by Vivien Chien
Without waiting for me to respond, she slammed the door in my face.
I stood there for a moment, completely stunned by the conversation I’d just had. Maybe I should have left the rest for Lydia to handle after all.
* * *
I returned home and spent some quality time with Kikko. We walked all over the apartment complex while I replayed everything Denise had said. I needed to find out more about her and what her deal was. Was she always this angry? Did she and Donna have bad blood? I remembered seeing her at the party and she seemed to be all smiles. Then again, the times that I had seen her she was with her gossiping circle. Who knows what she was smiling about at the time?
I also thought about what she’d said in regard to the fire. Could it be a possibility that Donna set the house fire herself to take attention away from what happened with Alice? It would solidify her story that someone was after her. But I was the only one who knew her theory on that. The police didn’t know anything about the thumb drive or that Donna thought Alice’s murder was a threat against her own life. She had only told them that she was innocent and there was nothing more she could do to help them fill in the blanks. And they couldn’t actually pin anything on her because no one had seen anything except for the argument near the pool.
I wondered how the investigation was going for them. It was a shame that Adam didn’t know anyone at the Westlake Police Department. The man seemed to have friends everywhere. Of course, this one time when I really needed him to know someone, he didn’t.
When I got back to my apartment, I found I had a missed call from Lydia. Finally.
I called her back right away.
“So she agreed to let me investigate, huh?” Lydia asked after I’d filled her in on Donna’s new request. “I have to admit, I’m a little surprised. I didn’t think she’d want anything to do with me.”
“Yeah, she caved,” I said. “Did you hear about the house fire?”
“Saw it on the news this morning. Figured that had something to do with it.”
“I think the fact that her kids were put in danger helped motivate her into making the decision. Donna is not a woman who gives in easily.”
“I didn’t get that impression, either, but I can see it happening in this case,” she replied. “I don’t have kids myself, but if I did, I’d be a bear for sure. You have kids?”
“Nope, but I’m sure I’d be the same, too.”
“I’ll draw up the paperwork. Can you stop by the office tomorrow around lunchtime? I’m assuming she won’t be coming into my office anytime soon.”
“Yeah, I could probably swing it,” I said. “But she has one stipulation I need to mention before I let you go.”
Lydia chuckled. “Of course she does. She’s too rich not to. What is it?”
“She wants me to be involved in the investigation.”
“Sorry, come again?”
“She wants us to work together.”
“Oh no, sorry, chickadee, I don’t work with civilians and I doubt my boss man would be okay with it, either. I’m licensed, you’re not … if something happened to you…”
“Look, I know it’s not ideal, and believe me, I’d rather give this whole thing over to you considering the circumstances. But it was the only way she would agree to hiring you. If you don’t go along with it, she might back out. She’s very protective over this situation, and she’s not very trusting of you, as we both know. It’s really just a formality if you think about it. I’d take the backseat anyway.”
There was silence on the other end.
“Lydia? Are you still there?” I wasn’t sure if she’d hung up on me or not.
“Yeah, I’m still here. I’m weighing my options.”
“Do you want a day to think it over?” I suggested. Maybe she just needed time to warm up to the idea.
“I’ll tell ya what. Let me talk it over with Eddie first. If he says it’s cool, then it’s cool with me, I guess.”
“Okay, that’s fair.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
When we hung up, I flopped backward on the couch. Kikko, sensing my frustration, put a paw on my leg and grunted.
“Today stinks,” I said as I scratched behind her ears.
I don’t know why I was so worried about Lydia’s decision. Either way, I wasn’t getting out of the case. If Lydia said yes, I’d still have to be involved. But by not giving me an answer, she’d made me feel like there was just another loose end to deal with.
* * *
Saturday evening should be spent either doing something incredibly fun, or doing something very relaxing. It should not be spent talking about murder suspects with your significant other while you binge-eat cheesy popcorn and doughnut holes.
We’d decided against going out after all, and thought it would be a better idea to veg out on the couch. The only problem was, I was having a hard time getting my mind to calm down.
“You’re going to make yourself sick eating all that,” Adam warned.
I shoved another handful of popcorn into my mouth. “I eat or I shop when I’m stressed, you know that. And since I’m still letting my credit cards cool off, eating will have to do.”
“We haven’t even started the movie yet. Or ordered the pizza.”
“Well, whose idea was it to bring over a whole bag of doughnut holes?” I asked.
He gave me sheepish grin. “I thought you would share them with me.”
I clutched the bag closer to my chest. “I haven’t decided yet.”
Kikko sat diligently at my feet, waiting for the moment I would undoubtedly drop something for her to snack on.
“You have to stop worrying about this case so much,” he said, rubbing my shoulder. “There’s nothing more you can do about it tonight. Let’s try to enjoy the evening and relax.”
