by Anne R. Tan
But—
She’s a wild card. I don’t know how she’ll react to the news. With the triad elders downstairs, we can’t have her make a scene.
Raina frowned. So it’s better to keep the wife in the dark? Geez… I’m not a trained investigator. You should leave this to the police.
You have the people skills and instincts for this. I’ve seen how you solved the murder in San Francisco. Do we have a deal? Sonny raised an eyebrow. For your grandfather’s journal?
Raina glanced at her grandma sitting up on the sofa. Did she have a choice? They needed the journal, and he had it. Her hands curled into fists. It was one thing to pretend to be a fiancée, but another to get involved in a murder investigation. She wasn’t sure her curiosity would let her stop at asking a few questions.
You can’t just change the terms of our original deal. Where’s your fu— She broke off and swallowed. She needed to calm down. She forced her hands to relax. Where’s your honor? How do you expect me to trust you?
I’m sorry, but I need help, and you’re here. He sounded like the circumstances forced his hand. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t want you to get involved in this.
She scowled at him. What could she do to shift the power in this relationship so he didn’t hold all the cards? Would talking to his family and associates turn up something she could use to her advantage? How do I know you still have the journal?
Sonny flashed her a roguish smile. You’ll have to trust me.
Sure, I trust you. Now let’s verify it.
Sonny chuckled. He leaned in until she could smell him. A light breezy aftershave that reminded her of the ocean. I’ll give you a hint. Your grandfather went to China specifically to seek this woman whom he later married.
Raina’s eyes widened with excitement. He’d read the journal! What do you mean? My grandfather went to China in 1962 to help with the Great Leap Forward policies to gain his father’s approval.
That was the cover story.
I don’t understand. Was this woman an old girlfriend?
No, he never met her before.
Now Raina was more confused than ever. She’d assumed Ah Gong fell in love with someone else while he was engaged to Po Po, but honored the engagement anyway. During that time period in the old country, an engaged woman was as good as married. For Ah Gong to not go through with the marriage would have meant Po Po would be ostracized and shamed among her family and friends.
Sonny gave her a bemused look. Help me, and I’ll help you.
Raina narrowed her eyes so he wouldn’t think he’d won her cooperation so easily. No games. I need to know what happened in China.
He nodded. You can trust me.
Uh-huh, Raina thought.
What are you two lovebirds whispering about? Po Po called out from the sofa.
Kwan Gong and Cat turned to watch the two of them.
Raina’s mind whirled with what Sonny had told her. She tried to step away from him, but he wrapped an arm around the small of her back and pulled her up against him.
Just making plans for later, Sonny said.
Kwan Gong harrumphed, frowning at his remaining grandson. Get a move on it, and find out what you can. I need to call the police. At Sonny’s raised eyebrow, he said, It’s not like we can dump Jerry’s body in a lake. You probably have a good hour before they show up to question everyone about the murder.
What makes you so sure it’s murder? Po Po asked.
In our profession, it’s always murder, Kwan Gong said. But we take care of our own.
Raina shivered at the chill in his voice. She believed in justice, but not the eye for an eye code of honor among men like the Kwans. Sonny’s arm tightened around her. His body heat seeped through the thin silk and warmed her side, but did nothing to warm the cold brick on her chest.
Not only did she have to find the murderer and get the journal back, but she also must turn this person over to the police before the Nine Dragons avenged Jerry’s death. She glanced at Po Po tapping her pimp cane impatiently on the carpet floor. And keep her grandma safe. Easy peasy.
5
Building a Mousetrap
Raina closed the door to the library and headed toward the ballroom. Sonny, his grandfather, and Cat remained behind to plan for the police’s arrival. They probably had to figure out how to hide the Nine Dragons’ criminal activities from the police.
Good job on the fainting, Raina said.
Po Po smirked, pleased with herself. That was an award-winning performance. My mother would have been proud of me.
