Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

I needed to figure out who killed Derek Winter.

Which meant I should’ve started investigating immediately, but I figured a night in prison meant I was due for a hot shower and a good meal. The burning, pin-sharp spray from the new showerhead I’d installed as a Christmas present, followed by a huge bowl of the almondigas I’d missed out on from the day before were just what I needed. A tray of mamón, my grandmother’s special little chiffon cakes, fresh from the oven, was the cherry on top. Their restorative powers worked wonders on my mood, but one thing was missing to bring me back to 100 percent: a good dose of caffeine.

A trip to Java Jo’s and a chance to hash out a possible plan with Adeena was the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone. Or some other less murder-y, more animal-friendly proverb.

Lucky for me, the crowd at Java Jo’s was fairly light for late Saturday morning and Adeena was able to join me at my favorite corner table by the window. “Your usual coconut milk latte, but I added a bit of honey and cayenne to it. You look like you could do with a pick-me-up.”

I sipped at the sweet, creamy brew, the cayenne hitting me in the back of the throat and giving me life. “You, my friend, are an angel incarnate. This is exactly what I needed.”

She grinned. “Maybe you should get arrested more often. You’re way nicer than usual. Or maybe it’s the shot of honey that’s sweetening you up.”

I drew myself up straighter, putting on a haughty expression. “Hmph, I was going to share this bag of mamón that Lola Flor left for me, but I guess I’ll have to eat them all myself. I mean, I’m pretty hungry from being in jail overnight. It was a very traumatic experience, after all.”

OK, so maybe I was laying it on a little thick, but still. I may not have been in a maximum-security prison, but I had just been through one heck of an ordeal. Would it hurt her to fawn over me just a little bit longer?

Not sure if it was the realization of what I went through, or the temptation of her favorite snack, but she plopped down next to me and took my hand. “I’m sorry, honey. You want to talk about it?”

I handed her one of the little chiffon cakes, the top slathered in butter and sugar, and helped myself to one of the cheese-topped mamón. I tore it in half and a faint curl of steam rose up, as well as the smell of sweet butter and the sharp tinge of cheddar.

“Not really, but I don’t have much of a choice. Did your brother tell you anything?”

She broke off a bit of cake and dipped it in her chai latte. “Not much. Just that they found something pretty incriminating in the restaurant and that’s why you got locked up.” She rolled her eyes. “He takes client confidentiality very seriously, so wouldn’t tell me much more than that.”

I laughed. “Well, I’m glad that my lawyer isn’t blabbing the story all over town, but he should know I tell you everything anyway.” Well, almost everything.

I sipped at my drink and sighed. “They found drugs in the restaurant, Adeena. A big duffel bag full of filled prescription pill bottles and money and Lord knows what else was in my locker. I have no idea how it got there. You know I don’t mess with that stuff.”

The color drained from her face, an impressive feat considering she boasted quite a bit more melanin than I did. “Drugs? What kind of drugs?”

“I have no idea. Detective Park didn’t specify, and it’s not like they let me near enough to read each individual label.”

“Do . . . do you have any idea how they got into your locker?”

I frowned. “No clue. They were obviously planted there, but when? They weren’t there when I started my shift. I went in there to grab my apron.”

“What about after?”

“Not sure.” I took a sip of my latte and thought back to that day. “After everything that happened, I just wanted to go home, so I didn’t bother putting my apron back. It needed to be washed anyway.”

“I see.” She took another bite of her mamón, but chewed it without her usual gusto. “Do you think the person who killed Derek was the same one who planted the drugs?”

“It’d have to be. Why else would it be in my locker? What I can’t figure out is how they got them in there. We keep everything locked up because of Ronnie.”

Ronnie was my screw-up cousin and Tita Rosie’s only child. He didn’t live in Shady Palms anymore, but when he did, he’d had a habit of rifling through our belongings, stealing and/or selling off our stuff to support his other, equally illegal habit. Which was another reason it was so ridiculous to be accused of being a drug runner.

“Anyway, you know I don’t mess with that stuff. Not after Ronnie. I’d never do that to my aunt.” I shook my head. “Besides, I got dreams. I’m not stupid enough to waste my time and money on that sh—”

Adeena put her mamón down, not even pretending to eat anymore. “Being stupid has nothing to do with it. Drug abuse is a serious problem, and I don’t appreciate you acting like you’re too smart to be affected by it.”

