Balmy Darlings and Deaths: A Chinese Cozy Mystery (A Raina Sun Mystery Book 4) (12 page)

A
chair scraped
across the hardwood floor. Raina glance behind her to see Po Po and Frank on their feet, mopping at a soaked radio receiver on their table. Water rained from the table to a puddle on the floor. Po Po’s mole plopped down on the water, floating on it like a tadpole.

A squawk blasted next to Raina’s ear. She whipped back around, but couldn’t see where the noise came from. It sounded like interference from a wireless microphone. Trust Po Po and her cronies to turn a simple surveillance into a full-length
Three Scrooges
episode.

“Code red…code red,” said a tinny voice coming from underneath the ceramic chicken saltshaker.

Raina grabbed the ceramic chicken and thrust it into the pocket of her shorts, leaving the ceramic egg by its lonesome self on the table.

Denise dragged her gaze from watching Po Po and Frank dance around the puddle with paper napkins in their hands. “Did you say something?”

Raina shook her head. “That was just the ringer on my cell phone.”

Denise glanced at the watch on her wrist. “I have to go. Can you come by LaShawna’s house this weekend to give me an update? I can rinse your hair then.”

Raina nodded. “You love being a mom, don’t you? Even though you complain about the responsibility, I think you enjoy being Mom to your nephew.

“I love my nephew like he’s my own.”

After Denise cleared the restaurant, Raina removed the saltshaker from her pocket. It had gone mysteriously silent. Taped underneath was a silver metallic disc the size of her pinky nail. She removed it and returned the saltshaker to the table.

She glanced up to see half of Po Po’s posse missing in action. Either they lost interest, or they were tailing Denise back to her job on campus. Po Po and Frank were back to huddling around the receiver. Raina almost felt sorry for Denise for being an unwitting ringleader for this caravan until Brenda showed up with the bill for both coffees and the salad in a takeout bag.

Brenda slid into the seat vacated by Denise. “I’m assuming you want your salad to go.” She swept a glance at Po Po and Frank. “I don’t even want to know what the two of them are up to. This is the first time the geriatric crowd invaded the café. They don’t like the décor and think I overcharge for the coffee.”

Raina glanced around the café. She came here so often she no longer noticed the naked Venuses with strategically placed vegetation and flowing hair painted on the walls, frolicking with fully dressed Victorian men.

“Is there a reason you don’t create a special menu for them?” she asked. “Half the portion at half the price during your slow times? You’re within walking distance from the senior center. The Meals on Wheels program stops by for an early lunch, but some of the senior citizens could always use a hot meal for dinner.”

“I’m afraid they would linger too long, cutting into the regular dinner service.”

“Then put a time limit on it. Say from three to five. The Meals on Wheels distributes lunch at eleven. By three some of them should be hungry.”

Brenda smiled. “You might be on to something.”

Raina pointed to the Help Wanted sign by the entrance. “Are you still hiring for summer?”

Brenda’s eyes lit up. “Are you interested? I would love to have you as Assistant Manager. I want someone reliable who can handle emergencies so I could take time off.”

Raina shook her head. “I was hoping you could hire Eden Small. She’s the Assistant editor-in-chief at the paper. She’s a hard worker who is used to managing people at the newspaper office.”

“I don’t know. This business of setting herself up as murder suspect to sell papers…I’m afraid she would eavesdrop on the customers to get stories.”

“She’s not stupid,” Raina lied. “Maybe you could put her on a probation period.”

Brenda gave Raina a pointed look. “For you, I would give her a chance since I owe you for saving my husband’s bacon. But the first time she tries to get a story out of a customer, she’s done.”

A few minutes later, Raina and Po Po strolled toward the Senior Center. Her grandma was glued to her cell phone like a teenager chatting with her bestie. At one point, Raina grabbed Po Po’s elbow to keep her from tripping on the uneven sidewalk.

“You’ll knock out the rest of your front teeth if you keep this up,” Raina said.

“First, unlike some of my friends, I have all my front teeth.” Po Po flashed her a smile. “Second, I’m not worried. I have you, Eagle Eyes, to keep me from ever falling. Do you want to see a live feed of Denise at work?”

