by Vivien Chien
Brandon’s family rushed over and his father grabbed Constance by her arms, pulling her away from her sister. She jerked her hands free. “Don’t you dare touch me!”
The sister held a hand to her face, rubbing the spot where she had just been smacked. “This is so typical of you, Constance. Everything is about you. Show some damn respect.” And with that, she stormed away.
Kimmy turned back around to face me. “Told you.”
I watched Constance’s sister storm up the stairs. My brain was one step ahead of me. “Hold my coffee,” I said, thrusting the cup at Anna May.
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll be right back.” I pushed my way through people who were all a-chatter after the show that Constance and her sister had put on. I took the stairs two at a time—which was a lot considering I was wearing high heels.
As I stepped outside, I spotted Constance’s sister ready to get in a red car at the other end of the lot. “Hey!” I yelled. “Wait up!”
She whipped around and gave me a curious look, no doubt wondering who I was. She shut the door and stood waiting for me to catch up to her.
“Hey,” I said, attempting to catch my breath.
“I’m sorry about in there. I didn’t mean to disrupt anything. I hope you could pass along my apologies to their families.”
“Oh, that’s not why I came out here.”
“It’s not?”
“No, I wanted to see if you were okay.”
She folded her arms and leaned against the car. Her face was red where Constance had smacked her, and part of her eyeliner had smeared near the corner of her eye. “Yeah, I’ll survive.”
“I’m Lana, by the way.” I extended a hand.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Victoria.” She returned the gesture, and I noticed how bony and cold her hand was in mine. “Sorry my sister is such a jerk.”
“Hey, I know the feeling,” I said with a chuckle. Okay, I knew that Anna May was nowhere near that bad, but relating to her as much as possible would work to my benefit. “I’m a little sister, too.”
“Ugh, so you know my pain.”
“Your sister is an interesting person.”
“You know Constance?”
“Sort of.” I filled her in on my encounters.
“Ah…”
“I was wondering if you could tell me about Brandon. Everyone seems to think what happened to them is his fault. Do you know of any…” I paused, trying to think of an appropriate word. “… shady dealings?”
She thought for a moment, her eyes traveling back to the funeral home. “Unfortunately, I don’t think I can be of much help. I haven’t seen Brandon in years. After the whole incident with him and my sister, Constance forbid me to go anywhere near him. Shortly after that, I moved upstate. Best to stay as far away from both of them as humanly possible.” Her eyes shifted back to me. “By the way, you do know about the incident I’m talking about, right?”
“I heard a little bit,” I admitted. “I don’t know any details, but I bet there were a lot of hard feelings.”
“Only on her end, I’m afraid. Everything worked to her benefit, so I don’t know why she’s so upset with me. If anything, I did her a favor.”
“What do you mean?”
“The agreement in their prenups stated that any type of cheating would result in a clean break. If she could prove he was having an affair, she could walk away payment-free. But if she just up and broke off the marriage without any concrete proof of him cheating, she’d have to pay him spousal support, and she hated him too much for that.”
“I hate to ask, but were you his only affair?”
“I can’t say that I was.” She hugged herself tighter as she said it. “He was a little bit of a ladies’ man. And she did try to do something about it. But she had a hell of a time proving it. He was pretty good at covering things up and making it seem like she was taking the whole thing out of context. So she kept her mouth shut and her head down until she could figure something else out. I don’t know why she didn’t hire a private investigator. She could have gotten rid of him a lot sooner.”
“And you were the solid proof that she needed?”
“You guessed it,” she said with a little pride. “Brandon and I really loved each other. I know that sounds hard to believe because he was known for sleeping around. But we really had something. It’s possible we wouldn’t have been right for each other in the long run, but as far as young love goes … well…” She drifted off. “Anyway, my sister had no business marrying him to begin with. The whole thing was a disaster. They were both incredibly unhappy. Personally, I don’t think Constance is the type of person to be married. She’s too independent and stubborn for that. Then, when she accused us of our indiscretion, I figured I was doing her a favor. So I came out with it. I shared some photos and text messages with her that she used to show her lawyer and present in court. Gave her times and dates and everything. Brandon wasn’t very happy with me, but if neither one of them was going to do anything about it, I had to step up.”
“I take it that’s when the feud started?”
She replied with a nod. “We haven’t talked since the divorce. I’m okay with it really; we never got along to begin with. We talked more out of obligation … family appearances and whatnot.”
I felt a little bold for asking my next question, but since she didn’t seem to care much for her sister, I figured I’d take the gamble. “Do you think your sister would be capable of revenge?”
“Meaning what exactly?” she asked.
“Truthfully?”
“I’m not going to rat you out if that’s what you’re worried about. This conversation stays between us.”
I took a deep breath. I didn’t know if I could trust this woman, but I had to take the chance. “Do you think she would hurt Brandon or his new wife in any way? You know, to get back at him for things that happened in the past? Maybe even accidentally…”
“Are you asking me if my sister had something to do with Brandon and Isabelle’s death?”
I could feel my face turning red. “Well, if you say it like that, I sound like a crazy person, don’t I?”
