Dim Sum of All Fears
Page 24
Meanwhile, Peter was a touch on the introverted side, keeping to himself and partaking in his solitary hobbies which involved video games of some type or something artistic, like painting or drawing.
We said our good-byes to Kimmy, who shuffled over two storefronts to her own place of business, China Cinema and Song, which she helped run for her parents.
I unlocked the door to the restaurant, and we stepped into the darkened dining room, making our way to the back with little effort. A few weeks ago, I had officially become the permanent restaurant manager, now taking care of the main responsibilities while my mother tended to my grandmother. A native to Taiwan, this was my grandmother’s first trip to the United States, and her English was less than stellar. And that’s me being nice about it.
The restaurant life wasn’t what I had been searching for, but it was turning out better than I’d thought. My older sister, Anna May, wasn’t thrilled with me taking over the family business, but with her well on the path to becoming a high-powered attorney, she didn’t have much say in the matter. There might be a small part of me that takes pleasure in that fact.
Outside of the kitchen, I flipped on the lights, and the black and red dining area sprang to life. The touches of gold accent sparkled under the soft yellow lighting and bounced off the black-lacquered tabletops.
We passed through the kitchen and made our way to the back room, which had been turned into an employee lounge. A beat-up couch and small TV from my childhood still occupied the room, and I wondered if my parents would ever replace them.
“So,” Peter said as he grabbed his apron from the hook, “I’m ready for the contest, but I want to test out my recipes one more time before tomorrow. Are you cool with taste-testing them for me?”
“Twist my arm,” I joked. “Of course, I’ll taste them. We can’t let the House of Shen win … or Ray.”
Ray Jin, last year’s Cleveland’s Best Noodles contest winner, beat out both us and our rivals, the House of Shen, at winning the coveted award.
The grand prize winner’s restaurant would be featured in Cleveland magazine with a special profile on the chef and their award-winning recipes. Not only that, but the winning restaurant also won free advertising in the magazine for a year, a cash prize of five thousand dollars and an engraved plaque to hang in their restaurant.
In the five years that the contest had been in existence, we had always placed in the top five, but never made first. This had to be our year. I could feel it.
Peter shook his head. “No, didn’t you hear? They asked Ray to be one of the judges this year.”
“You’re kidding!”
“I swear on my own life, dude.”
“But what about all the rumors that spread around last year after the contest was over? So many people thought he cheated.”
“Yeah, but no one could actually prove it. Especially when the whole scenario came from Joel Liu … totally made him look even more crazy than he already did. Losing that contest really put him over the edge.”
“True, I just assumed they would want to avoid the controversy.”
“They always make the first place winner a judge so they can’t compete again, anyway. I guess he’s no exception.”
I contemplated that while we headed back into the kitchen and got into our morning zones. Peter revved up the appliances while I prepped the dining room before our first customers of the day arrived.
After all that had happened at Asia Village in the past handful of months, we needed something good to happen at the plaza. And winning this contest was it.
CHAPTER
2
Asia Village was my home away from home, and not just because the restaurant was conveniently tucked inside. No, these days, I spent a lot of time in the enclosed shopping center taking advantage of everything it had to offer. When I wasn’t browsing the shelves of my favorite bookstore, The Modern Scroll, I was getting drinks with my newest friend, Rina Su, at the karaoke bar, The Bamboo Lounge. And you can’t forget the salon, Asian Accents, where I always went to get my hair cut and dyed by Jasmine Ming, stylist extraordinaire. Aside from that, we had an Asian grocery, an herbal shop, a gift shop and just about anything else you could think of. It was your one-stop Asian shopping experience.
It was lunchtime at the plaza and my mother and grandmother had stopped through for some noodles before heading off to do whatever it was they did during the day. We were huddled in a circle in Esther’s store, Chin’s Gifts. Esther is my mother’s best friend and my aunt of sorts. She does things like lecture me on my behavior and comments on my posture.
“If the Shen family wins this year, Ho-Lee Noodle House will lose face again,” my mother told the group. “We must beat them.”
“We will, Mom,” I replied. “Don’t worry about it so much. Peter and I have everything under control.”
My grandmother, who was standing next to me, barely came up to my shoulders. I am not by any means a tall person—I come in at a solid five foot four. She observed my mother and me, watching our lips move, and tried to follow along. She blurted something rapidly in Hokkien and stared expectantly at my mother.
My mother replied, and they both nodded.
“What did she say?” I asked. My knowledge of the language was slipping and continued to dissolve as I got older from lack of use. I caught the word “eat” and that was it.
