by Anne R. Tan
Raina turned off the engine. “I think they’re arresting Joe.”
They jogged up to the front yard. Po Po engaged Officer Hopper in a conversation so Raina could have a moment with Matthew.
Joe stepped close to his wife so their foreheads touched. He talked while tears leaked out of Brenda’s eyes. Raina averted her gaze, uncomfortable at the scene before her. It wasn’t like the movies. The raw fear on Brenda’s face touched a part of Raina that made her thankful she wasn’t in her friend’s shoes.
“Come on, Matthew,” Raina whispered into his ears. “We both know that Joe has nothing to do with Sui Yuk Liang’s death.”
“Stay out of this,” Matthew whispered back, grabbing her arm and moving them away from Po Po and Officer Hopper. “There’s nothing you can do here to help her.”
“But—”
“The only way to help her is to find the real killer. With Brenda behind bars, the killer might think he got away with murder.”
Raina’s mouth fell to the floor. Her? Brenda? “What game are you playing?”
“Cops and robbers. Now let me do my job,” Matthew said, brushing past her.
Joe hugged his wife good-bye, and Brenda followed Officer Hopper into her vehicle. Matthew gave Raina a significant cop look and got in the passenger side. As if the look could terrify her into hiding in a corner until the dust settled.
Joe watched the vehicle drive down the street until it disappeared from view. He shook himself as if waking from a dream and looked around like a lost little boy.
“Where is Johnny?” Raina asked. “Do we need to look for a lawyer?”
Joe swiped a finger under an eye, wiping a tear. “They’re charging Brenda with vehicular manslaughter. Oh my God. This is a nightmare.” He buried his face in his hands.
“Who is watching the baby?” Po Po asked.
Joe lifted his head. “CPS took him yesterday. In the middle of opening presents. I need to go. I got to get a lawyer.”
“What can we do to help?” Raina asked.
“Pray for us,” Joe said, and stumbled back into his emptied home.
Raina trotted back to her car. Time to put the squeeze on someone else for a change. She was getting tired of dancing to someone’s puppet strings.
Po Po jogged to keep up with her. “Where are we going?”
“To Eric Wagner’s trailer. I want to see if he’s hiding the jewelry there.”
* * *
Raina called the resort after she parked in a guest spot to ask for Eric Wagner. The front desk person said Eric was working on the south end of the property. She rattled off a fake phone number to the front desk person and asked Eric to call her back.
She crouched lower behind the shadow of the native oak. It started to drizzle, and the ground, already moist from last night’s rain, seemed to grow wetter by the minute. A light fog drifted around them, giving the trees a romantic look. It was the perfect weather for a walk through the woods on a winter afternoon, except neither of them was dressed for it.
In the clearing in front of them, the two rectangular trailers squatted forty feet apart on cinderblock footings. She pointed to the one with the rusted screen door and missing blind slats. “That’s Eric’s trailer.”
“How do you know?” Po Po asked.
“The other one is way too clean.”
Raina wiped the moisture off her nose. “Are you sure you don’t want my jacket?”
“Will you quit asking? I already said no. I’m not even cold, and the wet doesn’t bother me.”
Her grandma was getting snippy, which meant the cold and damp was bothering her. The gray silk pajamas on her grandma blended with their surroundings and would have given her a stealthy ninja look if she were in a movie. As it was, the blue flannel showed through the patches of wet silk and the cane strapped to her waist with a length of cord dragged on the ground, adding to the drowned rat look. Raina would have to trick her grandma into wearing her jacket.
Po Po gripped her cane and looked ready to dash across the clearing. “Let’s go.”
Twigs snapped and voices drifted over to their hiding spot.
Raina’s hand shot out and she grabbed her grandma’s arm, pulling her further back into the tree line. “Someone is coming,” she whispered.
“I don’t hear anything,” Po Po whispered back.
Lucille and pool boy Scotty emerged from the fog, his beefy arm slung across her shoulders. Her reddened face could be from the cold or she just had a crying fest. They disappeared into the clean trailer.
