by Vivien Chien
While we finished eating, we kept the conversation light. We filled each other in on work, which was primarily me talking about the restaurant. He rarely tells me things going on at work besides “water-cooler” gossip. And then we talked a bit more about where we might vacation for my birthday.
After dinner, I cleared the table and put away the leftovers, making him a care package to take home. We moved to the couch, and I made coffee and dug some Biscoff cookies out of the pantry.
“So, I talked with Calvin Chow earlier tonight,” I said as I handed him a coffee mug.
He took a sip of the steaming liquid, and observed me over the rim of the mug. “And?”
I settled onto the couch next to him. Kikko eyed the cookie in my hand. “And nothing, really. He told me that he’s lying low because of reporters.”
“I’m not surprised. It doesn’t look good for them,” Adam commented. “Especially his mother.”
“You think so? I don’t know, I have a hard time believing that Sandra and Ronnie were involved in some kind of insurance scam. My parents have known them forever and they’re not that type of people.”
“Desperate times, Lana … you never really know what someone is capable of when they’re pushed into a bad spot. I see it a lot in my field.”
He had a point there. I’d even seen it with my own eyes a few times. People usually seem innocent enough at first, but there are always those proverbial skeletons in their closet. “So is Detective O’Neil looking into any other potential suspects … maybe someone set this whole thing up for a reason we’re not aware of yet.”
Adam slid a glance in my direction. I knew that look. It was the one he gave me when he caught on to my snooping. “Lana … why are you letting this whole thing bother you? This isn’t your problem.”
I blushed. “I know, but it’s bugging me. It just doesn’t seem plausible to me. And how would they even know what to do?”
“O’Neil said there were trace elements of chemicals used to create a homemade bomb. Nothing about the explosive was at all sophisticated. Whoever we’re dealing with was definitely an amateur. Anyone can dig this stuff up online these days.” He looked down at his mug. “Sadly, this isn’t the first time some knucklehead has tried something like this.”
“But do you really think that the intention was to kill?”
“Well, that’s what needs to be found out. O’Neil mentioned there being a kitchen timer involved with the explosive. It’s possible it was faulty or maybe it was set wrong. Ronnie could have wanted this to happen in public so it seemed more plausible. If it blew up somewhere less populated … well, who knows. Any way you look at it, the whole thing stinks.”
I leaned back on the couch and considered Adam’s input and the insurance-scam angle. I suppose it made sense to do something more public so it appeared real.
Adam wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. “For once, this isn’t my case, and I don’t have to worry about anything. How about you don’t, either? Let’s enjoy the fact that things are quiet in our lives right now, and our weekend getaway will be uninterrupted.”
I smiled, nodding in agreement, but in my head I was coming up with various scenarios for what I thought could have happened. Whether it was Sandra that had done this, or someone else, I was going to figure it out. One way or another.
CHAPTER
11
Late Tuesday morning when Anna May showed up to handle the split shift, I slipped over to see Esther at her store. From the little information I got out of Anna May, I knew that Ruby and Esther were acquainted well enough. Hopefully she could be my way in. My mother was sure to be suspicious the minute I brought it up.
Esther was behind her sales counter, which consisted of a row of glass showcases filled with delicate jewelry and hair accessories. On top of the showcase next to the wall was a miniature TV set that she used to watch her soap operas when there were no customers. Since she hated to be interrupted, I hoped she would give me quick answers without asking too many questions.
Her reading glasses were settled on the edge of her nose, and she lifted her chin, observing me through the rectangular lenses. “Lana.” She tapped her own shoulders, giving them a shake.
I groaned, straightening my back as I approached the counter. You’d think by this stage in my life, I would have excellent posture with all this nagging she did. “I have to get back before the lunch rush, but I wanted to stop over and ask you about Ruby Lin.”
She lowered the sound of the TV. “Ruby … why?”
I thought I heard the sound of disdain in her voice, but I continued anyway. “You know, she makes all that jewelry by hand.”
Unimpressed, she replied, “Yah, I know.”
“Well, I was thinking about buying some. Do you have her phone number so I can give her a call?”
Esther scrutinized me. “Why can you not wait until the next night market?”
I hadn’t thought of that. Why couldn’t I wait? “Oh, well, I wanted to get a gift for my aunt Grace and who knows how long she’ll be in town. You know how she’s always on the go.” Yeah, that worked, right?
“Why not buy her a gift from here? I sell many nice things for you to buy your auntie.” Esther tapped the top of the showcase in front of her.
“I saw something specific that Aunt Grace would like, and I want to get it before it’s sold to someone else.”
Esther stared at me, her eyes searching my face for signs of guilt.
Since I had begun my extracurricular activities solving some recent crimes, people were beginning to catch on when I started asking too many questions or did things they thought were out of character. It made things slightly difficult for me at times, like right now, but I always denied any involvement. Even if it wasn’t believable at this point, I had to keep up appearances.
“So, can I have her phone number, please?” I begged.