“I just don’t know how someone’s friend could say stuff like that. And I don’t know what to do if Yvette doesn’t get back to me. I thought for sure name-dropping Susan Han would be an easy foot in the door and she would call me back right away.”
“Does she have an office?” he asked. “Somewhere you can corner her?”
“No, she works from home, and I didn’t ask Susan where she lives. I suppose I could try contacting her again tomorrow and asking.”
“If the PI gets back to you, then maybe you can just pawn it off on her. She’ll be able to track this Yvette woman with no problems.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” I pulled another doughnut hole out of the bag and popped it into my mouth. “But you know what awful thought I had?”
“What?”
“What if Donna really did do it? And what if I’m doing all of this for nothing? I mean, I don’t want to believe that. But … ugh.” I reached for the popcorn.
Adam took the bowl away from me. “Okay, if you keep eating all this junk, you’re going to make me sick in the process.”
Kikko and I both followed the bowl with our eyes.
“Now that I’ve had time to think about it, I’ve come up with some scenarios,” he continued.
“And when were you going to tell me about them?”
He chuckled. “I’m telling you now.”
“I’m ready,” I said, using my fingers to close the imaginary zipper over my lips.
“Most likely, Donna is right: The thumb drive and Alice are connected. It would be too odd for both events to happen on the same night and have nothing to do with each other.”
I nodded in agreement.
“So I think that eliminates the boyfriend. Unless they were working together to blackmail Donna and something went south between the two of them.”
“Yeah, but what about him coming to Donna’s house the same day that her house mysteriously catches on fire? You don’t think that’s weird?”
“Too obvious,” Adam said, discrediting it without too much thought. “If he was planning on setting her house on fire, he would not have showed up the same day. But you do have to find out why he was there, a
nd somehow get to the truth about his and Alice’s relationship. There’s something that doesn’t add up there.”
“Then we’re back to the hit-man scenario?”
“Maybe … I dislike that idea the most out of them all. If that’s the case, a PI isn’t going to cut it. We need to get proper authorities involved if it comes to that.”
I didn’t even want to think about that. “What about Denise?” I asked. “What do you think about her?”
He tilted his head. “I think she’s too openly angry to be guilty. If she had something to hide, I think she’d do a better job of actually acting like Donna’s friend.”
“That’s a good point.” I had to admit, it actually made me feel better that he thought so. “And what about Rosemary? Do you have any feelings about her?”
“I do in a way. She’s definitely someone to look out for. It’s even possible she started the fire as a way to take attention off the situation with Donna. If anyone, I would have the PI search into that woman’s past and see if anything strange comes up. This all could be her attempt to protect her employer.”
He was right. With Lydia’s resources, we might be able to learn more about Rosemary. We would be able to learn more about everything if we were lucky. I started to panic again thinking about whether or not Lydia would take the case. There was always the option of using a different PI, but Lydia having the background knowledge on Donna made things so much easier. Plus I didn’t know how Donna would feel about getting another person involved in her backstory.
Adam got up from the couch and stretched his arms.
“What are you doing?”
He turned to look at me. “I’m getting my cell phone from the kitchen and ordering our pizza. We are going to relax whether you like it or not. Besides, it’s time to stop thinking about hit men and killer housekeepers for the night.”
CHAPTER
24
Adam and I woke up at a reasonable time on Sunday considering we’d stayed up into the early morning having a Supernatural marathon. By the time we finished, the whole bag of doughnut holes was gone and only two slices of pizza were left. Let’s just say that Kikko wasn’t the only one who had to waddle to bed that night.
He left after sucking down a cup of coffee, and I readied myself for dim sum with my family. I am always in the mood for dim sum, which should say something about how crazy it was that I wasn’t feeling it today. If I could just sit and eat without being disturbed, it might be a different story, but with my family there, well, conversation was bound to happen.
I kept to myself for most of the lunch, letting my sister take the attention off me. She was so busy talking about her new internship and how much she loved one of the partners, Henry Andrews, and how smart he was, how charming he was, and how still single he was, that my family didn’t even notice that I was more on the quiet side than usual.
When we left, my grandmother patted me on my cheek and gave me a look that told me she had noticed my silent behavior. Before we parted ways, she squeezed my hand three times and winked.
I got in my car and checked my phone. No missed calls from Lydia. Granted, it was a Sunday; maybe she hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to her boss yet. My impatience was getting the best of me.
Donna and her daughters had been released from the hospital and were staying at the Hilton downtown while their house was being worked on. To my surprise, my mother had not brought up anything to do with Donna while at dim sum. I couldn’t help but wonder if my sister’s interest in a successful lawyer who happened to be a partner at a major law firm had anything to do with it.
I decided to give Donna a call.
“Hello, Lana,” she said, still not sounding quite like herself. “How are things? Anything new to report?”
