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

“I told him I understand.”

“Are you okay?”

Eden shrugged, brushing a tear with an index finger. “I have to be.” She took a deep breath and gave Raina a wobbly smile. “So what do you think? Want to be my new moley mole?”

“Do I have a choice?”

Eden smiled, slinging an arm around Raina’s shoulder. “I knew I could always count on you.” She pulled out a notebook from her purse. “Let’s come up with a game plan while you cook for us.”

“Geez, why do I always end up with all the grunt work?”

“Cause you’re the sidekick. The sidekick always ends up doing all the work.”

“Are you sure I’m not your henchman?”

“Ha-ha,” Eden deadpanned. “I’m no villain.”

Sometimes Raina wondered where in the spectrum of good versus evil her friend would land. But then, perfect friends would be boring.

T
he forty
-five minute drive to the Sacramento Airport was a much-needed balm. Other than the road noise, it was blissfully quiet in the interior of the car. For the first time since yesterday morning, the tension eased from Raina’s shoulders. As much as she looked forward to seeing her ex again, the fact their relationship didn’t work out made things awkward at the best of times. Now with the stress of Louie Po’s health, their meeting would be a hair trigger away from an explosion. Part of her wished for an argument just to release some of the tension.

And then there was Eden. Her friend kept her own counsel when it came to her career. Maybe it was Raina’s fault for past suggestions to look into a backup career. With newspapers dying faster than batteries for a child’s toy, her friend had to know Raina only had her best interest at heart.

As for the murder investigation, Eden couldn’t have killed LaShawna for a man. Her friend didn’t fall in love, but she loved the feeling of being needed. She picked men to save them like missionaries in foreign countries. When the men left—and they always left—she would boohoo with their mutual friends—Ben and Jerry who came in flavors like Chunky Monkey.

However, Eden would kill LaShawna to save the newspaper. But the editor’s personal assets funded the newspaper, so there was no reason Eden would have to kill for it. And it sounded ludicrous to even consider this as a plausible motive.

Raina parked at the gas station next to the airport, texted Matthew that she was here, and got out. While she was paying for the snacks and drinks, he replied to say he was waiting for her at arrivals. As she pulled up next to the curb, Matthew came out of the entrance, dragging a carry-on. How did men travel halfway around the world with a suitcase the size of a shoebox? Did they just pack clean underwear? There were dark smudges under his eyes, and his clothes looked as if they had gone through a wringer.

Matthew turned his head, and his gold-flecked brown eyes met hers. He dredged up a smile. Her heart skipped a beat, and she caught herself holding her breath. The noise level dulled, and everyone else disappeared. She returned his smile, but it wavered. She let out the breath and dragged her gaze away.

He opened the trunk, tossed his carry-on inside, and came around to the passenger side. He got in, bringing the faint clean-water-and-sage scent of his aftershave. It seemed stronger in the confines of her car. She would have to drive with all the windows open tomorrow to get rid of it.

Within a few minutes she was on the road again. “How was the flight?”

“Okay. How is my grandmother?”

“Fine,” she said, giving him a sideways glance. “Her doctor pulled me aside to ask if you could call him tomorrow morning.”

His jaw clenched, and he was silent for several heartbeats. “Do you have any idea what he wants to talk about?”

“You know he can’t tell me.”

“What do you suspect? You’ve spent more time with her the past few weeks.”

Raina pursed her lips, thinking back to all the small things she’d dismissed as nothing. There was the frequent stumbling and knocking into things and nervousness in unfamiliar places. “It’s probably her vision.”

“My grandmother’s retinitis pigmentosa has been stable for years. How could it have gotten this bad in the last few months?”

“Sorry, I’m not a doctor.”

“I should have moved her into my house.”

“That will make the situation even worse. She’ll be stuck at home all day while you’re at work. Do you think she wants to live out the rest of her years like this?”

“What else can I do? I have to work for a living.”

“Let’s just wait and see what the doctor has to say. I’m sure there are services out there that could help us. She could always move to the third floor of the senior condo complex.”

“She doesn’t need to be in a nursing home yet.”

“I’m just saying it’s an option. Besides, legally blind only means she can’t drive. There might be services out there that could help us.”

He reached over and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. “I’m so glad you’re here. Could you come with me to the doctor’s office tomorrow? I rather not hear bad news over the phone.”

