by Frankie Bow
“Chang’s has been marketing very aggressively. They send out flyers. They’re on social media. They advertise two-for-one specials. You name it. I’m pretty sure they’ve been gaming the restaurant review sites, too. And the result is, you’ll pardon the expression, they’ve been eating Donnie’s lunch.”
“We had a situation like that with the spa. A competitor moved in, started offering these spa packages at prices we couldn’t match. We knew they were either taking a loss or breaking employment laws.”
“So, what did you and Gloria do?”
“My parents kind of helped us out.”
“How nice of them. What did they do?”
“Bought them out.”
“Just bought the entire business?”
“M hm.”
“And then did what?”
“I don’t know. I think there’s a Vietnamese restaurant in the space now.”
“Well, that’s one way to deal with the competition. And here we are.”
I made a left, and then another quick left to park behind the Drive-Inn. We got the last spot in the parking lot.
The place was packed.
We found Donnie out front with two of his red-polo-shirted employees. They were clearing and wiping tables as customers finished and others crowded in to take their place. Donnie spotted us, peeled off his latex gloves, and dropped them into the red oil drum trashcan.
“Donnie, this is great. Look at all these people. Where did they come from?”
Every table was occupied, and people stood around waiting for empty seats to open up.
“Way to go, man.” Skye fist-bumped him.
Donnie grinned.
“This is the busiest Friday we’ve had in three months.”
“So, did you follow the marketing plan? You did the social media outreach and everything?”
“Oh. No. Sorry, Molly, I haven’t really gotten around to reading your plan.”
“Then what happened?”
He shrugged.
“I guess people just got tired of Chang’s. The novelty wore off.”
“Really? Just all of a sudden, people started coming here again? Do you think it was your ad in the newspaper?”
“Maybe. One of my workers told me that someone found a cockroach in one of Chang’s Kung Pao Pizza Rolls, but that’s kind of hard to believe.”
“It’s crazy the kind of rumors that can get started,” Skye said. “Lucky it’s your competitor and not you, though.”
“Someone was eating at Chang’s and just happened to find a cockroach in their pizza roll?” I exclaimed. “That is crazy. I can barely believe it myself.”
I drove Skye back up to the house, went into the bedroom, and pulled my little guitar out of the closet. I sat on the bed and tuned it as I tried to organize my thoughts. Davison had ignored my good advice and had gone ahead with his numbskull plan to sabotage Chang’s Pizza Pagoda. It was a clumsy effort that would inevitably be traced back to him. Donnie’s business, and his reputation, would be ruined.
I played half a song. When it got to the part with the F-chord, I gave up and put the guitar away. I went back to Davison and Tiffany’s room, to find the door closed. I could hear Junior making baby noises, so I knew he wasn’t asleep. I tapped lightly and then nudged the door open. Tiffany lay on the bed, on her back, her phone in one hand. Junior was on the bed beside her, tucked under her arm.
“What?” Tiffany kept her eyes on her phone.
“Where’s Davison?” I whispered. Junior stirred a little, and then settled down.
“Probably at the gym. My cousins and him was gonna go work out today. Good thing, too. He’s getting da kine, ah? Davison. Beer belly.”
“Have you and Davison been to Chang’s Pizza Pagoda?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Did he ever take a picture of his food there and post it online?”
“I dunno.”
Junior was making soft buzzing baby snores, his face buried in Tiffany’s armpit. I wasn’t going to get any details from her about this cockroach-in-the-pizza-roll situation. For that, I’d have to confront Davison directly. But maybe Tiffany could help me solve a different mystery.
“Tiffany, can I show you something?” I reached into my purse, pulled out my phone, and searched through the photos until I found the one I was looking for.
“Do you recognize these?” I turned my phone toward her.
She sighed, and set her phone down. “That’s you an’ da kine.”
“Yes, it’s Donnie and me at dinner. Do you see the earrings I’m wearing in this picture? There’s a necklace too, but you can’t see it.”
“Oh, yeah. I see ’em.”
“Do you have a pair of earrings like this, by any chance?”
“Those?” Tiffany wrinkled her nose. “Nah, those are old lady earrings. I never wear ones like that.”
“Have you ever seen earrings like these?”
“Yeah, you just showed ’em to me.”
I sighed and dropped my phone back into my bag. I don’t know what I’d expected. If Davison had fenced my jewelry to buy Tiffany’s ring, she wouldn’t necessarily know about it. And if memory served, retaining information wasn’t exactly Tiffany’s strong suit.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
My phone vibrated inside my bag. I’d forgotten that I was supposed to call Pat back. I rushed out of the guest room before the sound woke the baby.
“Did you see this thing from the Student Retention Office?” Pat asked.
“The Student Retention Office? Did they track you down all the way over there in California?”
“No, I was just catching up on my email while I was waiting for you to call back. We’re supposed to start telling jokes in class now?”
I slipped out the front door and pulled it shut behind me.
“Oh, that stupid Humor Initiative. Emma and I think you should tell the canoe joke in class. That’ll put a stop to it.”