My mug was already at my lips, but I lowered it without drinking after Adeena’s impassioned statement. “What’s gotten into you? You know how I feel about drugs. What they’ve done to my family. Why are you defending those fools?”

Adeena got up. “You know what, I have to get back to work. I’ll talk to you later.”

She cleared off the table, grabbing both our mugs and placing them on a tray to bring back to the kitchen. I wasn’t finished with mine yet, but I wasn’t about to argue with her.

“Yeah, sure.” I stood up too, slipping on my jacket. She started to walk away, but I placed a hand on her arm. “Adeena, are we OK? I didn’t mean to upset you.”

She sighed, pushing back a tendril of hair that’d escaped from its clip. “Yeah, we’re fine. I’ll explain some other time.”

Something that Amir said at the station came back to me. “Wait, Amir told me that the county had been cracking down on drug-related offenses lately. Did I miss anything big while I was gone?”

She gave me a strange look. “You haven’t been home in almost three years. You missed a lot of things. You’re so—” She shook her head. “Never mind. I’m not ready to talk about it right now. Maybe later, OK?”

I nodded, not really sure what there was to talk about. “Um, you want to grab a late lunch? We can’t open the restaurant till the health inspector gets back or the case is solved, so I thought we could start tackling that suspect list the aunties gave me.”

Adeena smiled. “I’d like that. I get off at two, so swing by then, OK?”

I hadn’t realized how tense I was till my shoulders sagged in relief. She really wasn’t mad at me. “Sounds good. I think I’ll take a nap till then. Something tells me this is going to be another long day.”

As if on cue, Kevin popped up with a tray of biscotti. “Oh, Lila, are you leaving? Wanna take some of this biscotti with you? Nobody’s touched them and I’d hate to throw them all away.”

Adeena widened her eyes and shook her head in warning, but I grabbed a few anyway. I loved checking out other people’s biscotti to benchmark my own.

“It’s not worth it,” Adeena said. “Trust me.”

I shrugged. “Even mediocre biscotti is still biscotti. I could use the sugar rush.”

I reached out toward the tray in Adeena’s hands, dipped the cookie in the last of my latte and took a big bite.

Crunch, crunch.

Barely two bites in, I felt a sharp pain and spit out part of my tooth. Oh heck no. Sure it had been some time since I’d seen a dentist because it was way too expensive on my crappy insurance, but there’s no way my teeth were so bad they’d crack on a cookie.

I held out my hand, chunk of tooth on full display. “Are you serious? These biscotti are so bad I chipped a tooth?”

Kevin panicked. “I’m so sorry! I knew they were a little old, but I didn’t think they’d be that hard.”

I stared at him. “You fed me expired biscotti?”

“Um, there’s a good dentist two doors down. Give him my name and tell him to bill me. I’ll take care of everything.” He put his hands together in a pleading gesture. “Please don’t tell my customers about this.”

I stood there glaring at him, but Adeena nudged me. Might as well use this to my advantage. “All right, but you have to cover my dental bill in full and give Adeena her own section on the menu. Oh, and I might need her to sneak out a little early for the next couple of weeks without you docking her pay. Deal?”

“Whoa, that’s . . . you’re kind of asking for a lot.”

Adeena balanced the tray in one hand and put her other hand on her hip. “Kevin, that’s nothing compared to what my brother would make you pay if he found out about all this. He is Lila’s lawyer, after all.”

He paled. “You drive a hard bargain, ladies. OK, Lila, you’ve got a deal. Now you better head over to the dentist if you want it taken care of today. He’s usually busy in the afternoon.”

---

•   •   •Dr. Jae’s Dental Clinic was fairly new—I didn’t remember it being here the last time I was in town. The inside lacked the musty carpet smell most clinics had, and all of the magazines were less than a year old—a sure sign of quality.

I explained what had happened to the receptionist and she nodded grimly. “You’re the third one this year.”

It wasn’t even spring yet. I really needed to sit down with Kevin and talk to him about his baked goods. Adeena was bluffing, but he was a lawsuit just waiting to happen.

