by Holly Plum
Realizing that Bubba Jones would be closing soon, Mari left with Tabasco a few minutes early and drove to the pizzeria on the edge of town. There she found Bubba scrubbing the counters with a green rag. He glanced up with a startled look when he saw her as if he had been expecting and dreading her showing up all night.
Bubba knew she had come to talk, but Mari decided to hold him in suspense for a moment longer.
“I’ll have a meat lover's, medium, to go,” Mari said. As soon as she settled into a chair, Tabasco sat calmly at her feet though the smell of meat tempted him to run off into the kitchen.
Somehow still sweating, Bubba ran into the back to fire up the brick oven. Business had been so bad lately that he’d had to fire his staff and had been making all the pizzas himself. It was hard work, but a good way to keep secrets from coming out.
“So, you're finally sick of tortillas,” said Bubba said, catching his breath.
Mari rolled her eyes. “If I had just wanted pizza, I could have easily gone to Rosetti’s. Let’s talk about what you’ve been up to lately.”
Bubba’s mouth formed a tiny O. He had known this was coming, but for the last few minutes, he had been able to trick himself into thinking that maybe they could keep putting it off.
“Honestly,” Bubba began, taking a deep breath, “I’ve just been doing inventory and trying to handle the new flood of customers.”
Mari glanced around the empty room and then back at Bubba. "Huh?"
“That’s cute,” Bubba continued. “That’s real funny. You should come in during the lunch rush hour. This place is packed. About half of my customers say they normally eat at the Lucky Noodle or Lito Bueno’s, but what with all the bad press y’all have been getting lately, they just don’t think it’s worth it.”
“Yeah, we were practically empty this morning,” Mari confessed. “I figured they were probably taking their business elsewhere, but why would they all suddenly decide they needed pizza?”
Bubba glared at her as if he resented the question. “There are plenty of worse things.”
“Like hanging out at a gas station?” Mari said. Bubba froze suddenly. “I’d love to believe you had a parade of customers coming in this afternoon, but we both know this place wasn’t even open. You were parked at a convenience store on the west end of town. Who were you talking to?”
“No idea what you’re talking about,” Bubba mumbled.
“Who were you talking to?” Mari said again, leaning forward, her voice rising.
“Look, I don’t know what this is about,” Bubba replied. “I’ll finish making your pizza, but if you continue to badger me, I’ll have to call the police.”
“Fair enough,” Mari agreed. “You’re not the only restaurant manager in town that has been visited by a white van in the last week. If you don't answer my questions, I’ll go talk to someone who will.”
***
Mari arrived at Athena Burger surprised to find it surrounded by police cars and news vans. Katerina was giving a statement to the press. Mari parked her car and grabbed Tabasco's leash.
“I had just gotten home,” Katerina said to a reporter, “when I got a call that my alarm at the restaurant was going off. I raced back here to find one of the dining room windows was broken. I immediately notified the police, who are currently searching the premises. So far, there is no evidence that anything was stolen.”
“Is this the first time Athena Burger has been broken into?” the reporter for the local news asked.
“No, but it’s been a long time.”
“Do you think the burglar could have been one of your competitors?" the reporter questioned her. "The restaurants in this town are notoriously competitive.”
“In my years of living here, the restaurant community has shown me nothing but the utmost respect,” Katerina responded.
“Could this break-in,” said another reporter, “be connected to the alleged poisoning that took place only last week in the town square?”
“Again,” Katerina replied, “the police will know more about that than I do. I’m inclined to believe that this is just the work of some local thugs.”
“Ms. Georgiou,” said the first reporter, “can you think of anyone in town with a grudge against you? Someone who might have a problem with your recent attempts to cancel the town's Chile Fest?”
“Thank you,” said Katerina said coldly, stepping away from the crowd. “I'm done answering questions.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The next morning there were so many flyers covering the front doors of Lito Bueno’s Mexican Restaurant that Mari had trouble finding the lock. She tore all the flyers down before she went inside. Alex stood in front of the oven, frying meats in a skillet.
“There you are,” Mari said. Alex flinched. The look on his face was not unlike the one Bubba had given her when she had come in the night before. “Let’s talk.”
Alex flipped his meat with increased vigor. “What do you want to know?”
“Don’t be mad,” Mari said. “I just wanted to know why you’ve been pushing to have the Chile Fest canceled permanently. I’ve never known you to protest before.”
“I usually don’t.” Alex failed to make eye contact. “Honestly the reason is a little embarrassing.”
Mari smiled and raised her brows in excitement. “A secret? Now you have to tell me.”
“Promise you won’t tell anyone?" Alex finally stopped what he was doing and looked her in the eyes. "The truth is… well, there’s this girl.”
“A girl?" Mari interrupted. "Why haven’t you mentioned this before?”
“Because Dad would kill me, unless someone else beat him to it. I know, you’re not Dad, but you know how hard it is to keep secrets in this family.”
“Yes, I know,” Mari replied. “Who is the lucky gal?”
Alex walked over to the door and looked down the hall before returning to the stove. All the while Mari watched him with a look of increasing delight. Finally, he admitted, “It’s Jia Chun.”