Raina’s heart lightened, a small bubble of happiness expanding in her chest in a familiar way whenever Matthew needed her. She needed to stop being his security blanket. He wouldn't buy the cow if she was giving the milk away for free as her mom liked to say. “Text me the time, and I’ll see if I can make it. I have to work tomorrow.” She moved her hand away from his. “Did you find anything about Ah Gong’s secret family in China?”

“No. I went to the village Ah Gong visited in nineteen sixty-two. There were no leads there. Either they have forgotten or they didn’t want to talk. I was on my way to Beijing to see if there were official reports from the visit when I got the call from Joanna.” He fell silent, lost in his own thoughts.

Raina didn’t want to interrupt him with questions when his family concern was more pressing than hers. It took her two years to come to terms with her deceased granddad having a secret life with another family. But her beloved grandma was still upset—her pride might have something to do with it—even though she pretended it was all water under the bridge.

When the patriarch of the family decided Matthew would be able to do a better job than Raina at finding this secret family, pride made her keep mum about her ace-in-the-hole. Yep, the apple didn’t fall far enough when it came to the women in the family.

“Do you want to stop by the senior condo complex? It’s late, and you might scare the grandmas,” Raina said.

“You’re right. Please drop me off at home.” He sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t have time to investigate that other family further. I’ll make some calls with my contacts to see if anything turns up, but so far the trail is cold.”

Raina nodded. The trail might be cold to him, but she could follow-up with Sonny Kwan, the leader of the Nine Dragons triad, who had invited her to come spank him in Canada. Wrangling with Chinese mobsters wasn’t her forte, but his family did owe hers a favor. Hopefully, the text message was figurative, and not a request for a literal spanking.

* * *

T
he next morning
Raina popped an exercise video into her DVD player and did some strength training with the dumbbells lying around in her living room. There wasn't enough time for her usual morning run, not if she wanted to get to the day spa before eight. She showered and biked to work. The front door was locked, and when she knocked, no one answered.

There was the faint growl of a saw coming in from the side of the building. She followed the noise and found Taylor Landon standing in front of a makeshift workbench. He had on earplugs and eye protection and was cutting two-by-fours. She didn’t figure he would be the type to wear safety gear.

Raina studied Eden’s boyfriend while he finished his task. His strawberry red hair glinted in the morning sun. The large tan hands worked the machine with the familiarity of a lover. He was tall, at least a foot taller than Raina, but the right height for her friend.

Taylor glanced up, as if sensing her presence. His hands casually flipped a switch on the saw and he pulled off his earplugs. “Look who came in with the morning sun.” His rectangular face broke out into a goofy grin, displaying his crooked nose to its fullest advantage.

Raina chuckled so he wouldn’t laugh alone. Rain and sun. She’d heard all the jokes growing up. “Hi, Taylor. How far along are you with the repairs?” The guy seemed mighty cheerful for someone who lost his son’s mother.

“Almost there. The drywall guys are coming in this afternoon, and I’ll paint tomorrow. We should have the place up and running again by Monday.”

“This is good news. I don’t know if Myra Jo told you this, but I’m doing part-time work here this summer. Could you not mention it to Eden?” Raina said, pretending like she didn’t know their relationship was on hold.

Taylor removed the safety glasses and cleaned them with the hem of his shirt. “Eden and I are taking a break from each other. You probably heard what happened to my ex.”

“But I don’t understand. What does LaShawna’s death have anything to do with you and Eden?” Raina hoped her voice sounded shocked.

“I have things to sort out first.” His voice had that gruff edge to it that men get when they were defensive. “Eden is…not as understanding as I thought she would be.”

“You’re probably shocked over the news. What were you doing when you heard about LaShawna’s death?”

He raked a saw-dusted hand through his strawberry red hair, causing the ends to stick every which way. “I was with my son. LaShawna wanted a day off. Normally when I have Ricky on the two weekends a month, we stay at my sister’s house.”

“Oh, when did you move in with Myra Jo? Eden hadn’t mentioned anything.”

“I didn’t move in. She lets me stay for the two weekends because of my son. If not for Ricky, she wouldn’t have anything to do with me.”

Raina eyebrows rose. So his alibi was a four-year-old boy who did not understand time yet? “Oh.” 