“No, thank you. I don’t want to watch an office worker scratch her butt. Did you hear our conversation at the café?”

“Every word—until Frank knocked over the water glass. He needs to stop drinking coffee. It makes him so jittery that he’s useless for anything.”

Raina shook her head. It was amazing how the kettle was always calling the stove black. “What do you think of my bargain with Denise? Do you think it’s a mistake?”

“No, it’ll give you a chance to snoop around this underground beauty salon. Maybe I could even get my hair done while I wait for you.”

The phone in Po Po’s hands vibrated. Her grandma glanced down at it, a smile breaking apart the wrinkles that crisscrossed her face like a roadmap. “Denise is picking her nose. This is disgusting. She’s really digging in it.” Her grandma sounded impressed.

“When did you get someone to set up the camera?”

“While Denise was at the café. I had one of the high school students pretend to be an intern so she could bug the office. I’m telling you, kids these days know how to do all kinds of nifty things. And I can harness all that talent with nothing more than free pizza and pot. It’s amazing.”

Raina stopped in her tracks. “Po Po, you can’t give pot to teenagers.”

“I’m kidding about the pot. But it sounds cooler than Red Bull.”

“I’m not bailing you out when you get thrown in jail.”

Po Po widened her eyes in mock horror. “You would let your little old granny rot with the drunks and hardened criminals? What would your mom say?”

“Old? I thought you’re younger than mom this month. Aren’t you in your fifties?”

“Sixties, my dear. It’s biologically impossible for me to have had your mother at ten.”

Raina burst out laughing. She held open the glass lobby door of the senior condo complex. “Changing topics. I need to line up work for the summer now that I’m fired from the day spa.”

Po Po shoved her cell phone inside her beach bag purse. “I was hoping we could spend the summer with a friend of mine in Toronto. She’s looking for help with putting together a new production.”

The only person alive who might know the details of her deceased grandfather’s secret family lived in Toronto. With Matthew back in town taking care of Maggie Louie, the investigation could stall indefinitely.

“Uncle Anthony wouldn’t like us poking around the investigation,” Raina said.

As the patriarch of the family, her eldest uncle had taken over trying to discover the whereabouts of the secret family earlier this year.

They strolled across the lobby, and Po Po pushed the button for the elevator. “I’m his mother. He can rant and hop like Rumpelstiltskin, but he can’t control me.”

Raina sighed. No one could control her grandma. “Yeah, but what if he locks you up?” Her grandma’s antics were eccentric, if you wanted to be polite, but sometimes it bordered on crazy like when she salted her neighbor’s yard because of demons. And unlike her uncle, Raina wasn’t a hotshot lawyer in the big city who had friends in high places.

“First, he’ll have to prove that I’m senile. And even then, the rest of the family wouldn’t go along with it.” Po Po winked at her granddaughter. “Not when there’s a chance I’ll disinherit them.”

Raina laughed. Her grandma could be a wily fox when she wanted to be.

The elevator dinged, and Detective Sokol stepped out. There was a moment of awkwardness as he stood blocking the entrance, and they tried to edge around him. The elevator door started closing, and he stuck out his hand to hold it open for them.

“Ms. Sun, could I talk to you for a minute?” the detective asked.

Raina glanced at her grandma.

“It wouldn’t take more than a moment,” he insisted.

“I’ll be up as soon as I’m done,” Raina said.

Po Po stepped into the elevator, but gave Detective Sokol a squinty-eyed stare meant to be intimidating, but instead it looked as if she was having a muscle spasm. She held out two fingers, pointing at her eyes and back at the detective. “I’m watching you,” she mouthed and then pointed out the security camera in the corner of the lobby. “I’m like an eagle in the sky.” The elevator door closed, and she disappeared from view.

“Is she for real?” Detective Sokol asked. He glanced at the camera. “What does she think I’ll do with you?”

Raina headed for the antique sofa drowning in white doilies. “Police brutality? Maybe she thinks you might pistol whip me.” She tried to keep the laughter from her voice, but failed.

Detective Sokol gave her a deadpan look. “I’m sure you have heard about Walt Tally’s suicide note by now.” At Raina’s nod, he continued, “It’s a fake.”