Raina didn’t know what to think of Po Po’s fondness for her mother. Tai Po had abandoned Po Po to the other wives when she fell out of favor with her husband, the wealthy rice merchant who rescued her from the stage. Being the third wife who only gave birth to a girl in the old country couldn’t have been easy.
She filled her grandma in on her modified bargain with Sonny but left out what he’d revealed about Ah Gong purposely seeking the other woman. This detail was a game changer, but she wasn’t sure it was for the better. And there was no point in worrying her grandma about this until she knew more.
The smile left her grandmother’s face. Rainy, you can walk away from this anytime you want.
What about you? Can you walk away from this?
No. I have to know why my husband cheated on me. It’s a lodestone that will steal my joy for life. Her grandmother’s eyes gleamed with determination. I’m even willing to use my wiles to lure Kwan Gong into bed for pillow talk.
Raina covered her ears with her hands. La-la-la. I don’t need to hear about your bedroom gymnastics. I thought you’re supposed to be a role model for me.
How am I not a good role model? Am I not teaching you to speak up and love yourself? Po Po winked. You don’t know how hard it is to find a man my age who can keep up with me. The little blue pill can only last so long before it runs out of juice. Sometimes I think I’m better off with a battery.
A snort came from behind them. Raina glanced back to find Cat breathing down their necks. The woman moved like a ninja. How much of the conversation had she overheard?
Excuse me, ladies, Cat said and passed them in the hallway.
Raina scowled at her back and waited until the henchwoman was out of hearing distance to whisper to her grandma. How deep is her loyalty to Sonny?
Why do you care? Po Po asked.
Would she kill Jerry to help stabilize Sonny’s regime?
With or without Sonny’s approval?
Raina gave Po Po a sideways glance. Her grandma was a lot more perceptive than her outward appearance led someone to believe. Do you think Sonny would put out the hit on his own brother?
Po Po shrugged. Hard to say. Divided loyalties are never a good thing, especially for an organization like the Nine Dragons. And I’ve seen worse in families who fight over less.
They turned a corner and approached the opened double doors leading into the ballroom. The lights were dim, and soft music floated out toward them. Raina popped her head into the ballroom and scanned the crowd. Lily was nowhere in sight. Myling and Freddie danced cheek to cheek.
Raina turned to her grandma. Let’s go find the kitchen. Lily Kwan might be in there. Besides, I want to check the place out before the police secure it. Do you think someone put the poison in the food or drink?
The staff will be on top of each other, preparing the food and serving the dishes. It’s possible they won’t notice an extra person in the kitchen, but if you were the killer, would you risk it?
Raina shook her head. I wouldn’t want the staff describing me to the police. If it’s poison, the killer could slip it into the food or drink after it left the kitchen. But this meant the killer would practically have to be next to Jerry to get it into his food or drink or risk killing somebody else by accident.
They passed the ballroom and kept going to the end of the hall. They turned left—to a dead end.
Raina stared at the wall with hands on her hips. Didn’t the food come from th
is direction?
Po Po stepped closer to the wallpaper and walked along it. Her hand reached out and twisted a knob. A panel swung smoothly open, inches from her face. Open sesame. A servant door.
Raina peered down at the steps leading to another floor below. A downstairs world like a Downton Abbey episode. The sound of clattering utensils and pots and the low hum of conversation drifted toward them.
Po Po elbowed her way in front of Raina and started down the stairs, her ruffles swooshing with each step. You coming? she called out over her shoulder.
Raina followed her grandma, her heel tapping at the wood steps. If she didn’t change shoes soon, she would end up with blisters.
The stairs ended at a dim and narrow hallway. A few steps to the right, light spilled out from a bustling kitchen. A door clicked closed further down the hall. Raina squinted. Did the slim back belong to Cat?
Po Po strolled into the kitchen like she belonged there. Raina hurried after her grandma.
A woman in a head-to-toe black outfit set down her serving tray and hurried over. Can I help you? The rest of the staff glanced up and returned to their tasks.
