by Anne R. Tan
Raina wrapped her arms around her body, tucking her trembling hands into her armpits. “Po Po?” Her voice came out in a strained whisper. She cleared her throat. “Justice sometimes needs a little nudge to balance its scale. Don’t you believe this anymore? If Sui Yuk had a choice, why would she choose to be at the beck and call of a rich man?”
Her grandma averted her gaze. “Sometimes the scale is too out of balance for a simple nudge. What about the poor wife sitting at home? Does she deserve to have her life explode on her?”
Raina licked her lips, and replied carefully, “I think both women are victims. If anyone has to take the blame, I blame the husband.”
“Then why were you so quick to cover up for your granddad?”
The elevator door opened. Maggie Louie stood in the hall, waiting to get in. They stepped out, and Po Po exchanged a quick word with her best friend. Maggie sneaked a quick look at Raina, but got into the elevator even though it was clear she could see Po Po was upset.
Po Po made her way to her condo, her cane thumping louder than it needed to be on the carpet. Raina cringed at the muffled noise but trotted after her grandma even though it was clear the older woman didn’t want to continue their conversation.
The last time she’d seen her grandma this upset was when Po Po got kicked off the board from the family shipping company after Ah Gong’s death. Her grandma opened the front door and stalked in.
On the sofa, Fanny painted her toenails with the concentration of a brain surgeon. She greeted Po Po, nodded at Raina, and returned to setting the rhinestone on her big toe. It must be a wonder to have so little care in this world.
Po Po stalked into her bedroom, throwing her cane onto the bed. She pulled pajamas from the dresser drawer.
Raina flopped down on the bed, like she’d done a thousand times before.
“Get off the bed. You’re going to get the sheets wet,” Po Po snapped. “Why are you still here?”
Raina hopped off the bed like her pants were on fire. “What happened to always being on my team?”
“We’re only in the same team when we’re playing in the same field. I’m tired of second guessing your motives. I don’t trust you anymore.”
Raina flushed at her sudden flash of anger. Her skin felt too tight for her body. “Is this why you wouldn’t let me tell the rest of the family about Ah Gong’s secret? Are you punishing me for your husband’s infidelity?”
“I thought your loyalty lies with me.”
“Like you always say, you’re asking me which toe to cut off. It was his dying wish. Do I think it was wrong? Yes. But I took on this shackle for you.”
“Oh, please. You just wanted the money.”
Raina whispered, “I’ve struggled with this burden. I’ve given up my friends and family to give you time to come to terms with your husband’s death. You wouldn’t have been able to handle his infidelity on top of everything else…” Her voice broke, and she swallowed the lump in her throat. “And this is the thanks I get—from you and from everyone else.”
“I could handle the truth. I’m not a child.”
Raina shook her head. “You’re not the only victim in this family drama. Either we work together to move past this, or I’m leaving you behind.”
Po Po took a deep breath. “You need to leave. I don’t want to say something I might regret later.”
As Raina fled the bedroom, a tear rolled down her cheek. Fanny gave her a quizzical look, but she ignored the foreign exchange student and kept going until she got into the elevator. She pressed her trembling lips together. If she gave in to the tears, she wouldn’t be able to stop until she collapsed into a wet puddle.
At the lobby, two women chatted about the upcoming New Year’s Eve party. One of the women opened her mouth as if to speak, but Raina strolled through the double doors to the Senior Center’s Rec Room.
Frank Small, her best friend Eden’s granddad, sat by the police scanner. He waved for her to come over, but Raina shook her head and headed toward the reading chairs facing the windows of the courtyard.
He marched over and stood in front of her. “Raina, we need to talk. It’s about your grandmother.”
22
THE ROOF IS ON FIRE
Raina clenched and unclenched her jaw. The last thing she wanted was to make small talk when she could sit in the dark and count the flashing lightning outside. She blinked at the burning behind her eyes, and another tear rolled down.
