Balmy Darlings and Deaths: A Chinese Cozy Mystery (A Raina Sun Mystery Book 4) (13 page)

BOOK: Balmy Darlings and Deaths: A Chinese Cozy Mystery (A Raina Sun Mystery Book 4)
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22
Duck!

R
aina kept seeing
the photo of Taylor and Denise during her morning run. She planned to sweet-talk Myra Jo into loosening her lips on the teenage romance. Only two people remained on her suspect list—Taylor or Denise. And the spa owner held the key to which one was the killer. Raina planned to turn over the information to Detective Sokol and wait for an arrest. Hopefully, she would be well out of town before Taylor or Denise realized she’d pointed the police in their direction.

After she showered and ate a hasty breakfast, she walked to the day spa. Her car would be ready for pick-up later this afternoon. It was a gorgeous day for a stroll—chirping birds, cotton candy clouds, and warm sunshine. After finals week, Gold Springs’ population shrunk by sixty percent in the last week. Today was the town at its finest—and why she left San Francisco in the first place. She waved to a couple of people she knew by sight, stopped by the Venus Cafe for two coffees, and crossed the street for the day spa.

Raina opened the glass front door, and the bell jingled merrily.

Myra Jo glanced up from the receptionist desk and frowned when she recognized Raina.

Raina had hoped the last couple of days might have softened the spa owner, but no dice. She held up the plastic cup. “I got your favorite. Praline Surprise.”

Myra Jo grudgingly said, “I can’t be bribed.”

Raina set the cup on the counter. “But it was worth a shot. How are things going? Any luck with finding a replacement for the front desk?”

“I would hire you back, except I’m still mad.”

“The next-door neighbor would have told the police you came by looking for Walt. I’m not lying to the police for you. I’m not Walt.”

“I didn’t ask you to lie for me.”

Raina averted her gaze. Lying by omission also counted as far as she was concerned. “I’m sorry you got caught up in this. Just like I’m sorry Walt felt like he had to kill himself for who he was.” The suicide note was still the cause of death to the general public. “Did he seem to struggle with…coming out of the closet?”

Myra Jo frowned, shaking her head. “I’m surprised by the suicide note. I didn’t think he had a problem with who he was. He never flaunted it, but neither did he hide it.”

Raina hoped her tone invited confidences—the stuff small towns thrived on. “His grandmother asked me to clean out his apartment. The superintendent wanted to rent out the place ASAP. Heartless jerk.”

Myra Jo gasped, her hand flying to her chest.“Was it ghastly?”

“No, a cleaning crew took care of the…the other stuff before we got there. My grandma and I packed up his things. It was sad, especially when I found his yearbooks.” Raina gave the spa owner a sideways glance. “When I was flipping through it, I saw Taylor and Denise. I didn’t know the three of them went to high school together.”

“Even then, Walt and Taylor weren’t friends. My brother was the football star, and Walt was different.”

Raina suppressed her urge to roll her eyes. Another high school football star who couldn’t move beyond the glory of his youth. “Denise was pregnant in the yearbook. Was it Taylor’s?”

Myra Jo lowered her voice. “When my brother told me he got his girlfriend pregnant, I almost had a heart attack. Providence must have intervened because the next thing I knew, she lost the baby in a car accident.”

Raina widened her eyes in surprise. The poor thing. No wonder she wanted her nephew. “Was Taylor the driver?”

“No, it was her sister. It was LaShawna.”

The smile slipped from Raina’s numb face.
No wonder Denise had it in for her sister.
She tried to recover, but Myra Jo noticed her discomfort.

“What’s wrong, Raina?” Myra Jo asked.

“I’m fine. I just remembered that I need to pick up my car from Bob’s,” Raina lied. She hoped her smile wasn’t too sickly. “Do you know what the relationship was like between the twins?”

“Denise is the older twin and the responsible one. LaShawna would get into one scrape or another over the years, and Denise would bail her out. They got into one huge fight over LaShawna’s pregnancy—I didn’t know Denise still has feelings for Taylor to tell you the truth—and it wasn’t until after Ricky was born before Denise would speak to LaShawna again.”

“Has Denise ever tried to get back together with Taylor?”

Myra Jo frowned. “Not that I noticed, but the fight between the twins said otherwise. Denise has to be still in love with my brother.”

