by Anne R. Tan
Eric pulled Lucille closer, rubbing his groin against her hips like a cat against a pole. “Is that the cute Chinese girl with the curly hair?”
Lucille stiffened. “You met her, huh?”
Eric nestled Lucille’s neck. “You have nothing to worry about, babe. I like a woman with some junk in her trunk. That girl is all skin and bones.”
Raina ducked back behind the cart. If she watched anymore, she would have to bleach her eyes out later. A few more minutes of sighs and kisses later, Lucille sounded mollified under Eric’s attention.
“Did you clean out Sui Yuk Liang’s room yet?” Eric asked.
“No,” Lucille said, her voice husky.
“What’s still in the room?”
“Everything. Cecelia’s afraid to touch anything after the police came by. Why are you asking all these questions?”
“Sui Yuk and I were drinking buddies, that’s all. I have eyes for no one but you.”
“Uh-huh. Then why can’t we tell Cecelia about us?”
“Oh, babe, now is not the time. With the economy, I can’t find a job anywhere else.”
“You can always move in with me. I know how to take care of my man.”
Someone should dump a bucket of ice water in the woman’s panties for making all women look like suckers.
“I don’t want to be a kept man,” Eric said, starting to sound irritated. “The timing is just not good for me right now.”
Raina risked another peek at the couple. As if any time would be good for a scrub. Eric frowned as he pulled away from the embrace. Lucille hunched her shoulders as she pleaded with puppy eyes.
Eric swaggered toward the doorway as if he already had what he came for. “I have to go.”
Raina tensed, and her heartbeat jumped. Don’t turn around.
“Wait, honey!” Lucille called out.
Eric turned, a cocky half smiled that froze when he saw Raina huddled by the maid’s cart. Raina gave him a watery smile. He jerked as if she’d given him the finger.
“Honey?” Lucille said again.
“Someone has been listening to us the entire time. Take care of her or I will.” Eric stalked out the room without another word.
Raina shivered at the threat in his voice.
“Who’s here?” Lucille asked sharply.
Raina stood with both hands up in the air. “Don’t shoot. I was loading up on toilet paper when the two of you stumbled out the closet.”
Lucille scowled and crossed the room in quick steps until she was inches from Raina’s face. “If Cecelia finds out about us, you’re gonna wish you’d never stepped foot on the resort.”
“But I thought we were buds?” Raina asked, trying to lighten up the mood.
“Over my dead body.”
* * *
After effectively ending their working relationship, Lucille made no effort to hide her sloppiness. By the time three o’clock rolled around, Raina was so tense, a knife would have bounced off her shoulder blades. While Eric didn’t make another appearance, she hightailed out of the resort like a con making a break for freedom. Talk about a toxic work environment.
Raina was on her way to the Sullivans when her grandma called to say Muyang Yao made contact. She made a U-turn on Ashford Street and drove to the senior center. There was plenty of time to catch up with Brenda later.
Po Po met her in the lobby of the senior condo complex with the dowager bump, half-moon glasses, and the pimp cane. “Muyang will be here in a few minutes.” She led them through the double set of doors that opened into the attached Gold Springs Senior Center.
“Where do I hide?” Raina asked, scanning the open floor plan of the recreation room.
Frank Small and his friend played chess in one corner, sliding sideways glances and hidden smiles in their direction. Another elderly man monitored the police scanner by the window, a notebook on his lap and a walkie talkie within easy reach. You would think he was the dispatcher from his focused concentration. In front of the fireplace, Janice Tally raised an eyebrow at Po Po’s entrance and went back to rolling yarn from her walker bag.
It was her grandma’s turf alright, and Raina couldn’t help but wonder if Po Po posted her posse in the room to trap Muyang. But unlike her grandma, a couple of her friends had the frail thin look of the elderly who didn’t exercise much. Frank, the ex-military officer, was the only one who still held any physical presence, but she didn’t relish the idea of explaining to her best friend, Eden, who was his granddaughter, what happened if he fell.
“Put this on.” Po Po handed her a salt and pepper wig. “You can sit with your back to the room.”