Before she was even conscious of her decision, Raina bawled on Frank’s shoulder and told him the entire sob story about the investigation and its impact on her relationship with her grandma.
She hiccupped and swiped at the tears on her face. “How did everything come out so wrong? I had good intentions. Po Po acted as if she was fine.”
Frank patted her hand. “This would have come to a head sooner or later. You’re her favorite granddaughter. Don’t you think she has every right to feel betrayed by you?”
Raina nodded reluctantly. Lying by omission was still lying. If she were in her grandma's shoes, not only would she feel betrayed, but her pride would also take a huge bruising for not suspecting anything was amiss in her marriage. With her husband gone, there wasn’t anyone else to direct this anger toward. “I still don't understand how such a family man could hide this secret for so many years.”
“Maybe being a family man was his downfall. It could have been a mistake from his youth, and he took responsibility for it all these years. It didn't mean he loved his wife or his family any less.”
Raina tilted her head, considering his words. She could imagine Ah Gong taking on a life sentence for a mistake in his twenties. Family meant everything to her grandfather, especially since he'd survived his parents and siblings by the time he was a teen.
“I wish I'd never agreed to take Fanny shopping last Saturday,” Raina said. “Things could’ve turned out differently if she didn't miss the bus. Maybe Po Po and I would have talked about this instead of letting it explode like this.”
Frank frowned. “It broke down in front of the Town Hall that morning. Mayor Goodwin suggested it was a terrorist attack, but the police chief ignored him.” He pointed at the police scanner across the room. “Donna put out the APB, but no one took it seriously. The mayor used the slow response time as an example of why Gold Springs needs the agreement with the Sheriff in the briefing later in the afternoon. Don’t you watch the news?”
“Not really. Between the gossip from Po Po and what Eden tells me, I know everything there is to know.”
Frank grunted in disgust. He mumbled something unflattering about young people and the drain.
The police scanner crackled, and Raina jumped at the noise.
...fire... Wellness Lane...
Frank crossed the room, fiddled with a knob, and the static faded out.
By the end of the dispatch, Raina clutched her car keys. Things were certainly coming to a head tonight. “I need to go. The fire is at the Women Wellness and Birth Clinic.”
* * *
As Raina drove to the resort, she wondered if she needed backup. If they were still on the same team, she would have asked Po Po to join her. With all the police and firefighters on the scene, she doubted the killer would strike, but it never hurt to have someone watching her back.
While there was no evidence the killer was the same person who had broken into her apartment, it made her jumpy all the same. Anonymity while snooping around was her greatest protection. Now someone put her under a microscope. And after the fiasco with her grandma, she couldn’t help but second-guess her decisions.
She glanced at the clock on her dashboard. A little after eight. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her the last time she ate was several hours ago. She didn’t expect to be much help at the scene, so a quick look-see and then off to the drive-thru.
The acrid smoke came in through the air vents before the tree-lined road opened out to the parking lot of the birth clinic. Vehicles were strewn haphazardly in f
ront of the cottage-styled building hidden among the trees. She pulled over to the side, making sure the Accord wouldn’t be in anyone’s way. The last thing she wanted was for a fire truck to total her car.
She jogged over to the ring of onlookers on the edge of the action. Flames and smoke rolled out the broken windows. The west wing of the roof looked ready to collapse. If the fire had started half an hour earlier, the rain would have helped to reduce the flames. As it was, the fine mist added to the general irritation of soot and bits of paper floating around.
“Is there anyone inside?” Raina asked the man next to her. Her throat was already coated with grime from breathing the astringent air.
“No,” he said, glancing down at her. Dale Sprint, Eden’s rival at the newspaper office, recognized her the instant she placed him. “The patients return to their suites after labor and delivery.” His eyes lit with an inner fire. “I can’t believe I’ve never heard about the goings-on at this place. This article would make the chief reconsider Eden’s promotion.”