“Yeah, and get me fired.”
“So, find out anything about Gloria?”
“Yeah. Molly, your sister-in-law’s a jailbird.”
“You know, you could have told me to sit down first before you sprang something like that on me.”
“Molly, maybe you want to sit down.”
“I think I will.”
The rattan chair creaked as I settled in to it. The heat had subsided, mellowing to an evening sultriness. The sun hung low in the sky, poised to drop behind the mountains. This was the best time of day to relax on the lanai. The mosquitos wouldn’t be out for another hour.
“Okay, I’m nice and comfy now. What did she do? Donnie’s sister has a bit of a temper, it turns out.”
“She went to prison for robbery.”
“Robbery?”
“You sound surprised.”
“I am surprised. It seems out of character for her. I thought you were going to tell me she handbagged someone and got charged for assault.”
“Technically she was sentenced for aiding and abetting. A jewelry case disappeared from a private plane on Maui, and somehow ended up in the trunk of her car. She claimed she didn’t have anything to do with it. Her boyfriend must’ve put it there without her knowing.”
“So how long was she in prison?” I asked.
“She got fifteen years.”
“Fifteen years!”
“The boyfriend was sentenced too. And they had a son.”
“Oh. Davison.”
“Uh-huh. According to the records, the son was three years old when Gloria Gonsalves started serving her sentence.”
I watched the golf cart putter up the street. The boys jostled each other happily, excited about one more skateboard ride down the hill before dinner.
“Molly, are you there?”
“I’m here. I was just thinking. When Skye said Gloria handed Davison over to Donnie because she was in a ‘bad place,’ he literally meant she was in a bad place.”
“Yeah. She only served part of her sentence,
though. A group of law students got interested in her case, and managed to get her exonerated. It’s how she met her husband, by the way. Skye Chaney was one of the law students. Hey Molly, I have to go. Listen, keep this information to yourself, okay?”
“Of course. Who am I going to tell? I’m sure Donnie knew about it anyway. I didn’t know people still said ‘jailbird.’”
I came back into the house to find Davison sitting at my workstation, arms folded, glowering at my computer monitor.
“Where did you come from? I was just looking for you.”
“Bathroom.”
“Oh. Glad I asked. What are you doing at my computer?”
“I gotta talk to you, Molly.”
“What a coincidence. I need to talk to you, too.” I plumped down on the couch.
Davison swiveled the chair around to face me. He seemed nervous, although I couldn’t fathom why. “Tiffany said you came in our room just now.”
“Yes, I did.”
“And you was asking her all kinda questions.”
“A few. Is there a problem?”
“You scared her, that’s why.”
“I scared Tiffany? I doubt it very much.”
Davison ran his hands through his buzz-cut hair and folded his arms again. “You gotta problem, Molly, you can talk to me.” He swallowed, setting his Adam’s apple bobbing.
It took me a moment to realize what was going on. Davison was trying to step up. He was defending his delicate fiancée from his terrifying stepmother.
“Fine,” I sighed. “You’re the one I need to talk to anyway. I was just down at the Drive-Inn. It was packed.”
Davison folded his arms tighter, as if he were trying to hug himself into invisibility.
“That’s good news, ah, Molly? You should be happy the Drive-Inn’s doing good.”
“Yes, it would be good news if it had come about honestly.”
“What? How come you’re grilling me? What’s your problem?”
“What is my problem? I’ll tell you what my problem is. Did you learn nothing in my class?”
Davison’s neck reddened beneath his tattoo scars.
“Eh, I posted that review long time ago. How’d you know it was me?”
“I—what? Never mind about that. I’m not talking about your online reviews. I’m talking about you planting nasty rumors online about Chang’s Pizza Pagoda.”
Davison’s gaze shifted away. He couldn’t look me in the eye.
“I knew it. Davison, what you did is not okay. Your father has been working to build this business his whole adult life. He’s always run things ethically and honestly, and if this gets out, his reputation, everything he’s worked for, is going to collapse. Did you think about that at all?”
Davison folded his hands in his lap and assumed an innocent expression. His bushy eyebrows tilted up in the middle. “I dunno what you’re talking about.”
I leaned forward, and he rolled the chair back until it bumped against the desk and wouldn’t roll any more.
“What I’m talking about is you put a dead cockroach in one of Chang’s Kung Pao Pizza Rolls, took a picture of it, and uploaded it to a review site. I know you just wanted to help your father, but Davison, how is it going to look when everything comes out? Because it will come out. What do you think your father’s going to say?”
He shrugged and stood up from my chair.
“Too late. Cannot do nothing about it now. And you see the crowd down at the Drive-Inn today?”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
I made an effort to smile through dinner. Donnie was in a good mood, and I didn’t want to spoil things for him. Let him enjoy a few moments of success before everything came crashing down. Of course I wasn’t annoyed at Donnie for ignoring the well-researched and completely ethical marketing plan I’d put together for him. He was a busy man, and it was hard for him to find the time. Although, if he had actually read and followed my plan, the Drive-Inn might have recovered sooner. And Davison wouldn’t have felt the need to pull his stupid cockroach stunt in the first place.
