by Anne R. Tan
Po Po rolled her eyes. “Everyone knows what a gym bag full of money looks like. It’s all lumpy, like they show on TV. Honey, you need to watch more of these crime shows. It’ll teach you a thing or two about life.”
Raina laughed. “I’ll get right on it.” She flipped the channel.
“Janice Tally thinks Holden was part of the witness protection program. Her granddaughter, Christine, saw two large men robbing Natalie Merritt’s apartment,” Po Po continued. “By the time the police arrived, Natalie downplayed the whole thing. Said she was tied up because of some kinky sex games and her partners left to respond to an emergency.”
Raina’s eyes widened. Kinky sex game? Words like this shouldn’t come out of her grandma’s mouth. “Did they take anything?”
“Natalie told the cops they didn’t take anything. But Christine saw the men leaving with a TV and a laptop. And that night, Natalie up and left. Nobody has seen her since.” Po Po nodded. “Yep, that’s why Janice thinks Natalie is now on the run.”
“And what do you think?”
“That’s her theory, not mine. It’d explain why Matthew is having a hard time tracking Natalie down for follow-up questioning.” Po Po shrugged again. “I still think Holden got probed one too many times for some kind of experiment.” She laughed. “That’d explain why he’d seemed to have a stick up his butt the last couple of times I spoke to him during the Open House events.”
Raina cringed inwardly. Good thing her brief relationship with Holden had been discreet.
“I’ll have to ask your friend Eden. She seems to always know about all the conspiracies on campus,” Po Po said.
“There are no conspiracies on campus. Please don’t encourage her. The college is the biggest employer in town. Eden shouldn’t get on their bad side.”
Po Po raised an eyebrow, but changed the subject. “Speaking of Matthew, he came by looking for you earlier. He looked upset. Did you do something to upset him?”
Raina raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think his mood has anything to do with me?” She clicked the button on her remote, her mind racing as the stations flickered by.
Did he find out about her relationship with Holden? She should have confessed at lunch yesterday. It wasn’t her fault. She’d wanted to. If Brenda hadn’t interrupted, she would have said something.
Po Po snapped her fingers in front of Raina to get her attention. “What happened between the two of you in high school?”
Raina dragged her eyes away from the TV, hoping she didn’t look as shaken as she felt. “I’m not discussing my love life with my grandmother.”
“Do you want me to ask Eden to ask you?”
“We broke up. The End.”
Po Po peered into Raina’s face and chuckled. “You sure you don’t need my help?”
“You’ll be the first one I call if I need help,” Raina said through gritted teeth.
Po Po smiled and patted her knee. “Now are you done hiding in Gold Springs yet? It’s a cute little town, but aren’t you ready to come home?”
Raina froze. “I’m not hiding. I’m just on hold until I figure things out.” She wasn’t going to tell her grandma about the lawsuit contesting her husband’s will. It would break Po Po’s heart if she knew her grandchildren were squabbling over money.
She’d been on track to become a Senior Project Manager before she’d called it quits. The view hadn’t been rosy during the climb to the top. A promotion meant she would have even less time for a personal life with all the travel and overtime.
The bittersweet inheritance from her granddad had shoved her down this path. Not that her freedom from a rigid work schedule this past year had done much to improve her personal life. She wasn’t any happier than before. In the right lighting and after a bottle of wine, she’d even allow herself a good cry at the emptiness.
“I grieved for your granddad too, but it’s been a couple of years. And life goes on. At some point you’re going to have to live again.”
Raina stared at Po Po. Was this supposed to be a joke? Grief for Ah Gong?
“Oh, don’t look at me like that. I admit he was controlling and used money to bully people around, but he provided for the family. I never had to worry about money.”
“But Ah Gong treated you and”—Raina gestured at herself—“the entire family like he owned us.” And even after his death, he was controlling her with money. Why did she still feel such loyalty toward him?
