Balmy Darlings and Deaths: A Chinese Cozy Mystery (A Raina Sun Mystery Book 4) (10 page)

R
aina returned
her attention to the housemate. Her grandma would have to take care of herself. “Do you remember what time you left for campus?” Raina asked.

“A little after twelve. I had lunch on campus before my one o’clock exam.”

Bingo! Taylor had an hour and a half where no one could account for his time except for a four-year-old. “Where was the child?”

The housemate shook his head. “He was probably napping. The kid is on a schedule. He goes down around eleven.”

“Is it normal for the old guy to leave when his son sleeps? Wouldn’t the kid wake up and get scared?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is anyone in the house growing marijuana for medicinal use? If this caused the electrical spike, you could apply for a special rate. It’s part of the program we have for medical equipment in the home,” Raina lied.

The housemate snickered. “Sure, Taylor needs his ‘medicine.’ He can’t even watch his kid without sneaking off for a joint. What a loser.”

Raina pretended to be confused, flipping over the page on her clipboard. “Sorry, is Taylor a tenant here?”

“He’s the old guy I was talking about. I don’t think he’s growing anything. He gets his weed from this gay guy.”

And here was the link between Taylor and Walt. “I want to make sure I got this right. The child napped at eleven, and Taylor sneaked out and came back after twelve.” Even with the back and forth drive time, Taylor would still have twenty minutes at the day spa to strangle LaShawna.

Raina asked a couple more questions about their electrical usage so the housemate wouldn’t get suspicious. Did Taylor strangle his ex while his son napped or did he sneak off to puff on a joint? Her instinct was on the money—Taylor was like the other losers her friend had dated.

She thanked the young man and strolled back to the meter box on the side of the house. No Po Po. She glanced over at the side window of the garage. The box fan was on the ground. She didn’t want to call out to her grandma, but neither did she want to pick her belly button lint while she waited.

Raina glanced around—no neighbors outside and no fluttering curtains. This neighborhood made sneaking around too easy. She tiptoed up to the window of the garage. The hedges gave her enough coverage so no one could see her from the sidewalk.

Her eyes locked in on the red beacon holding up a fork with a lacy pink thong dangling from the tines above a dresser drawer. “Po Po!” she whispered.

Her grandma’s widened eyes shifted to the window. “
Fifty Shades
does exist. Whips, handcuffs—”

The sound of an engine came around the corner, followed by the squeal and bang of a rusty tailpipe. Raina held her breath, trying to identify the familiar sound. Where had she heard it before? The noise came closer. “That’s Taylor’s truck.”

Her grandma dropped the fork.

A car door slammed.

Raina held out both hands toward the window. Her heartbeat thudded loudly in her ears.
Come on…

Po Po jumped, and Raina grabbed her by the armpits, pulling her until her grandma was halfway through the window.

The garage door clicked and squealed on its track.

Raina tugged at her grandma. Their elbows, arms, legs brushed against the hedges, making them snap and crackle. Po Po squirted through the window. There were some advantages to being light and tiny. 

The garage door stopped. Silence.

Raina and Po Po huddled under the window, next to the box fan. One peek would be all it took for Taylor to notice someone had been inside his home.

“What the—”

Something slammed shut, probably the underwear drawer. Heavy footsteps stalked toward the door connecting to the house. The door banged open and something clattered inside the house.

Raina and Po Po ran around the block. They piled into her car, and Raina drove like a stunt car driver out of the subdivision.

“Did you find anything interesting?” Raina asked.

“
The Fifty Shades
—”

“Stuff related to the murder investigation.”

“Nothing interesting. Just an old yearbook in the drawer. I didn’t get to the others,” Po Po said. “You want to come back another time?”

Raina chewed her lower lip. “No, I think he would be on guard after this.” She told her grandma what she learned from the housemate.

“So Taylor had no alibi at the time of LaShawna’s death.” Po Po paused. “Do you think he uses the whip and handcuffs with Eden?”

“Great! Now I’ll have to bleach my ears.”

Po Po chuckled, pleased with herself.