Raina’s jaw dropped to the floor. For some reason, she’d never linked the two together.
Po Po gave her a gentle shove. “Will you stop gaping like a fool?”
Raina peeled off her jacket and handed it to her grandma. “Here, hold this for me. I’m going in closer.”
“I’m coming with you,” Po Po whispered back.
Raina shook her head and pointed at the tree several paces in front of them. “That skinny tree is not big enough to hide both of us.”
“Why are you giving me your jacket?”
“Um…it makes that plastic sound when it’s wet. I don’t want them to hear me. You know what, you should put it on. That way your hands are free.” Raina mimed a chopping motion. “You never know when you need to make a karate move.”
“Okay, girl. I got your back.”
Raina left her grandma struggling into her jacket. It was almost as easy as tricking a baby. She hunched low and scrambled toward the skinny tree. Her soaked sneakers squished with each step she took.
Scotty’s face appeared in the window.
Raina dropped to the wet ground. Moist leaves and twigs pressed against her cheek. After several heartbeats and with no heavy footsteps coming toward her, she moved her head and peeked at the clearing. Interior light illuminated the gap between the closed blinds and window frame.
Circling the trailer, she looked for an open or uncovered window. No dice. She would have to knock if she wanted to hear what was said between the two.
The rain fell in fat drops. She was soaked to the skin and cold. A drop of rain somehow managed to make its way into the gap on the back of her jeans and rolled down her underwear. She tugged her shirt down, hoping to cover her exposed skin. She made a mental note to check the weather in the future when they do any more skulking.
It was time to pack it in. She didn’t want Po Po to catch pneumonia. Maybe they could stop by the police station for news on Brenda and come back later when it stopped raining.
Raina retraced her footsteps to where she’d left her grandma. She scanned the area. “Po Po, come on out.”
No answer. Great. Why wasn’t her grandma paying attention? If Po Po was behind the oak tree checking her phone…
She rounded the tree and gasped. Her pulse roared inside her ears, and she leaned against the bark for support.
Eric Wagner held Po Po by the collar of the jacket with one hand, and the pimp cane with the other. He glanced up at the sound of her footsteps, and his smile widened. “Well, if it isn’t the Chinese girl with the Afro.”
“Keep your hands where I can see them.” Eric pointed the cane at her. “I’m not letting you reach for pepper spray or some kind of weapon in your pockets.”
Raina held up her hands. She took a deep breath. Calm. She had to stay calm. “I’m reaching for the sky.”
Eric frowned as if he had no idea what she meant. “What are you two doing here? Are you planning to rob my home?”
Po Po busted out laughing. “Trust me, big guy. You have nothing that we want.”
He shook his hand, causing Po Po to sway and cutting off her laughter.
Raina wanted to smack him, but she knew it wouldn’t help their situation. “Does Cecelia know you’re boinking Lucille in the utility closet?”
“Leave Lucille out of this,” he said through gritted teeth. “Cecelia and I are not together anymore.”
Raina gave him a tight smile. Oh, she had his number all r
ight. “That doesn’t mean she doesn’t like having a tight leash around you. After all, she’s your sugar momma. And if she finds out about Lucille, you’re going to be out on the streets again. Let my grandma go or I’ll make sure she finds out.”
His hand tightened on the pimp cane. “Careful little girl, or I might just make sure you and your grandma end up in the woods where no one can find you.”
Raina studied his eyes as they shifted to behind her and then back. Scotty had mentioned arguing with him at the time of Sui Yuk Liang’s death. He wasn’t the killer, but he was a bully. His type wouldn’t stand and fight when challenged.
“I have an email scheduled to hit Cecelia’s mailbox in fifteen minutes with all the details of your affair with Lucille and Sui Yuk,” Raina said, in a slow and casual tone, lying through her teeth. “It is also cc to my buddy at the police station. If I don’t stop the email, well, the butter is going to be missing from your gravy train.”