Raina raised an eyebrow. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I suspect you—”

“What? How can I be a murder suspect? I was outside trying to get Maggie Louie from the car wreck.”

“I didn’t say you are a murder suspect. If you had let me finish, I was saying I suspect you are investigating the two deaths.” He watched her, waiting for a reply.

Raina shook her head, sitting back into the sofa. “Nooo, I’m not. I have no skin in this game, and there’s no reason for me to wrangle with murderers.”

“So this time curiosity didn’t get to you?” His tone was sarcastic. He had a point though.

“What do you want from me?”

“I want you to give me what you have found out so far.”

“What makes you think I would have more information than the police? I’m not here to do your job.”

Detective Sokol frowned. “Let’s not waste any more time going around in circles. If you don’t tell me what you know—”

“I’m not legally required to tell you anything.”

“If you don’t tell me what you know, I can make life pretty miserable. Traffic citations—”

“Are you threatening me?”

“No, but if you were to exhibit suspicious behavior—“

Raina laughed, shaking her head. Danny Devito pretending to be a tough cop just didn’t work for her. “I’m sorry. All you needed to do was ask. There’s no need for the tough cop act.”

Detective Sokol darted a quick glance at the video camera. “I have two new babyies, and my wife is on maternity leave. I’m tired of working overtime.”

“Why would you want to work homicide? Isn’t it safer to stick with Criminal Intelligence and Organized Crime? It’s not like we have gangs here.”

“It’s safer to deal with dead people than drug addicts with guns. This promotion is more than I bargained for. My wife wants me home in the evenings, and I want to be there. Louie has no family. Let him do the round-the-clock surveillance and busts.”

Raina shook her head even though she felt sorry for the guy. He was in over his head, but her loyalty lay with Matthew.

Detective Sokol pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He tapped on the screen and held it out. “My sons are two months old.” He flicked through the camera roll.

Two chubby-cheeked, blue-eyed little boys with bald heads stared at Raina with great solemnity. One photo caught one of the babies mid-cry with a big gummy mouth and wrinkled nose. The kids were cute.

Raina didn’t know what to say. Her ancestors would want her to help Detective Sokol for the child’s sake. Her extended family probably needed the karma of a good deed. After all, prosperity didn’t come without sacrifices.

“Give me your cell phone number,” she said, hoping she wouldn’t regret this decision. “I’ll call you if something goes down.” Then she told him the small clues she’d dug up from spending time at the day spa.

Her ancestors couldn’t say she wasn’t taking one for the team. Between the bargains she made with Frank, Denise, and now Detective Sokol, Raina felt like a tightrope walker without a net. But more than anything else, she was beginning to fear their faith in her was unwarranted.

A
s soon as
Raina came through the door, Po Po pounced on her. “What happened in your tête-à-tête?”

Raina flopped onto the sofa. “I said I would call him when I find out who killed LaShawna and Walt.”

“What did you do that for?”

Raina covered her face with her hands. “He showed me pictures of his twin baby boys.” She explained how Detective Sokol wanted Matthew’s job because he thought it might be safer than his work at the organized crime department.

“The pictures could be fake. You can buy pictures like those online these days.”

“Eventually I’ll have to turn over any information I dig up to the police. At least now, he owes me. This might help the next time I get a speeding ticket.”

“You’re wheeling and dealing with everyone. First, there’s Denise, and now with Detective Sokol. Careful, Rainy, you don’t want to get caught with your pants down.”

Raina winked at her grandma. “Don’t worry. This time I got on the satin underwear you bought me.”

Po Po held out her hand for a high-five. “About time.”

Raina patted the palm of her grandma’s hand. The comment about the underwear was meant to be a joke. “With all this stuff in the air something will break. In the meantime, I need to figure out what to do with Eden.” She summarized her conversation with her best friend last evening, but left out what happened to her car. She didn’t want her grandma to worry. “She wants to move in with him.”

“For such a smart girl, she can be pretty dumb with men.”

Raina had no comment since she felt much the same. But then again, it wasn’t like she knew the secrets to happily ever after. Now in the morning light, she couldn’t believe she entertained the thought of becoming a private investigator in order to track down Matthew’s parents for him.

“She might have compromised your safety,” Raina said, mentally shaking away further thoughts of Matthew.

