CHAPTER
eighteen 
DRIVING ON THE 405 the next day after work, I grumbled to Marshmallow about the traffic. “If only you qualified as a passenger, I could use the HOV lane.”
In the rearview mirror, I saw him stick his nose in the air. “Yeah, cats are worth at least two humans.”
“Be grateful that at least you’re relaxing in the back.” My hand hovered near the horn. Should I honk at the guy trying to cut in front of me?
“I’m in a caged box,” Marshmallow said. “It’s no spa, sister.”
“I have to be your chauffeur.”
He swiped at the bars of his carrier. “Drivers take you where you want to go. I didn’t sign up for this jaunt.”
“Aw, Shirl isn’t so bad.”
He didn’t comment during the rest of the drive to her house.
Shirl, on the other hand, seemed enthused to see us. She led us to her sitting nook, where she’d already positioned a laptop on the doily-covered table. “You caught me in the middle of my YouTube marathon, but I can take a break to see Emperor do some live tricks.”
The video was on pause, and I could hear a loud buzzing noise coming from the kitchen. “What’s that sound?”
“The popcorn machine warming up. It takes a while before it gets to popping.” She sat down in one of the plush chairs.
I perched on the edge of the armchair opposite her. “We won’t keep you long, Shirl. Actually, I wanted to ask you again about Russ Nolan, whether you saw a lady visiting him the night he died . . .”
She crossed and uncrossed her legs. “I told you I didn’t see a thing. No one visited him.”
“Really? Kevin Walker told me otherwise.”
She looked over her shoulder toward her neighbor’s house.
“You can tell me, Shirl,” I said. “I understand if you don’t want to talk to the police, but I’m your friend.”
Her face scrunched up. She looked like she was on the brink of deciding to confide in me. Then a series of pops burst from the kitchen. She scrambled off her seat and disappeared.
When she returned, she was carrying a giant bowl of buttered popcorn, and her face looked shuttered. “There’s nothing to tell,” she said.
“He didn’t have a girlfriend?” She didn’t respond, and I wondered if I might butter her up. Leaning toward the bowl, I took a big whiff. “That smells heavenly.”
She pulled away the bowl of popcorn and crossed her arms over it in a protective motion. “Russ Nolan didn’t have a lady friend.”
That was a far cry from the statements she’d made when I first met her. “What about all those women you saw visiting his house? You even accused me of being his girlfriend before. Surely one of them could have actually taken a shine to him.”
She scoffed. “Not with his cheap taste in wine.”
Marshmallow spoke up. “How would she know about his drinking habits?”
If she’d seen the label on his wine bottle, it meant she’d had the opportunity for close-up observation.
Shirl watched me exchange a look with Marshmallow.
“Are you sure you don’t have more to tell me?” I asked her.
She stuffed a handful of popcorn into her mouth and munched. “I’ve told you all I know.”
Shirl unpaused the video, and the cat onscreen started tiptoeing on its hind legs.
Marshmallow shook his head. “What a joke. Cats belong on the ground. That’s why we have four paws.”
“Are you sure you have nothing to add?” I asked Shirl, but her eyes remained glued on the screen.
I sighed and gathered Marshmallow. “Guess we’ll be on our way.”
As we exited the house, I heard my phone chime out a reminder. I opened up my calendar app. Time for Family Game Night.
Ma and Dad had loaded the dining table with snacks. I spied bowls of dried squid, roasted broad beans, and, my personal favorite, peanut candy. Those square-shaped treats melted like sugar in my mouth, depositing peanutty goodness on my tongue. Inevitably, the delicate layers of the pastry left crumbs everywhere.
Ma fanned her hand in front of my face. “Your boyfriend is where?”
Um. I’d lost myself in dreams of peanut candy. Why hadn’t he shown up yet?
“Maybe he got caught up at work,” I said, grabbing a few pieces of peanut delight.
Ma traced the outline of a silver rose on her dark blue qipao. I’d noticed she was wearing the traditional figure-hugging dress tonight. She’d even put on makeup and opted for false eyelashes.
Dad pulled at the collar of his shiny polyester dress shirt. No doubt he’d worn it at Ma’s bidding. “What’s your man do again?”
“He’s a lawyer,” I said.
Ma squeezed Dad’s hand. “Wah! Must make good money.”
“A steady income,” Dad added.
Alice popped her head out of the closet and said hello.
“Ooh, my favorite Lee,” Marshmallow said, sprinting her way. Gee, thanks, I thought as he did a figure eight around her legs.
My sister grinned and patted him. Then she turned to me and said, “What kind of games does Josh like?”
“Let me ask him.” When I looked at my phone, though, I realized I’d already missed a text from him. It read, Sorry. Something came up.