“You’re bluffing,” Eric said, his eyes shifting to his trailer. “You can’t do stuff like that.”
Po Po pulled out her cell phone and waved it under his nose. “Not only can you schedule an email, but I can transfer money around the world with this. Geez, don’t you keep up with the times?”
He flushed. “I embrace simple living. I don’t have fancy gizmos.”
“In other words, your sugar mama—”
Raina cleared her throat. “Sorry to interrupt the love fest. But do we really want Cecelia to know about Eric’s side dish?”
Eric released Po Po, but held on to the pimp cane. “I need a beer.” He stomped past Raina toward his trailer, swinging the cane back and forth at the brown brush on the ground.
Po Po trotted next to him, looking like a Chihuahua yipping at a Doberman. “I want my cane back.”
He ignored her, yanked open his screen door, and stalked inside his home. Po Po followed him, reaching for the door handle.
Raina grabbed her hand. “How do you know he doesn’t have an axe in there? You know—axe murderer.”
“My underwear is soaked. My socks gush water every step I take. I’m freezing.” Po Po opened the screen door. “You can stay out here if you want, but I’m going in.”
Raina glanced at Scotty’s trailer. Someone had turned off the light as if the inhabitants were waiting. She hoped this wasn’t a mistake, and plunged in after her grandma.
21
THE COVER-UP
The trailer was much neater than she’d expected and surprisingly more festive. A three-foot Christmas tree rested on a folding table with three chairs in one corner. A trail of wadded wrapping papers led from the table to the trashcan in the kitchenette. The closed doorway probably opened to his bedroom.
Eric was sprawled on his recliner, one leg thrown over the armrest. A framed photo of three smiling girls rested on the small side table next to him. He gestured with his beer can toward the floor. The thin rug had more stains than beige. His mom must be proud of his hospitality.
He studied them from his throne like they were his subjects. “What do you want? There’s nothing here that you can possibly want.” Then he grinned. “Unless you want me to show you a good time.”
“Ewww! I should smack you for making such a disgusting proposition,” Po Po said. “I’d rather pick my nose. Now where’s my cane?”
“Not you, old bat—”
“Those are fighting words. Do you want a piece of me? I can give it to you again, you old goat—”
“You caught me unawares. And I don’t go around beating little old ladies—”
“I’m not old. We’re are practically the same age—”
“You have at least twenty years on me—”
“Do not! Check my license. I’m only sixty—”
Raina stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled. “Look I hate to break up the make-out session, but the email is going to hurl through cyberspace in a few minutes. Let’s get this show on the road.”
“He called me old—”
“There’s a seat for you in the car,” Raina said.
Po Po harrumphed and crossed her arms.
Eric slouched lower on the recliner. “I don’t have to talk to you.”
“I haven’t told the police you tried kidnapping Sui Yuk Liang’s baby outside of Bullseye.” Raina paused. “But I could.”
His face darkened. “Well, someone sure did. The police came by yesterday. I was in the middle of opening Christmas presents with my kids.”
Raina widened her eyes in pretend surprise. “Maybe a good Samaritan turned you in. Why, you would want to jeopardize”—she gestured around the trailer—“this by attempting to kidnap the baby?”
“I don’t have a high school diploma, but I understand sarcasm. I was rescuing the child like Sui Yuk would have wanted. How do you think my phone number got into the diaper bag in the first place?”
“You probably put it in the bag yourself,” Po Po said.
“Did not,” Eric said.
“Did to.”
Raina clapped her hands. “Children, can we please focus? You’re right. You don’t have to talk to me. But good luck explaining to the police how you got the extortion money from Sui Yuk’s husband.”
“Stop twisting my words. It was a reward for securing the safety of his son until he could get someone to collect the child. A man has to have a contingency plan. I can’t live off of Cece forever. My youngest will be in high school the next year, and she’ll have no use for an on-call babysitter then.”
Now it was Raina’s turn to study Eric. She didn’t figure he would be a family man.