“Not at all,” she said, reassuring me. “Look, my sister is definitely high-strung, and she’s got her mental problems, but she’s no killer. She’s too proper for that. I don’t think she’d want to dirty her hands. Plus, a woman like her … well, she finds other ways to make your life miserable. She’s highly resourceful. Trust me.”
“Do you think she’d hire someone to do the dirty work for her?” I thought about the mystery man I had seen with Brandon on that last day.
Victoria turned away from me, her eyes focusing again on the funeral home. “I’m not sure … she has the money, I suppose.”
“Sorry if I offended you,” I said. “It’s been an odd time around here.”
“No need to apologize,” she said. “I just wish I could help you more. I can tell you old college-days stories, but that’s about it.”
“It’s okay; I’m not sure where I’m going with this whole thing. I was hoping you’d be able to tell me something since you were so intimate with him. I thought there was a slim possibility that you would have kept in touch … as friends.”
“No … things got pretty ugly after the divorce with my sister. I didn’t want that kind of negativity in my life. And I knew that I wanted more than what Brandon had to offer in the long run. He was a great guy, but he had a lot to learn about being in a committed relationship. I know this probably sounds weird to you, but I loved him as a person. Deep down, there was something good there; he just had to find it. I couldn’t wait around anymore … a girl’s got to live, you know?”
She was right about one thing. I didn’t get it. All I could see about Brandon was that he was a horrible person. I had yet to find a redeeming quality about his character.
“You know, if you want to talk to someone who knows Brandon better than anyone, you should look up Jay Coleman,�
�� Victoria said.
I pulled out my phone and opened the Notes app, typing in the name. “Who’s that?”
“Jay and Brandon go way back, like to kindergarten days. They still kept in touch until recently as far as I know, although I didn’t see him here today. But give him a shot; he may know something.”
“Thanks so much, Victoria. I really appreciate all of this,” I said. I pulled out a business card and gave it to her. “If you think of anything at all, call me.”
She took the card and nodded. “No problem, and good luck, Lana. If there’s anything to be found, I hope you find it. Even if it is my sister who’s guilty.”
CHAPTER
14
Anna May dropped me back off at my apartment. I ran in, made a few notes in my notebook, and changed my clothes before hopping into my car. Even though I didn’t have to open the restaurant at all today, I wanted to. I couldn’t take another day sitting at home with nothing to do but think. I needed normalcy.
Ian and Donna had closed Asia Village for the duration of the ceremonies, allowing everyone the chance to attend. But Donna, knowing that a lot of people—including herself—like to work through their grief by keeping busy, decided to amend the original scheduled closing to an optional half day.
The streets were decent—barring slush—and traffic had picked up its pace with the excitement of an ice-free drive.
I parked, sitting in my toasty car and dreading the walk inside. Before long, a red Mustang pulled up next to me and honked. It was my stylist and good friend, Jasmine Ming. She waved at me through the window, her big, ebony curls dancing around her face as she bounced in the driver’s seat.
I waved back and got out of my car, careful to avoid the slush puddle that was forming outside my door. “Good morning.”
“Hey, woman.” She removed her large-framed sunglasses and placed them on top of her head. “Did you happen to catch that wild nonsense after the funeral?”
I nodded. “I did, indeed.”
“As if everything isn’t messed up enough as it is.” She slung an arm over my shoulder and ushered me toward the doors with her. “Rough stuff, for sure. Especially since you knew her better than anyone else here.”
I sighed. Funny that everyone kept saying that: I had begun to think I didn’t know her at all. “I’m not so sure anymore…”
“Why do you say that?”
“Just a feeling, I guess.” We entered the plaza and I stamped the snow from my boots. “Let me ask you something.”
“Sure thing, chickadee.”
“Did you ever notice anything strange about Brandon? Maybe he was acting funny or suspicious?”
Jasmine tilted her head. “Are you talking about how he used to disappear all the time?”
“Yes! You noticed it, too!”
“Of course. It was practically every day. One day I was leaving for lunch and I saw him meet some guy in a fancy car out in the parking lot. Brandon got in and they sped off to who knows where.”
“A guy? Did he remind you of William Shatner at all?”
She looked at me with a puzzled expression. “That’s a weird way to describe someone, don’t you think?”
“I know … but did he? Not what he looks like now, but maybe around the original Star Trek times?”
Jasmine teetered her head back and forth. “I guess, kinda. I’ve seen him more than once, too. But that was the first time I’d seen them leave together in that guy’s car. Wherever they were off to, it was sure in a hurry.”
My mystery man was turning out to be a repeat visitor. How come I had never noticed him before? And who was he?
Jasmine dropped off at the salon, and I made my way through the plaza to the restaurant. As I passed China Cinema and Song, I noticed that Kimmy was already open and ready for customers. I decided to pop inside and say hello.
“You got here pretty quick,” I said to her.
Kimmy looked up from the cash register and gave me her version of a smile, which is a quick twitch of her lip. “Yeah, after the drama ended, I decided to bail.” She assessed my appearance. “How’d it go with the sister? What’d you say to her?”