Raina’s heart sank. Her best friend Eden would be a caged tiger once he published a column on the birth resort. She could see the byline now—the new gold rush, citizenships for sale. The fallout wouldn’t be pretty for Eden or their town.
Dale flicked a curl off his blue eyes. “Is Eden asking you to spy on me? Whatever she’s paying you, I’ll match it.” He stepped closer. His eyes darkened into a sooty come-hither look. “I can definitely beat it. How about dinner sometime?”
Raina would rather chew her own leg off. She looked around the crowd. Toni watched them by the big redwood tree. “I need to go.” She made her way to the private investigator while dodging other lookie-loos who had a few hours to kill on a Saturday night.
“Have you located Muyang yet?” Raina asked.
Toni sighed, rubbing a hand over her face. “She was caught red-handed inside the building. The police handcuffed her and stuffed her into the back of the cruiser.” She jerked her thumb at the vehicle with an officer speaking into his walkie talkie. “They’ll bring her back to the station for questioning later.”
“Was she holding some kind of flame accelerant? Why would she set fire to the place? This makes no sense.”
“I don’t know, and I no longer care. Muyang is getting her retainer back with my blessing. I’ll call around for a lawyer, but that’s it. I can’t work for someone who wouldn’t take my advice and would rather run around like a loose cannon.”
“Why did you take her case in the first place?”
“I’m a sucker for good sob story. Muyang had no friends and no money, and she claimed someone stole her newborn baby. Her husband couldn’t come because they used their last yuan to send her here. They wanted their son to get a head start in life with a U.S. citizenship. I’m a grandma myself, so I fell for it—hook, line, and sinker.”
Raina stared at the police vehicle parked fifty feet away. A shadow moved in the dark interior of the backseat. The similarity between Sui Yuk and Muyang was eerie. Only one of them was BL’s mother, but which one? “For what it’s worth, I don’t believe she would start the fire. This could destroy the evidence she seeks.”
Toni pulled a cell phone from her jacket pocket. “I have to make phone calls. We’ll catch up later?”
Raina nodded and watched the private investigator disappear into the night. She scanned the scene in front of her, but other than Dale Sprint, she recognized no one else. Her stomach rumbled again.
If she went through the drive-thru, she should have time to grab the frozen cheesecake in her apartment and get to the police station as they bring in Muyang. With such a treat, the front desk clerk would discretely give Raina the inside scoop on the arrest.
The cell phone in her jeans pocket vibrated. She pulled out a condom along with her phone. Extra lube for her pleasure. She rolled her eyes as she stuffed it back into her pocket. It’d only been a few hours, but she already missed Po Po.
She tapped on the broken screen, opening the text message from a number she didn’t recognize. Her heart stopped, and blood pounded inside her ears. The phone slipped off her numb hands and shattered on the ground.
Come to STE 18 alone. I have your grandma and sister.
23
LIGHTS OUT
Someone touched her elbow, and she shrieked.
“Hey, calm down,” Dale said, holding out the broken pieces of her cellphone. “You okay?”
Raina knew panic wouldn’t help her grandma. She took a deep breath, but ended up coughing from the smoke. Her face grew hotter as she wasted precious seconds trying to stop hacking so she could speak. “Help.” Her voice came out in a weak whisper. “Someone kidnapped my grandma. Suite Eighteen.”
“Calm down. Follow my lead,” Dale said, inhaling and exhaling. “In and out. You need oxygen.”
Someone called out to the news reporter, and he turned his attention away from her.
She grabbed his arm, squeezing it to get his attention. “Tell the police there's a kidnapping in progress. Suite Eighteen.”
Dale yelped. “Hey, stop that.” He jerked his arm away from her grasp.
Raina backed away from him. Useless. “Find Detective Matthew Louie. Kidnapping. Suite Eighteen.” She turned and ran toward the walking trail that connected the clinic to the rest of the resort.
In the daylight this path was a vision of laughter and light. Flowers and ivory weaved themselves around the wood trellises. In the dark, the lattices created more shadows that mimicked the fear in her heart.
