Aunty Lee's Chilled Revenge (12 page)

“Public enemy you mean.”

“No, I mean pubic,” Aunty Lee said firmly.

Selina frowned, then laughed.

“There's no point hating her. She's a poor thing,” Aunty Lee said. “And after all you are married to Marko.”

“So I'm supposed to think I'm so lucky and be grateful?”

“The same way Mark is so lucky to have you. And so grateful.”

For once Selina did not have a sharp comeback.

“You should feel sorry for her,” Aunty Lee said. “I feel sorry for girls who were pretty when they were young. People keep telling them they are pretty, and when they grow up they never try to be anything more.”

Josephine

Despite Selina's dire warnings, none of the customers at Aunty Lee's Delights seemed put off by the fact that Cherril had been questioned by the police. Indeed this stirred up much excitement, along with rumors of Singapore's ex–beauty queen Josephine's relationship with Mike Fitzgerald. Everyone seemed certain that Mike had killed his ex-wife and showered Vallerie, the bereaved sister, with sympathy, buying her drinks and even meals.

Even Selina contributed, given Selina and Josephine had attended the same girls' school at Emerald Hill.

“She was one of the havoc girls in school. You know, with too-long hair and too-short skirts, always looking at boys instead of books.”

“That's Josephine DelaVega!” Aunty Lee said.

“Exactly.”

“No, I mean that's her—Josephine—by the door. She just came in.”

As far as Josephine DelaVega was concerned, maintaining her beauty required time, energy, and money. If you put in more money, you could sometimes get away with skimping on the time and effort. Even with the stress she was under that day, her hair extensions, eyebrow tattoos, and smudge-proof eye shadow made her look fragile and even more beautiful.

“Josephine, come! Come over here!” Aunty Lee waved her over to where she and Vallerie were sitting by the serving counter where Selina stood. “You already met poor Vallerie, right? And this one is my stepson's silly wife.”

“Aunty Lee, I already told you Josephine and I know each other. I've probably known her longer than anyone else here! Are you looking for Cherril? She's not here,” Selina said. She was torn between her desire to ignore her old schoolmate and to show her how well-informed she was. “She had to go and check on one of our suppliers. We're very particular about the quality of the ingredients we use here. Even when we're not full we're very busy. Can I help you?”

“Hi . . . What do you do here?” Josephine seemed puzzled by Selina's spiel, as though she was having trouble remembering her.

“I'm married to Mark, Aunty Lee's stepson,” Selina said. She looked tense and insecure standing next to the vibrant, vague Josephine. “Mark and I are running the café while Aunty Rosie is incapacitated. After all, the show must go on,
right? We can't have all the customers leaving and going to Violet Oon's kitchen instead because she closed shop without warning, ha ha!”

Josephine ignored Selina. “I heard you were staying with Aunty Lee,” she said to Vallerie.

Aunty Lee patted the seat next to her. “Sit down.”

“They are saying you are Mike Fitzgerald's girlfriend,” Vallerie spoke up. “The newspapers said that according to records from the Immigration Department, Mike Fitzgerald is in Singapore now. And not only that, Mike Fitzgerald arrived in Singapore over two weeks ago. That means he was already in Singapore when Allison died. They just found him hiding in a hotel. They haven't arrested him yet but it's only a matter of time.” Aunty Lee saw a malicious look flash across Vallerie's face. “Were you hiding him?”

“Don't be absurd!” Josephine said automatically. “I didn't even know he was in Singapore. He lied to me too!” Perhaps coming here to try to win over Allison's fat sister hadn't been such a good idea after all.

The police officers who had interrupted her Skype conversation with Mike Fitzgerald had indeed been Singaporean. She had been questioned by the police again, but could only tell them she had thought Mike was on a business trip to India . . . or Cambodia, or Vietnam . . . somewhere in Asia other than Singapore. Because she had not said anything earlier about her relationship with Mike, Josephine could tell they had not believed her.

She was distracted by Aunty Lee's next words.

“You are expecting, right?” Aunty Lee asked.

“What?”