“I asked her about Constance. She didn’t really offer up too much.” I trusted Kimmy, but I didn’t want to get her involved. The less she knew about what I was up to, the better.
“Well. At least this business is over and done with it.” She sighed. “The whole thing is a lot, you know? We go here, then we go there, then we go to this other place. I told my parents, if I die before them, I don’t want all of that.”
I didn’t say so, but I didn’t want to think about what would happen when I died. I was still holding out hope that I was going to live forever.
I said my goodbyes and headed over to the restaurant, flipping on the lights as I made my way through to the kitchen. I opened the door to my mother’s office and noticed the light blinking on the answering machine my mother insisted on keeping. I had yet to win the battle of digital voice mail.
There was a message from the meat delivery guy who said he’d tried to stop by but we were closed. Damn. I had forgotten to call the delivery guys to let them know about our adjusted hours. I made a note to call and have them come back now that we were open again.
The second message was from Marcia Yeoh. She wanted to speak with me and asked me to call her back when I had a chance. I jotted down the number, wondering what she could possibly want to talk to me about. I hadn’t seen her at the funeral and I found that to be suspicious. If she cared about Brandon at all, wouldn’t she have been there?
I heard a loud banging come from the front of the restaurant. I raced up front to unlock the door. I’d forgotten about Peter!
He gave me an exasperated look. “Whoa, don’t give me flashbacks or whatever. I thought maybe you were hijacked in the back or something.”
I locked the door behind him. “Sorry, I was listening to the messages and forgot to check for you. By the way, we missed the meat delivery yesterday.”
Peter smacked himself on the forehead. “Totally slipped my mind. Don’t worry, I’ll give Jack a call and let him know that we’re open again.”
“Thanks, I have to call back Marcia Yeoh … she said she wants to talk to me about something. Do you remember seeing her at the funeral? I don’t think she was there.”
“Wait, that’s the hot one, right?”
“Yes, Peter, that’s the hot one.”
He nodded in approval. “She’s totally hot.”
“What about Kimmy?” I asked.
His cheeks turned pink and he looked away. “She’s okay sometimes.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I better, um, get the kitchen set up and stuff. The Matrons might surprise us with a late breakfast or something.”
I followed behind him, and as we entered the kitchen he started to chuckle to himself. “What’s so funny?” I asked him.
“Nothing.” He glanced at me over his shoulder and I could see the smirk on his face.
“Oh come on, you can’t do that. You know that drives me crazy.”
“Nothing, just…” He stifled a chuckle. “If you put the two ex-wives together, they’re kinda like hot-and-sour soup.” He paused, waiting for my reaction. “Get it?”
“Yeah, Peter, I get it.”
* * *
Marcia answered on the third ring. “Thank you for calling me back so fast,” she said after I announced myself.
“I have to say, I didn’t expect to hear from you,” I admitted. “I assumed you would be at the funeral today.”
There was a short pause before she answered. “There have been a lot of bridges burned over the years. I decided it might be best if I didn’t show my face.”
“But he was your husband at one point; you have just as much right to show your face as anyone else. You’d think everyone could put aside their differences for one day. Especially considering the circumstances.”
She chuckled. “It would be nice if things worked that wa
y, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, not everyone is quite as civilized as you or myself.”
“By ‘everyone,’ do you mean the other Ms. Yeoh?”
“She’s just for starters.” She took a deep breath, and it sounded as if she was going to say more, but she stopped herself. “Anyhow, I had called to ask a favor of you, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”
“I’m not sure how I can help, but I can try.”
“I’m back in New York for a few days, and I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind giving me a call if there are any changes at the shop. If something changes … anything at all … I’ll come back right away.”
As far as requests went, it sounded simple enough. “Sure. Should I call you at this number?”
“Yes, this is my cell phone, and I have it with me at all times.”
“Okay, I’ll call you if anything happens before you get back. But I’m sure that Ian will call you if anything changes.”
“I’m sure he will, too, but in case it slips his mind, or if something happens there, I’d like if you’d let me know.”
I frowned. “Like what kind of something?”
“Oh, you know … anything at all. Us girls have to stick together.”
“Okay … no problem. I’ll call you the minute anything changes.”
“Great. Oh, and Lana…”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe you can keep this between you and me. I wouldn’t want Ian to think I didn’t trust him.”
“Um … sure.”
“Thank you so much. I feel so much better knowing that I have an extra set of eyes on this.”
After we hung up, I sat in my mother’s office for a few minutes staring at the wall. An extra set of eyes … did that mean there were other eyes on the shop as well?
CHAPTER
15
Business was picking up each day we got closer to Chinese New Year, and I spent most of the afternoon busy taking care of customers as they piled into the restaurant, one party after another. Even the Mahjong Matrons, who typically liked to lounge after they ate, were bustling in preparation for the parties and events they were planning to attend.
Nancy came in to help, giving me a chance to sneak back into my mother’s office to prepare the bank deposit and handle a couple of loose ends I had been meaning to take care of. Information had to be filed into my mother’s monthly budgeting system, and a vegetable order had to be placed before the end of the day. Peter had already given me an earful about his dwindling supply of ginger and shiitake mushrooms.