Raina stuffed her long curly black hair into the wig. “But I can’t see anything. I’ll just sit with a newspaper in front of my face. This thing is hot.” With the fireplace going and the heater turned up, it felt like a long-haired cat decided to take a nap on her head.
“Can you be more obvious? Geez, do I need to teach you how to be sneaky? Just help Janice roll yarn. Hunched over and so the wig partially covers your face.”
Po Po sat in the middle of the room, playing with her smart phone to pass the time. Raina was thankful Janice didn’t make any attempt at small talk. As the minutes ticked by, the recreation room became quiet as a tomb.
The outer doors shooshed open, and Raina could hear approaching footsteps. As one, all heads turned toward the double doors, and just as hastily, everyone returned to their activities as if on cue. Raina tugged more yarn from the skein and rolled it around the ball in her hand.
“Hi, Wong Po Po,” Fanny called out. “Why is Raina wearing a wig?”
Raina glanced up to see the foreign exchange student gaping at her.
Po Po grabbed Fanny’s forearm. “Come help me with the puzzle, granddaughter,” she said. She bent close and whispered rapidly.
Fanny’s eyes grew rounder, and she glanced around with unsuppressed excitement. She bobbed her head with a wide smile. Oh great. Another player invited to a game of Cops and Robbers.
A shadow flickered in her peripheral vision, and Raina ducked her head, focusing on the yarn like it was a lifeline. A bead of sweat ran down the side of her face, but she was afraid to call attention to herself by wiping it. From between the strands of the wig, she peered at the doorway and saw the woman hiding in Cecelia’s closet.
Muyang clutched the thin gold chain around her neck as her eyes scanned the room. She chewed her lip as if waiting for an invitation. Her eyes were wide like a mouse watching an approaching tiger. Poor thing. Raina had no idea what she would do if she were in Muyang’s shoes—desperate for information, but with no proof she wasn’t walking into a trap. She had to be BL’s birth mother.
Po Po waved from her seat, but Muyang jerked her head to indicate the hall behind her. Without waiting for a response, she spun on her heels and walked out of sight. Po Po shuffled after Muyang. The picture-perfect helpless little old lady.
Raina bolted after her grandma, knocking over the ball of yarn on her lap. She stopped short at the doorway, afraid to interrupt their conversation, only to have Fanny crashed into her from behind. Raina tumbled onto her hands and knees with Fanny screeching behind her, making enough noise to spook a tiger. Raina looked up in time to see Muyang flipping Po Po into a fireman carry. The mousy woman morphed to a crouching tiger.
“Sorry, sorry,” Fanny said, picking herself off the floor. She hobbled and fell back onto the floor, clutching her ankle.
A flash of fear squeezed Raina’s heart. She scrambled to her feet. She had to get to the grappling pair before Muyang made off with her grandma.
Po Po tossed a handful of small cylinders on the floor. She kicked and bucked. Muyang shifted her weight, struggling to keep a hold on her grandma. Her foot crunched on several of the cylinders. A white haze mushroomed around them. A shrill alarm blasted throughout the hall.
Raina jumped at the sound. Fanny must have pulled the fire alarm. She plunged into the white haze, grabbing at blurred shapes. She tu
gged at a fistful of cloth, not caring if it was Po Po or Muyang. The cloth ripped. Thump. Po Po screamed.
Footsteps clattered in the hall behind them. Po Po’s friends must have scrambled out of the recreation room. A blast of cold air threw a strand of Raina’s hair across her face. A large brown arm snaked out and hauled Raina off her feet.
Raina bucked. “No! Help my grandma.”
Frank pulled Raina out of the haze and plunged back in. A heartbeat later, he carried out a grinning Po Po. Her grandma looked like a doll in his arms.
Raina’s shivered, goose pimples forming in her forearms. She let out a rattled breath. “Are you okay?”
Po Po nodded. “Good thing I stuffed my backpack with a pillow. I could have landed on my back. I didn’t realize Muyang knows kung-fu.” She broke into a toothy grin. “I’m not a bad ninja myself. Like my ninja fog? Dry ice encased in a water tube. Works like a charm, huh?”