“She said that she would like to have lunch now. She is bored because she does not understand us.”
I turned to my grandmother who met my glance with a smile. Her two front teeth were silver and they glistened in her mouth. She grabbed my hand. “A-ma … hungry.”
“Okay, A-ma…” I pointed to the door with my free hand. “Let’s go.”
“Go!” She tugged on my hand to follow her.
We said good-bye to Esther, and headed out into the plaza. Construction for the noodle contest was under way, and a team of workers hustled to construct a temporary stage over the koi pond.
Ian Sung, our property manager, had insisted that the contest be held indoors in case of unexpected weather. A Cleveland spring could be extra rainy and he didn’t want to take the chance.
“Hey guys!” Rina Su waved at us from the threshold of her new cosmetics shop. The Ivory Doll specialized in Asian makeup and skincare brands like Shisiedo, Wei East, and Amorepacific, but also carried more familiar brands like L’Oreal and Revlon. Since she’d moved in, my cosmetics collection had … gotten healthy.
Rina was the sister of a friend I’d made not long ago who’d been the victim of a senseless murder. Isabelle Yeoh, and her husband, Brandon, had opened a souvenir shop next to Ho-Lee Noodle House and it seemed like just yesterday that they had opened the doors to their first business.
After Isabelle and Brandon had been murdered, I’d met Rina at the memorial services, and we had bonded over the loss of her sister. An unexpected turn of events had led to Rina taking over the property that her sister and brother-in-law had previously owned.
However, with the nature of things as they were, Rina had convinced Ian to let her move the property over to a different empty space in the plaza. Now she resided in the spot which had formerly been owned by a man named Charles An. In case you were wondering what happened to him, well, he turned out to be a very bad man, and he’s now sitting in a state correctional facility for first degree murder, and attempted murder. The attempted murder was on yours truly. The nightmares from that ordeal were still waking me up from time to time, but I tried my best to brush it under the proverbial rug.
That is also how I got stuck with Shanghai Donuts right next to the noodle shop. My mom and sixty percent of the Village believed that the space was cursed. For once in my life, I wished that were true.
My mother grabbed my grandmother’s arm. “We will meet you at the restaurant. Go talk to your friend.”
I separated from my family, and walked over to greet my friend. “Hey Rina, whatcha up to?”
She pushed off the wall sh
e’d been leaning against and gave me a hug. “Watching these handsome guys work their magic.”
I laughed and followed her line of sight to the group of men working, completely oblivious to the two of us staring at them. “I see. Anyone in particular that you’ve got your eye on?”
“Not really, they’re all pretty cute. That one there is the new community director, Frederick Yuan.” She pointed to a slightly muscular Asian man in a white t-shirt and jeans. “He doesn’t start until Monday, but he offered to help with the contest. Isn’t that sweet?”
“I didn’t know that Ian had picked someone for the job already.”
“He made the decision yesterday. I guess he and Frederick go way back or something. I think he said they went to school together.”
I watched him as he worked. He talked and laughed with the others as he helped lift one end of the stage. His biceps stretched the material of his shirt, and a sliver of tattoo was exposed.
“How’s Adam?” Rina asked, breaking my stare.
“Huh, what?”
She laughed. “I asked, how’s Adam?”
“Oh, right. Adam.” I straightened and turned my back to the crew. “He’s okay, I guess.”
“I haven’t seen him around lately. Is everything all right with you guys?”
Adam, also known as Detective Trudeau, was my sort of boyfriend guy. I say “sort of” because we had yet to seal the deal on the whole relationship bit. At present moment, we were dating and not seeing other people—at least, I wasn’t. But lately, we had been seeing less and less of each other. “He’s been busy with a case so he hasn’t had much time to stop by and visit.”
“Hopefully things lighten up for him soon. Starting new relationships can be hard if you don’t put in the time.”
“Yeah, you’re telling me.” I turned back around to the workers who were now taking a break. They had covered the koi pond with their makeshift stage and lounged on benches nearby. “Well, I better get to the restaurant, my mom and grandma are waiting on me.”
“I’ll talk to you at the contest tomorrow! I have my fingers crossed that you guys win!”
As I walked to the restaurant, I kept my eyes on the cobblestone pathway that trails through the plaza. I could feel four sets of eyes fixed on me as I walked by. Just as I was about to reach for the door handle of the noodle shop, someone yelled, “Hey!” and the natural reflex to turn and look kicked in.
Frederick Yuan was jogging up to me, a dimpled smile on his full lips. “Hey, hi, I’m Rick,” he said as he halted inches away from me. He extended a hand. “You’re familiar … why is that?”