Raina bit her lower lip, considering what the spa owner said. Perhaps Denise and LaShawna had argued over the baby rather than its father. “Had the twins fought since then? Over your brother or anything else?”

The spa owner shook her head. “Just that once, which was why I still remember it so vividly.”

After a few more minutes of chitchat, Raina bid Myra Jo goodbye and wished her good luck. At this point it would take more than double wages to accept a job offer at the day spa. While she had nothing against Myra Jo, her brother was something else entirely. Even though she no longer believed he was the murderer, she could never see him again without thinking about the lives he’d ruined because he couldn’t keep his pants on. What a catch.

She texted Detective Sokol outside in the parking lot.

Meet me at Mildred’s Pond in 30 minutes. I have info.

He replied back immediately.

I’ll be there.

She hadn’t expected his answer to be otherwise. Next, she texted her grandma the same message, but added that she was meeting the detective.

Her grandma replied.

I’ll be there incognito. Bet you can’t pick me out from the crowd.

Raina took the long route to Hooks Park and thought about what Myra Jo had said. Denise had to be the killer. Walt’s neighbor saw a tall black woman before his death. Raina assumed it was Eden, but it had been Denise all along. But why did she kill her sister? To avenge her unborn child? It seemed so far-fetched since the car accident happened years ago. To inherit the unlicensed beauty salon? Maybe.

Denise didn’t seem to want guardianship of her nephew. Or maybe this was exactly what she wanted. Why else would she want Raina to dig into Myra Jo’s business to prove she was an unfit guardian?

While Raina had no proof, she was on the right track. She would tell the detective what she knew and let him deal with obtaining the evidence the court needed.

As she passed the playground area, a peal of laughter interrupted her thoughts. She glanced over and saw Taylor, Denise, and a little boy at the swing set. A picture-perfect happy little family. The three of them were smiling at each other and didn’t appear to notice her.

Raina ducked her head and hastened her steps until she was well away from the playground. The trees acted as a screen from the play area, and a large grassy area added even more distance between them. When she glanced over her shoulder, no one appeared to have followed her. It was too late to change the meeting location since both Detective Sokol and Po Po were on their way.

She found an empty park bench underneath an oak tree next to Mildred’s Pond. As soon as she sat down, ducks glided toward her, creating ripples behind them on the pond. They hopped on the grass and waddled toward her, quacking and flapping their wings. She ignored their cry for food. Their sleek coats and chubby bodies said they got plenty to eat from other visitors to the park.

Po Po stepped into view, lugging her beach bag purse. She handed Raina an earpiece the size of her pinky nail with a clear plastic hook that went on top of her ear. “Use your hair to cover it up. Got to go before I blow my cover.” She saluted and disappeared.

Raina put the earpiece on and watched her grandma trot around the bend. Trust Po Po to turn a simple conversation with the police into a sting operation.

While Raina might have occasionally wondered if she wanted her sister’s life—the big house, the husband, the beautiful baby—she would never kill for it.

How long had Denise harbored this secret desire? Did she blame LaShawna for being the driver on the day she lost her baby? What caused her to snap after all these years?

What if LaShawna got into the car accident on purpose? Could she have wanted the ex-football star even then? When it came to family, nothing was easy.

Leaves crunched behind her. Raina’s heart leapt to her throat, and she spun around, ready to hurl her purse.

Detective Sokol stepped away from the trees and bushes behind the bench. He had on a light jacket and waved a hand across his face as if to brush away a cobweb.

Raina took a deep breath. “Thanks for sneaking up on me.”

“There’s a parking lot back here, and a trail between the trees. I thought it was the reason you picked the place.”

The detective plopped down next to her, dispersing the ducks. They lost interest once it was apparent neither of the humans had food and drifted back to the pond.

A woman in a red Hawaiian shirt and floppy sun hat with Jackie O sunglasses stepped into view on the other side of the pond. Her silver-white braid was hidden, and her blackened orthopedic shoes flashed patches of white. Around her neck was a pair of bird watching binoculars and a bird book peeked out from the beach bag on her shoulder.
Incognito, huh?

Detective Sokol glanced at the woman and then at Raina. “Your grandma?”

Raina pretended to be confused. “Who?”

He sighed. “Never mind. Tell me what you know.”