“So charming”—Raina, pointing at Fanny—“it overcame her sensibilities.”
Po Po peered at the prone figure on the floor. “Oh, come on. It's not even my good stuff. How does she expect to be my protégé if she couldn’t even handle a little horseplay?”
Frank picked up a swooning Fanny from off the floor. A wailing fire truck pulled into the parking lot as they made their way out of the senior center.
Janice glided over with the aid of her walker. “This is it, Bonnie Wong. I'm petitioning the Board to revoke your membership.”
“You can't do that. Membership is part of the HOA dues for the condo,” Po Po said.
“We'll see about that. Probation meant any infraction. If I had my way, you would have been thrown out after the one finger chili incident.”
“It wasn't even my finger!”
“Tell that to the judge,” Janice said, gliding away.
Raina took a deep, cleansing breath. She wasn’t surprised at Janice’s reaction to her grandma’s antics. This she understood. But Muyang’s flip from mouse to predator? Not only did she not see this coming, but it must mean the mom was getting desperate. And a desperate person was a dangerous person. It was time to warn the Sullivans and to have a chat with Matthew.
17
DELUSIONS
Raina pulled up next to the Sullivans driveway. The Christmas lights were off and the inflatable snowman and reindeers slumped against each other in an unruly pile on the front lawn. The curtains were drawn, with only a small light spilling out into the night from the rear. Raina chewed her lip, debating whether or not she should knock.
While she and Brenda were good friends, it still seemed intrusive to ask for details to their current problem with the law. They hadn't asked for her help, but they were going to get it regardless. And she couldn't very well help without the details.
Tap! Tap!
Raina jumped at the sound coming from the driver side window. She was so busy watching the house, she hadn't notice anyone coming up to her car.
With the streetlight behind the person, she couldn’t make out the face. The person made a hand-cranking motion. Right, like she was going to open the car door to a stranger on a deserted street. This was when the too stupid to live girl always got killed in a slasher movie.
“It’s Toni Moody. We should talk.” She took a couple steps back as if finally aware her face was hidden in the shadow.
“Okay,” Raina yelled, hoping the private investigator would be able to hear her. “There's a Peet’s outside of the subdivision on the right. Follow me.” Raina started the car. While Toni hadn’t appeared threatening in their first meeting several days ago, it was better to chat when there were other people around. She waited until Toni turned on her headlights and pulled out onto the road.
During the short drive to the coffee house, Raina mentally reviewed their first encounter. Toni had asked questions about Cecelia’s business practices. At first, Raina thought a government agency hired Toni to help with their investigation. Now she wasn’t so sure.
They ordered their drinks—more iced coffee for Raina and chamomile tea for Toni. There were only two other patrons at the place and they were plugged into their laptops with headsets. The barista was busy re-stacking the shelves. The overhead pendant lights spotlighted their small table so the rest of the coffeehouse seemed to fade into the background.
“How’s your coffee?” Toni asked.
“Good,” Raina said. “What were you doing outside the Sullivans’ home? Or do you think they worked for Cecelia too?”
Toni raised an eyebrow. “Are you always this sarcastic? Or do you just miss me?”
Raina shrugged. She was tired and out of sorts. Tomorrow was Christmas, and she hadn’t even had time to prepare for it yet. Besides, it wasn’t like she owed the private investigator anything. However, she would like to know what exactly Toni was investigating. “It has been an eventful day.”
“I would say that’s an understatement. It’s not every day the senior center gets filled with the off gassing from dry ice and water.” Toni sipped her tea casually.
“It was you--you were spying on me at the resort earlier. Why are you following me?”
“You have good instincts. Most people would just shake it off, thinking it was their imagination. Ever considered working as a private investigator?”
Raina ignored Toni’s attempt to introduce another topic. “Are you really investigating the resort or are you after something else?”
“Let me put my cards on the table. I’m hired to find evidence against Cecelia to close down her resort. I believe she has another set of books. If the feds were able to put Al Capone in jail for tax evasion, then there’s already a cell with Cecelia’s name on it.”
