Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Author:Jesse Q. Sutanto [Sutanto, Jesse Q.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2023-03-14T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

VERA

Well, isn’t that a turnup for the books? Somehow, Vera has gone from a murder to a break-in and now to the house of the aforementioned murder victim. And his lovely wife and daughter, of course.

Vera is never one to be presumptuous or to trouble others, and so she is determined to be the very picture of courtesy, the ideal houseguest. This is why, when she gets to Julia’s house, she marches right in, stopping at the hallway to take off her shoes. Emma walks in behind her, and Vera says, “Take off your shoes, Emma, we are not animals.”

Emma does so, and after a moment’s pause, so does Julia, who is wearing a little smile as she follows Emma and Vera inside, lugging Vera’s giant suitcase. Once in the living room, Vera sighs loudly before plopping down on the sofa with more drama than she intended. Though of course, she always intends maximum drama, all the time, so is more drama actually possible?

“Shall I put your things in the bedroom?” Julia says, heaving as she tugs the suitcase behind her. “Gosh, Vera, what do you have in here?”

“When you get to my age, you will need so many things just to keep everything where they belong,” Vera says cryptically, with a vague gesture at her own body.

Emma’s eyes widen. “Why? What might fall out?” She turns to Julia, wide-eyed. “What might fall out, Mommy?”

“Oh, this and that,” Vera says. “After you breastfeed, no bra will be able to control all the flopping.”

“Honey, why don’t you go play in your new tent?” Julia says quickly.

“Come,” Emma says, pulling Vera’s hand. “I show you my new tent.”

Vera can’t help smiling as she follows the little girl down the hall. Is there anything sweeter than having your hand held firmly by tiny fingers? Behind her, Julia pants as she yanks the suitcase down the hallway. Vera considers telling her that it’s a fancy new design with hidden wheels that pop out with the push of a button, but Julia seems so happy to be helpful. Anyway, it’s probably empowering to be able to lug such a huge and heavy burden without any help.

Emma’s room is small and humble, but very neat. In one corner is an impressively decked-out tent, complete with soft toys and cushions. Emma crawls in and beckons Vera to come in after her, but Vera says, “At my age, even with all the extreme stretching I do, if I kneel down, there is chance I don’t get back up.”

She lowers herself carefully and sits down on the edge of Emma’s bed. Emma’s head pops out from the tent flaps.

“You see dead body?” Emma says.

Vera, who has watched Sixth Sense, knows enough to keep an open mind. “Do you mean did I see dead body last week, or do you mean am I seeing dead body right now?”

“Both.”

“I see a dead body last week, yes. But there are no dead bodies right now.”

“What dead body look like?”

Vera mulls this over carefully.

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