by Vivien Chien
“For everyone, it is best to leave the past in the past, Lana. I do not feel angry toward her, but I do not wish to bring this person back into my life,” She stood up from the table. “I hope that she has found peace.”
* * *
After Esther left, my mind was uncontrollable. I considered all the angles pertaining to this new information. Did it have any significance for the present situation? Ruby had been traumatized by her first marriage, and perhaps that had left her with a desire to take matters, between Sandra and Ronnie into her own hands. But it didn’t necessarily mean she was involved in what happened to Ronnie Chow. It might just explain why she wasn’t sad about his death. I know if it had been me in her shoes, I wouldn’t have cried for the man either.
It was another slow day at the restaurant, so I lounged up front, only getting up once for a call-in takeout order.
Nancy was finally coming back to work today, and I waited at the hostess booth for her to walk through the door. She looked almost like her old self again, except for a few burn marks and scratches on her arm. She had a long scratch running the length of her chin. But other than that, her porcelain face remained intact.
She gave me a long hug as she greeted me at the podium. “I am so happy to be back,” she said. “I was starting to go crazy sitting at home all the time.”
“Well, we’re glad to have you back,” I said. “Now things can go back to normal around here.” While she settled in, I filled her in on what had been happening around the restaurant and how Anna May would be going to work at the law firm in a few weeks.
After we were all caught up, Peter came meandering up front and tried his best to remain manly, though I could tell he was excited to see his mom back at work. I slipped into the back to give them some privacy.
I had a missed call on my cell phone from Calvin, but he’d left no message. I quickly called him back.
“Hey Lana,” he said. “Thanks for calling me back. I have news for you.”
“Oh yeah?” I sat up straighter in my chair.
“My uncle admitted to setting off the bomb that went off in the trash can last Friday.”
My heart pounded. “He did?”
“Yeah, it was almost like he wanted to confess. He felt horrible about it because he knows people could have gotten hurt if something had gone wrong. But he did it so the cops would stop looking at my mom. He figured if he set off another bomb when no one from my family was around, they’d realize that my mom didn’t do anything wrong and would turn their investigation elsewhere.”
“Oh.”
“I laid into him pretty hard after he confessed. I mean, totally reckless, you know?” Calvin sighed. “He knew what he was doing though … like, he knew that it wouldn’t be too serious.”
“Calvin…”
“Please don’t tell on him, Lana. He knows what he did was wrong, but no one got hurt … you know? Plus, he told me he didn’t have anything to do with my father’s death, and I believe him. He said that no matter what a scumbag my dad was, he was still my father. He just wanted my mom to leave him and be happy. If I had known all of this, I would have stuck around more. Maybe if I’d helped my mom, she wouldn’t have felt trapped.”
“You can’t blame yourself, Calvin.”
“I know … just don’t tell, okay?” he pleaded. “The thing is, if the cops know that my uncle did what he did, they’re automatically going to think that he’s guilty of setting the bomb that blew up my dad’s truck. And that’s going to stop them from figuring out who really did it. I think we both agree we don’t want that to happen. Whoever did this can’t get away with it.”
He had a point there, and I wrestled with the decision. “Tell me about Winston. What did you learn about him?”
“Oh yeah, Winston,” he said. “What happened with him is legit. He’s pissed too. He said this is the second time that someone has messed with his truck. He lost a whole weekend of work this time around and had to pay for all these repairs to the fuel lines.”
“Hm, interesting,” I said.
“Lana, promise me. Promise you won’t tell. At least, not yet, all right?”
“Okay, Calvin. I promise.”
We hung up and I sat back in my chair. I had no idea what to do with this information. Was his uncle telling him the truth? Or had he fed Calvin half-truths to get him off his back? Maybe Gene knew that I was still asking around and wanted to throw me off his scent. How would I know for sure that he was being honest with his own nephew? And how would I know that Calvin was being honest with me?
My sister called just then and reminded me about dinner with my family. With the way my day had started, I’d completely forgotten. She warned me not to be late, and I promised that I wouldn’t be.
I had to deal with my family first, and then once and for all, I would get to the bottom of this.
CHAPTER
29
“And the Oscar goes to…” Megan said, cupping her hands over her mouth and mimicking an announcer.
The workday had flown by, and now I was in front of my vanity, touching up my makeup for tonight’s family dinner. Megan and Kikko were sprawled out on my bed, keeping me company while I rambled about all the information that had come my way the past two days.
“My improvisational skills are really coming together,” I said, laughing at her theatrics. “I’m pretty sure that guy thinks I’m buying a food truck from him.”
“Well, just be glad you didn’t give him your information because he would be calling you day and night with deals of the century,” she joked.
“For real.” I sighed, putting on my bronzer. “I still don’t understand this whole thing though. None of it makes any sense. Do you think that Gene is telling Calvin the truth?”
“I mean, it’s possible,” Megan said, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. “He knew exactly what he was doing. He has the training after all. And he admitted to it … almost like he wanted to take credit for skillfully setting a bomb that didn’t hurt anyone.”
