CHAPTER
thirty 
ALICE GOT PERMISSION from Principal Lewis for me to visit the school’s science lab during lunch break after I told her my reasoning. Still, the request must have sounded odd to the principal. Why would a pet groomer want to scope out a school classroom? Although Principal Lewis let me on-site, he insisted that Richard accompany me the entire time. Alice also volunteered to tag along.
When the janitor saw me, he said, “I never realized Alice had a sister.” Swiveling his head back and forth between us, he said, “You two could be twins.”
I didn’t tell him that he’d confused me with Alice multiple times before.
My sister and I followed Richard to a bungalow at the back of the campus. When we entered the dark classroom, the first thing I noticed was the stench of chemicals in the air. It reeked of surgical procedures, and I had to pinch my nose. Even Alice rubbed a hand over her face for a moment.
Richard flicked on the lights and must have noticed the grossed-out expressions on our faces. We probably looked like we’d smelled some stinky tofu. “There might be an odor left from the recent frog dissection,” he said.
Thank goodness I hadn’t eaten much before visiting the school. I peeked at my sister, who pasted a bland smile on her face.
“This will take ten minutes, tops,” I said to the both of them.
As I glanced around the room, my gaze slid past the long tables with their shared microscopes. What I sought would lie hidden inside the cupboards. I opened their doors to find stacks of measuring tools: glass beakers, calipers, and pipettes.
Turning to Richard, I said, “I’m looking for things like thermometers.”
He shrugged. “I only clean up around here. Keep on looking, but everything must stay inside the classroom.”
I agreed to the restriction. My sister and I split up to examine the lab, pulling open various drawers. After five minutes of intense searching, I hit the mother lode. I’d found a stash of glass thermometers.
My voice cracked. “These have a red tint to them. They must be mercury-based.”
Alice gasped from her corner, where she stood holding a clipboard.
Richard shuffled over to my side and peered at my discovery. “Actually, the thermometers with red liquid are newer. The old ones I used as a kid with mercury in them always had a silver line. But that was ages ago . . . when dinosaurs roamed the earth.” He chuckled.
Silver, really? I did a quick search on my phone and verified Richard’s comment.
Alice raised the clipboard she was holding into the air. “I found a master list of the lab’s supplies. Maybe you should look at the inventory.”
Scurrying over to her side, I scrutinized the list. Not only did it itemize all the equipment, but any teachers who wanted access to materials had to initial, date, and time stamp whatever they used for their science experiments.
“The equipment is shared,” I said. “Can people borrow the stuff they want and use it inside their classrooms?”
Alice ran her finger down the sheet and pointed to the fine print at the bottom. All the supplies were deemed school property and had to stay in the science lab. A warning indicated that Principal Lewis himself would cross-check the list and make sure the classroom’s equipment remained in working order at the end of the school day.
Anyway, it didn’t look like there were even any supplies containing mercury in the inventory. On the flip side, the strict regimen could be a step in the right direction in keeping Alice off Detective Brown’s radar.
Relieved, I took a deep breath in—much to my dismay. The dissection fumes shot up my nose, and my stomach recoiled. I rubbed my tummy in a soothing circle.
Alice followed the motions of my hand. She snapped open her purse and offered me a packet. “Ginger chew?”
The offer only reminded me again about her precarious situation with the cops. I really needed to find out who had hurt Helen and dispel any lingering cloud of suspicion over Alice.
“No, thanks,” I said, nudging away the ginger candy.
But my sudden wave of nausea wasn’t done with me yet. Another stomach spasm hit. Maybe I should’ve eaten more today. Perhaps these were actual hunger pangs.
Alice guided me out of the science lab with her hand on my back. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, and the fresh air should revive me.” I took in a giant gulp for good measure.
“And you’ll be fine before your important chat tonight?”
I felt my stomach clench tight again. This time it had nothing to do with external chemicals. My body seemed to create its own waves of anxiety. I would finally meet Josh’s parents face-to-face (or at least face-to-video) tonight.
I had changed my clothes three times, leaving a pile of clothing rejections on my comforter, but still hadn’t decided on the right combination. While I turned this way and that, looking at my reflection in the full-length mirror, Marshmallow sauntered in. “No matter how much you camouflage yourself, you’ll still be fur-challenged.”
Smoothing the wrinkles on my silk blouse, I said, “I need to make a good impression with Josh’s parents.”
“If you really want them to see how great you are, let me pop up on the video feed.”
“How would that impress them?”
“Because someone who owns such an amazing cat can’t be half bad.”
I took my pile of discarded clothes and started placing them back on hangers. “You’d only be a distraction, Marshmallow.”
“I know. People can’t tear their eyes away from my handsome face.”
Stifling the urge to throw a rumpled skirt at him, I said, “Go and watch over Nimbus, will you?”
Though I’d opted for a magenta silk blouse, I also wore my comfy jeans for the video call. They wouldn’t see my pants since I’d be sitting down, and I figured wearing them might ease my nerves.