“And you had a roof over your head and food on the table after your dad died. You went to college debt free. There are two sides to every coin. Without Ah Gong, you think you could be here moping about your life?”
Raina snapped her mouth shut and nodded her head. The family had been shocked by the large sum Ah Gong had left her. What they failed to understand was hush money came at a price for the giver and the recipient. The lawsuit from her cousins, the vocal complaints from the aunts, and the weight of granddad's secret had forced her on this self-imposed isolation.
Raina took a quick shower, wondering the entire time if dinner was a set-up for a chance dinner date with Matthew under the watchful eyes of the two grandmas. Po Po rode shotgun with a frown on her face and a death grip on her red purse. Not exactly the look of someone anticipating a happy visit with her BFF. Something was up.
“Everything okay?” Raina asked, sneaking sideways glances at her grandma.
“Everything’s peachy.”
Now Raina knew something was wrong. Po Po made fun of women who used that term. Said it reminded her of Southern women with scented face powder and tea doilies. “Are you going to point your pinkie finger up in the air now when you drink your tea?”
Po Po harrumphed, but Raina could see a smile forming at the corner of her lips. Score one to Raina for knowing her grandma like the top of her nose.
“Something is bothering me, but I’d rather talk it through with my friend.”
Raina nodded. There were things she didn’t want her grandma to know about either. Fair was fair.
“Maggie would definitely love more of your company,” Po Po said. “She only has Matthew. And he’s been busy lately with the murder and the fiasco with the pileup at County Road Twenty-seven.”
Raina sneaked a glance at her grandma. “What fiasco?”
Po Po’s eyes lit up. “Oh, you haven’t heard? It happened the evening before I came. Turned out the car that started the five-car pileup had a trunk full of marijuana. And the marijuana grew legs in the evidence room.”
As strange as it sounded, Raina had unconsciously thought Matthew would have as much time as she did to follow-up on leads. This only confirmed that he needed her help all right.
They entered the wallpapered lobby of the senior center with its fussy antique furniture drowning in doilies. Po Po signed them in and strolled through the lobby, past the game room, and continued to the elevators that would take them to the living quarters. Po Po chattered the entire time about the dance scheduled for the following Thursday, but Raina wasn’t listening.
Mrs. Louie beamed at Raina, opening her arms for a welcoming embrace as wide as her door. Vanilla and lemon drops enveloped her as the warm arms encircled her. For a second, the tension of the day melted from Raina’s body as she returned the soft and doughy hug. No wonder Matthew adored his doting grandma. Who wouldn’t want to spend time with the human embodiment of milk and cookies?
“I’m glad it’s out in the open that I’m in town. I hate having to scurry off every time I see you coming,” Mrs. Louie said. “Come inside.”
The condo held some of the smaller pieces of rosewood furniture from the Louies’ home in San Francisco. The bigger pieces were replaced by more compact items from IKEA. The beige coloring, from the fast food version of the furniture world, did little to hide the reduction of circumstances for the elderly woman. Raina tried to hide her frown. She hadn’t spared much thought for the woman who had been a second grandma to her.
She ran a finger over the framed photo of M
atthew in his dress uniform on the side table next to the sofa. Her heart lurched at the familiar smile. She should have been at his side, snapping photos and hugging his arm.
“That’s Matthew at his graduation,” Mrs. Louie said.
“I wish I could have been there,” Raina whispered.
“He didn’t want you to follow where his job took him. Besides, the two of you would have been too young for that kind of commitment.”
“We both married in our teens,” Po Po said.
“That was a different generation,” Mrs. Louie said. “Matthew didn’t need the distraction while he was off doing dangerous work.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Raina flushed at the catch in her voice. “I’m sure Ah Gong didn’t care one way or the other as long as I didn’t leave with Matthew after he gave him the money.”
“Are you talking about the trust fund Mr. Louie left for Matthew in his estate? Ah Gong was the executor,” Po Po asked.
Raina froze. A cold hand squeezed her gut. She glanced at her grandma and Mrs. Louie.
