by Anne R. Tan
“Hey, maybe you can even wear an eye patch,” Raina said with a straight face.
Matthew gave her the stink eye. “Is that right?”
Matthew crumbled the takeout bag and tossed everything into the trash. He headed for the door. “See you guys later. Don’t wait up for me.”
“Wait!” Raina called out. “What’s the game plan?”
Matthew gave her a blank stare. “What?”
“To catch Claire Boucher’s murderer?” Raina said.
“Rainy, stay away from the murder investigation. That’s Lamar’s problem. I’m just here to deal with the NASA security breach,” Matthew said. He left the room without another word and closed the door behind him.
Raina stared at the door for a long moment. “I can’t believe those words just came out of his mouth.”
Po Po shook the costume again. “I wanted a picture of his hairy legs, so I can pass it around the police station when we get back home.”
Raina gave her grandma a sideways glance. “Po Po, we’re not compromising Matthew’s authority in the community by passing around embarrassing photos of him. His authority keeps him safe when he’s out and about doing his job.”
Po Po harrumphed. She packed the costume back into the bag. “I guess you’re right.” She muttered to herself, “But it sure would be fun to see.”
As her grandma stashed the costume into the corner of her closet, Raina opened the door. “Come on. We’ll have to hurry if we don’t want to miss the action by the pool.”
Po Po stepped out, and they trotted to the elevator. “I almost forgot. I was digging through the box of wigs when I found a black T-shirt with the hotel’s logo on it.”
Raina tapped the call button for the elevator. “Maybe someone left it behind?”
Po Po raised an eyebrow. “Rainy, you know better. There’s no such thing as a coincidence when it comes to murder.”
“Joanne is such a gentle soul,” Raina said even though her mind was already running through their conversations, looking for clues. She told her grandma her last conversation with Joanne about their financial woes.
“Like Gloria Tanaka, this is their livelihood at stake,” Po Po said. “Her motive is equally as strong. And like Brian, they have been coming to the convention for years, so it would be easy to find out about the maid’s schedule.”
“If we find out who stole Claire’s phone, we might have the killer,” Raina said, stepping into the elevator car. “But that’s not likely to happen, so we need to lure the killer out of hiding and into doing something drastic.”
“Matthew will not like this,” Po Po said.
Raina shrugged. “I didn’t like him telling me to mind my own business either.”
“I don’t understand why he is confronting Detective Stafford,” Po Po said. “Isn’t Matthew a suspect?”
“He’s counting on their years of”—Raina made air quotes with her fingers—“friendship to get answers about the NASA gig.”
Po Po raised an eyebrow. “What if the friendship was all one-sided?”
“I’m afraid of that too.”
Raina and her grandma got out of the elevator and power walked to the rooftop pool. Every patio and lounge chair had someone on it even though it was already eighty degrees. With sunglasses and an iced drink, it probably was perfect sunbathing weather. The heat radiated off the concrete and tile, and Raina squinted against the glare.
“Over there,” Po Po said, pointing to their left.
Raina’s gaze swept across the patio area to the bar. Detective Stafford in a white blazer and blue jeans leaned forward as he chatted earnestly with Matthew. The next thing she knew Detective Stafford reached into his back pocket, pulled out a pair of handcuffs, and snapped them around Matthew’s wrists.
Raina sucked in a deep breath ready to scream and barely managed to stifle it the last moment. She ran over to the Watering Hole bar with her grandma hot on her heels. “What’s going on here? Why are you arresting Matthew?” She tried getting between Detective Stafford and Matthew, but they ignored her.
The two men were in a staring contest where no one else existed for them. There was an undercurrent that Raina didn’t understand. Was this just regular male posturing or something more?
A uniformed officer came around the bar to join them. “Is the suspect ready for the trip to the station?”
While Detective Stafford conferred with the officer, Matthew leaned down to whisper in Raina’s ear in Chinese. “Do what you do best. I love you.”
“What does that mean? Do I need to get you a lawyer?” Raina replied in Chinese.
Matthew shook his head. “Just stay out of trouble. It will all turn out fine.”
“Will you be back by Tuesday? You should be there for your grandma’s wedding.”
Matthew’s eyes widened. “Ah Ma? Who is she marrying?”
Raina cringed inwardly. She didn’t mean to break the news to him like this, but it just slipped out. “Frank Small.”
“Let’s go,” the officer said, holding onto Matthew’s forearm to lead him away.
Matthew resisted for a moment. “Please stop the wedding.” He followed the officer toward the elevator.
As Raina watched her fiancé disappear, she swallowed her rising panic. She didn’t know how things were done in Las Vegas, but she doubted they could frame Matthew on a murder charge. And since he had seen worse things than a jail cell in his lifetime, she knew he would be fine.
This didn’t mean she wasn’t upset, especially with his plea for Raina to stop his grandma’s wedding. She hoped he only needed time to process the information. There was no way she would ruin Maggie’s future happiness to indulge her fiancé.
Raina spun around and pointed a finger at Detective Stafford. “I thought you said he was your friend.”
