Chapter Thirty-two

Chapter Thirty-two

Despite my best intentions to follow Lola’s advice and sleep early, I couldn’t. I spent half the night sending texts to Adeena that went unanswered while avoiding Amir’s suddenly pressing need to talk to me. He called no fewer than three times, but didn’t leave a message or send any texts, so it couldn’t be anything too urgent. Besides, I did not have the bandwidth to deal with him after the day I’d just had.

I woke up foggy-headed and grumpy, so after a light breakfast of coffee, pandesal, and coco jam, Nisa and I went out for a run. But even that provided no relief, as my steps became more and more plodding and Nisa seemed more interested in marking various banks of snow than helping me get out of my funk. I called Adeena when I got back home, but still no answer. Thought about leaving a voice mail but decided against it. While showering, I formulated the next steps of my investigation.

Derek’s wake wasn’t until one p.m., so I thought I’d swing by another place on the suspect list for an early lunch. I’d originally planned on staying home and spending time with Tita Rosie, but she was busy preparing food and refreshments for the service. I would’ve helped her, but she waved me away, happier than I’d seen in a while—Mrs. Long had assigned her the task and my aunt wanted to give it her all. Strange that Mrs. Long would solicit the help of an accused murderer—according to her husband—but she knew us well enough to know my aunt was innocent. After all, Mrs. Long had spent quite a bit of time at our restaurant back when Derek and I were dating. Tita Rosie still visited her to drop off food since her chronic pain sometimes kept her in bed for days at a time.

So either she trusted us completely or Derek’s death had left her even more lost and helpless than I thought.

Pierogi Palace was next on the list, but when I got there, a sign stated they were closed “indefinitely.” I was sitting in the car, staring at that sign and wondering what my next move should be, when I got a text.

Hey its elena

Can you come by the restaurant

We need to talk

Well that sounded ominous. It did solve my problem of what to do next though, and I needed to talk to her about last night. Might be a good chance to pump her for info without Adeena hovering over my shoulder.

As soon as I got to El Gato Negro, Elena hustled me toward a secluded table in the corner. “Thanks for coming on such short notice. I’ll be back in a minute to take your order.”

The place was bustling and it took awhile before she could make her way back to me. I placed my order (the goat taco special and agua de jamaica to drink) and when she came back with my food, she sat down with her own plate.

“It’s my lunch break, so I thought we could talk and eat at the same time. Cool?”

I nodded and we both dug in, focusing on our food rather than conversation for the next few minutes. I made quick work of the first two tacos on my plate and was starting on my third when Elena cleared her throat.

“So you’re probably wondering why I asked you to come over. And how I got your number.”

Understatement, but OK. “I’m assuming you got my number from Adeena.”

She shook her head. “Adeena got really pissed when I asked her, actually. That’s part of what I want to talk to you about.”

I sipped at my iced hibiscus tea, wondering where this was going.

“Amir was the one who gave me your number. He also gave me his card last night, saying he heard my family was a suspect in Derek’s murder. Wanted me to contact him if anything happened, or if I remembered something that could help your case.” She crumbled a chip into little pieces on her plate. “Is it true you’re investigating Derek’s death?”

Way to alert our suspects, Awan family.

“Not exactly. Just asking a few questions here and there. The sooner they wrap up the case, the sooner my family’s life goes back to normal.”

Elena crossed her arms and glared at me. “And you think my family had something to do with his death?”

I clutched at my cup. “It’s not like that. I’d heard rumors about your aunt and uncle having to close up shop and I wanted to see if they might’ve targeted him for revenge. Then it turns out they’re not even around anymore and you and your mom took over and Adeena really likes you and I don’t know what to think about anything.”

I let out the breath I’d been holding and threw back the last of my agua de jamaica as if it were a shot of tequila. Oh, I wish, I wish.

Elena softened. “I totally understand your instinct to protect your family. And after meeting them last night, I also know there’s no way your family had anything to do with Derek’s death. I want to help. That’s why I called you over.”