I took his hand and he gave me a first shake. “I’m Lana … Lana Lee. I work here…”
“Great! I’m the new community director. I’m starting next week.” His chocolate brown eyes focused intently on mine, and I could feel the heat rising up my neck into my cheeks. “It’s nice to meet a friendly face … I look forward to seeing you around.”
“Yeah … me too.” I realized he was still holding onto my hand which was beginning to sweat. I jerked it away and hid it behind my back. “I’m sorry, I have to go. My family is waiting on me.”
“Oh, don’t let me hold you up. Just wanted to introduce myself.” He jerked a thumb at the stage behind him. “Are you going to be at the contest tomorrow? Your restaurant is in the competition, right?”
I nodded.
“Cool, I’ll see you then.” He gave me a quick wink before jogging back to the other guys.
I turned on my heel and pulled on the door handle. Come Monday, Shanghai Donuts wasn’t going to be my only problem.
* * *
I pulled into the parking lot of my apartment complex a little after six o’clock. Making my way to the apartment I shared with my best friend, Megan Riley, I noticed that her car was still there, which was unusual for a Friday night considering she worked at a bar.
When I opened the door, my black pug, Kikkoman, who normally greeted me upon arrival, was nowhere to be found. “Hello?” I scanned the room. “Where is everybody?”
“In here!” A muffled voice yelled back.
I locked the door and headed down the short hallway where I noticed the bathroom door was closed. The water was running and I could hear splashing. “What are you doing? Where’s Kikko?”
“Open the door. You’ll see.”
I twisted the door handle and poked my head inside. Immediately I burst into laughter.
Megan twisted around from her kneeling position over the tub. “Today, this little girl decided to roll around in some other dog’s poop.”
I continued to laugh. On my dog’s head was a mini-shower cap stretched over her floppy ears. She looked up at me and her mouth dropped open. “Kikko, is this true?”
Her little pink tongue flopped out and she panted in reply.
“I hope you’re not missing work because of this.” I leaned against the bathroom wall, watching Kikko squirm in the tub.
“Nope, I took off tonight so I could get up and go with you to the noodle contest in the morning.”
“Aw, you did? That’s so nice!”
“I know how much this means to you. With everything that’s been happening, Asia Village needs a win.”
“Exactly what I said earlier today. Business is still doing pretty good despite everything, but having an award-winning restaurant at the plaza would definitely help.”
“Is Adam going to be there tomorrow?” she asked, glancing up at me. “You haven’t mentioned him in a couple of days.”
“That’s because there’s nothing to tell. And no, I don’t think he’ll be there tomorrow.”
Megan pulled Kikko from the tub, carefully covering her in a towel. “He’s still busy with that case?”
I nodded. “He sent me a few text messages, but nothing exciting.”
“I’m sure once things are wrapped up, he’ll be around again.”
“Right now, my main concern is this noodle contest. We have got to beat the Shen family, no matter what.”
She released Kikko from the towel and the little pug shook the remaining water from her body before zipping out of the bathroom. “Peter is the best cook in town, I’m sure there won’t be any problems.”
“There better not be. Or I won’t hear the end of it from my mother.”
Also by
Vivien Chien
DEATH BY DUMPLING
Available from
St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Praise for
DEATH BY DUMPLING
“Vivien Chien serves up a delicious mystery with a side order of soy sauce and sass. A tasty start to a new mystery series!”
—Kylie Logan, bestselling author of Gone with the Twins
“Death by Dumpling is a fun and sassy debut with unique flavor, local flair, and heart.”
—Amanda Flower, Agatha Award-winning author of Lethal Licorice
“A charming debut, with plenty of red herrings. The heroine’s future looks bright.”
—Kirkus Reviews
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vivien Chien was born and raised in an ethnically diverse household in Cleveland, Ohio. She found her love of books and the written word at an early age while writing short stories about her classmates in elementary school. Currently, she writes side-by-side with her toy fox terrier who refuses to sit anywhere else. When she’s not writing or frolicking in bookstores, Vivien enjoys frequenting local Asian restaurants and searching for her next donut. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Ded
ication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Epilogue
Excerpt: Murder Lo Mein
Also by Vivien Chien
Praise for Death by Dumpling
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
DIM SUM OF ALL FEARS
Copyright © 2018 by Vivien Chien.
Excerpt from Murder Lo Mein copyright © 2018 by Vivien Chien.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
eISBN: 9781250129185
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St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / September 2018
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.