“Jia Chun?” Mari blurted out.
“So you can see why neither of us is in a hurry to tell our parents,” Alex added.
“I can’t believe you told me,” Mari said. The animosity between her and Jia was historic. Like most of her family, Mari considered Jia to be only slightly less insufferable than Mr. Chun himself.
“We’ve been secretly dating for a couple of weeks now,” Alex admitted. “And honestly, she doesn’t hold any of that old stuff against you. She doesn’t see the two of you as being all that different. Dad is a different story. Jia hates him, but I guess that’s to be expected when you’ve been told all your life he’s some kind of ogre.”
“This is incredible.” Mari couldn't help but laugh. “Can you imagine if y’all end up getting married? Do you think you might elope? You might have to.”
“You're getting ahead of yourself, Mari.” Alex shook his head. "Way ahead of yourself."
“Can’t you just picture it, though? Two families, who have hated each other for decades, maybe centuries, suddenly united in love? It's like Romeo and Juliet.” Mari let her imagination get carried away.
"I ain't no Romeo," Alex responded. “Besides, I don’t seem to remember that ending very well for them."
“So you and Jia started dating,” Mari repeated, “and she convinced you that Chile Fest was a bad idea and that it needed to be stopped.”
“I wouldn’t put it quite like that. She just had a perspective that I hadn’t ever thought of. She talked about what a huge risk the festival is. If we let it continue, another murder is guaranteed to happen eventually. Maybe not this year, but the next year, or the year after that.”
“Solid reasoning,” Mari said sarcastically. "She must know something we don't."
“Look, it made sense when she said it.” Alex shrugged. “Okay, maybe I don’t entirely know what I’ve gotten into. But I know there’s already been one death at this festival, and I don’t want there to be anymore. And I don�
�t like Opal, and I don’t like the crowd she runs with. If you ask me, she created an environment where something like this was bound to happen.”
Mari stared hard at Alex. His affection for Jia must have run deeper than even he was willing to admit. Mari had never heard him speak like this. She wondered how many of his words were his own, and how many were Jia's.
“I’ll grant you that Opal isn’t a great person,” Mari commented. “And sure, I think this year’s Chile Fest needs to be called off out of respect for the dead. But to cancel it forever? Do you think that’s going to prevent more deaths?”
“I don’t see why we even need it,” he replied.
“Listen to what you're saying.” Mari wrinkled her nose in confusion. "This is Jia talking, not Alex. You love Chile Fest. Last year you ate like two dozen deep-fried Oreos."
“I know," Alex stated. "This has more to do with Opal Tims. Once she's gone, I'll change my mind.”
“So Jia Chun is another Opal Tims hater,” Mari mumbled. “She must be a real beast when no one is looking.”
“You’ve always had a way of not seeing things that were right in front of you,” Alex pointed out. “Remember how long it took you to realize Steve, the meat delivery guy, liked you?”
Mari laughed. “Hey, I thought we were talking about your love life, not mine.” When Alex didn’t answer, she said in a more genuine voice, “So, do you really like her?”
“We’ve only been together a couple of weeks, but it all feels like a dream. I know that makes me sound like a mushy-headed idiot. I feel like one. We’ve hated each other for as long as I can remember. The pranks David and I played on Jia back in high school, well, I don’t regret them, but I kind of wish we had played them on someone else.”
“I never thought this day would come,” Mari said. “Alex Ramirez is suddenly filled with remorse.”
“It’s awful, I know." Alex hung his head. "Promise you won’t hold this against me forever.”
Mari gave him a quizzical look. “How would I do that?”
“You would find a way." Alex chuckled. "You’re never going to let me live this down someday. I know I’m being perfectly stupid, but I like her. I do.” After a short moment’s silence, he added, “I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine.”
“What secret do I have?” Mari asked.
“About entering our salsa into the competition.”
“I thought everyone knew?” Mari raised her eyebrows. "That's not a secret anymore."
“Oh, come on," Alex disagreed. "Not everyone knows. That's why we still have customers."
“I wish that were true,” Mari admitted. “Anyway, now that you and Jia are dating, maybe you can help me.”
“I'm not sure that I like where this is going,” Alex responded.
“Promise you’ll tell me if you see anything even remotely suspicious going on at the Lucky Noodle.”
“I’ll do what I can, but I’m not going to become your personal spy.” Alex rolled his eyes. "I wasted a whole year of middle school that way."
“Fair enough.” Mari remembered the year she had Alex spy on one of her classmates that she had a crush on.
“Jia would drop me so fast if she thought I was using our relationship to help my own family," Alex firmly said. "What I can tell you is that I know Jia is not a killer, and neither is Mr. Chun. Whatever they might have done to us in the past, they’re not killers. I just hope you’ll accept that.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
When Mari arrived at work the next morning, she found that Alex had replaced all the petitions she had taken down the morning before. There was also a blank white card with the single word Mari printed out and taped to the front door.
Mari opened it and read the message inside.
If you want more information about the Chile Fest killer, meet me outside the old fruit market tonight at midnight. You’ll see me when you get there.
There was no name.