Detective Stafford held up the palms of his hands. “I’m just doing my job. He has been dodging us for the last few days. He confessed that he was the man with the beard and baseball cap who met Claire Boucher in the laundry room. It is my job to bring him down to the station for further questioning. It doesn’t matter if we’re best friends or enemies.”
“How did Claire know about my relationship with Matthew? Did you tell her this?”
“No. The only time I mentioned your relationship was to Willie Machado.”
Raina considered his words. And Willie must have mentioned Raina’s relationship with Matthew to Brian Anderson. So if Brian mentioned this tidbit of gossip to Claire, did this mean they were friends even though they had their disagreement over the breakfast spread? This could change Brian’s role in this murder investigation.
“Are you aware that Willie is also seeing another man?” The words sounded mean and petty to Raina’s ears, but she couldn’t help herself.
Detective Stafford blinked. “I’m not sure why this is your business, but yes, I know about Brian Anderson. Willie and I are not exclusive.”
“Then shouldn’t you excuse yourself from this case? There’s a lot of conflicts of interest here. First, there is your relationship with Willie. And second, there is your supposed friendship with Matthew. I don’t understand why you would recommend him for the NASA gig if you were planning to betray him.”
Detective Stafford’s eyes widened. “Whoa! I didn’t betray Matthew. When we spoke a few months ago, he mentioned wanting to elope with you. When this gig came up, I thought it would be perfect for him. He gets to come to Vegas with you, do this little job, and walk away with several thousand dollars. It was supposed to be an easy job.”
“You two are really friends?” Raina flushed as the words came out of her mouth. She sounded like a paranoid bimbolina.
“Yeah. I told you—Matthew saved my life.”
Raina’s face grew even redder. She knew Matthew so well she assumed he would tell her the important details of his time away from her. “I’m sorry. He never mentioned you, so it should be understandable why I am suspicious.”
“No harm done, but
I have to get to back to the station.” Detective Stafford tried to step around Raina.
“Wait! Is Matthew under arrest for Claire Boucher’s murder?”
“No. He wants to go to the station for questioning.”
“I don’t understand. Why does he have to leave in handcuffs? Should I get him a lawyer?”
Detective Stafford shrugged. “The handcuffs were his idea. As to the lawyer, I don’t know. You of all people should know what he’s up to.”
As Raina watched Detective Stafford leave, her gaze shifted around the poolside patio. If their friendship was real, then this public arrest must be a charade. A move to force something to happen. Why didn’t her fiancé trust Raina enough to let her in on the game?
“What do we do now, Sherlock?” Po Po said anxiously. “Do we tell Maggie what happened?”
“I don’t know anything anymore,” Raina whispered.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. For days there had been this nagging worry about Matthew’s whereabouts. And when he finally showed up, she had assumed they would work on the Claire Boucher case together and clear up the mess at NASA like an unstoppable dynamic duo. They hadn’t even gotten off the bench yet, and they were already sidelined.
Was this a temporary setback or something worse? What if her normally capable fiancé couldn’t get himself out of this mess? It would explain why he admitted he was the bearded man in the surveillance video. After all, the law was more lenient on those who turned themselves in.
“You ladies want a drink?” the bartender said, approaching them.
Raina got onto the empty stool next to the bar. “Can I get ice coffee here?”
The bartender pointed to one of those instant coffee machines. “I can pour it over ice.”
“Good enough for me,” Raina said.
“A whiskey sour for me,” her grandma said.
Raina raised her eyebrow.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures. Besides, I’m too old to care what people think,” Po Po said, settling onto her stool.
The bartender went off to make their drinks. The two of them sat in companionable silence. Raina’s mind whirled and went over her conversation with Matthew. She didn’t understand his last words. What she did best was to ask nosy questions and somehow stumble on the truth. Surely he didn’t want her to continue a murder investigation?
Raina paid the bartender and sipped her coffee. It wasn’t good, but it would have to do, especially since she paid five dollars for it. As she relaxed the anxiety clutching at her heart, she knew what she had to do. It was not in her nature to sit and wait for something to work itself out. Right or wrong she was a woman of action, and Matthew knew this.
“I need to talk to Brian Anderson. Maybe now that the”—Raina made air quotes with her fingers—“the real murderer is caught, he might talk to me.”
Po Po gave Raina a doubtful look. “Why would he talk now?”
“If he doesn’t, I’ll complain to corporate about Willie’s behavior.”
“And you think he will want to keep his girlfriend out of trouble?”
“Yes, because only a man desperately in love would be willing to share his girlfriend with someone else.”
Raina sounded more confident than she felt, though her intuition said she was on the right track. After all, everyone had a weak point—she just had to figure what would make Brian squeal.
16
An Unholy Alliance
As Raina finished her coffee, Po Po’s hands flew across her cell phone screen, tapping out a message to the rest of the Posse Club. They were to synchronize their watches and rendezvous in front of the main hall in fifteen minutes. Raina left the Posse Club to plan their search of the suspects. Since they promised not to engage the suspects on their own, Raina didn’t see any harm in letting them feel like they were part of the investigation.
