by Anne R. Tan
The waitress dragged herself from the bar stool and sauntered over. “Anything to drink?”
Raina smiled, trying to project an air of calm friendliness. “Iced coffee, please.”
Natalie scowled at Raina. “Make yourself at home.”
“Thank you. I think I will.” Raina nodded at the notebook. “What are you working on?”
Natalie shut her notebook with a thump and shoved it into her purse. She lit a cigarette and blew out a smoke ring. “What do you want?”
Raina ignored the stinging in her eyes. “Why did Holden dump me?”
“How would I know?”
“Guess.”
Natalie tapped her cigarette on the ashtray. “People break up all the time. They don’t go around asking strangers why.”
The waitress set the cold glass on the table and Raina thanked her. “You’re right. I do have a problem. Fortunately, my problem is nothing compared to yours.” She sipped the coffee, hoping to clear up the grit in the back of her throat from the smoke permeating the casino. “At least the police don’t suspect me of murdering my brother.”
“Whatever.”
“The police caught someone breaking into your apartment last night. The sharks getting restless?”
Natalie’s eyes widened, but she remained silent.
Raina switched tactics. “You will gain financially from Holden’s death.” She shrugged, pretending a nonchalance she didn’t feel. “If men are leaving your apartment with your laptop and TV for collateral, you’re hurting for money.”
Natalie’s face tightened as if she squirted herself in the eye with a sour lemon. Her hand trembled and the ashes from the cigarette missed the ashtray. “My brother had a son. His money-grubbing aunt and grandparents are going to make sure I don’t see a dime. I have nothing to gain from my brother’s death.”
Raina bit her lip. If Holden had meant to provide for the boy, he would have made him a beneficiary or left a will. Anything she said now wouldn’t change this outcome. “Oh, I think you do. Holden showed me a paternity test he’d done. The boy is not his son.”
The cigarette fell from Natalie’s hand onto the table. “What?”
Raina grabbed it and smashed it against the ashtray to put it out.
“Hey.”
It took Natalie three tries before she could light another cigarette. She took a long drag, spacing out, until Raina snapped her fingers.
“Every time I’d asked him for money, he’d said he had a son to support.” Natalie’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile. “I couldn’t get a red penny out of my brother.”
Should Raina tell her about Holden paying off the loan sharks behind her back? He had probably never told her because she’d run up the tab again. Would telling her do more harm than good at this point?
“Olivia has also been harassing you for the money she gave Holden.” Raina pulled out the yellow sticky note from her pocket and slid it across the table. “I found this in Olivia’s office. The initials.” She raised an eyebrow. “Natalie Merritt.”
Natalie lifted her chin. “Well, aren’t you the smart one?”
A movement at the entrance caught Raina’s eyes. Olivia with lobster red skin and stained sweatpants stood at the entrance, swaying as if she’d just waved good-bye to her drinking buddies at the crack of dawn.
“Have you met Olivia?” Raina asked.
“No. And I don’t want to.”
Raina pointed behind Natalie. “You’re about to. Let me wave her over.” She lifted her hand.
Natalie grabbed her hand. “No. Don’t,” she whispered, her voice strained. “Cover for me and I’ll tell you what you want.” She slumped on the table, angling her body toward the wall. Her hands splayed across the table and her head lay awkwardly next to them. Her fake snore rattled Raina’s teeth. Just another drunk sleeping it off. The cigarette fell into the vinyl booth.
Raina reached for the cigarette, but she wasn’t fast enough. It left a darkened hole on the cushion. She ground it on the ashtray to put it out. While she wasn’t a fan of Natalie, having a showdown at this moment would reduce the chances of her getting more information about Holden from the woman.
Olivia scowled at the few patrons from the entrance. When her gaze connected with Raina’s, she tottered over and planted herself in front of the booth.