Raina told him the gist of her bargain with Denise, her conversation with Myra Jo, and her thoughts connecting Denise to the murder of LaShawna and Walt. “He was probably killed because of the high school connection and for being at the scene of the crime.”

“You think he saw Denise that day?”

Raina shrugged. “I thought I saw LaShawna outside, but Myra Jo said LaShawna was still in the treatment room when she came out. The person I saw could have been Denise. I couldn’t tell the twins apart from across the parking lot.”

“But he could?”

“They have known each other for years.”

“Then how come Denise hasn’t killed Myra Jo?”

Raina scowled at the detective. “I’m giving you a sound hypothesis. How would I know why Myra Jo is still alive? Isn’t it your job to find out? Maybe she’s the next victim.”

“What I need is a confession. Or some indication Denise has anything to do with the crime. Hunches aren’t going to fly in court.”

Raina’s stomach sank. She didn’t trust him enough to want to be involved in a scheme of his making.

Detective Sokol must have sensed her hesitation because he pulled his phone from his pocket. “Hey, did I show you this video of my boys cooing to the camera?”

“Aren’t you ashamed of using your children to get your way with women? What do you want me to do?” Okay, so she was weak sauce, but children always reminded her of her niece. And she didn’t have to say yes.

“I want you to wear a wire and get something concrete from Denise when you meet with her on Saturday.”

“Na-uh. Too risky. She could strangle me inside the shed, and no one would ever know. She’s half a foot taller than me and probably forty pounds heavier.”

“Do it,” whispered a voice in her ear. “It’ll be fun to go undercover.”

Raina jumped, dropping her coffee and startling the detective. She’d forgotten her grandma was listening in on the conversation. She bent to retrieve her cup and tossed it into the trashcan next to them.

Detective Sokol glanced around and back at her. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Undercover is too dangerous,” Raina said for her grandma’s sake.

“He’ll be there with a gun. Do it,” Po Po said in Raina’s ear.

“I’ll cover you the entire time. I’ll rush in at the first sign of danger,” Sokol said.

“See!” Po Po said.

“Nope,” Raina said.

“Duck!” Po Po screamed in her ear.

Raina glanced up in time to see her grandma pulling a bazooka of a paint ball gun from her beach bag and aiming it at them.

“Duck!” She pushed Detective Sokol off the bench and hurled herself after him onto the dirt floor, her ears still ringing from her grandma’s yell.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Splat! Splat! Splat!

“What the fu—” The voice came from the trees behind them on the bench.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Splat! Splat! Splat!

Raina tilted her head, but couldn’t see anyone. The trees and bushes were drenched with bright red paint. The bench was also splattered with red paint like radioactive duck poop.

Pop! Splat!

“Fu—”

Po Po jumped up and down in excitement, knocking her hat askew. “I got him!”

Detective Sokol leapt into the trees. There was a scuffle—snapping branches and thumping bodies rammed into each other—and a scream. Then silence.

Raina got up, her knees still shaking from the adrenaline.

Po Po rushed over, dragging the paint ball gun and the beach bag. “You think he got away?”

“Who?” Raina asked.

“Taylor. Come on.” Po Po ran through the trees and disappeared from view.

Raina sprinted after her grandma. When she burst through the brush, she found Taylor facedown on the ground, hands cuffed behind him, and covered with red paint.

Detective Sokol was bent over his knees, huffing and red-faced. He straightened when he saw the women and pulled Taylor up, dragging him toward the parking lot.

Raina and Po Po followed them.

“Get your hands off me!” Taylor screamed. He glanced at Raina and Po Po. “Film this with your cell phone. This is police brutality!”

“You need to get yourself a good lawyer, sonny,” Po Po said. “Do you want my son’s card?”

“This is racial discrimination!” Taylor yelled. “He’s out to get the white man.” He went limp like a dead fish.

Detective Sokol’s face was professionally blank. His nostrils flared from his exertions. Dragging a dead weight was worse than someone who stumbled along.

When they got to the police cruiser, Taylor stiffened his limbs so the detective couldn’t push him into the car. Sweat rolled down the side of Detective Sokol’s face.

BOOK: Balmy Darlings and Deaths: A Chinese Cozy Mystery (A Raina Sun Mystery Book 4)
9.96Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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