While Po Po chattered about the soup they had had over dinner, Raina scanned the area. Her grandmother was right. Too many pairs of eyes watched them. What if the killer was someone the staff recognized?
A flash of gold caught the corner of Raina’s eye. She took a step back into the hall and glanced up in time to see Lily heading upstairs. Since she was the lady of the mansion, she had every right to be here. Except, why was she skulking in the other rooms?
Lily, Raina called out and hurried after her.
Lily Kwan hesitated, and turned toward Raina, her hand gripping the rail. Yes? While her tone was friendly enough, her body language said she couldn’t get away fast enough.
Without her husband towering next to her, Lily Kwan’s beauty looked less fragile than she first appeared. Her diamond shaped face was freckled with a wholesome luminous quality like she never had a stressful day in her life. Since Raina knew this wasn’t true, she figured Lily must have expensive makeup.
A door clicked open from behind them. Raina whipped around to see Cat coming out of the second door past the kitchen. She held a Louis Vuitton overnight bag, and her eyes flickered from Lily to Raina. Her purposeful strides slowed to a crawl. The wary expression on Cat's face seemed out of context with the situation. Was she worried Raina would tell Lily about her husband’s death?
Did you need something, Raina? Lily asked, avoiding eye contact with Cat.
Kwan Gong is looking for you. He’s in the library, Raina said, studying Lily and Cat. Why was the henchwoman holding an overnight bag? If she were meant to be a guest, wouldn’t she have been assigned a bedroom like Raina was upon arrival?
Okay, thanks. Lily’s words came out in a rush. She hurried upstairs without a backward glance.
By this time, Cat was at the foot of the stairs. She gave Raina a wide berth, brushing the walls with her shoulders.
Are we expecting more overnight guests? Raina asked, nodding at the bag. Seems like a wasted effort to bring the bag up from the car when she’ll decline the invitation when the police show up. And why would the second-in-command for the Nine Dragons carry the bag when there were plenty of servants to do the work?
Kwan Gong wasn’t looking for Lily, Cat said, ignoring the question.
It seemed cruel to have her find out about her husband’s death at the same time as everyone else.
Sonny told you specifically to talk to the women in the ballroom. What are you doing down here?
I could ask you the same question, Raina said.
The cook wouldn’t give me— Po Po stepped into the narrow hallway. Her gaze flickered from Raina to Cat. What’s going on here?
Just reminding your granddaughter to take care of business. Cat headed upstairs, her hands tightening on the handle of the overnight bag.
Who wears tight leather like that to a dinner party? Po Po asked loudly so Cat could hear the comment. The henchwoman slammed the panel shut above them.
Raina marched to the door Cat had emerged from, grabbed the knob, and twisted. Locked.
Let me try. Where is your hair stick? Po Po said, holding out her hand.
Raina dug in her purse—her fingers brushed against sharp plastic—and handed one hair stick to Po Po. Her broken cell phone reminded Raina she also had a dead man’s cell phone in her purse. What if the police searched everyone’s bags?
A bead of sweat rolled down the small of her back. Wiping off her fingerprints and leaving the cell phone somewhere would be the smart thing to do. Why did Sonny take his brother’s cell phone from the crime scene? What if fragments of her broken cell phone in the alcove pointed the finger back to her?
The servant her grandma spoke to earlier sailed out of the kitchen with a platter filled with finger foods. She glanced over and hesitated.
Raina stepped in front of her grandma and made a shooing motion with her hands. The servant shrugged and headed upstairs.
The latchkey clicked open behind her. Open sesame, Po Po said, pride filling her voice.
Raina slipped into the room after her grandma and closed the door. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but a windowless storage room of odds and ends wasn’t it.
Her gaze swept over the piles of discarded linens, broken chairs at various stages of repair, and other flea market quality junk. The Louis Vuitton bag that Cat was holding would have stood out like a sparkling diamond in this crowd. What was it doing down here in the first place?