Raina wrinkled her nose at the musty body odor and raccoon piss breath. She should have dunked Olivia in a bath instead of putting aloe vera gel on her skin earlier. She moved her iced coffee closer to the wall and covered the top with her hand.
Olivia narrowed her eyes at Natalie’s blonde hair. “I’m not going to spit in your drink.”
Raina raised an eyebrow. “I’m more worried about your flaking skin.” Apparently, Olivia had forgotten they were on friendlier terms.
Olivia snorted and put her hands on her hips. “Where is she?”
“Who? My grandmother?”
“Natalie Merritt.” Her lips curled in disgust as if spitting out the name made her teeth ache.
“You told me earlier that you don’t know Natalie.”
“I thought you asked if I’d met her. Holden had talked about her and I’d seen her photo.”
“Uh-huh.” Raina stared at her for a long moment. “Why do you think she’d be here?”
Olivia tapped the side of her head. “You asked about her. It makes sense to just follow your lead.”
Raina pretended to smirk to hide her unease. If a drunken Olivia could sense her interest in the murder, then the killer could come to the same conclusion. She better be more careful with her questions. “That’s a great deduction Sherlock, but I don’t think you can ask her for the money you gave to her brother.”
Olivia slapped both hands on the table and leaned in. “That slut is the reason I’m on Admin Leave. She called the Dean and told him I’d sexually harassed her brother. Me.” She thumped her hand on her chest. “I’m the victim and I’m still victimized even though he’s dead.” Her face crumbled and she swallowed. “He blackmailed me into giving him money. When will this nightmare end?”
Raina sagged against the seat. She was reminded once again how both of them were victims to Holden’s lying. She should help Olivia, but there was something about her that hadn’t inspired trust even before their tete-a-tete. Besides, the woman was a walking time bomb with her drinking problem. Her gaze flicked to Natalie and back to Olivia. “I’m so sorry. Do you know what Natalie looks like?”
“I grabbed the picture off of Holden’s desk. She’s a blonde.” Olivia glanced at the mop of blonde hair spilling across the table.
Natalie continued to snore.
“She’s my friend, Brenda, from the Venus Cafe,” Raina said.
Olivia turned to scan the lounge. “Natalie needs to make things right. I want her to call the Dean and say she made a mistake.” She wiggled the purse dangling from her wrist. It rattled menacingly. “I have something that’ll make her see things my way.”
Raina’s eyes widened and she leaned further into her seat. “You didn’t bring your gun, did you?”
Olivia eyed her. “Nooo,” she said slowly. “If you see her, tell her I’m looking for her.”
She tottered toward the bar and bumped into a dancing couple. At the bar, she showed the Goth bartender a photograph. The bartender shook her dyed black hair and continued to polish the counter.
Olivia stumbled toward the arched entryway. She turned and made the “I’m watching you” gesture with her index and middle fingers spread and pointing at her face and back at Raina.
Clicking her tongue, Raina sent a text message to Matthew that an armed drunk was speeding back into town from the casino.
“She’s gone now. You’re lucky the bartender didn’t give you away,” Raina said.
Natalie sat up and grabbed her drink. The ice cubes clinked against each other. She took a sip and stared into space.
“Didn’t you just go to rehab?” Raina asked, eyeing the glass.
“I
s it true? About my brother?”
“Yes.”
“What did Holden do with the money?”
Raina took a deep breath. “Did Holden ever talk about me? Did he seem to care?” The last question came out in a whisper.
Natalie shook her head. “He seemed to like you well enough. Or at least he talked about you. He never mentioned Olivia.”
Raina nodded and averted her gaze. Maybe she’d never know why Holden left without saying good-bye. This was an open sore for her, never knowing why the men in her life just up and leave her. It wasn’t as if she was in love with him, but she’d been in love with the idea of them while they were together.
How about Matthew? Was she only in love with the idea of being in a couple with him, too? No, her relationship with Matthew was a roaring bonfire compared to the candle flame of her relationship with Holden.