Esther sighed as she reached underneath her counter and dug out a little address book. She flipped casually through the pages and found the number she was looking for, jotted it down on a notepad and tore off the page, thrusting it in my direction. “Do not tell your mommy that I gave you this. She will be very upset with me.”
“Don’t worry, I was never here.” I took the paper from her hand and smiled.
She waved me away as she turned the sound back up on her TV, and I exited the store before any lectures could occur.
Once I returned to the noodle house, I hid in my office with my newly acquired phone number and gave Ruby a call. My plan was to meet up with her and look over her jewelry. I was going to purchase something from her so my story would check out, but my real motive was to get her talking without realizing that she was giving me any information. Ruby and Sandra appeared to be close judging by the unspoken words they exchanged with a mere glance. If I were a betting woman, I’d wager they were best friends. Megan and I often shared similar looks and the two older women had reminded me so much of us. And if they were anything like us, that would mean Ruby knew all of Sandra’s deepest, darkest secrets.
* * *
As luck would have it, Ruby was able to meet with me after I got off work that evening. She’d given me directions to her house and said I could come by any time. The rest of the afternoon, I’d been anxious for the day to end and it probably showed in my movements. I tend to get a little scattered and fluttery when I’m anticipating doing something.
While I made my way into Mayfield Heights, I recited in my head what I planned on saying to Ruby. It would start off simple enough. I’d use the same story about buying something for my aunt that I’d told Esther. While she was showing her pieces from the night market, I would casually bring up Sandra and ask how she was doing. Then I’d go in for the harder questions. Talk about the rumors that were spreading about the Chow family. Maybe even act like Calvin had hinted at things being problematic.
I found the house with no difficulty, and pulled into the driveway, parking behind a black SU
V that had definitely seen a lot of road.
The curtains were open in the large picture window in what I assumed to be the living room. I saw a figure stand up and walk to the front door. It was Ruby. When she saw me, she waved and opened the screen door.
“Hello, Lana.” She held the door open for me and I stepped into her house taking in the scent of rice cooking.
“I hope I’m not disturbing dinnertime.”
“Oh no, my husband is not home yet,” she said, shutting the door behind me.
The house was spotless aside from the tools of her trade. A giant coffee table made of black lacquer sat in the center of the room and on top of it were all her velvet trays from the night market. Off to the side was a small folding table she had set up with a smattering of jewelry findings and tools necessary for clamping and bending wire.
The TV was on mute and it appeared to be a repeat episode of Burn Notice.
“Please sit down.” Ruby gestured to the chair on the opposite side of the coffee table. “Would you like something to drink? Tea or coffee?”
“Some coffee would be nice, thank you,” I said. Might as well get comfy while I probed her for answers.
Ruby disappeared into the kitchen, and I studied the particulars of her living room. She had a few pieces of Asian artwork hanging above the sofa. Three panels of black lacquer that matched the coffee table told a story made from ivory. Women in traditional robes gathered around a koi pond feeding fish while other women walked the countryside, parasols in hand.
When my host returned, she handed me one of the mugs she was carrying. It had already been lightened with cream. “I put a little bit of sugar in there for you too. Let me know if it’s okay.”
I sipped the coffee, burning the tip of my tongue. It was a little sweeter than I was used to, but I nodded in agreement anyway. “It’s perfect, thank you.”
She held her own mug in both hands, sitting on the edge of the sofa and leaning in toward her jewelry. “You said you would like to buy some jewelry for your aunt?”
“Yes, she just came into town a few days ago and surprised my sister and me with some gifts. I thought I would return the favor.”
She grinned. “I remember your aunt Grace. She is a very nice woman. Very high class too.”
I chuckled. “That’s a good word for it.”
“What do you think she would like?”
I focused on the assorted jewelry. I really had no idea what to pick, and with what I actually wanted to talk about at the forefront of my mind, it was hard to concentrate on the sparkling objects.
To make life easier, I picked up a pair of black and gold cloisonné earrings that would match anything my aunt would wear.
“These are lovely,” Ruby said, taking them from my hand. “I can put them in a nice bag for you.” She rifled through her things on the folding table, plucking a bag made of sheer red organza from the pile. “Your aunt will be sure to like them. If I remember her correctly, these are just her style.”
“Thank you for letting me come by on such short notice. I wasn’t sure if you would be at the next night market after what happened with…” I made a production of looking away as if the topic made me uncomfortable. “Well, you know.”
“Yes, what happened with Sandra and her husband is very terrible,” Ruby replied in an even tone. “But I will still show up next Friday.”
“It’s a shame they’re trying to blame this whole thing on Sandra, don’t you think? I can’t even imagine what this is like for her. First she loses her husband and now she’s being accused of his murder.”
She sat, eyes fixed on the TV for a moment. “Yes, this is quite a shame. Sandra would never be involved in something of this nature.”
“Who do you think would do something like this to the Chow family? Do you think Ronnie’s death was intentional? Or was someone just trying to ruin their business?”