“Expecting. You got baby coming, right?” Aunty Lee happily sketched the outline of a bulge over her own generous midsection.

Since Josephine came into the café more than a week ago, Aunty Lee had been wondering about the barely suppressed excitement that hummed around the woman. It was energy that suggested she was anticipating something big, a positive promise she was excited about, but also a little afraid of—Aunty Lee saw this in a lot of customers looking at her menu or buffet for the first time, but Josephine had not even glanced at her food.

“Aunty Lee, you cannot anyhow say things like that—” Selina started to say, but—

“How did you know?” Josephine laid a hand on her still flat stomach. “Who told you?”

“I can see in your face. All pink and fat, no more lines. Your body is happy even if you are not yet happy.”

“I am happy.” Josephine realized with some surprise as she spoke that this was true. “I am happy. I'm twenty-eight years old. I know it's late but I always wanted to get married and have a baby. I just didn't think about it for years because I thought there was no hope. And now—now I'm really happy, no matter what happens.” It was the first time she had laughed out loud since finding out she was pregnant. And suddenly the secret inside her did not seem like such a terrible thing. Aunty Lee was the first person in Singapore other than her doctor who knew about Josephine's pregnancy, and
Aunty Lee had not whipped out a scarlet
A
. Indeed Aunty Lee looked happy too.

“You should be happy,” Aunty Lee said. “If you are happy now, then the baby after birth will also be happy. Won't cry so much. And you must let me do catering for your baby shower—I give you discount!”

Vallerie got up and left, pushing roughly past Josephine as she went and slamming the café door behind her.

“It's okay,” Aunty Lee said. “She has the house key. How are you feeling?”

“I feel sick,” Selina said from behind the counter.

Aunty Lee didn't look round. “Nowadays everybody also can have babies. You should read those
Family Is Love
pamphlets.”

Selina ignored Aunty Lee. “I mean I'm going to throw up—” She stumbled toward the toilet. “It must be the
laksa
I had in Holland Village. I don't normally take it with cockles, but today I was suddenly craving them and I even asked for extra—” The toilet door slammed behind her.

“This is a waste of time.” Josephine stood up abruptly. “This is stupid. I'm not wasting any more time.” It seemed to Aunty Lee that her change of mood had been triggered by Selina's mention of
laksa
or Holland Village or cockles—but why would that be?

Aunty Lee put a hand on Josephine's upper arm. “You are worrying too much. When you are old, like me, you will wish you didn't take things so seriously and enjoyed your life more.”

“But things are serious.” Josephine's careful social facade faltered but she sat.

“How serious? The man don't want you? Don't want baby? You tell me who I go
hantam
him!”

Hantam
was Malay-Singlish for “beat” or “hit,” and Aunty Lee's threat carried all the ferocity of a plump chicken clucking angrily at a stationary pile driver. Josephine laughed, letting some of her tension go. Despite the garrulous surface chatter, she saw Aunty Lee was studying her with kind, nonjudgmental curiosity. Even through the throb of her ever-present headache and twinge of nausea, she could tell there was nothing malicious there. Aunty Lee wanted to know more in the same way a new lover would. To her, feeding people well was a calling rather than a career, and to do that she had to understand the people she was feeding.

“That's not a problem at all. We're getting married. It's just that he's not from around here and it's complicated. You know what parents are like.”

“Parents always worry,” Aunty Lee agreed. “But they only want what is best for you.”

Josephine shook her head but with a small, genuine smile this time. It was nice of the old woman even if she didn't know anything. “It's complicated.”

Aunty Lee nodded. Once she got hold of the man's name she would have Nina look him up online. “It's complicated” rang all kinds of alarm bells in Aunty Lee's head. Was it Mike Fitzgerald, the dead woman's ex-husband? That would definitely be complicated!

“You young people think getting married is not impor
tant. But if you got two names on the birth certificate, you got double chance to get into a good school. Is your sweet man from a good school?”

“He's not from around here,” Josephine said again. There was a small smile on her face and a faraway look in her eyes. “Maybe we won't be needing a Singapore school . . .”