Who could be leaving these messages, and why were they going through all the trouble? Was this also the same person who threw a brick through her window? Mari needed to think. It was only mid-morning, not too hot for walking yet. After she had checked in with her dad, Mari took Tabasco and left the restaurant.
What have I learned so far? Mari asked herself, making a visor with her hands to keep the sun out of her eyes. Based on what she knew, it seemed like there were only really three suspects. There was Bubba Jones, Katerina, and Mr. Chun.
Neither Bubba nor Mr. Chun had been in the tent when Brandy died, but it didn’t matter. The tent had been poorly guarded, and people had been going in and out all morning. Ultimately it was going to come down to a question of motive. Who would have wanted to see Brandy dead, and why?
Katerina had been lobbying to have Chile Fest shut down since Brandy’s death. But the intensity of her petition suggested that she had ulterior motives. It was entirely possible she was just exploiting the murder for her own ends. Which raised the question why Katerina was so determined to see the festival end? What motivated her, other than a fierce hatred for Opal Tims?
The animosity between Katerina and Opal raised another possibility. Supposing Katerina, driven by a long-held grudge against Opal, had been looking for a way to turn the townspeople against Chile Fest, and had decided that murdering one of its principal organizers was the most efficient way to do it? If that had been her intention, it was certainly working.
There was only one problem with this theory. If Katerina was so desperate to kill off the festival that she would murder a woman, why would she choose Brandy instead of Opal? As far as Mari could tell, Katerina and Brandy had gotten along just fine. Whereas the malice Katerina felt toward Opal could easily have netted Opal a restraining order in a court of law.
Unlike Katerina, Bubba did hold a grudge toward the murder victim. Mari would be inclined to discount him as a suspect altogether if it wasn’t for his story about rejecting Brandy Davos when she'd asked him out on a date. A story that Mari thought was probably untrue. And there was Bubba's suspicious behavior. He had been seen meeting up with the driver of white van more than once.
Which brought Mari back around to her last suspect, Mr. Chun. Mr. Chun had a clear motive. The murder victim seemed to have been waging a campaign to destroy his establishment. Brandy had publicly declared that the Lucky Noodle was a public health threat and that an intervention was needed to shut it down. This was several orders of magnitude worse than anything her father had ever done to him. If Mr. Chun had reason to kill anyone, it was Brandy. And, conversely, if anyone had reason to kill Brandy Davis, it was Mr. Chun.
But if the killer really had been Mr. Chun how could Mari prove it? The poison had been in her salsa, after all. The murder had been quick, efficient, and painless. The murderer had left no traces of his work, no bread crumbs leading back to his door. It was worrying to think that this was one crime that might never be solved.
The whole investigation now seemed to hang on this mysterious informant and the meeting they were scheduled to have later that night. It was possible he would have some information that would blow open the whole case. On the other hand, if this was the same person who had recently thrown a brick through Mari's window, she wasn’t prepared to be friends just yet. She certainly wasn’t going to meander over there alone, not this time. Mari had learned from her past mistakes. At least one of her brothers would be coming with her, if not both.
On the bright side, if the informant turned out to be a criminal or murderer, at least that would give them some answers. Mari just had to cross her fingers that they weren’t killed in the process.
Mari had been walking for about half an hour and was fast approaching the railroad tracks. The sun began to beat down hot and bright. It was time to turn around and go back to the restaurant. Mari's Abuela would be in the kitchen frying tortillas by hand. She could continue her thoughts in there. Frying tortillas had a way of relaxing her. Maybe then Mari would have a burst of inspiration that would solve
the case.
But as Mari passed the Lucky Noodle and turned into the restaurant parking lot, an altogether unwelcome sight met her eyes. The back of a white van peeked out the back of Lito Bueno’s Mexican Restaurant. As Mari drew nearer, her worst fears were confirmed. The driver she had seen twice before was standing near the back exit waving a wad of cash in the air. And her own father looked on, nodding quietly.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Mari stormed toward the driver with a look of fury on her face. Her father glanced up in surprise.
“You,” Mari shouted at the driver. His normally placid expression quickly changed to one of horror. As he had done at the gas station, he swung into his van and pulled away by the time Mari reached him, narrowly avoiding a brush with a green dumpster on his way past.
Mari realized she would have better luck getting answers out of her dad than anyone else. “Dad, we need to talk.”
Mari followed José Ramirez down the hall into his office, freeing Tabasco to do as he pleased. The moment the door was closed, Mari impatiently yelled, “Are you going to tell me what is going on?”
“I’m not answering a single question until you calm down,” Mr. Ramirez responded in his usual reserved tone.
They stood there for a moment in silence, Mari counting down from ten.
“Who was that man out there? Everyone in this town seems to know except me.” Mari spoke in a calmer voice.
“He sells meats,” her father answered.
Mari stared at him, confused. “Meats?”
“Not the kind of meats you’re thinking of,” her father clarified. “Exotic meats. Illegal meats. He’s realized that most people don’t know the difference between a chicken and a horse if you don’t tell them. At least half the restaurant owners in town are buying from this guy now. The price of meat is so high. He’s got people eating the whole Chinese zodiac, and they don’t even know it.”