Mrs. Louie blushed and averted her gaze. “I didn’t want him to take out the money, but I couldn’t afford to live in San Francisco. Not after the dot com crash.”
“And so he took out his college fund to pay for this condo,” Raina said through numb lips. Her granddad hadn’t given Matthew money so he’d stay away from her. He’d chosen to stay away. It had always been his choice.
“It’s not what you think, honey,” Po Po said.
“You don’t understand,” Raina said.
“Matthew’s choice wasn’t about you. He couldn’t very well let his grandma sleep in a cardboard box on the street. He was nineteen and needed money for college so he joined the Marines.” Po Po straightened. “And he’ll always have my respect for not dragging you into a life you weren’t ready for.”
Raina blinked rapidly, willing the tears away.
“I’m so sorry,” Mrs. Louie said. Tears ran down her face. “It was my fault. I should have looked over the papers I’d signed from the brokerage house, but my husband handled everything when he was alive.”
A hot flash of shame sliced through Raina’s pity party. Not only had she been a tad melodramatic, but she’d also made a sweet elderly woman cry. She patted Mrs. Louie's hand. “What's done is done. And we all survived to live another day. Now where are those red bean buns?”
Po Po nodded in approval behind Mrs. Louie's back.
Raina soon found herself with a plate full of red bean paste buns and a mug of white tea. “I should go,” Raina said, biting into her third bun a while later. “These mini buns are addicting.”
She didn’t realize until this moment how much she missed being surrounded by her extended family. Until she figured out what she was going to do about her grandfather’s other secret family, she couldn’t go home. She’d been burying her head in the sand, hoping it would disappear on its own. It wouldn’t be fair to ask the family to pick sides on the lawsuit challenging the large inheritance her grandfather left her.
“Don’t worry. Matthew is at home catching up on his paperwork. No time for his grandma today,” Mrs. Louie said. “It must be that nice girl he’d been seeing. It’s about time he started thinking about settling down.”
Raina choked on the bun and gulped lukewarm tea with an unladylike slurp. Matthew was dating someone? Her hands balled into fists. That lying no good rat! Giving her smoke signals about his availability when he was taken. She wanted to smack him.
Mrs. Louie turned to her grandma, giving Raina a chance to recover. Po Po watched Raina with a small smile on her lips.
Raina set her plate on the coffee table. Was that a test? She snorted in disgust. She didn’t have time for mind games with seniors who had all the time in the world. “It’s time for me to go. I have something planned for this evening.” Her plan involved her BFFs Ben and Jerry and some angry journaling.
Mrs. Louie’s face fell. “Oh, you’re not staying to help us plan Bonnie’s move?”
Raina’s eyes widened with surprise. Her grandma was moving?
Po Po squirmed in her chair. “Nothing is set in stone yet.”
Several thoughts ran through Raina’s head. So this visit from Po Po wasn’t temporary. Did this mean she would have to find a bigger place for the two of them? Her mom was going to flip. What’s going to happen to the Victorian in San Francisco?
Po Po flapped her hands. “You should get on with your evening. I’m staying with Maggie tonight so you don’t have to come back for me.”
Before Raina could utter another word, she found herself standing in the hallway with a door shut in her face. Clearly, Po Po didn’t want Raina involved with her moving plans. She should have banged on the door and demanded to know what was going on, but she didn’t. Her grandma could be as stubborn as a toddler fixated on ice cream.
12
A DONUT WITH MY NAME
Raina jerked awake to a loud pounding on her front door Saturday morning. She cracked open a crusty eyelid. Her alarm clock showed 9:30 A.M. Swinging her legs off the bed, she sat with closed eyes for another half second. The pounding came again. Reluctantly, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stumbled to the door.
Peeking through the crack of the closed drapes, Raina grimaced at Matthew’s pinched face. With one hand braced against the doorframe, he tapped his foot and ground his teeth. She backed away from the window, wishing that she could roll back into bed. With a sigh, she opened the door. It was time to face the music.