“Holden kept a journal in his tablet.” Natalie’s lower lip trembled and a tear slid down her cheek. “I’ll keep an eye out for it when I go through the house.”
A jolt ran through Raina. She’d forgotten about the tablet in the last three days with all the stuff happening between Matthew, Eden, and Sol. Maybe the closure she needed could be found there. Maybe she could find something to help her move on with her life.
They sat in silence for several long minutes, letting the clanging slot machine and the jazz music fill the space between them.
“According to a friend of mine, he’d been paying off your loans,” Raina whispered. “I think that was why he’d been trying to get money out of everyone…including me.”
Natalie's face collapsed. Her chest heaved and strained against her top. She jerked to her feet and rushed out, bumping into the same dancing couple Olivia did earlier.
Raina sighed. She did the right thing. At least now Natalie knew her brother helped her behind her back. In some strange way, it felt right to have people grieving Holden’s passing.
The waitress came back in time to watch Natalie hurry out. She frowned and shook her head. “Sorry, hon, but you're stuck with her tab.” She left the bill on the table and cleared off the empty tumblers.
“Oh, joy.” Raina opened the bill wallet and her bank account had heart palpitations at the amount. “Good God, does she always drink this much?”
The waitress gave her a sympathetic smile. “Kendall gives her free drinks when he thinks no one is looking so her tab is much smaller when he’s working.”
“Was she here Tuesday morning last week?” Raina pulled cash from her purse and laid it on top of the bill.
The waitress shrugged. “Morning, noon, night. She's here all the time.”
Raina pulled out another twenty and added it to the cash on top of the bill. “I’m just interested in last Tuesday morning.”
The waitress glanced at the money and licked her lips. “She came in shortly after I started my shift. About eight in the morning and left around one. She was in that booth in the back corner scribbling on her notebook.”
“You guys open that early?”
“The casino is open twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year. They prefer their patrons drunk.”
“How come you remember when she left?”
“That's when Kendall came to fill-in for our other bartender.” The waitress tipped her chin at the Goth woman working behind the bar. “She felt lousy all morning and after she threw up for the second time, the manager called him. She’s probably pregnant again.”
Raina frowned. “Any idea why Natalie left after Kendall came in? I thought they were best buds?”
“They started fighting even before he made his first drink. And no, I have no idea what they were fighting about.”
While Raina didn’t believe Natalie was her brother’s killer, she was relieved Natalie had an alibi. She handed the bill wallet to the waitress. “Thanks.”
Raina scooped up her purse and made her way to the slot machines to search for her grandma. She hoped she'd been right to reveal the Campos boy's paternity test result to Natalie.
Holden had his reasons for supporting the boy for the last two years and paying for his sister’s debts without her knowledge. Though his method for obtaining money to support both endeavors was flawed, she couldn't help but feel better the man had some redeeming qualities.
It made the bitter pill of choosing to date him much easier to swallow. It wasn't lost on her that somehow her thoughts circled back to herself. Pride was on her list of things to improve, kind of like her hair. Too bad they were both on the bottom of her long list.
22
GRANNY PANTIES
After a quick lunch at the buffet, Raina dragged a reluctant Po Po to her car, promising to take her to Bingo Night the following weekend.
“I was on a roll.” Po Po stuck out her bottom lip. “I need to find a new hobby, especially since you won't let me sleuth with you. Something to keep my mind sharp. Staring at the hair growing out of the mole on my big toe is not working for me.”
Raina laughed as she backed out of the parking spot. “You don't have a mole on your toe.”
“How would you know? When is the last time you looked at my toe?”
Raina glanced at her grandma’s sandal and open-toed boot. “I can see your toes from here.”
Po Po harrumphed and crossed her arms.
Raina softened her voice. “What's going on? Why this sudden decision to move to Gold Springs without discussing it with anyone? I thought I was your favorite granddaughter.”
“As if I can pick a toe to be my favorite.”