“Don’t worry about me.” Po Po mimed a karate chop. “I can take care of myself. You need to watch out for dim dark places.”

Raina mimed the same karate chop. “This apple didn’t fall far from the tree.” She winked at her grandma. “In the meantime, I’ll poke around the day spa and see if I can dig up something on Denise Robertson. She has her own agenda, and I would hate to be someone’s unwitting pawn.”

Po Po wiggled her brows. “I have a better proposition.”

“I don’t like the sound of this.”

“Janice left me a text message this morning. Let’s go and see what she wants.”

Raina and Po Po went down the hall to the unit facing the rear parking lot. They knocked, and Janice Tally opened the door. The last two days hadn’t been kind to the elderly woman. The wrinkles around her face were more pronounced, a roadmap to her grief. She leaned heavily on her walker when she led them toward the sofa in the living room.

“How are you doing, Mrs. Tally? Is there anything we can do to help?” Raina asked. She perched on edge of the uncomfortable sofa. All the shades were down, feeding into the overall gloom and doom in the place. Poor woman.

Mrs. Tally wiped her eyes with an old-fashioned lace handkerchief. “You’re a good girl, Raina. I would have loved to welcome you into the family.”

Po Po gave Raina a sideways glance. Her voice softened when she said, “Rainy is a jewel all right. Now how can we help you?”

“The police have released Walt’s apartment, and the superintendent wants to rent out the unit. He sent in a cleaning crew to get rid of…” Mrs. Tally’s voice broke. She wiped her eyes again.

“Do you want us to pack up Walt’s things?” Po Po asked. “Where do you want me to store it?”

“I…I can’t have it here.”

“I can store Walt’s things in my spare bedroom until your granddaughter gets back in town from her conference.”

“She wanted to come home when I told her the news, but…”

“She’s the main speaker. Besides, there’s nothing she can do—”

Mrs. Tally sobbed quietly into her handkerchief. Po Po patted her on the back and mumbled soothing words.

As Raina watched her grandmother comfort Mrs. Tally, she thought about Eden asking her to stop investigating the murders. For all their faults, Lashawna and Walt didn’t deserve to die. They were much beloved by the people who cared about them.

Raina and Po Po left shortly afterwards, not wanting to overstay their welcome. As they headed back to Po Po’s condo unit, Raina couldn’t shake the residual sadness.

“Poor Janice,” Po Po said. She pulled out her cell phone and tapped out a message. “I’ve asked Frank to drop by with some flowers to cheer her up.”

Raina slung an arm around her grandma’s shoulders, giving it a squeeze. “I love you, Po Po. Whatever happens, remember the good times.”

Po Po patted her hand. “It seems like we’ll have free reign on Walt’s apartment for the next couple of days. I love it when a good deed benefits us personally. What do you think we’ll find at his place?”

Raina forced a smile on her face. “Maybe a big arrow sign pointing at the murderer?”

* * *

T
he next morning
, Raina jangled the key in her hand in front of Walt’s apartment. She held on to the handle of the wagon filled with flattened cardboard boxes and other packing supplies. “Are you ready?”

Po Po tucked a strand of white hair back into the magenta handkerchief she’d tied around her head. Her outfit today included a tank top and baggy overalls. She even had a feather duster tucked into her back pocket. The perfect housecleaner outfit. “Yep.”

Raina took a deep breath and unlocked Walt’s apartment. They stood at the threshold, peeking in to make sure there weren’t any bodies in sight. She sniffed cautiously, and there was nothing more noticeable than stale air. “I think it’s safe to go in.”

Po Po thrust Raina aside, pushing ahead of her. “I’m old. Let me go first. If someone jumps out, save yourself. Tell your mother I love her.”

She rushed into the apartment, screaming like she was running into a battle. She stopped in the middle of the living room and did a karate kick, lifting her leg no higher than a foot above the ground. When no enemy ninjas rushed out at her, she gestured for Raina to come inside.

Raina chuckled and pulled the wagon inside the apartment, leaving it on top of the stain in the carpet. Where did her grandma get her energy? She dragged the wagon into the apartment and opened the windows to air the place out.