“But what does this have to do with me?”
“You seem to be on the fringes of my investigation. Every time I turn around, you are talking to someone I’m interested in or sneaking into places I want to be at. What exactly are you doing, Miss Sun? Are you friend or foe?”
Raina took a long sip of coffee, dragging it out to give herself time to think. If Toni was telling the truth, and Raina had no reason to believe otherwise, then they held some common interests. But this didn't make them allies. “I could ask you the same thing.”
Toni gave her a crooked smile. “Trust requires you to give more than you get in return.”
Raina snorted. “So what are you going to give me?”
“The truth. I believe Cecelia was involved in a child kidnapping case.”
Heat rose from Raina’s chest to her face. Her client must be Muyang Yao. It was the only explanation. “Did you help Muyang Yao get away? She tried to kidnap my grandmother.”
“I knew you would catch on. Like I said, you’re sharp. For what it’s worth, I don’t think she meant to hurt your grandma. I have no leads on who might have her baby, or even if there is a baby. Cecelia is not talking. Neither is her ex or the head housekeeper. When Muyang saw the ad, it was like a curtain fell over her. She became Mr. Hyde in a sense. She was sure the baby had to be hers.”
Raina took a deep breath. Anger wouldn’t help the situation even if she felt like giving Muyang a whack on the backside. “The ad was for information on the baby’s mother, Sui Yuk Liang. Why would Muyang think the baby is hers?”
“Sui Yuk and Muyang were friends. Mostly they stuck together because there was no one else. Muyang knew Sui Yuk had a difficult pregnancy, so she wasn’t surprised Sui Yuk had a stillbirth. However, she never visited her friend at the hospital. Something about bad juju. So I can’t verify whether or not Sui Yuk actually had a live birth.”
“And then later Muyang had a stillbirth too. Not exactly good stats for a resort claiming to be ‘the premier women wellness and birth center for Gold Country USA.’ How did Muyang react to her own stillbirth?”
“This is where things get tricky. Muyang was told she had a stillbirth. Her memory was spotty because of all the drugs. A month postpartum, Cecelia asked her to leave.”
“Where’s the baby? It’s not lik
e the doctor could get rid of the remains without her permission.” Or maybe they did. If Cecelia had something on the medical staff she’d imported from the Philippines, they might do as she directed.
“She remembers holding the body before they took it away. She lost a couple days because they continued to drug her afterward, claiming she was a threat to herself.”
Raina frowned. She was under the assumption Cecelia helped Sui Yuk swap the babies. But what if she were wrong? “Do you believe Muyang had a live birth? Could this all be in her head?”
“I believed her at first, but now I’m not sure. I was hired to find wrongdoings at the resort and turn it over to authorities. I could fulfill my obligation to my client without getting involved in this aspect of the investigation.”
“It’s been a couple months since everything went down at the resort. Why now? Why didn’t Muyang do something earlier?”
“I think she was still coming to terms with losing the baby. But when Muyang saw Sui Yuk with a newborn at Bullseye, the flood gates opened.”
Raina jerked, knocking over the plastic cup. Ice and coffee spilled across the table, ran down one side, and soaked her jeans and underwear. She jumped up, swiping at her crotch with a damp napkin. Real smooth, Sherlock.
The barista came over with a towel to clean up the mess. Raina apologized, and they moved to another table. She shifted on her chair, her wet underwear chafing against her skin. Muyang could have seen Sui Yuk on another day. It didn’t have to be the Saturday she died. “When was she at Bullseye?”
“A couple weeks ago. Muyang initially only wanted to talk to Sui Yuk but grew suspicious when her former buddy avoided her like the plague. According to her, Sui Yuk Liang shouldn’t have had a baby.”
“But this doesn’t mean anything sinister. Chinese culture is very superstitious. With Muyang’s stillbirth, no new mom would want their baby around her.”
Toni shrugged, to show that she wasn’t judging. “A simple DNA test would lay the maternity question to rest. Do you know where is Sui Yuk Liang’s baby is?”