“I’m the one with the toe ring.”
Raina glanced at her grandma's mulish expression and decided to wait her out. The back roads to town took an extra ten minutes. If she had to get “lost” on the drive back, then so be it. She'd pushed her family concerns to the back burner long enough.
As she drove past green fields, farm animals, and scattered homes, she reviewed the murder suspects. Natalie had the most to gain financially from Holden's death, but she had an alibi.
Cora wouldn’t kill Holden since he was worth more alive than dead with his child support payments and health insurance. Now the family was scrambling to make up for the loss since they’d known the boy wasn’t Holden’s son.
Her thoughts wandered to Sol and she hoped for Eden's sake the man was more an opportunist than killer. Her intuition told her he wasn’t devious enough for murder, not if he could get caught so easily while he was searching for his research material.
Olivia Flaky Skin blamed her current troubles on the Merritt family. Not only was she an older woman conned out of her money, she also had her love, or pride, thrown back into her face when Holden had threatened to charge her with sexual harassment. However, Raina believed Olivia would shoot Holden rather than poison him. Poison seemed too underhanded for the department head.
An odd noise intruded into her thoughts. A flapping sound that came from the front. Raina glanced at her rear-view mirror. A white SUV rode her bumper. With the sun’s glare reflecting off the windshield, the driver was a faceless shadow.
She frowned at the road in front of her. There was no shoulder where she could pull over in this stretch of the road. The deep ditch with the overgrown weeds mocked her earlier decision to take the long route back to town. She rolled down her window and waved her hand, hoping the other driver would pass.
The flapping sound grew louder. Yep, definitely from the front. The breeze threw her curls into her eyes and she shook them off her face. The steering wheel rumbled under her hand. Her stomach swirled with each roll of the tire.
“Sounds like a flat tire,” Po Po said.
Raina eased her foot off the gas and pressed the hazard light button on her dash. The small driveway ahead of her would have to suffice. Her car drifted to her right and she corrected, slowing even more. Just another hundred feet and she could pull off the road.
Her car ran over something with a loud thunk, probably her tire. The steering wheel shook un
der her hands. She had to turn her steering wheel to the left to drive straight. She must be riding on the rim of the front passenger wheel. Sweat beaded at the small of her back. Less than fifty feet. She was now crawling at thirty-five miles per hour and the SUV was still on her tail.
“The car is making me nervous,” Po Po said, her voice shrill and tight. One hand clutched the door handle.
Raina gritted her teeth. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
The other vehicle pulled out from behind her. She fought for control as her car continued to pull right. The other driver pulled up next to her. Did the other car drift closer to her? She tried to correct, but it was difficult to gauge because the car no longer drove straight. The driveway was less than thirty feet in front of her.
The SUV closed in on her left. What was the driver doing? Geez, there was plenty of room for him to pass.
“Watch out!” Po Po screamed.
The SUV drifted over and tapped her driver side and knocked off her side mirror. Then the other vehicle roared and hightailed away.
Raina’s sweaty hands slipped off the steering wheel. Before she could grab the wheel, her car hit a bump and flew head first into the ditch.
Her heart leapt to her throat.
Poof!
The airbag exploded on her face. The material enveloped her and she couldn’t breathe. Her mouth opened, but she choked. Only her ears seemed to be working. Po Po screamed.
The front end bounced as it settled into the ditch. Then there was silence.
Raina could see again. She batted the airbag away from her, coughing and choking at the dust. The strong acrid odor burned her nostrils. The passenger side lay in the ditch while the driver side stuck above it like a tipped cow. She didn’t smell gasoline.
She turned off the engine and unbuckled her seat belt. Her hands shook, but she ignored them. From previous car accidents, Raina knew she had minutes before the adrenaline surge would evaporate. She needed to get her grandma out now or she’d be useless once the shaking started.
Raina glanced at Po Po. “Are you okay? Anything broken?”