She grabbed the container of joss sticks and tossed it to her grandma, who lit them with practiced ease and fanned out the flames. Po Po passed three of them back to Raina, and they bowed three times to any lingering spirit and prayed for forgiveness at their trespass.

Raina tucked the joss sticks on the window, using the bug screen to hold them in place. A warm breeze swept over her, raising the hair on the back of her neck. She glanced behind, but didn’t see the source of the gust. A roll of paper towel fell off the wagon, unrolling onto the floor. She glanced up at the beam running across the living room, swallowing at the sudden dryness in her mouth.

“You okay, girl?” Po Po called out from her position inside the kitchen. “There’s not much in the frig. I’ll go ask the neighbor next door if she wants some of the food.”

“I’m fine.” Raina’s voice came out in a squeak.

Po Po paused and studied Raina. “We’ve already asked for permission to be here, and we’re helping his grandma. Now get a move on it because I don’t want to be here all day.”

Raina saluted Po Po. Her grandma would become one of those wise old grannies if she ever admitted her age. Raina put on plastic gloves, grabbed a trash bag and flattened cardboard box, and headed further into the apartment.

The bedroom was approximately the same size as hers—about ten feet by ten feet. Just enough room for a queen-size bed and a nightstand. Her furniture was hand-me-downs from her sister while his furniture was from IKEA. His room was neat and filled with small porcelain figurines. They looked like collectibles.

She returned to the living room to grab a handful of newspaper and returned to the bedroom to wrap the figurines with them. At one point, she turned on the radio—a soft rock station—and hummed to the music while she worked.

The last figurine stood next to several yearbooks on a ledge. She grabbed one. It was from Gold Springs High eight years ago. She did some mental calculation and her eyes widened. Could Taylor Landon and LaShawna Robertson be in the yearbook?

 She flipped through the pages and sure enough Taylor's and LaShawna’s portraits were in them. She’d expected to find the two of them smiling like teenage lovebirds through the book. Instead, there was a picture of Taylor with an arm slung around Denise—a very pregnant Denise.

Raina’s hands shook. The caption above the photo read Most Likely to Get Married. How come no one mentioned Taylor and Denise were high school sweethearts? This changed everything.

“Po Po! You need to come see this,” she yelled.

“Did you find something?” Po Po said, coming into the room.

Raina tapped on the yearbook photo. “Take a look at this.”

“Geez, Louise. They were a couple?” Po Po asked. She looked at the cover. “Hey, this is the same yearbook in Taylor’s
Fifty Shades
underwear drawer.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. At the time, I thought it was a bit odd.”

“Walt went to school with Taylor and the twins. I wonder if he was killed because he knew Taylor and Denise used to be a couple?”

“What do you think happened to the baby?”

Raina blinked. This was a good question. Adoption? “I don't know. Besides Walt, Myra Jo must have known Taylor and Denise dated in high school. I wonder if Eden knows this.”

“Are you planning to tell her?”

“I don’t see how this would change anything for Eden. She’ll say this proves nothing. And it doesn’t.”

“It ties the two murders together.”

“Yes, but this means Denise might have killed her sister.”

Po Po studied Raina’s face. “And this idea bothers you?”

“They were sisters—and twins. To think they let a man come between them…”

“Maybe it’s not about Taylor.”

Raina nodded slowly. “It’s the baby…. Obviously Denise lost her baby somehow—and LaShawna ended up with Taylor’s child. Each time Denise saw her nephew, it must’ve been like a slap in the face.”

Po Po grimaced. “Couldn’t LaShawna have gone out with someone else? Geez, what a mess. I know there’s no accounting for tastes, but her sister’s ex?”

“She did wait three years. The boy is only four.”

“What do we do now?”

Raina glanced around the bedroom. “Finish packing up the apartment. I only have Matthew’s Jeep until two.”

“I mean the investigation?”

“Denise asked me to stop by LaShawna’s house on Saturday. I’ll poke around the day spa tomorrow to see if Myra Jo can give me some insight on the relationship between Taylor and Denise. Then, I’ll call Detective Sokol and let him figure it out.”

“Be careful, Rainy. I have a feeling we’re getting close. Maybe too close."

“Don’t worry, I don’t intend to have any more run-ins with Taylor.” Not when he moved to the top of the suspect list.