“This is a difficult question to answer.” She stopped, glancing down at her trays of jewelry. “Ronnie did have many enemies, though. He tried to keep it secret, but there are many people who don’t like him.”
“Really? Like who?”
She regarded me with suspicion. “Can I ask what your interest is in this matter?”
“To make my mother feel better,” I said. It was sort of the truth. “She was so upset when she heard they were blaming Sandra for what happened. She just couldn’t believe it. I thought maybe if I could find some alternative reasons behind what happened, my mom could relax a little bit.”
“Yes, I can understand your mother’s concern. This was not expected to happen.” Ruby picked up her coffee mug and took a sip. “If I were the police, I would consider those that did not like him. Sandra is an angel, she does not have any enemies that I can name, but Ronnie … he has made several people mad.”
“Did you see anything strange that night?” I asked. “Maybe you saw something that you didn’t think was important at the time.”
An image of Calvin and his father fighting flashed into my mind along with the jumpy way his uncle had acted. Could have been the alcohol, but it seemed a little extra in my opinion.
“I saw him arguing with a couple of people … but this is nothing new. Ronnie is always arguing with someone. He has a very bad temper.”
“Was there anybody specific there that night who would be capable of doing something bad to them? Maybe even to frame them?”
“I’m not sure, but perhaps the man who owns the barbecued-meat truck. I know that he was mad about something that night. I saw them arguing before the night market began.”
Now that she mentioned it, I remembered Ronnie pointing with agitation at the other food truck and telling Sandra something in reference to it. I’d completely forgotten about that part of the night because I was so stuck on Calvin and his uncle.
“My mother told me that Gene Tian is Sandra’s brother…”
“Yes, he came to…” She looked away. “He used to live in New York City, but he came back here to help Sandra with … her business.”
“So he has experience with the food industry?”
“No, he is a mechanic,” Ruby said. Abruptly she stood up. “Excuse me, I have to check the rice cooker.”
Before I could say anything else, she had zipped into the other room. I leaned back in the chair. Gene kept popping into my head, mostly because of his behavior Friday night, but I didn’t know if that was enough to go on. Maybe I could ask Ruby more questions about Sandra’s brother when she came back from the kitchen.
She was gone for about five minutes and when she returned, she seemed a little less jittery than when she had gone in. “I must apologize, I really should finish preparing dinner for my husband. He will be home from work soon. Would you mind if we talked more about this some other time? Maybe at the night market if there’s time.”
“Oh sure, that’s fine,” I said, handing her my half-empty coffee mug. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to finish my line of questioning, but I was grateful she’d met with me to begin with so I wasn’t going to complain. “Sorry to have taken up so much of your time. I really appreciate it.”
I quickly paid her for the earrings and she thanked me before walking me to the door. In my car, I took a deep breath and nodded resolutely. I had some digging to do when I got home.
CHAPTER
12
At home, I found a note from Megan stuck to the fridge telling me she’d be back around 9 P.M. She’d worked a split shift that day and was looking forward to coming home early so we could hang out a bit.
I walked Kikko around the apartment complex so she could handle her business before I got down to researching.
Back inside, I set myself up at the dining room table with my laptop and the notebook I hid under my mattress. I made a few notes while I waited for the computer to boot up.
Within minutes, I found the information I needed for the barbecued-meat food truck on the company’s Web site. BBQ 2 Go was owned by Winston Leung. He
offered his services by request for a flat fee to businesses who wanted him to occupy their parking lots during lunchtime, and included several photos of hungry patrons in business suits and dresses as they surrounded the truck. Another picture showed him standing in front of his food truck grinning with pride. He was tall, thin, and appeared to be somewhere in his early fifties. He had smiling eyes with several wrinkles showing that he laughed quite often. His demeanor was friendly and non-threatening. All in all, he looked like a nice man. But from experience, I knew that meant absolutely nothing.
I jotted down some more notes on Winston and ways that I could approach him. I thought asking him outright if he had issues with the Chow family might be a little too suspicious. I’d also have to come up with a way to actually have time to talk with him. The night market wasn’t until Friday and I was anxious to question him before then. After all, we might not have time once the evening got started. Plus if Peter got wind of what I was doing, I already knew he wouldn’t let me out of his sight.
My cell phone chirped next to me and Anna May’s number filled the screen display. “Hello?”
“Hey, Mom wanted me to call and see if you wanted to join us for dinner with Aunt Grace. We’re headed over to the east side.”
“Siam Café?” I asked.
“Of course, it’s Mom’s favorite.”
“I’m gonna pass tonight,” I told my sister.
Even though I was hungry, I didn’t think my brain could handle the conversations that would take place. I already knew what it would be like.
“Okayyyy…” Anna May replied. “But you know that Mom is going to call you herself when I tell her you’re not coming.”
“Just tell her I’m not feeling good.”
My sister grumbled and we hung up. I went back to my notes, attempting to orchestrate a plan to confront Winston. But before I could get too into it, my mother called.
“La-naaaaaa,” my mother sang into the phone. “Anna May told me you do not feel good. What is wrong now?”