With Muyang in the back of the police cruiser, who else would have a reason to kidnap her grandma? Obviously, the person got to her at the condo since they’d managed to take Fanny too.
Is the kidnapper the same person who killed Sui Yuk? Cecelia or Eric? It had to be one of them, but which one?
Her breaths came out in labored puffs. Though the distance to Suite Eighteen was shorter than her morning runs, the terrain was much rougher. The dim moonlight lent the ground a flatness it didn’t normally have. She stumbled on a rock and almost fell over.
The back of Suite Eighteen appeared in front of her. The interior was dark, and Raina slowed. No point in announcing her presence to the killer yet. Surprise was her only advantage. She crept up to the window and peered into the bedroom. The door was closed, but the strip of light at the bottom acted as a beacon. Everyone was in the living room.
She tried the window, but it was locked. The bathroom window was too small, which meant she would have to go in through the front door or the patio door. Since they were side by side up front, what difference did it make which door she chose? The killer would be waiting for her on the other side.
What if this was a trap? What if her grandma was asleep in her bed, dreaming of sugarplums and dancing bears in tutus?
Cecelia or Eric? One would lose the resort, and the other his sugar mama. What if they were in on this together? They had a lot to lose if Sui Yuk were able to turn over evidence of Cecelia’s questionable business practices. Both of them would lose their livelihoods.
What choice did she have? Her grandma and Fanny were inside. All she could do was hold the killer off until the police show up. She had to believe Dale would talk to an officer. Even the cast of Mission Impossible had more to work with than a key card and condom.
Raina gripped the knob and swiped the key card. She dropped into a tackling position and rushed into the room, hoping for a second of surprise to do some damage. The room was emptied, except for Fanny and Po Po. They were tied up like pigs on a stick on the floor.
“Hurry,” Fanny mumbled over the gag in her mouth. Her frightened eyes shifted to the doorway behind Raina. “He went out looking for you. He’ll be back any minute.”
Raina spun and closed the door. She flipped the security lock above the keycard lock. It might not be much, but at least it would give her a warning when Eric returned.
Po Po jerked and made muffled noises. Her eyebrows twitched up and down as if they were possess
ed.
Raina rushed over to her, working on the knots on her grandma’s hands. “You can be mad at me later.”
The only warning she got was a rustling noise, and pain radiated from the back of her neck. The room spun in a slow circle. She reached out to grab onto something, and her face hit the carpeted floor.
Someone grunted. Angry mumbling in Chinese.
Raina cracked open watery eyes to see Fanny crouched in front of her. She reached for her head, but stopped short. Her hands were bound behind her. She shifted her eyes.
Po Po sobbed, tears dripping into the dirty gag and onto the carpet. Drip. Drip. The wet spot spread on the carpet next to the pimp cane.
Raina closed her eyes, willing away the fog. She needed to have her wits. Someone kicked her legs, and the pain raced up her back. She blinked at the tears, but at least she could focus now.
Fanny hovered over her. How did she get out of her ties?
Raina stared at her in confusion for half a heartbeat. Her hands were never tied in the first place. It was all a ruse. The foreign exchange student killed Sui Yuk.
“Why?” Raina mumbled, pretending to be less coherent than she actually was. “Did you hate my grandma's cooking this much?” She tugged against the restraint. There was enough slack to get her wrists out if she could get some butter on them.
Fanny’s expression was cold and impersonal. Even the pink highlights in her hair made her face appear harder than normal with the shadows from the cheap overhanging light. “I didn't want to, but she made me do it when she decided to have my husband's baby. Our arrangement was for Sui Yuk Liang to keep my husband happy so I no longer had to share a bed with him. But a baby? That changes everything.”
Raina tugged at the rope again, wincing at the burning pain around her wrist. This wasn’t going to work. “What happened to looking for a rich American husband?”
“It was a contingency plan in case things didn’t work out.”