I’d been staring into my empty glass feeling sorry for myself, but looked up at that last line. “Really? Why?”

She ran her hand through her gorgeous hair, which was even thicker and unrulier than Adeena’s. “I like Adeena, too. But whatever problems you have are between the two of you. Derek, however? Totally involves me. He messed with my family and I’m not letting him mess with another one.”

I took out my phone and pulled up my Notes app. “Don’t get mad, but I’m going to ask some really personal questions. I’m not judging you or anything, just looking for the truth and how it all fits together.” She nodded, so I started with, “You said you went on a few dates with Derek. What happened?”

“Ugh, of all the places to start.” Now she was the one clutching her glass as if it were a shot. “He started coming around the restaurant last fall. My uncle and his family had already left, but my mom was determined to get everything back for him. Even called me to come back home and help out.”

“You’re not from around here?”

“I’m from Cicero, but my mom moved here after I went away to college. U of I,” she said, answering my unasked question. “I’d already graduated, but had planned on sticking around for the summer to finish my internship then find a job in the city. But family came first.”

How she said that without a hint of sarcasm or bitterness, I had no idea. There was more than a touch of sadness though. The two of us needed to have a night out with Jae where we drowned our sorrows and family expectations in booze and karaoke.

She toyed with the straw in her glass. “I was happy to help at first. I thought my mom had the right idea in fighting for my Tío Hector and his family. But I had no clue how much work it was to run your own restaurant. I was a server and hostess through most of college, so I knew it wasn’t easy. Still didn’t prepare me for the stress of having to run it all with just my mom to rely on instead of a full staff.”

“I get that, but in the reverse. I grew up in the restaurant biz, so I’ve never known anything else. It wasn’t until I went away to school and worked at places that weren’t my aunt’s that I saw the responsibility she carried and really appreciated all the work she’d put in. It’s how I knew I wanted a place of my own someday, rather than running someone else’s dream.”

She smiled. “My mami would like you. All that ambition. Anyway, the first month of getting this place up and running was a nightmare. Barely any sleep. No days off. Even when we were closed, we were working. And my mom knows how to run small businesses, but a restaurant is a completely different beast. Figuring how much to order and of what and from who, and what all the regulations are and trying to remember that what works in a home kitchen absolutely does not work the same in a professional one. Things like that.”

Like with Yuki, the vibes I got from Elena told me more about her relationship with Derek than she was letting on. “I’m guessing this is where Derek comes in? You saw him as a stress-reliever, a way to have some fun in this tiny town?”

Her jaw dropped. “How did you know? He started coming around and was so cute! And sweet and charming and I should’ve known he was up to no good.”

“You didn’t know who he was? Your mom never told you?”

“She did, actually, but not till after we’d already gone out a few times. She works the back of the house, doing all the cooking and paperwork, so she doesn’t interact with our customers. She only saw us together ’cause he came by to pick me up one day after we’d closed.”

I grinned. “How’d she take it?”

She groaned. “You got that look on your face, you know exactly how she took it. My sweet, hippie, makes-her-own-soap-and-insists-on-organic-products mother went off on him. She actually took off her shoe and threatened him with it. It was intense.”

Ah, the power of the chancla/tsinelas. I sipped at the water glass I had ignored earlier in favor of my hibiscus tea. “I’m surprised you didn’t go all star-crossed lovers and insist that you wanted to be together.”

“Eww, first of all, Romeo and Juliet are not relationship goals. Second, in that story, it was the parents who did all the shady stuff. Romeo and Juliet were innocent. But Derek? He was one hundred percent to blame when it came to what happened to my uncle. He chose to write those lies. He chose not to correct the rumors that started going around because of his reviews. And I’m sure it was him who sicced that crooked-ass health inspector on us. So eff that dude.”

The health inspector again. Interesting. “What makes you think Derek had anything to do with the health inspector?”

“Because the health inspector is best friends with his stepdad. And you don’t find it suspicious that just when those negative reviews came out, the health inspector suddenly decided to pay us a visit? I don’t know what their deal was, but there’s something more going on there.”