Po Po scowled at the junk. Are you kidding me? I wasted my talent on this? There better be a dead body in here somewhere. She picked her way between the various piles until she was in the middle of the room. Nope, nothing interesting here.
Raina turned to face the door. A glint of gold caught her eye next to the doorframe. She picked up the gold bead and held it up against the overhead light. It was from Lily Kwan’s dress.
I think Cat's bag came from this room, Raina said.
A bag like that wouldn’t last a minute in this junk room. A servant would have claimed it, Po Po said.
My thought exactly. Raina explained her suspicion about Cat and Lily meeting here a few minutes before their encounter in the hallway. Why are they meeting in secret so shortly after her husband’s death?
Maybe they’re having an affair? Po Po’s eyes lit up. And they packed a getaway bag to run off into the sunset together during the party.
"This isn’t Days of Our Lives. And if they are planning to run off together, why did Cat bring the bag back upstairs?"
Would you disappear after Jerry’s death? It would look too suspicious. And they can’t leave the bag down here when the police comb the place. No, they have to get the bag back upstairs into Lily’s room.
So you think the two of them killed Jerry? If Lily wanted to get rid of Jerry, she had plenty of opportunities to do it before now. And this murder is premeditated. Your average killer doesn’t walk around with poison in their pockets, Raina said.
But Lily’s bad marriage is motive enough. Po Po frowned, considering her theories. Or Cat could have killed Jerry for Lily so they didn’t have to run off together.
You’re still basing this on the assumption that Cat and Lily are having an affair. We don’t even know there’s any truth to this.
Let’s go find out. I sure would like to put the squeeze on Cat. I want to make her squeal.
Raina shook her head. I need to figure out what to do with Jerry’s cell phone first. I can’t let the police find me with this. She explained how it got into her purse. She pulled up the call history and text messages. Strange. He’d texted a phone number with the name of ‘Mis’ five minutes before his death.
What did it say? Po Po asked, squinting at the display screen.
Meet me at our spot. Ten minutes. Or our secret will no longer be a secret, Raina read out loud.
Po Po’s eyes widened. Whoa! Sounds like blackmail.
Raina scrolled through Jerry’s browsing history. Nothing unusual there. Everything in the phone looks normal. His previous texts to Mis are sexually explicit. I need to bleach my eyes after this.
Po Po held out her hand. Let me see.
Raina cradled the phone close to her chest. No. You’re bad enough already without needing to read this stuff.
Her grandma harrumphed, folding her arms across her chest. It’s not fair you get to be Sherlock and have all the fun.
Raina ignored her grandma’s comment. She wouldn’t call being responsible fun. If this person is the killer, he or she believes Jerry is dead. Now what would happen if Jerry texted this person back for another meeting? she
said as the plan formed in her mind.
Po Po reached out and patted Raina’s cheek. Now that’s my smart girl. The killer will have to come and finish the job.
6
The Stolen Cheese
They clattered up the stairs and through the servant door to an emptied hall. Outside the ballroom, Raina pulled out Jerry’s cell phone. The tail end of an eighties song drifted out. Using her grandma’s back as a shield, Raina resent the message to the phone number and slipped the phone back into her purse.
We’ll look suspicious standing here, she said, scanning the area for cover.
Other than a stone bench and two large potted plants, the area was bare. They couldn’t even pretend to be taking a smoking break.
Give me your shoe, Po Po said, holding out her hand.
Raina slipped off her shoe and handed it to her grandma. What—
Po Po slammed the heel against the stone bench.
Bam! Bam!
The heel dangled from the shoe.
Now sit on the bench, and we’ll fix your shoe, Po Po said.
Raina sat, and her grandma knelt next to her foot. She squirmed on the bench, uncomfortable with grandma tending to her like this.
Will you stop wiggling around? Po Po complained.
You’re my elder, and I have you massaging my feet. This doesn’t feel right.
We’re acting, Rainy. If it’ll make you feel better, you can give me a back rub later. Can you see the entrance to the ballroom?