I filled her in about the conversation I’d had with Lydia, but decided to skip telling her about Denise and the things she had said about Donna. I figured she didn’t need that kind of negativity in her life right now. She had enough.
Donna was quiet for a moment and then said, “If she declines my terms, offer her double the usual rate.”
“Double?” I asked, incredulous.
“Yes, double,” Donna said with resolve. “I’ve found that money can be an excellent motivator in getting people to say yes in these types of situations. And I have the money, so why not use it to my benefit?”
“If you’re sure that’s what you want me to do.”
“Lana, someone is after me, they killed my nanny, set my house on fire, and I’m now living out of a Hilton with my two teenage daughters. Yes, I’m sure.”
“Have you talked to Rosemary?” I asked.
“Yes, of course … why do you ask?”
“You don’t think…” I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.
“Do I think what?”
“That maybe she had something to do with the fire?”
“That’s absolutely absurd!” Her voice rose and then she coughed. “Rosemary would never do such a thing. What have these people been filling your head with, my dear?”
“I have to consider all angles. I know it’s hard. I’m sure that Lydia will want to do the same thing.”
She groaned and coughed.
“How are you feeling?” I asked when she was done with her coughing fit.
“Better. My throat still burns and my lungs are sore, but it’s less painful than it was that first night. I’m just grateful that we’re all okay. This could have turned out much worse.”
“Did the fire department say what caused the fire?”
“Something about faulty wiring in the kitchen. I’m having an electrician come to the house tomorrow morning. I barely understood what the fire marshal said to me, it was all very technical.”
“Faulty wiring in the kitchen?”
“Yes, they said that’s where it started. He asked if I noticed the lights flickering or had problems getting the appliances to work correctly. But as far as I know, Rosemary has had no issues in the kitchen. She would have told me the minute there was one.”
“I see.”
“Lana, I am telling you, don’t get any crazy ideas in your head. Rosemary had nothing to do with this. If there’s any one thing I can be sure of, it’s that she would never betray me.”
I found it interesting that Donna felt it necessary to say this. Clearly she understood that my mind was furthering thoughts on Rosemary’s guilt given that the fire started in the kitchen—the area of the house that Rosemary worked in the most.
We hung up after I told her that I’d be in touch once I heard from Lydia.
* * *
Megan had to work yet again, and I was beginning to worry they’d never find anyone. She was grumpy, tired, and overworked. To help pick up the slack, I cleaned the entire apartment when I got home. After I’d finished stuffing the dishwasher with everything that had piled up over the weekend, I sat down at the kitchen table with my notebook and Kikko at my feet.
Normally at this stage in the game, I had certain feelings about who I thought would be the likeliest suspect and I would home in on that person, but for whatever reason, that was not happening.
It bothered me that I had not met or spoken with Evie since I’d learned of her existence. Because she had been the one to pass along information from Alice to the rest of the gossip community, I felt she was an important part of my missing puzzle pieces.
I still didn’t know what I felt about Rosemary, but it certainly seemed like something was amiss there. Until I had clear confirmation that she was not at all involved, I wouldn’t be able to let it go and feel mentally sound about it.
On top of that, the situation with Alice’s ex-boyfriend, fiancé, whatever he was, still gnawed at me. I made a note that I should try to talk to him again.
Then there was the idea of Brenda Choi and Denise Jung to contend with. It crossed my mind that they could even be in on it together and they were covering for each other by making Donna look like the crazy one.
And of course, there was the possibility that Donna truly was crazy.
I wrote hit man on a fresh piece of paper and circled it with a question mark. I still didn’t want to think that this was a possibility, but how could I ignore it considering Donna’s history and the fact that her mother had found it necessary to run to another country and change their identities?
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. I felt discouraged and disappointed with my lack of progress. Close to bedtime, I decided to forget about the day and just focus on preparing myself for the dread that is Monday. I picked out clothes, spent extra time pampering my face with a mask, toner, and night creams. I inspected the bags that had formed under my eyes, and then flopped into bed with the hope that tomorrow would produce better results.
CHAPTER
25
Monday morning seemed to drag on for what felt like seventeen hours. The only customers we had all morning were the Mahjong Matrons and two take-out orders.
I thought for sure the Matrons would have some juicy comments to add about the recent house fire, but to my surprise they only expressed deep concern for Donna and her children. I suspected that because the children were involved in the equation, it took the luster out of gossiping. Still, I can’t say that I hadn’t thought they’d give me some ideas to mull over and add to my list of suspicions.
Nothing at all exciting happened until around eleven thirty after Nancy showed up. I slipped into my office to prepare a bank deposit when my cell phone rang. It was Yvette Howard.
“Hi, sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I have been absolutely swamped prepping for an upcoming wedding and am behind in returning my missed calls.”
“Not a problem,” I said, trying to sound gracious instead of impatient. “I know you must be a busy woman running your own business and all.”