I filed that away to talk about with the other restaurant owners later. “Did you accuse him of any of this?”

“No, I just slapped the shit out of him after my mom let me know who he was. Told him never to come near my family again or he’d regret it. And I know how that sounds. But I didn’t kill him and neither did anyone else in my family.”

I nodded, wondering how to phrase my next question without making it seem like I didn’t believe her. “When was the last time you saw him?”

“He never came by the restaurant again, I can tell you that. My mom hired a couple of my guy cousins to bus tables and keep an eye out for him. I ran into him a few times at Java Jo’s, so I stopped going there. Nice to know I can go back there for my caffeine fix. Especially now that I know Adeena.”

She had a sweet, goofy look on her face as she thought about Adeena, but my next question wiped the smile off her face. “What about your cousins? Where were they when Derek died? Did they have beef with him?”

She shook her head. “They knew better than that. It’s one thing if Derek were to come into our restaurant and they needed to throw him out. But they’re not foolish enough to go looking for him. Two Mexican boys from Cicero beating up a White boy from Shady Palms? How you think that’d go for them?”

Good point. And yet I had to say, “True. If he’d been beaten to death, it’d make more sense for it to be them. But he was poisoned. And you and your mom work with all kinds of stuff that could be toxic if ingested or used in large amounts.”

I’d looked up details on making your own soap and cosmetics and was surprised at how many people dabbled with potentially dangerous substances. On top of their organic cosmetics and bath products, they offered herbal teas and supplements, as well as both fresh and dried herbal arrangements. It was a stunning array, but what interested me most were the various warnings attached to the products. And when I looked up the individual plants that were listed as ingredients, it was like a laundry list of poisons growing in their own personal greenhouse.

She clenched her jaw. “You’re one step behind, Lila. You think the cops didn’t come check out our greenhouse after finding out Derek was poisoned? They said nothing we had matched what was in his system.”

“Oh.”

“‘Oh’ is right. Plus how would we even get him to ingest it? You’d know if we were anywhere near your place. When could we have put it in his food?”

Oh, sugar. It just kept coming back to that point, didn’t it? We were the ones with the most access to his food when he died. What did they say cops looked for? Means, motive, and opportunity? Based on what the police found, we easily fit all three. If only Adeena’s friend in the lab would hurry up with the results, we might be able to shift the focus away from us.

I buried my face in my hands. “Sorry. I’m so bad at this. It’s way easier when I have Adeena with me since we can play off each other. I just sound like a jerk when I try to question people.”

Elena put her hand on my arm. “It’s OK. Not like you have a ton of experience doing this kind of thing. But you need to make up with Adeena. For your friendship, and because it’s safer with the two of you together. What if I hadn’t had good intentions? I just texted you to come over here with no explanation. What if I was the killer? Did you tell anyone you were coming here?”

I bit my lip and shook my head, my cheeks flushing a deep red.

“See? Talk to Adeena. Or get any of the people I met last night to go with you. They seem to care about you a lot.”

That seemed excessive. I mean, I’d lived on my own in Chicago for years, it wasn’t like I needed a chaperone now. I was perfectly capable of running around solo during the day at least.

These mutinous thoughts must’ve shown on my face because she said, “Doesn’t matter that it’s daytime. Derek died during the day, right? His killer is still out there. And you haven’t exactly been subtle with your questions. Watch yourself.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I made a big show of looking at the time on my phone. “Thanks, Elena. I appreciate you reaching out. Got to get ready for the wake though, so can I get the check?”

She stood up and began clearing the table. “It’s on me.” When I started to protest, she said, “I expect you to respond in kind once Tita Rosie’s Kitchen opens again, OK? This isn’t charity.”

Instinctively, I reached over and gave her a big hug. She hesitated, then wrapped her arms around me. “We got your back, chica.” She pulled away but took my hands in hers. “Be safe, OK? And go catch that killer.”