“Wait … go back,” I said, turning around to face her.
“I said that he skillfully—”
“No,” I hopped up from my vanity stool. “No, you said he knew what he was doing.”
“Yeah … military training and all that.”
“The salesman at the dealership said that the person who asked him about the propane tanks wanted to know if an explosion would happen just like on TV.”
“So?”
“So, that means the person who went there didn’t know what would happen in real life. Someone with military training or background would know exactly what would happen and wouldn’t need to ask if things happened like they do on…” I stopped.
“On TV.”
“Yeah … exactly, just like on TV,” I said, sitting back down and assessing myself in the mirror. All I had left to do was touch up my hair and I would be ready to leave. “I have to go,” I said, bouncing up from my seat and rushing to the bathroom.
“Wait, what’s going on?” Megan asked, following after me. “What did you just figure out?”
I looked at her reflection in the mirror. “We’re looking for someone who was worried about a food truck explosion before any explosions had happened. Someone who asked questions about the ‘safety’ of food trucks because they couldn’t decide if they should get one or not. And then they asked if it’s just like on TV.”
“Yeah…”
“Well, there is one person who comes to mind who fits the bill. Now all I have to do is prove it.”
CHAPTER
30
It took all my mental strength to keep my foot from slamming fully down on the gas pedal. I was speeding along I-271 heading north and praying that there were no cops around. The sun was starting to set and there was only a half hour before I had to meet my family for dinner. All I wanted to do was check out something really quick and I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow.
I pulled up in front of Ruby’s house, leavi
ng my car parked in the street. The light was on in the front window, and I was hoping that she was the only one that was home.
I rang the doorbell and saw a shadow move through the house. Ruby opened the door and peeked outside. “Oh Lana, what are you doing here?”
“Hi, Ruby, mind if I come in?” I asked.
She stepped aside so I could pass. “No, of course, please come in,” she said.
I stepped inside and assessed the living room. Her jewelry findings and tools were sprawled out on the table and it was clear that she had been working on some new pieces when I walked in.
“Would you like something to drink?” she asked, gesturing toward the kitchen.
“Sure, I’ll have some tea if you have any.”
“I’ll just heat some water,” she said and disappeared into the kitchen.
I glanced at the TV and noticed that it was another episode of Burn Notice.
A few minutes later, she returned, picked up the remote and put the TV on mute. “What brings you by?”
“I just wanted to ask you about Winston Leung again,” I said. “Something doesn’t track for me.”
“Have you mentioned it to your boyfriend yet?” she asked. “I am confident he would be able to help us.”
“See, the thing about Winston is that he was long gone when the food truck exploded. And he wasn’t even at the night market when the second bomb went off.” I didn’t bother to fill her in on the fact I knew the second bomb was Gene’s doing. Not for these purposes, anyway.
She forced a smile. “Well, Lana, that type of thing would be easy to do with a timer, I’m sure.”
“How did you know there was a timer? The police never mentioned that to the public,” I said.
Her eyes widened. “Yes, they must have said it in the news report. I remember hearing it.”
“Detective O’Neil never released the particulars since the investigation is still on-going.” I reminded her.
She laughed nervously, her eyes traveling to the muted TV. “I probably saw it on one of my shows then,” she said, standing abruptly. “Would you excuse me? I think the tea is ready.”
The pot wasn’t whistling, but I didn’t say anything. She needed a moment to collect herself, and so did I. What the heck was I doing here? Was I not thinking properly? What exactly had I thought I was going to do? Part of me thought that I was going to find out something crucial to take back to Adam or even Detective O’Neil, and part of me thought maybe I’d find evidence of some type in her house. But now that I was sitting here and she’d slipped about the timer, I had no idea what business I thought I had sitting in her house. I had potentially set myself up for some serious danger.
I thought about sneaking out the front door while she was in the kitchen, but before I could stand, she appeared in the doorway. She appeared calm and was all smiles. “Lana, would you mind coming into the kitchen? I have a few different teas you can choose from.”
A pit formed in the bottom of my stomach. I smiled politely, attempting to not look anxious. I didn’t want to be farther from an exit than I needed to be. “Whatever you pick is fine. I like any kind of tea.”
“But there are so many kinds,” she said, gesturing for me to follow her to the kitchen. “I would hardly know what to choose.”
I didn’t know what to do. I felt frozen in my seat. But I had to act natural, right? I couldn’t let on that anything was wrong, so I needed to play along for the time being. I gave myself a quick pep talk and stood up, my legs shaking the slightest bit.
She stood waiting for me in the hallway next to a door that was ajar and obstructed a full view into the kitchen. The door had been closed the other times I’d come by, and I hadn’t given it much thought, thinking that it was a closet door or perhaps a pantry.
But as I neared it, I noticed there were a set of stairs leading down. It was a basement door. The light was off, but I could see the top two steps in the light coming from the living room.