“It’s not what you think,” Taylor said, misinterpreting her reaction. “Myra Jo has stuck by me through thick and thin. I was stupid and screwed her over one too many times. It’s her way of protecting herself.”

“Then why do you take advantage of her?”

Taylor shrugged even though it was clear he knew why he did so.

“Let me guess—because she’ll always forgive you,” Raina said.

He didn’t have to say anything. His stiffened posture said it all.

“Was your relationship with LaShawna platonic?”

“Are you implying that I cheated on Eden? LaShawna is my son’s mother.”

Raina held up her hands, palms out. “I don’t doubt your intentions.” Yeah, right. “I’m wondering if LaShawna’s over you. Did you hear about the fight your ex got into with Eden before her death?”

He sighed, dropping his shoulders. “It’s part of the reason Eden and I need to take a breather. I can’t have her near my son for now. Ricky is having a difficult time, and I don’t want him to associate his mother’s death with Eden.”

Raina dropped her gaze so he wouldn’t see her flash of shame. She’d thought he was a deadbeat dad. He lived in a two-car garage and survived on handyman jobs with no motivation to do better. It was hard to not pass judgment. With full custody of his son, his housing situation would have to change. Yep, he definitely had a lot to sort out.

Her voice softened. “Did you tell Eden this?”

“She didn’t give me a chance to. She was too busy asking me for an exclusive on my ex.” He turned away from her, putting his earplugs back into place. “Sensationalizing a single mother’s death would make Eden look real good around town.”

Raina grimaced as dread settled in her stomach. Her friend would ruin her fragile reputation and relationship for another exclusive on a murder investigation. What did she want? A job with a big-town newspaper like the
Sacramento Bee
? How was Raina to save someone who ran toward disaster with open arms and kissy lips?

R
aina returned
to the front of the building to find the front door propped open. In the bright morning light, the lopsided awning flapped in the breeze. Walt was inside, tapping away on his cell phone and sipping a latte.

As Raina crossed the threshold into the day spa, she called out good morning. “How are things going?”

Walt grunted, pointing to the beaded curtain. “Myra Jo is in her office.”

“My mother is like this—she can’t hold a conversation until after her coffee.” Raina kept up a running stream of chatter while he took three more sips. Like her mom, he would eventually cave to get rid of her. “Maggie Louie is feeling better, in case you’re wondering—”

He held up a hand to stop her. “What do you want? Is it Eden? Tell her I don’t have any more grass until tomorrow.”

Raina gave him a sideways glance, but he focused on bringing the coffee cup to his lips. She inched closer and sniffed. Underneath the overpowering musky cologne was the faint scent of marijuana. Recreational user or dealer? She didn’t know Eden smoked pot.

“Actually, I need a hit to relax myself before I clean that room…” She shivered at the thought of encountering LaShawna’s spirit in the treatment room. She wasn’t normally superstitious, but she’d brought joss sticks in her purse, just in case.

Walt turned his head and studied her for the first time. He pulled out a pre-rolled joint from his back pocket and handed it to her. “Here’s a sample. Next time, it’ll cost ya.”

Raina tucked it into her purse, giving him a bright smile. “Thanks. You have no idea how much I need this. My grandma would have a cow if she knew about this.”

He gave her a chin nod. “You’d be surprised how many old folks use this stuff to manage their pain.” He returned to tapping on his phone.

She gave him a salute that would have made her grandma proud and trotted through the beaded curtain. As the clinking beads settled, Raina glanced over her shoulder to see Walt tapping on his smart phone. Did he supply marijuana to any of the ladies here for a pampering session? And did Myra Jo know?

She stepped further into the room to cut him from her view. Without the lilting soft flute music and the spritz of a cloying sugary scent, the lounge outside the treatment room lost its pizzazz. Instead, the whirl of a saw ripped through the room, followed by loud banging, and dust motes spun in the stale air.

The wide arched entryway on her left opened to the salon chairs for hair and makeup. The rice paper screens for the four treatment rooms were wide open. As she passed each one, she peeked inside. Three looked identical, but the fourth was covered in a fine white powder. Five bucks she would have to clean up the fingerprinting dust on her first day of work.

She continued to the opposite arched entryway, and it led to a narrow hallway with doors leading to the restrooms, the office, the walk-in storage closet, the staff break room, and the emergency exit. Having an office so close to the restroom meant hearing every flush and grunt. Yuck.