Raina made her way upstairs to the security headquarters. She was hoping Hendricks would help her search for Brian or Gloria through their security system. Barring this, maybe he could find their room numbers for her. The last time they had spoken, Hendricks sounded agreeable to a partnership between them, especially if he were to get the credit for the takedown.
The pregnant security guard met her at the door again. She blocked the entrance with her body. “Is the boss expecting you?”
Raina smiled, hoping she looked non-threatening. With her height and her hair, who would believe she was dangerous? Delusion maybe. “No, but he will talk to me. Let him know that Raina Sun is here.”
“All right. Just wait a minute.”
The security guard closed the door, leaving Raina to twiddle her thumbs for the next few minutes. She briefly contemplated making faces at the security camera pointing down at her.
The door opened shortly again, but this time it was Hendricks. He stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him. “What is it? Do you have information for me?”
His tank of a body blocked Raina from the camera. His eyes were hooded, and his square jaw was clenched. But his hand tapped against his thigh like he was trying to get rid of excess energy.
“I need to talk to Brian Anderson or Gloria Tanaka. However, I am having a hard time tracking them down between the various conference rooms, the shopping areas, and the casino floor. Can you find them on your surveillance cameras for me?” Raina said.
Hendricks hesitated as if debating the merits of getting involved in what could be a harebrained scheme.
“I promise it will be worth your while. As soon as I talk to them, I will have a lead on this murder investigation. I promise,” Raina said.
The temptation must have been too strong for Hendricks to resist. He led her back inside to the command center and told his staff what Raina needed.
“But we don’t even know what they look like, boss,” the pregnant woman said.
Raina pulled out her cell phone from her purse. “I have pictures of them.” She tapped on the photo app and held out the phone to show the images to Hendricks and his staff.
“Is it legal to take pictures of people like this?” the pregnant woman said.
Raina shrugged. The pictures from Po Po’s hidden camera probably fell in a gray area. “They were out in public places. If they didn’t want their picture taken as part of the background, they could walk around with a bag over their faces.”
The pregnant woman harrumphed and turned back to her screens. Her coworker was already buzzing through the video feeds in front of him. It took about five minutes before they finally located Brian Anderson heading to the laundry room of all places.
“I guess it’s true. The murderer always goes back to the scene of the crime,” Hendricks said, studying the live video footage. “Come on. Let’s go have a chat with him.”
Hendricks led Raina to the service elevator at the end of the hall. It was twice as wide as the regular elevator. Instead of wood paneling and mirrors inside the car, it was plain stainless steel. Functional and no frills.
“Can you wait in the service hall? I want to speak to Brian alone first,” Raina said.
Hendricks shook his head. “What if he was the killer? He would snap you like a twig. No offense, but you’re a lightweight.”
Raina bit back a sarcastic reply. She didn’t want to start their partnership with bickering like school children. “But I can scream really loud.”
“Yeah, you look like a screamer.”
It took all of Raina’s willpower to keep from rolling her eyes. “Can’t you run in real quick? It’s less intimidating for me to question Brian than for you to do it. You’re a formidable man.”
Hendricks puffed out his chest at the compliment. “I guess you’re right. We wouldn’t want the pip-squeak to pee in his pants. I’ll wait for you outside.”
They stepped out at the service elevator and split up. Hendricks strolled over to the storage room and went inside, leaving the door ajar. Raina stood in front of the laundry room, blocking the only exit. The ventil
ation in the room was horrendous because moisture clung to the air. Raina felt her hair fuzzing at the humidity. Great. She probably looked like the bride of Frankenstein.
All the industrial machines were in various stages of washing and drying. There was the swoosh of water hitting the drum, the slapping of linens and towels against each other, and the whirling dryer. Raina hoped the maids working in the laundry room were wearing earplugs. Prolonged exposure to noise of this level could lead to hearing loss. Maybe this was why the head housekeeper rotated the laundry chore among all the maids.
Brian turned away from the maid and stiffened at the sight of Raina.
“You! What are you doing here?” Brian said, holding his laundry bag in front of him as if it were a talisman to ward off unwanted nosy people.
Raina smiled, hoping she looked friendly instead of like the Big Bad Wolf. She had to strain to hear what he said. “I came to pick up my costume. Hey, have you heard the news about Claire Boucher’s killer?”
Brian did a double take, opening his mouth like he wanted to say something, but no words came out. With his poorly placed toupee and bushy sideburns, he looked like a blowfish in skinny black jeans.
Raina smiled inwardly at the hook she threw out. She gestured for Brian to follow her and led him to the storage room in the service hall. The noise was muffled enough to hold a conversation without shouting.
“How did they catch him?” Brian asked.
“How do you know the killer was a man?” Raina asked.
Brian glanced up and down the hall, patting his toupee. The hairpiece shifted from the attention. If touching his hair was Brian’s nervous tick, someone should tell him to stop.
Raina watched the gesture with amusement and wondered if the toupee might slip off. The silence stretched until Raina couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Let me guess. You were outside in the loading dock area when Claire was in here. That was how you lost your name badge.” She paused, watching for the impact of her speech.