“If he’s so concerned about his son, why isn’t he here with his wife?” Po Po asked.
“Because Sui Yuk is his mistress. His wife is from a rich and powerful family in China, but she couldn’t have kids. And he wanted a son. Somehow he is convinced his wife would be onboard to raise the baby as theirs. But from what little I know about women, he’s delusional. What wife would want to have breakfast with her husband’s bastard?”
Po Po blanched, and her face became a closed shop.
Raina slid a sideway glance at her grandma. Her stomach lurched at the hummingbirds crashing around in there. “Do you think his wife might have known about the affair?” She re-focused on Eric, so she could pretend not to see her grandma studying her.
“Oh the wife knows. She visited Sui Yuk at the condo owned by the husband. Apparently he also kept his previous mistress there. The wife said she’d turn a blind eye as long as Sui Yuk didn’t produce a child.”
“But there is a child,” Po Po whispered, her voice harsh and flat.
“Is the baby even Sui Yuk’s?” Raina asked, still afraid to look at her grandma. “I heard she had a stillbirth, left the resort, and came back with a baby a month later.”
Eric shrugged. “Sui Yuk said the baby was hers.”
“But why come back to the resort? Why not leave immediately for China?”
“I have no idea. The husband pre-paid for two months post-partum. I guess she didn’t want to waste the money.”
“What if Sui Yuk did have a stillbirth? Cecelia’s questionable business practices set her up for blackmail. Could she have stolen another woman’s baby to placate Sui Yuk?”
“Play—what?”
“To get Sui Yuk off her—”
“Hey, you okay?” Eric asked Po Po. He swung his leg off the armrest. “Your cane is behind the front door.”
Her grandma swayed as if she stood before a gusty wind.
Raina reached for Po Po’s arm, but her grandma lurched away from her. Eric dropped his beer can, and caught her grandma before she hit the floor.
Po Po’s eyes fluttered like fragile butterfly wings against her ashen cheeks.
“Hey, are you okay? Should I call an ambulance?” Eric asked gently.
Raina kneeled next to her grandma. “Po Po? Can you hear me?”
“I’m fine. I want to go home.”
“Okay. Let me help you u
p.”
Po Po jerked her arm, twisting her body away from Raina. “I don’t need your help. Young man, give me a hand.”
Eric flicked his eyes at Raina and heaved Po Po up by the armpits. “I’ll give you a ride back to your car on my golf cart.”
The rain had stopped, but Raina’s underwear was still damp. Po Po sat up front with Eric, her back stiff and ramrod straight. She didn’t say anything further to either one of them. Eric stopped the golf cart next to the faded Honda Accord.
“I need to get back to work,” Eric said as they climbed out. He hightailed out of the parking lot without further ado.
The short ride back to the senior condo complex was silent. The similarity of Sui Yuk Liang’s situation to Ah Gong’s secret family in China was too coincidental. The ancestors were telling her something, but Raina had a feeling she missed it.
A small part of her squirmed with guilt for keeping Sui Yuk Liang’s concubine status from her grandma. But another part of her felt oddly protective of the young mom. She had no friends and no money of her own. Most women wouldn’t choose such a life unless they had no other options. Being the mistress to one man was better than being the mistress to many men.
“Just drop me off. I can get up by myself,” Po Po said, interrupting her thoughts. “There’s no need to park.”
Raina parked and ran to open the door for her grandma. Po Po swept out of the car like a grand dame, and Raina nothing more than the hired help for the notice she was given. The elevator dinged, and they stepped inside. Raina was beginning to wonder if she should just leave when her grandma spoke.
“You knew all along Sui Yuk Liang was a home wrecker,” Po Po said, thumping her cane to give emphasis to her words. “I can’t believe you want to help someone like her.”
Raina hesitated. She didn’t want to antagonize her grandma further. “She doesn’t deserve to die.”
“You lied to me again.”
“I was protecting you. I knew you would react—”
“I don’t need your protection. And I don’t need you.”