At bedtime, I thought Donnie and I might spend some time making progress on our family plans. But Donnie pleaded fatigue (so many customers today) and asked for a rain check. He dropped right off to sleep, and within seconds was snoring peacefully.
I lay awake, listening to Junior’s fussing and the rumble of arguments coming from the guest rooms. The guest toilet seemed to be flushing constantly, sending water coursing through the walls.
This was ridiculous. I was never going to be able to provide a growing baby with a calm and serene environment as long as we had all of these noisy houseguests. Okay, there wasn’t a growing baby yet, but what about a calm and serene environment for me? I got out of bed, went into the walk-in closet, found my little overnight bag, and started to pack.
Perhaps I wasn’t as quiet as I might have been. Donnie stirred.
“Molly? What are you doing?”
“I’m going to the Lehua Inn.”
“You’re what?” He sounded wide-awake now.
“I can’t sleep here.”
“You’re leaving? Now? You can’t go. It’s too late.”
I came out of the closet to face him. “I just need to sleep through the night. Just one night. Please, let me have this.”
“Molly, what are people going to say when they wake up and you’re not here?”
“What was that you said, Donnie? Did I hear you say, ‘Please don’t go, Molly. I’ll miss you terribly’? Or maybe what you said was, ‘Let’s see what we can do to make sure you can sleep through the night at least once?’ Wait, no, you didn’t say either of those things. My mistake.”
I stomped back into the closet and resumed packing, only faster and more angrily.
“Molly, why are you doing this?”
“I need a serene environment to ready my body for our growing baby,” I called out to him. “This is not serene. I’m so sleep-deprived I’m afraid I’m going to lose it. And you know, I put this whole social media marketing plan together for you, and you ignored it, and that’s why this cockroach thing happened.”
“Molly, I looked at your plan, I promise I did, but there were a lot of things in there I didn’t understand.”
“Sure, marketing is hard work. It’s a lot easier to let Davison sabotage Chang’s with his faked-up cockroach photo.”
“What are you talking about? What is it with you and Davison, anyway? What do you have against him? He doesn’t have any problem with you.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Did you know he wrote an online review of my class, claiming he didn’t learn anything? Although come to think of it, he’s not wrong.”
I stuffed one last bra into the overnight bag, zipped it shut, and stomped out of the closet.
“You’re going out in your pajamas?” Donnie said.
“These are not pajamas, Donnie. I’m wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, which is perfectly acceptable for casual wear. Don’t you try to gaslight me. Oh, and I packed the rest of my jewelry too. So your poor, misunderstood son can’t steal any more of it.”
Donnie got up out of bed, looking magnificent in flimsy sleep pants and nothing else. I averted my eyes and willed myself to stay strong.
“That’s a serious accusation, Molly.”
“Yes, it is serious. And true.”
“You can’t just drive away in the middle of the night.”
“I certainly can. Are you trying to tell me I may not leave? Are you trying to forbid me to leave?”
“Molly.” Donnie’s voice was warmer now, conciliatory. He stepped around the bed toward me. “I know it must be upsetting for you that you haven’t been able to get pregnant, and Davison already has Junior. But it’s not fair to take your frustration out on him.”
Less than ten minutes later, I was pulling into the parking lot of the Lehua Inn. I parked my Thunderbird, locked up, and kept an uneasy eye on the Hanohano Hotel as I hurried into the Lehua’s well-lit lobby.
That stupid hotel is exactly like my life. I was doing just fine on my own, and then I had this big bright idea to go and get married, and change everything around, and now look at me. I’m fleeing my own house in the middle of the night. I never had to do this when I was single.
I had planned to check in to the Lehua under an assumed name, but the lady at the front counter greeted me as “Mrs. Gonsalves,” so there went that idea. I let her take my credit card information and then went up to my second-story room. Before I did anything else, I wiped down the sink, phone, and doorknobs with rubbing alcohol. Not that the room didn’t look clean, but I always do that when I check into a hotel. Then I pulled the bedspread off and piled it in a corner, checked under the mattress for bedbugs, and finally crawled into bed. I settled into the best sleep I’d had in weeks, lulled by the murmur of traffic on Hotel Drive.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
The digital clock on the nightstand read 10:01. It took me a few moments to remember I was in a room at the Lehua Inn. I felt a pang of regret when I remembered the previous night’s unpleasantness with Donnie, and it felt strange to wake up alone. But it was impossible to stay in a bad mood when I’d enjoyed such a refreshing sleep. I wasn’t really that mad at Donnie. I had just been desperate to sleep through the night for once.
I swung my feet onto the floor, stood up, and pulled open the light-blocking curtains. I could hear the traffic from Hotel Drive below, but the road itself was hidden by the canopy of hundred-year-old banyan trees. The rolling greens of the golf course were bounded on the far side by a forty-foot hedge of ironwood trees. I had opted for an inland-facing room over the more expensive ocean-side accommodations. It had been a good choice. I still had a beautiful view.