Min looked questioning, and Sadie hurried to rescue her from her thoughts. “I realize they don’t necessarily like me, but I think you’re a good girl . . . uh, young woman, and if I can help, I will. I have two children of my own who have grown up and left home. I know how your parents are feeling, but I understand your position as well.”
Min nodded and wiped at her eyes, still looking stunned by the unexpected turn. “I, uh, better show you out before anyone comes down.” She stepped past Sadie toward the back door.
Sadie followed her into the semidarkness. Min pushed open the door, lighting up the alcove and the boxes lined against the walls. Most of the boxes were labeled in both Chinese and English, and the open one on top caught Sadie’s eye—Fortune Cookies. Sadie thought about how helpful the other fortunes she’d read on this trip had been so far. “Could I have a cookie?”
“Sure,” Min said, still holding the door open.
Sadie reached into the box and imagined that the right one would feel different than the others. After feeling around for a few seconds, however, she remembered that the employees would be there soon and grabbed a cookie. As she turned toward the door, the box beneath the cookies caught her eye. The word “chopsticks” had been crossed out and relabeled “lamps.”
“Do you sell lamps?” Sadie asked, thinking of the display case at the front of the restaurant and the fact that there were no lamps in it. She opened one end of the cellophane wrapper of her cookie.
“We used to have them on the tables. I think my mom’s going to sell them online or something.”
“Oh, like little oil lamps then, not plug-into-the-wall lamps.”
“Yeah, oil lamps. At dinnertime we’d light them and turn off some of the overhead lights. It looked really cool, kind of romantic.”
Sadie thought about her first impression of those over-bright fluorescent lights in the restaurant. Lamplight would create such a different ambiance. She removed the cookie from the wrapper. “Why did you get rid of them?”
“Ma ma just didn’t want them anymore,” Min said with a shrug. “She said they were dangerous.”
Sadie’s fingers stilled instead of breaking open the cookie. “Dangerous?”
“Yeah, because of the kerosene. She was worried one of us girls would get burned when we blew them out and refilled them at night. I guess she didn’t think about the fact that we’ve been filling and cleaning and lighting those lamps our entire lives.” Min rolled her eyes.
Kerosene? Sadie looked at the box again. “You used kerosene in the lamps?”
“Well, a synthetic kerosene. It has a higher flash point for indoor use.”
Holy cow! “When did your mother take the lamps off the tables?”
“I don’t know, a couple of weeks ago maybe?” A sad expression crept over her features. “A lot of stuff happened a couple of weeks ago, didn’t it?”
Sadie managed a kind of awkward laugh while thinking I need to talk to Pete! But she couldn’t talk to Pete. What was her next best option? “Min, where’s your dad right now?”
“I don’t know. He had a meeting this morning. He said he’d be in by the time we open at 11:00 though.”
Lin Yang’s voice could suddenly be heard from the kitchen, talking to someone in Chinese. Min gave Sadie a quick look of fear, and Sadie hurried through the open door. Min pulled the door closed without saying good-bye, leaving Sadie alone in the alley. Ji had pretty much dismissed her twice now—once over the phone and then again after their dinner last night. Sadie hated ignoring that fact, but she really needed to talk to him. More than ever.
Chapter 28
Sadie returned to Sacramento Street and walked toward Portsmouth Square, where there were some benches. She’d forgotten about the cookie in her hand until she reached for her phone. Suddenly, the cookie was a chore instead of a pleasure; she put it back in the cellophane wrapper and then in her purse. She didn’t have any room in her brain for it at this moment.
The park was full of people: tourists consulting maps, kids playing on the playground, and old Chinese men talking loudly while they played checkers. Sadie found an empty bench on the Washington side and sat down. She sent Ji a text telling him she needed to talk to him ASAP. She didn’t have high expectations of him responding since he seemed to ignore her texts far more often than he answered them, but she hoped the sense of urgency would help.