When Raina slowed for a stop sign, she realized she’d forgotten to ask the housemate if Taylor was home yesterday afternoon. She had no doubt Walt’s death was linked to LaShawna—even though there was a supposed suicide note.

But why would Taylor kill Walt? For his knowledge of the link between LaShawna and Taylor? It didn’t make any sense. Eden probably knew just as much about their shared history—unless her friend was next.

Raina dropped her grandma off before heading home. She had to force her feet to move from the parking lot to the courtyard. It had been a long, weary day. And to top it off, she didn’t even have the favorite men in her life—Ben and Jerry—to welcome her.

A breeze caught the sheet of paper taped to Eden’s front door, lifting and tumbling it across the courtyard. Raina gave chase and snatched it before it could drift onto the road. She glanced at the typed letter, and her eyes widened in surprise. It was an eviction notice from their property management company.

Raina’s heart sank. What else was her friend hiding from her? She knocked on Eden’s door, but there was no answer. She tucked the notice underneath the doormat and called her friend. “Eden, there’s a notice for you underneath your doormat.”

“I’m in the parking lot.” Her friend hung up, which was unusual. Normally she would have chatted on her cell phone until she stood in front of Raina.

As her friend approached, Raina noted the slow walk. Eden was someone who had people to see and places to be—head high and long strides. Today her friend needed Cherry Garcia more than she did. Pinched face and hunched shoulders were made for hiding in a rabbit hole. Even her normally glossy chestnut weave had lost its bounce.

Before her friend could say anything, Raina drew her into a bear hug. “What happened?”

“It could be worse. I’m on unpaid admin leave. Phil came back from vacation and didn’t like the special editions.” Eden unlocked her front door. “What’s this notice you’re talking about?”

“It’s underneath the floor mat.” Raina winced inwardly. The eviction notice would be the topper to a fabulous day.

Eden picked up the paper and went into the apartment. She didn’t even glance at it before dumping it on the floor alongside her messenger bag. She sank onto her sofa and curled into a ball and burst into sobs.

Raina sat with her, rubbing her friend’s back. While she had been waiting for things to implode, she’d hoped to be wrong. How could she help Eden pick up the pieces? When her friend’s tears subsided, she asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Eden sniffled, wiping a finger under each eye to get rid of the mascara smears. “We need to solve this case. Another exclusive would get me back on Phil’s good side. I need my job back.”

Raina squirmed but plowed ahead. She didn’t like discussing her friend’s choices since she lived in a glasshouse herself. “What if he doesn’t want you back?” Her friend was better off freelancing than working for the wages Phil paid her.

“He has to. All I ever wanted is to be a reporter. I wouldn’t be able to get a job anywhere else.”

“Sure you can. You have all this experience working for Phil. Have you tried applying elsewhere? What about freelancing?”

Eden stared at her toes for several heartbeats. When she finally looked up, her face was unreadable. “I wouldn’t be able to get another job as a reporter because...” She took a deep breath. “I don’t have a degree.” The secret came out in a whisper.

“I thought you went to Gold Springs U?”

“I did—for one year—and then I got kicked out.”

“I don’t understand. There’s a photo of you in your graduation robe with your grandfather in his wallet. He shows me this picture whenever he can work it into a conversation. I must have seen it…five or six times by now.”

“It was staged. We showed up at the ceremony after it was over. I printed out the invite card with the wrong time. I rented the robe. Everyone was too busy taking pictures with their families to notice us.”

“But didn’t Frank pay for your degree?”

“I have the money in a savings account. I’m hoping to give it back to him someday.”

This explained her friend’s secret vendetta against the university. Every time there was a whisper of a conspiracy, Eden relished giving them a black eye. And as the biggest employer in town, there was always a scandal or two floating around.

Without a degree and given the competitive nature of journalism, her friend might not find another job as a reporter.

Eden caught Raina glancing at the note near the messenger bag. “It’s probably an eviction notice. The property management company isn’t too happy I owe them rent.”

Raina glanced around the empty living room. “What happened to your TV and the rest of the furniture?”

“Pawn shop.”

Her once mangled bike leaned against the far wall. Did her friend take it to the bike shop? “Did you fix my bike?”