She smiled at me pleasantly. “There’s so much tea to choose from, I hope you can find one that you like.”
“I’m sure I will,” I said, slowing down. She wouldn’t let me pass her.
With the same smile securely plastered on her face, she grabbed the basement door, pulling it wide open with one hand and with her other hand reached out to grab my right shoulder. She dug her nails into my skin and then attempted to push me forward with all her strength.
I was so caught off guard, I lost my balance for a moment. But I fought against gravity and Ruby’s push to right myself, causing my body to swing backward, falling into the door trim instead of down the stairs. My shoulder slammed against the door frame and I tried desperately to remove her hand from my arm. I wasn’t steady in the least and I ended up swinging her with me as I pulled back, aiming my body toward the living room.
Her nails were digging so deeply into my arm, I thought for sure she would draw blood. I stumbled farther backward, trying to regain my balance, and continued to pull her along with me. I managed to grab onto the door frame with my left hand and with my right hand I pushed her again. She smacked into the open basement door, hitting the back of her head. It dazed her momentarily, and I took advantage of her confusion to shove her toward the basement steps with what strength I had. As I shut the basement door behind her, I saw her catch herself on the bannister before she could fall completely down the stairs.
I slammed the door shut, and realizing that it couldn’t be locked from the outside, I pressed my body weight against the door. I held the knob with one hand as I heard footsteps mounting the stairs, and she began to twist it from the other side, trying to get out.
“Lana, what are you doing?” she screamed through the door. “Let me out of here, right now.”
“No,” I yelled back. “You were going to push me down the stairs.”
“No I wasn’t,” she said, rattling the knob. “You misunderstand. Now let me out!”
My hands were starting to sweat again. I couldn’t keep hold of the doorknob for much longer.
My cell phone was in my purse, which I had left by the chair in the front room. How was I going to call for help?
“Lana, let me out, we can talk about this,” she said. She’d relaxed her attempts on the handle for a minute and was beating on the door with both fists instead.
“I can’t do that, Ruby, sorry,” I said, checking out my surroundings. The first thing I searched for was a wall phone that I could grab. But there wasn’t one within reach if they did have one. The kitchen chair was too far away for me to touch without letting go of the door. But if I could somehow get it over near me, I could use it to jam the door shut and then grab my cell phone. I calculated the distance between me and the chair.
I swept my left leg out in the direction of the chair, but my legs were too short.
The teakettle started to whistle.
“Lana, let me out,” she yelled again. She went back to twisting the doorknob and I continued to hold it tight as best I could.
I decided to try another tactic. “If I let you out, what are you going to do?” I asked. “Are you going to try to lock me in the basement again?”
“No,” she said. “I wouldn’t do that. I told you, you misunderstood.”
I snorted a laugh. “That’s a hard thing to misunderstand.”
“Lana,” she said, pounding on the door. “You must let me out.”
“I know it was you, Ruby,” I said to her calmly. “I know that you blew up Wonton on Wheels.”
Silence on the other side of the door. I relaxed my body a little bit; my legs were starting to cramp up and so was my hand.
In a soft mumble, she said, “I had to do it. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Why?” I asked. The teakettle was still whistling and the sound was driving me nuts. My eyes traveled back to the dining room chair. While I had her talking and occupied, I could make a grab for the chair. I waited for her to start speaking again.
“Because, don’t you
see, Lana?” she began. “Ronnie was going to kill her eventually. I had to do it … she was never going to leave him. Then it would have been too late.”
“So you went snooping around at the car dealership asking about food truck explosions and just decided that’s how you wanted to go about this?”
“How did you know about that?” she asked.
“I went there looking for proof that Calvin was telling me the truth about his father buying another food truck. The salesman told me that someone else had been around asking about what could happen in the event of a food truck explosion. That got me thinking that someone like Gene or Calvin who have experience with that kind of thing wouldn’t need to ask anyone.”
“I wasn’t sure what to do. I couldn’t ask anybody if this could really happen or they would know that it was me. Please, you must understand what I had to do.”
“There are other ways you could have handled it,” I said. And then I made a run for the chair. As I was grabbing it, she must have heard me or maybe she saw the shadow from underneath the door, and when I turned back toward the door, the doorknob began to turn.
Holding on to the chair, I lunged for the door just as she opened it a crack. I slammed all my body weight against the door to keep it closed, hitting myself in the shin with the chair at the same time.
“Damn you!” she yelled, pounding on the door again. “Let me out!”
I took a few deep breaths and reminded myself that when this was over, I really needed to start working out. “I can’t let you out,” I said once I’d controlled my breathing. “You’re just going to try and hurt me. I know how this goes.”
“Lana, we’re on the same side,” she said. “I’m not going to hurt you. We’re both women. Women stick together. Why do you think I was trying to help Sandra? She needed me!”
I had to get the chair propped against the door without her trying to push it at the same time. I pressed my hand against the door, holding it closed with all my weight as I tried to shimmy the chair in between my body and the door.