While she waited for him to reply, she thought about the name and address on those letters Min had been mailing for Wendy. She opened the Internet browser on her phone and went to the Next Faces website. She didn’t remember Rodger’s bio on the site saying anything about his personal life the first time she read it, but she read it again to confirm that there was no mention of a wife. She needed her laptop to do a thorough hunt for information, but it was at the hotel and she didn’t want to go too far for fear of missing her chance to talk to Ji.
Verifying if Rodger had a wife and then possibly finding out if she was the person who had hired Mr. Green Shirt was important. But was Sadie giving her suspicions about Lin Yang the proper attention if she could push them aside so easily? Lin Yang had something to do with either Wendy’s death or the fire—or both. Topics of focus couldn’t get much bigger than that. And yet until Sadie heard back from Ji, what could she do about it?
Feeling stuck reminded Sadie of the fortune cookie. That she would think of a silly cookie at a time of such serious consideration annoyed her. She was not a superstitious person, so as she fished the cookie from her purse she told herself she was simply being efficient and keeping it from getting crushed. After breaking the cookie in half, she pulled the paper out.
New people will bring you new realizations.
Sadie read the fortune a second time and then reviewed the other fortunes she’d received: one had spurred her to get to work, the other had told her to take a hunch seriously. Perhaps she would have done the same things with or without the fortunes—both of Pete’s fortunes had been worthless—but silly as it was, those little words of wisdom had given Sadie a bit more confidence in moments when she needed all the confidence she could get.
Sadie pondered the implications of this newest bit of advice found within a cookie shell and the fact that Ji hadn’t replied to her text, Pete hadn’t contacted her, and she was currently sitting on a bench doing absolutely nothing. Without her laptop she couldn’t access the investigative websites she used for background checks, but she didn’t need all the fancy access her laptop provided her to do a basic search for information. She might as well do what she could.
She opened up the browser on her phone and Googled “Wife of Rodger Penrose, San Francisco, California.” It took a few minutes of weeding through links and images until she found a picture of Rodger with a beautiful blonde woman who looked fifteen years his junior. Sadie followed the image to the website, which belonged to a charity organization that had hosted an event several months earlier. The caption read, “Rodger and Leann Penrose, silver tier boosters.”
With a name in hand, Sadie was able to do a more refined search, and a few minutes later she was on the website for a nearby upscale boutique which was owned and operated by one Leann Penrose. Consulting a different map that showed the neighborhoods of San Francisco—or districts—confirmed that the boutique was located in the Nob Hill district, the area Min had said the letters were sent to. According to the map, the boutique was just on the other side of Chinatown, and based on a rough calculation regarding the small blocks, Sadie estimated that it was about a fifteen-minute walk.
If the one letter Sadie had found in Wendy’s apartment was any indication, Wendy was likely harassing this woman. On the other side of the coin, however, was that Rodger’s wife was the one person Sadie and Pete had identified as having a motivation to hire someone to follow Rodger and see who he ate lunch with. Perhaps those two details were connected.
New people will bring you new realizations.
She looked at the two halves of the cookie in her h
and. She wasn’t in the mood to eat them, but she’d heard that if you didn’t eat the whole cookie, your fortune wouldn’t come true. She read the fortune a third time and decided to pay a visit to Mrs. Rodger Penrose.
Min had said Ji would be back to the restaurant by eleven o’clock. Sadie could very well be finished interviewing Leann and back in Chinatown by then, assuming Leann was at the boutique this morning. Sadie checked her watch; it was just after ten o’clock, which was listed as the time the boutique opened Monday through Saturday. Sadie called the number listed on their website.
“Pour Vous boutique, this is Tia.”
“Hi, is Leann in?”
“Sure. Hold on just a minute.”
Sadie hung up, threw both halves of the fortune cookie in her mouth, and put the fortune in the front pocket of her purse with the other ones. She chewed with her cheeks puffed out as she consulted the map on her phone and started walking toward the Nob Hill district, trying to figure out how she would best get Leann Penrose to talk to her.