I went over to Unit 1 for the video conference. Josh opened the door to his apartment and greeted me with a sweet hug. “Ready?”
“Or not. But here I come.”
“They’ll adore you,” Josh said, taking my hand in his and guiding me to the fish-shaped dining table, where the laptop sat open and waiting. I hoped he didn’t mind my sweaty palms. Well, at least he hadn’t dropped my hand in disgust yet.
“How come you don’t look nervous?” I asked.
“Should I be?” he said, as his comforting scent of pine and woods washed over me.
I noticed he wore his usual work clothes: an Oxford shirt and belted slacks. The polished look made me go weak in my knees. Straight from the office, and he still appeared handsome—and unruffled about the looming parental call.
Then I noticed the telltale crumb lodged in the cuff of his sleeve. I snatched it up and said, “Gotcha! This is part of a fortune cookie.” He ate them whenever he got nervous.
“Okay,” he said, “maybe I am a little anxious. This is my first serious relationship in a long time.” He flipped his bangs to the other side, mussing up his hair.
I smoothed the strands down and squeezed his hand. “We’ll be doing this together.”
Josh nodded and opened the chat app. “My parents promised it’ll be low-key and casual,” he said as he clicked on their profile image, an aerial shot of Hawaii, to start the video conference. While waiting for the call to go through, he squeezed my hand a few times, and I took several deep breaths to prepare.
Suddenly, his parents appeared onscreen. I found myself staring at a regal-looking couple. Josh’s dad looked like an older version of Josh, but with more distinguished salt-and-pepper hair cut in a clean conservative way. No floppy bangs for him.
His mom looked breathtaking, with her striking cheekbones and doe eyes. She’d draped a shimmering golden scarf over her shoulders. This was her casual look?
Josh’s father, though, wore a loose linen shirt. They introduced themselves by their first names, Kekoa and Lani, but I insisted on calling them Mr. and Mrs. Akana.
“About time Josh found a nice young woman to settle down with,” Mr. Akana said.
The tips of Josh’s ears turned pink.
His dad continued, “He’s always busy studying. You can’t date a textbook, I’ve told him so many times.” I think Mr. Akana and Ma would get along very well.
Mrs. Akana spoke up in a velvety voice. “What my charming husband is saying is that we’re pleased to meet you, Mimi.”
“Thank you for carving out the time to talk. I know you must be swamped with running your own business,” I said.
Mr. Akana gave me two thumbs up. “We own the best gas station chain in all of Oahu. I oversee the workers while Lani does the books.”
Giving me a warm smile, Mrs. Akana said, “Josh tells us that you’re also a businesswoman.”
“That’s right.” I proceeded to give them a short summary of my experience with animals and how I’d transferred my love for them into opening up Hollywoof.
They both congratulated me on my success while Josh snuck a peek at me and grinned. His parents seemed to be accepting of me so far.
“Smart and beautiful,” Mr. Akana said. “Sounds like a sure thing. When will we hear wedding bells, you two?”
Josh and I looked at each other in alarm. We’d agreed not to rush things.
Mr. Akana wagged his finger at Josh. “Don’t wait too long, keiki. The best times of my life have been married to this lovely lady beside me.”
“We’ve been together for almost thirty years now,” Mrs. Akana said as she wiggled the fourth finger of her left hand at me. I noticed that her gorgeous wedding band and engagement ring set featured a giant diamond.
“And each year is better than the last,” Mr. Akana said.
They turned to face each other and lost themselves in a long gaze.
Josh cleared his throat. “Cut it out, Mom and Dad. I think it’s time for us to go.”
His parents startled out of their trance, turned to the video screen, and wished us well.
We said goodbye, and Josh turned the computer off. “That wasn’t so bad, was it? I’m just glad I stopped them before they started making out or something.” He grimaced.
“They seem like a really sweet couple,” I said.
“Yeah, you can get diabetes by watching them. Oh, sorry about Mom flashing her ring at you. She shows it off any chance she gets.”
“I would, too, if I had a whopping diamond like that.”
Josh scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t know. Shouldn’t she be over her ring by now? And less lovesick after all these years?”
“You’re just saying that because she’s your mom.”
He laughed. “Maybe.”
“I think it’s super romantic.” I could picture Mrs. Akana getting engaged and being infatuated with the shine and bling of her ring. I bet the heavy stone symbolized the weight of Mr. Akana’s commitment to her.
Of course, any girl would be over the moon after being proposed to. She wouldn’t be able to take her eyes off the new sparkle riding on her ring finger . . . Except I knew someone who hadn’t been.
Josh waved his hand in front of my face. “Everything okay, Mimi?”
“Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts.”
Checking the time, I gave him a quick kiss and hug. I knew he had to go in to work early tomorrow.
Plus, now I had predawn plans as well. To talk to a certain fiancé and see why his beloved hadn’t been wearing her ring after getting engaged. Instead, she’d kept it hidden away in a box inside a closet in her apartment.