“Taylor did.”

“Thank you.”

Raina sat back on her seat. Even at a time like this, her friend would think of helping her first. She should ask the day spa for a refund on the gift certificate. Her friend couldn’t afford to give her a birthday present at a time like this. But if Raina were to return the gift for cash, wouldn’t this be like spitting at Eden’s eye?  The best thing she could do was solve these murder investigations, so her friend could get the exclusive like she wanted.

“How did this happen, Eden? You weren’t living la vida loca, but you were doing fine a few months ago,” Raina said.

“I don’t know…”

“Are you planning to move in with Frank?”

Eden shook her head. “I’m hoping to move in with Taylor.”

Raina’s heart sank. Even though he fixed her bike, it didn’t mean he was in the clear. “Sweetie, he’s a murder suspect. It’s not a good idea to shack up with him until he’s in the clear. And he has a housing problem of his own. He needs to find a place big enough for him and his son.”

“He had no reason to kill LaShawna. Their arrangement was perfect for him.”

“His housemate confirmed Taylor wasn’t home at the time of LaShawna’s death.”

 “Why were you checking up on him?”

“I’m checking off all the boxes. This is to eliminate him from the suspect list,” Raina lied. “But unfortunately, he has no alibi to account for his time. He said he was with his son, but the housemate said Taylor snuck out when the boy took his nap.”

“How do you know he didn’t run to the store?”

“How can you be so sure Taylor has nothing to do with LaShawna’s death?”

“He wouldn’t lie to me.”

“I still think it’s a bad idea for you to move in with him.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion. Do I tell you how to manage your relationship with Matthew?”

“What does he have to do with this conversation?”

“Everything. You think every one of my boyfriends is a loser. Well, it’s not like you got a good one either. We both know Matthew will never buy the cow.”

Raina jerked back. A slap on the face would have been less surprising. Eden sounded just like her mom. While Matthew might not be husband material, at least he had a steady job—which was more than she could say about the men Eden dated.

When Raina replied her voice was stiff. “I’m sorry if I offended you. I thought you wanted me to help solve LaShawna’s murder. I’m looking at all the possibilities.”

“Not if you’re planning to frame my boyfriend,” Eden said.

“I don’t have a secret vendetta against anyone. A detective with half a brain would come to the same conclusion. Taylor is lucky Detective Sokol is running this investigation instead of Matthew, or he would have been brought in for questioning by now.”

“It’s not Taylor. I’m sorry I asked you to get involve in this investigation. It’s causing a lot of unnecessary conflict in our friendship, and I think you should stop. We should let the police take care of this.”

Raina didn’t trust the mulish look on her friend’s face. The investigation was causing conflict between them because her friend didn’t want to face the truth—her boyfriend could be a killer. What if Eden told her boyfriend everything Raina had shared with her, jeopardizing the entire investigation? “How much of the investigation have you shared with Taylor?”

Eden averted her gaze, shifting on the sofa as if the cushions were flaming hot. “There’s nothing to share. We haven’t spent much time together.”

“What about the time when Po Po and I saw you at the restaurant with Taylor? Right before Dale Sprint burst in on us?” At the time Raina had thought Eden was questioning him. “Were you showing him your notes?”

“He’s the love of my life. I share everything with him.”

“The guy could be a murderer. Does he know I’m investigating on your behalf?”

“Um…”

Raina stood, glaring at her friend. “Thanks a lot. If anything were to happen to my grandma because you couldn’t keep your trap shut during pillow talk—” She broke off, not wanting to say something she might regret later. Words once spoken had the power to hurt for a long time. As much as Po Po liked to pretend, she was no spring chicken. Her chances of surviving a run-in with a murderer were as good as a candied egg on a child’s lap.

Raina stormed out of the apartment, shutting the door with a brisk click, and ran right into Taylor’s arms. He had been standing outside the window the entire time, listening to their conversation. She leapt back, banging her elbow painfully against the doorframe.

Taylor smiled at her, showing his teeth like the big bad wolf. He took a step toward her, crowding Raina against the shut door behind her. She opened her mouth—

“Everything okay?” Matthew called out from behind Taylor.