I blinked at my cell. Had he bailed on me in four words? Was this like a breakup text? I hadn’t said so, but he must’ve known meeting my family would be a huge milestone. Or was that the real reason he’d failed to show up?
I pulled an Alice and locked myself in the bathroom to get some privacy, just like she had during the egg tart sympathy party we’d thrown her. Pacing around the cramped space, from sink to shower and back again, I dialed Josh’s cell. No answer.
I called his office. Voice mail. Was he avoiding me on purpose? Had I pressured him too much by extending an invitation to meet my family so early in the relationship?
I sat down on the toilet and placed my head between my hands. This dating thing was harder than it looked.
A soft knock sounded at the door. “Mimi?” my sister asked.
I let her in.
Seeing my crestfallen face, Alice gave me a long hug. “What happened?”
“Josh can’t make it, and he told me over text. Now he’s avoiding my calls.”
She placed an arm around my shoulder and led me back to the dining room. “There could be a million reasons why he couldn’t come.”
My parents, seated at the table, looked up at me with puzzled faces.
“Did he run into traffic?” my dad asked.
Alice tossed a sweet smile their way. “Josh is busy tonight, so we’ll meet him during the next family get-together.”
Ma harrumphed.
I sat down as Alice went to search the hall closet to select a game. She picked out a four-player option: Scrabble.
After we set up the board, Ma clucked as she selected her tiles from the bag. “Not show. Such a nerve.”
Dad’s head bent near Alice’s, and I leaned in to listen. “Have you actually met this Josh fellow?” he whispered to her.
For a moment, his forehead crinkled up with worry. Maybe he was recalling the time I’d made up a pretend classmate in kindergarten. He’d learned about my immense imagination at Back to School Night when he’d talked to the teacher.
“I grew out of make-believe, Dad,” I said.
He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Just asking Alice a simple question.” But his forehead unfurrowed.
After we organized the letters on our racks to our hearts’ content, Ma patted my arm. “What about library date? College student nice, eh?”
“Ma, he came for career advice, not to improve his social life. And he was a teen. That’s so wrong.”
“Let’s get started,” Alice said as she tapped her finger on the star in the center of the board. We began to play.
Mired in misery, I could only create words related to the dismal state of my mind: “alone” and “cancel.” Even Marshmallow could sense my sadness, and he sat in my lap, nudging my hand to pet him. Stroking his soft fur did calm me down.
About five minutes into the game, Marshmallow asked, “Is something up with Alice?”
Huh? I looked at my sister’s face, but it only held intense concentration. She seemed focused on completing her latest word, “school.”
I clapped for her. “Ooh, double word score.”
She shrugged. Always so humble.
Marshmallow’s gaze seemed intent on following all the letters crisscrossing one another on the board. “Did you check out her other words?”
I examined the board and tried to sort the various words by player. Dad had put down “golf” and “pal.” His plays were also easy to pick out because he never made words beyond five letters. Ma had gained valuable points by using the word “family” and had even scored a proper bingo by disposing all her tiles to make “weddings.” Alice must have put down “principal” and “worry.”
Everyone waited for me to take my turn, but I paused the game. “Is everything okay at school, Alice?” I gestured to her words. “Did Principal Hallis threaten you again?”
Her eyes started glistening, and she sniffed. “They’re not just empty threats anymore.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a pink slip.
I gasped while she leaned her head against Dad’s shoulder.
“How dare she?” I said.
“She is the boss.” Alice folded the paper. “I thought the principal might be more understanding. She has a hedgehog. Aren’t pet owners supposed to have a strong sense of empathy?”
“Not all animals are the same,” I said.
She sighed and returned the piece of paper to its hiding place. “It hurt being the only one singled out. Not even the teacher who got hired three months ago received a slip.”
Dad put his hand on her shoulder. “Princess Two, how are you holding up?”
Alice tucked her hair behind her ears. “The principal didn’t give me a specific date that I need to leave by. I’m hoping to make it through the end of the school year. In the meantime, I’m just trying to love on the kids every single day I get.”
I saw Ma scoot down in her chair. Soon, I felt a sharp kick to my shin. Ow. She glared at me. “Big sis boleh.”
I shook my head. “Not this time, Ma. Big sis no boleh. I no can do.”
She raised her overpowdered eyebrow at me. “Give up? Not Lee way.”
So I added another task to my growing mental checklist: “Help Sister.” It would rank a little below my top two priorities: “Find Killer” and “Confront Boyfriend.”
We finished up Scrabble, persevering to the end, with the family drive Ma had instilled in us. Of course, Alice won the game. She usually did. But maybe this time we unconsciously let her.
As I drove back home, I thought about my top two priorities again. I didn’t know where the killer lived, but I certainly knew where my so-called boyfriend did. I would go over at the crack of dawn and confront him about skipping out on Family Game Night.