“Rain—”
She held up her hands. “I need coffee first.”
Raina headed for the kitchen to start the coffee maker without a backward glance, leaving Matthew to close the front door. While the water boiled, she fluffed her sleep-matted hair and tugged the neckline of her tank top lower. It wouldn’t hurt to show some more skin.
By the time the rich aroma of the hazelnut coffee filled the air, she was leaning against the white tiled counter at the opening to her kitchen and watching Matthew pace her living room. Step, step, step, turn, glare.
“Do you want a cup?” she called out.
“No. Rain—”
“Not yet.” She held up a finger. “Give me a minute to wake up.” She sipped the coffee, wishing she could stretch this moment out.
“Ready?” Matthew asked. “Or do you need a donut to go with the coffee?” He stalked into the kitchen and stood in front of her with crossed arms.
Raina tensed and hid her face behind her mug. The kitchen suddenly felt like a shoebox. Matthew was here about Holden. Did he find out about the pregnancy lie? She lifted her chin in an attempt to look relaxed. “Yes. I would love a donut. Is there a spare one down at the station with my name on it?”
The scowl on Matthew’s face warred with the smile creeping in from the corners of his mouth. “How come you didn’t tell me that you and Holden were dating?”
Raina shrugged, hoping she looked unconcerned. “We broke up a month ago. You didn’t ask. And I didn't think it was pertinent to the case.” Her traitorous stomach heaved like a discarded sandal in an ocean.
Matthew ran a hand through his hair, causing the ends on the side to stand at attention. “This makes you a suspect! There’s a big difference between a person-of-interest and a suspect.”
She clutched her coffee mug in front of her body. Her heart raced. What he said didn’t come as a surprise, but she was suddenly filled with fear. “But… I didn’t do anything. People break up all the time.”
“Did you know Holden was engaged to Olivia while you dated him?”
Raina’s eyes widened. Engaged? So Olivia wasn’t another victim. Did Holden and Olivia have a good laugh over how quickly Raina had whipped out her checkbook? A lump formed in her throat. She was such a fool.
“I guess I know now,” she said, her voice cracking. She cleared her throat. “What else did you find out about the case?”
“Stop trying to change the subject. You had no idea you were the other woman?
”
“Of course I want to change the subject.” Raina gestured with her hands; coffee flew out of the mug and splashed on the floor. “How would you like it if I grilled you about one of your ex-girlfriends?”
Matthew jumped back and banged against the refrigerator door. “Watch the coffee! I’m not grilling you about who you dated. I’m doing my job.”
“That’s a convenient excuse, isn’t it? You could have sent an officer. There’s no need for you to come all this way.” Raina knew she was blabbing but couldn't seem to stop the half-baked words from escaping.
“Fine. Joanna could come by and finish up,” said Matthew through clenched teeth.
Joanna? Was that how he thought of Officer Hopper? A dull ache settled on her chest. How dare he throw another woman’s name in her face like they weren’t… No. She slammed the lid on that line of thought. She wasn’t going down that road again. Breathe. Just breathe. There was time for tears later.
“What do you want to know?” she finally asked, tipping her chin up.
His eyes sparked with anger. “Did you know you were the other woman?”
Her voice was dulled when she answered. How could he ask such a question? Given what he knew about her family history. “I would never do that. And you know better than to ask me a question like that.”
“You had no clue there was someone else?”
“None. We only saw each other once or twice a week.”
“Did you kill Holden in a jealous rage?”
“No.”
Matthew leaned back against the refrigerator. His voice softened. “Rainy, I can’t help you if you’re hiding things from me.”
“Why would I need your help?” Raina tightened her grip on the mug and held her breath. How could she explain the pregnancy lie without sounding like an enraged ex-girlfriend now? “I have nothing to hide, but I’m not going to bare my soul. Not unless you care to tell me about all your ex-girlfriends in a sleepover party.”
“Right, is this the part where we do each other’s nails?”