The door to the office was open, casting a shaft of light into the dark interior hall. Myra Jo should install a solar tube to bring natural light into the space instead of relying on dim wall scones. Through the open doorway, Raina saw the spa owner studying an appointment calendar on the computer screen with her phone pressed to an ear.

Raina slowed her steps and tiptoed the rest of the way to the office doorway. It wasn’t like she was on the short list for sainthood to begin with, and her grandmother would approve of her snooping. You know what they said about apples not falling far from the family tree.

“I’m not sure if I can squeeze in your party tomorrow,” Myra Jo said. Her voice held a hint of an apology, but her smile looked as if the cat got the entire dish of cream.

The other person responded.

“Uh-huh.” Myra Jo studied her nails, turning her hand over as she listened to the other person. “I’m sorry about LaShawna’s death too.”

Raina narrowed her eyes. Her new boss might sound sorry, but it didn’t look like she felt it. Would the spa owner profit financially from LaShawna’s death? This didn’t seem possible. Hadn’t LaShawna lived off child support and government assistance?

“Your wedding is the biggest day of your life,” Myra Jo said, trying to suppress the glee in her voice. “Trusting someone who operates a business from the shed in her backyard is risky. There’s no backup in place when something goes wrong.”

She paused, listening to the caller.

“You could try calling the sister…” Myra Jo said.

She waited again for the other person to respond.

“Let me check. Wait a second, please,” Myra Jo said, her voice heavy with doubt. She set the phone down to look at the nails on her other hand. After a couple minutes she picked up the phone.

“I would have to pay the contractor overtime to finish the repairs on the building today…or repair enough of it so I could accommodate your party. Then I would need to move the nine o’clock to ten, and add an extra makeup artist to squeeze your party in at eight.”

The person on the phone must have pleaded her case.

“I don’t know… there’s overtime pay…” Myra Jo’s voice trailed off, and she paused for dramatic effect. “I’m sorry, but it will cost you five thousand dollars.”

The other person on the line responded, hopefully to express outrage and to take their business elsewhere.

Raina almost had a hernia when she saw the price list for the various beauty treatments when she looked on their website after Eden gave her the gift certificate. Even giving up a liver wouldn’t be enough to pay the quoted fee. Geez, this person had to be desperate to agree to such a deal…or rich.

“I’m sorry. It’s the best I can do. I’ll have to offer the contractor a bonus to speed things up. And then I have to call my staff and convince someone to come in. You can call around and see if somebody else can squeeze you in, but you’re giving less than twenty-four-hour notice for a party of eight…”

Myra Jo’s voice sounded apologetic, but the smile remained on her face. She waited and then her grin widened. The person on the other line must have agreed to the exorbitant price. She typed the client’s information on the calendar.

“I understand you’re on a budget, but how many times do you plan to get married? Your wedding is your only chance to be a real life princess. All your family and friends will watch your every move. Your husband-to-be will have eyes for no one else, but you.” She could have given plaster a run for the money for how thick she laid it on. “Perfect. See you tomorrow.” She hung up and spun around in her chair, fist pumping in the air.

Raina’s cell phone dinged at an incoming text message, interrupting the celebration. Myra Jo glanced at the doorway, noticing her audience for the first time. She straightened on the chair and grabbed a pen and stick pad like she was making a note to herself.

“Good news?” Raina asked, pretending like she hadn’t heard the phone conversation. Did any of her relatives display greed like this in private? Her extended family might be wealthy, and much of it came by their hard work, but their Chinese upbringing meant they pretended it didn’t matter. Or maybe this was worse because money mattered to those who didn’t have enough of it?

Myra Jo sprang to her feet, shaking out her mane of strawberry blonde waves. “The best.”

Unlike yesterday, the spa owner could be a walking advertisement for what she could do to transform Plain Jane to Beauty. She was shorter and heavier than Raina, but she radiated an earth motherly vibe some men would salivate over.

Raina had high hopes her mop of black curls could be transformed into some semblance of Myra Jo’s when she tried to book an appointment with the gift certificate. With her luck, she might have been in the middle of the treatment when Maggie Louie hit the building, and Raina could’ve ended up with fried hair. So maybe everything worked out as it was meant to be.