Chapter 29
Sadie’s legs were on fire by the time she reached the boutique. The map might have showed distance, but it did not show the hills involved in the walk. She rested against the side of the building to catch her breath before pushing through the front door of Pour Vous. She knew the name was French, but wasn’t sure what it meant. It sounded like “Poor you,” which she didn’t think was the kind of association anyone would want for their clothing store, but, well, Sadie had never been in retail.
The small store was packed with brightly colored purses, scarves, and jewelry. There were some clothing items as well, but the focus seemed to be on accessories. Although Sadie was in no mood to shop, her eyes were drawn to a fabulous silver shoulder bag that she knew would coordinate with practically everything she owned.
“Hello. My name is Tia. May I help you?”
The spell was broken. Sadie looked into the face of a young woman dressed in all white, with shimmery green shoes that matched her eye shadow. She had dark coloring, which made the white and green really pop. Sadie wondered if Tia was the girl she’d talked to on the phone a few minutes earlier and hoped she wouldn’t recognize Sadie’s voice.
“Actually, I was looking for Leann Penrose. Is she here?”
“Sure,” Tia said with a smile. “I’ll get her.” She disappeared, and in her absence, Sadie sidled up to the silver shoulder bag. She lifted it off the rack and inspected it from every angle. It was more of a metallic gray than actual silver, and it had fun detailing that almost looked like flowers but wasn’t too flamboyant.
She put it over her shoulder and noted how perfectly it held against her side. It wasn’t so big as to look like luggage, but it was large enough to hold anything she could need. Sadie took it off her shoulder and looked at it again. For the last few years, she’d favored the cross-body purses that allowed her to be hands-free, but she’d admired bags like this and loved the femininity of this one in particular.
She checked the price tag and felt her eyes widen before immediately shifting into justification for the expense. She wasn’t having a bridal shower, so couldn’t this be a kind of wedding present for herself? But thinking of the wedding made her think of Pete and the weirdness between them that might change everything. She put the purse back.
“Hello?”
Sadie turned and found herself facing the woman she’d just looked up photos of online. Leann was dressed in royal blue skinny jeans and a gold-and-white striped shirt with an orange scarf tied around her neck. Despite the colors being so different and so bright, they all worked somehow. The girl—uh, woman—also looked to be about a size four.
Sadie wondered if anything in this store would even fit her other than the purses, scarves, and jewelry. She held out her hand. “Hi, my name is Sadie Hoffmiller, and I wondered if you had a few minutes to talk to me.”
Leann’s smile remained polite as she shook Sadie’s hand—limply—but there was a glimmer of confusion in her green eyes. “I suppose. How can I help you?”
Sadie paused, and whatever brilliant ideas she’d had about how to approach this woman fizzled out. A customer entered the store and both Sadie and Leann glanced at her before making eye contact again. “Um, well, actually, it’s a little delicate. Could we go somewhere private?”
Leann pulled her eyebrows together, but just a little. A Botox scowl for sure. She also turned her head slightly to the side as though expectant or hesitant, Sadie couldn’t be sure which. Tia began talking with the new customer, leading her to the other side of the store, though that wasn’t very far away.
“Delicate?” Leann repeated in a cautious tone.
“Um.” Sadie took a breath. “I’m Wendy’s sister.”
Leann’s expression turned to surprise—at least as much as it could—and she took a step back. She said nothing, leaving it up to Sadie to continue. “I’m sure I’m the last person you want to talk to, and I have no desire to make things more uncomfortable for you than Wendy has already done, but will you please talk to me?”
“I never met her,” Leann said, the tiniest note of fear in her voice. “I wouldn’t have anything to say to you.”
“Was she sending you letters?”
