-up comedy routine. I pushed him back gently. I decided to be blunt. “Adam, what’s gotten into you? Are you just making light of this because you’re not taking what I have to say seriously?”

  He leaned forward and set his
coffee cup on the table in front of him. “Look, doll face, I honestly don’t know what to think of this whole thing. Do I think you’re in danger? Yes. Do I think that Donna is selfish in asking you to help her figure this out instead of going to a professional? Yes. But currently, I don’t know what to do with this information and I don’t have all the facts. I need time to think about it and weigh the options.

  “So in the meantime, I think we should go to dinner, have some drinks, and enjoy a nice evening as a regular couple. Once I’ve had some time, I can give you a more concrete answer, okay?”

  “Okay,” I said, still uncertain about his response.

  “Lana, you should know by now that I don’t like to speculate or jump to conclusions.”

  “I know, but—”

  “No buts,” he said firmly. “You go get ready, let’s go someplace fancy tonight. While you’re freshening up, I’ll take Kikko out for a walk. Sound good?”

  “Okay,” I replied. “If you’re sure.”

  “Trust me,” he said, kissing my forehead. “I’m sure. A nice steak dinner always helps put things into perspective.”

  CHAPTER

  22

  Adam and I went to Red Steakhouse on Prospect Avenue near East Fourth Street and enjoyed two juicy steaks surrounded by jazz music and soft lighting. It was a nice, balmy night, so we stopped for drinks across the way at Flannery’s Pub and had a few cocktails on the patio.

  We spent our time out talking about everything except the ordeal with Donna. It felt good to have a conversation about regular stuff. I filled him in on Anna May’s adventures at her new internship and how she was starting to fall for one of the partners. Then we talked about things we’d read recently and what movies we should go see in the coming weeks. He suggested a beach picnic, and I reminisced about our recent getaway to Put-In-Bay. It seemed like ages ago that the two of us had escaped for the weekend, and I longed for the relaxation of the cozy little cottage that we’d stayed in.