“What are you looking at?” her boss asked. “Is there a cheeseburger on top of my head or something?”

Raina blushed. “It’s your hair. I would die to get hair like yours.”

Myra Jo tossed her hair back over her shoulder with a casualness she’d no doubt perfected with a mirror in her teens. “You could use your employee’s discount.”

Raina’s eyes widened. “How much is the discount?” She hoped her voice didn’t sound too breathless.

“Twenty percent.”

Her mind raced through the calculations. Even with the discount, Eden had given up gas in her car for an entire month to give Raina the gift certificate for her birthday. No matter what other people might think, her friendship with Eden mattered because it didn’t hinge on the supposed influence her prominent family might have in the Bay Area. She tried to smile, but it wavered. “I need to book an appointment when we’re back to normal.”

Myra Jo strode out of the office, heading toward the staff break room and talking over her shoulder. “We have an entire bridal party coming in tomorrow. I know this is last minute, but can you work tomorrow?” At Raina’s nod, she continued, “First, I need to put together the goodie bags for the bridal party. Then I need you to clean up the treatment rooms and beauty salon.”

“Do you think Taylor can finish the repairs by tomorrow?”

“I don’t care if he has to work all night, but he better finish the repairs for the bridal party.”

The spa owner showed Raina the locker to leave her personal belongs and the storage room where the supplies were kept. Then she left Raina to her tasks.

Once Myra Jo was out of sight, Raina checked her message. It was from Matthew.

Raina replied an affirmative to the message for the doctor’s appointment. She popped into Myra Jo’s office to say she was leaving at two, but would return at six in the morning to finish cleaning. The spa owner didn’t seem too happy, but Raina didn’t care. Family came first.

Then she returned to the storage room to work on the goodie bags. The walk-in storage room was a large closet with shelves on one wall and a plastic foldable table on the opposite. She hauled several boxes onto the table, laying out the items for an assembly line to fill the bags. She tossed Mardi Gras beads, candy, and other cheap party favors into pink mesh bags.

While her hands kept busy, her mind wandered to the investigation. According to Eden, she was crying in this room with the door closed when the murder took place. She tied off the last goodie bag and went to close the door. She closed her eyes, straining with her ears. The saw whirled, but it sounded like the quiet whisper of a ceiling fan. With the ambient music and noise of women evacuating the day spa at the time, Eden wouldn’t have heard the murderer. Her friend was lucky the murderer didn’t slip into the storage room to escape detection.

Raina shivered and opened her eyes. She banged open the door, and the rush of air from the movement was a welcome relief. She returned to the utility closet in the break room to load cleaning supplies into a bucket to clean the lounge and treatment rooms. The lounge and first three rooms were a breeze. Nothing more than emptying the trash, a change of the sheets on the massage tables, and a quick wipe down.

In front of treatment room number four, Raina paused, the hair on the back of her neck stiffening to attention. She had a healthy respect for the supernatural and the unexplained. It was only natural when the entire Chinese culture based its faith on worshiping ancestors and various gods and goddesses as the situation called for. A death in the room with the unluckiest number wasn’t something to brush aside. The number four was a homonym for death in Chinese culture. In some parts of China, buildings wouldn’t even have a fourth floor.

She’d prepared for this moment when she got ready for work this morning. Glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, she high tailed back into the break room to get the joss sticks and lighter in her purse. She had never given any thought to appeasing the dead, but after her last case in San Francisco and the murder of a Feng Shui Master, she decided this small ceremony would help her mentally transition from mourning to the cold analytical process of an investigation.

Raina lit three joss sticks, held them to her forehead, and said a silent prayer for the victim. Then, she bowed three times and asked for forgiveness at her trespass. She bent and wedged the sticks into the corner of the door frame between the carpeting and wall. She would have to remember to remove the wood stems after the incense burned itself out when she left for the day. Hopefully, whoever smelled the burning joss sticks would think the sandalwood scent came from the construction.

Her hands didn’t even tremble when she reached for the rice paper screen, sliding it open an inch. Wasn’t the screen open when her shift started? There would be no reason for Myra Jo to shut it. The opening widened, and she gasped.

A woman kneeled in front of the massage table, head bowed in a silent prayer of her own. At the soft whisper of the screen opening, she glanced up.

LaShawna!