Leann’s nostrils flared, and she looked around as though making sure no one could overhear them. Then she closed her eyes and lifted a hand to her forehead. “Oh gosh,” she said under her breath, shaking her head as though in disbelief. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked at Sadie. “So it was her?”
“You didn’t know?”
The bell above the door sounded. Two more young women, laughing with each other, entered the store together. They were slender and sparkly with long hair in loose curls and painted nails that caught the light; Leann’s signature customer, Sadie assumed.
“This isn’t a good time. I work all day today—it’s the weekend.” Leann clasped her hands together in front of her and began scratching one nail with the thumb of her other hand.
“I only have a few questions. We can get through them quickly.” She wanted to add “if you’ll cooperate,” but that sounded a little too threatening. “If I could come back later, I would. I’m really not trying to make this hard on purpose, but I have limited time and what I need to talk to you about is really important. I need to understand those letters.”
Leann started shaking her head in refusal, leaving Sadie no choice but to pull out the big guns.
“I had lunch with Rodger yesterday, and a man followed me out of the restaurant.”
Leann stopped shaking her head as her jaw went slack. Bingo.
“I need answers, Leann,” Sadie said in a pleading, but kind, tone. “If I can’t get them from you, I’ll have to ask Rodger, and—”
“No,” Leann said. She bit her lip. “Did you already tell him about the man who followed you?”
Sadie shook her head, relieved that she hadn’t talked to Rodger about Mr. Green Shirt. “I haven’t spoken to Rodger since our lunch.”
“What did you and Rodger talk about at lunch?” Leann asked, still anxious but no longer casting her eyes around the store with such furtive discomfort.
“I’d be happy to tell you everything Rodger and I talked about if you’ll help me understand the letters.”
For a moment, it looked as though Leann was vacillating, though Sadie wasn’t convinced it was entirely legitimate since the look in her eye had become calculating. Leann wanted to know what Sadie and Rodger had discussed.
“Okay,” she finally said, then turned toward the cash register where her employee was not disguising her curiosity very well. The three customers in the store were browsing on their own. “Tia, I’ll be back as soon as I can. Watch the store.”
Chapter 30
Maybe we could go to a café or something?” Leann suggested as she and Sadie stepped onto the sidewalk.
“That would be perfect,” Sadie said. She nearly asked if there was a place nearby before realizing that there were a hundred
places nearby. It was just a matter of choosing one and walking a few yards in any direction.
Leann nodded. “I could use some coffee.” She led the way to the closest Starbucks—one of an estimated six hundred or so Sadie had seen since she’d arrived.
Leann stepped up to the counter and ordered a nonfat café latte. No wonder she was a size four. Sadie wondered if a nonfat café latte had any flavor at all; she preferred flavor to skinny jeans.
Sadie ordered a vanilla steamer with two percent milk instead of the whole milk she’d have preferred and patted herself on the back for not ordering a chocolate croissant to go with it.
They both stepped aside once they’d ordered and waited for their names to be called when the drinks were ready.
Leann stood beside Sadie with her arms crossed over her chest, more protective than defensive. “How do you know about the letters?” she asked without looking at Sadie. “Did she keep copies?”
Sadie wished Wendy had kept copies, but she hadn’t. “No, I didn’t find any copies but I found a letter that hadn’t been sent.” She told Leann what the letter said, and Leann closed her eyes as though struggling to hear it. “Were they all like that?” Sadie asked.
Leann nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Did you believe it?” Why else would Leann have hired a private investigator?
Leann shook her head. “Rodger and I have a good marriage,” she said before letting out a breath that communicated some insecurity. “But those letters were so horrible, I couldn’t help but wonder whether or not it could be true.”
The barista called Leann’s name, and she stepped forward to get her latte. A moment later, Sadie’s name was called. The two women automatically headed back to a small table at the far end of the coffee shop. It couldn’t really be called private, but it would do.
Fortune Cookie (Culinary Mystery) Page 24
