Airy Allies and Enemies by Anne R. Tan

Author:Anne R. Tan [Tan, Anne R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Anne R. Tan

14

Mistaken Identity

Raina pulled a ten-dollar bill from her purse and tossed it on the bar table. She strode to the entrance of the bar and paused to look back over her shoulder. Big Mac clutched the Leilani cocktail in his hands, staring at it as if the answers would bubble forth like it was one of those Magic 8 Ball toys. He appeared equally as stunned at the discovery that the wrong twin was identified as the victim.

She trotted out of the bar and into the restaurant. She burst into the kitchen, calling out, “Leilani! Where are you?”

A cook came over, clutching a metal ladle in front of him like it was a weapon. “You can’t be back here.”

“It’s okay,” Raina said, holding out her hands, palms out. “I’m Leilani’s cousin. Auntie May is my great-aunt.”

The cook gave Raina the stink eye. “I don’t care who you are, young lady. Get out of my kitchen.”

Raina took one last glance around. Unless her cousin was in the walk-in freezer, she wasn’t in the kitchen. “Sorry.” She backed out of the kitchen, just in case the cook decided to toss the ladle at the back of her head. She scanned the dining area. No Leilani.

Outside in the lobby, Raina called Leilani’s cell phone. It rang several times and went to voicemail. She dialed the numbers again. This time, someone picked up the phone.

“Hello, Rainy?” Po Po said.

Raina swallowed the lump in her throat. Her grandma had just confirmed her suspicion that her cousin was dead. “Po Po, where are you? How did you get this phone?”

“I am still inside the office with Auntie May. A phone started ringing, and I found it in the Lost and Found box,” Po Po said. “Your name came up on the display, so I picked up the call.”

“How did the phone get inside the Lost and Found box?” Raina asked.

Po Po turned away from the phone to speak to Auntie May. Raina couldn’t hear their muffled conversation.

When Po Po came back on the line, she said, “The landscaper found it this morning in a potted plant in the walkway from the pool to the outdoor dining patio. Who are you trying to call?”

Raina opened her mouth, but no words came out. Did the killer knock her cousin out on the pathway and drag her body to the underground oven? She glanced at the one-way window of her great-aunt’s office, knowing her grandma was probably looking out. Her vision blurred at the sudden tears. “Give…give me a minute,” she finally managed to squeeze out in a shaky voice. She tapped on the screen to end the call.

She stumbled her way to the public restroom between the convenience store and the concierge desk. Once inside a stall, she locked the door and sat on the toilet to cry. For the first time, she would fail her family. Things would not return to normal.

Even if Raina solved Leilani’s murder, the Hawaiian branch of the family would fall apart. Raina

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