“Can I get some of that?” Matt asked sarcastically, pointing his chopsticks at the pork. I pretended to think it over before reluctantly handing him the platter.
“Me, too, A-go,” Banana said, using the Taiwanese honorific for grandmother which my mother had taught to her.
“Sure, Banana,” Mom beamed, grabbing the platter from Matt before he was through. My mother heaped a generous portion on Banana’s plate and handed her a fork. Banana tried to use her chopsticks for a few minutes before giving up. She was getting better, but some things were just beyond her ken.
“So, how is everything, Scarlett?” My father asked between bites. He didn’t ask just to be polite—oh, no, he really wanted to know. Unfortunately, everything I wanted to talk about couldn’t be mentioned in front of Banana.
“Um, ok. I’m sort of seeing someone,” I said cautiously, glancing at Matt. He was too absorbed in eating as much food as fast as possible to pay the slightest bit of attention to me.
“Ma told me. A detective?” My father asked cheerfully. “At least you’ll be safe with a police officer.”
“What about Uncle Matt?” Banana asked, putting her fork down. “I thought you lived with Uncle Matt!” She looked from Matt to me and back again, and Matt indicated that it was my ballgame.
“We’re roommates, Banana,” I said gently, not wanting to add any more grief to her life. “We’re really good friends. We are not boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“Why not? Don’t you love each other?” Now Banana’s chin was trembling, and I knew she was seconds away from tears. My father looked sorry he had said anything, though I was the one who’d brought up the date.
“I love him as a friend,” I explained, not sure how to put it so a three-year old would understand. “Um, I met this other man who I like as something other than a friend.”
“Oh.” Banana was quiet for a minute before turning to my mother. “A-go, can I have some tea?”
“Sure, honey,” Mom said, relieved that the mini-storm was over.
“Scar, I’m going over to Kayla’s after work. Wanna join me? Give me a call.” I found this note on the dining room table when I got up in the morning. No apology, no nothing. In a way, I was glad as the note was something Matt would normally write to me. I had to be at Julia’s at one, and we had to be at Mom’s at six. It would be cutting it short, and I wondered if we should go to Kayla’s after. Then I remembered that we’d have Banana, so it wouldn’t be a good idea to be out after eight or nine. Damn. I called Matt.
We migrated to the living room where we hashed out everything we knew. We both thought that the club should be the center of our focus, but we differed on the most likely candidate. Matt insisted that Digger was involved, but that was his prejudice talking. I thought we needed to talk to the girls in depth because who knew Kayla better than her coworkers? Besides, with the way she was blackmailing some of them, more than one stripper had a reason for wanting to do her harm. Then, of course, there was the drug dealer. He had my money for being the one who’d taken Kayla and killed the other woman. From Kayla’s description of him, he sounded like the most ruthless of the bunch. If it was him, he wanted his coke back. Where the fuck we’d find that, I didn’t know. I mean, if Kayla hadn’t blown through it all. It must be somewhere in her house, but wouldn’t the cops have found it? Not if she hadn’t wanted it to be found. I started when the doorbell rang, but I got up to let Martinez in. To my dismay, Daily trailed behind him.
I suggested coffee and moving to the living room. Martinez must have had similar thoughts to mine because he agreed with alacrity. I went into the kitchen to brew the coffee, insisting that he leave the dishes for later. I’d make Matt do them when he got home if I had to, but I wasn’t going to waste a minute more than I had to in the meantime. I waited for the coffee to perk, using the time to center my thoughts. My hormones were raging out of control, and I didn’t want to come across as a slut. Oh, I was one, but I didn’t want it to appear that I was too easy. As soon as the coffee was ready, I brought it to the living room, where Martinez sprang up from the futon upon my entry.
The minute I got home, I got to work. First, however, I laughed at the bouquet of daffodils that Matt had left for me on the dining room table, wishing me luck with my date. He ended the note with a terse, ‘You were right’. I knew we’d have to talk about it, but I didn’t want to think about it just now. I stowed the daffodils in my bedroom, not wanting Martinez to get the wrong impression. I changed out of my clothes and quickly called Martinez to make sure he knew about the dead woman—he did. Then, I hurried to the kitchen to get cracking. I made dumplings and egg rolls, having procured the skins from the Asian market near my apartment. I kept glancing at my clock because I’d need at least half an hour to make myself beautiful. I pulled out the radish cake my mother had given me from the freezer as well as the sticky rice. My mother was a fantastic cook, and she always made me take stuff with me when I left her place. I had to eat it quickly, however, or Matt would finish it off for me. He loved my mother’s cooking.
“Auntie Scar, are you leaving again?” Her voice was reproachful, and I turned to find an upset Banana staring at me.
“You alive?” I asked, poking Matt in the stomach. He was sprawled out on my bed and appeared to be dead to the world after a rousing round of sex. “Hey, do I need to call 9-1-1? You did say you wanted to die in the saddle.”
“Mr. Digs,” I purred, putting the act on again. I placed my hand in his and let my fingers tickle his palm. “My name is Scarlett Hsu. It’s a real pleasure to meet you.” I was gratified to see that Digger hadn’t tired of women and had reacted nicely to my overture by grinning like a buffoon. “This is my colleague, Matthias Reynolds. Would you care to sit down and tell us more about the club? It’s ever so interesting.”
“But not like that,” Matt said, gesturing to my dress. I stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek, leaving an impression of my lips behind. Great, I’d have to check my lip gloss before I left. As I was about to step back, Matt grabbed me by the hips and pulled me closer. He crushed my lips under his, completely ruining my lip gloss. Before I could ruminate on that thought, he moved his hands to my ass and squeezed. As usual, my body reacted by pressing itself further into him. I could feel his erection digging into my belly, and I had to make a decision. Two seconds more of this, and we weren’t going to the club for some time. A sense of duty made me pull away from him and put space between us.