The receptionist checked the appointment book and said Dr. Jae would be ready in about twenty minutes. I sat down on a couch that couldn’t decide if it wanted to be comfortable or chic and managed to fail at both. I looked through the magazine offerings, finally settling on the November issue of some foodie publication.

I became so engrossed in the glossy photos and autumnal recipes that I didn’t hear the receptionist call my name. She had to come around the desk to tap me on the shoulder, curtly informing me that Dr. Jae would see me now.

Muttering an apology, made even more embarrassing by the fact that my chipped front tooth gave a whistly quality to my words, I entered the room she indicated.

A bespectacled Asian Adonis in scrubs awaited me.

He held out his hand. “Lila, right? I’m Dr. Jae. It’s a pleasure to meet you, though I doubt you feel the same about the situation.”

I tried not to stare as I gave him a respectably firm handshake and closed-lip smile. “Nice to meet you, Doctor. The receptionist said you’ve already dealt with several pastry catastrophes?”

He laughed, which was what I’d hoped for. Figured if I led with a joke, he’d ignore the gaping hole where my tooth should’ve been.

“Don’t worry, I’ll have that lovely smile restored in no time.” He smiled and gestured to the chair. “Please have a seat.”

Needless to say, it was the best dental experience of my life. Not only did he fix the tooth, he threw in a cleaning for free. The fact that Kevin was covering the expenses made it almost pleasurable.

After he finished, Dr. Jae walked me to the receptionist, who handed me the bill. She explained that it was charged to Kevin, but I needed him to sign the paperwork and bring it back. I thanked her and promised to be back the next day with the completed forms.

“We’re closed on Sundays,” she informed me. “Just bring it back when you have a chance.”

Dr. Jae gave me his card and said to call immediately if there was any pain or discomfort.

“It was great meeting you, Lila.” He escorted me to the door, then hesitated. “Are you new in town? I feel like I’ve seen you around a few times, but only recently.”

I hit him with a full-wattage smile, made extra dazzling, thanks to my newly reconstructed front tooth. “I was born here but went away for college. I moved back at the end of last year. My family owns the Filipino restaurant a few doors down.”

His face lit up. “You’re related to Rosie? Such a wonderful cook, and the kindest, warmest person I’ve ever met. Showed up my first day with a tray of noodles for my staff and me, welcoming us to the area.”

His smile slipped away. “I heard what happened. How are you all holding up?”

Ha, where to start? I watched my ex-boyfriend die in front of me, got accused of his murder and also of being a drug kingpin, was arrested, got slapped by a murder suspect, and my family’s livelihood depended on me finding the real killer ASAP. Oh, and I’d almost lost a tooth due to some shoddy biscotti, the final betrayal.

Before I could figure out a way to convey all that without scaring him off, the bing-bong sound from the door opening alerted me to Detective Park’s presence. He stood frozen in the doorway, eyes darting back and forth between me and Dr. Jae.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

I put my hands on my hips. “This is a dentist’s office, what do you think I’m doing here? Why are you here, anyway? Ready to lob more wild accusations my way?”

“For the last time, Ms. Macapagal, I am just trying to do my j—”

“Hey, quit blocking the door!” Adeena’s forceful voice rang out behind Detective Park. He moved into the lobby and Adeena pushed her way into the clinic. “Lila, you’ve been gone forever. You OK?” She looked the detective up and down, obviously not excited to see him, and then turned toward the dentist. “Jae! How you been?”

She reached up for a high five, which he gamely returned. “Hey, Adeena. You here to meet up with another of Kevin’s victims?”

She put an arm around my shoulder, boxing Detective Park out of the conversation. “Yup, Lila’s my best friend. We’ve known each other since high school.”

She must’ve felt the vibes in the room, because she added, “We’re hitting up that Mexican restaurant for dinner tonight. Want to join us?”

This was news to me.

Detective Park said, “Sorry, he already has plans.”

We all turned to look at him. “What?” he said. “He does. We’re supposed to get dinner tonight.”

Dr. Jae, however, waved his hand at the detective. “We get dinner together all the time, Hyung. You’ll be fine without me for one night.” He smiled at us, his entire face beaming with pleasure. Wow, he was adorable. “I’d love to join you for dinner! El Gato Negro, right? Does eight o’clock sound OK to you?”

Adeena grinned, winking at me. “It’s a date!”