Aunty Lee continued her cross-examination. “Not in Singapore or not from Singapore?”

“Both . . . I mean, not from Singapore.”

If the man's only drawback was his geographical location, then he might do very well, Aunty Lee thought.

“That's why you so sad, is it? Don't worry
lah
! Nowadays all you young people nonstop fly here, fly there, frequent flyer everywhere. What's the problem? And you tell your parents, once you teach him to eat Singapore food then he will be Singaporean
lor
. Case closed. So you are getting married and getting baby, you should look more happy!” Aunty Lee said. “What's his name? When can you bring him here to eat in my café?”

“Like I said, it's complicated. Even my parents don't know yet. So please don't say anything—”

“Don't worry,” Aunty Lee said with deliberate vagueness. Aunty Lee was genuinely fond of Josephine's mother, and it was no more than her responsibility to find out what was going on for Connie's sake, even if she never told Connie what she learned.

“I'm going to drive Vallerie to Holland Village to get some things,” Selina said. Aunty Lee had forgotten about Selina till now. “She heard there's a shop there where they have decent
plus-sized clothes. And because she doesn't feel comfortable here with some people around.”

Vallerie was already standing by the front door with her back to them.

“Good idea,” Aunty Lee said, disappointing Selina, who expected awkwardness, apologies, and invitations to stay. “Good-bye.”

Once they were gone, Aunty Lee returned to the subject. “Don't think you must marry that man just because you are having a baby.”

“What?”

“That man—that dead Allison's husband. He is your boyfriend, right?”

Aunty Lee talked fast to explain before Josephine had time to feel offended. “I am not against that Mike Fitzgerald because he is a) divorced, b) foreign, or c) much older than you. Of course those are things to keep in mind. But you should not get married
for
the baby. It's not good for the baby.”

“My parents will freak out because he's a divorcé. They've got this whole church hang-up thing.”

“A man who gets divorced once finds it easier the next time,” Aunty Lee warned. “Same like killing chickens. Better for a baby to have no father than to have a murderer for a father.”

“You have no right to say such things. Even the police aren't calling him a murderer!”

But Josephine did not walk away, and Aunty Lee was encouraged to ask, “This Mike Fitzgerald was not your boyfriend at the time the dog was killed?”

“Of course not! After Allison accused us of harassment and libel and trespassing, the police set up a mediation meeting to try to calm everyone down. It didn't work, of course. It lasted twelve hours and that was the first time Mike and I met. I was all fired up to make sure Lola wasn't just forgotten, and of course Mike was there to back up Allison. I remember being so mad at him for saying over and over again that it was just a dog and unwanted dogs were being put down every day, why didn't we just go and pick up another one instead of wasting time and money on this one.” Josephine paused and looked at Aunty Lee with tears shining in her eyes, as though to give cameras time to focus (they always had on previous occasions when she delivered this speech). “He just didn't get the point.”

“What was the point? Why was that dog so special?” Aunty Lee was not sure she got the point either.

“Every dog is special, given the chance,” Josephine said, returning to her script. “But that was not the point. The point was that that wife of his signed a legal agreement without reading it, and then lied to us, and still thought she hadn't done anything wrong because she was above the law here.

“Allison knew very well we needed a couple of days to find someone else to foster Lola. Cherril told her so. She asked if Allison would help pay for boarding costs, but that was only because Allison wanted someone to go and collect Lola immediately. We were all volunteers because we loved animals, and I thought Allison and her family did too. I remember feeling so happy that an expat family had adopted Lola, because they could afford a house with a little garden
in front and I thought she would enjoy that. Instead she ended up dead.

“Allison refused to back down and everything just dragged on and on. Mycroft Peters was helping us pro bono and I thought that meant we would have no problem. Mike tried to get us all to say it was a misunderstanding and shake hands and move on, but his wife called him a traitor and swore at him. I remember feeling sorry for him. But by nine
P.M.
I was too tired to think or to care about anything other than I didn't want Lola just swept away and forgotten.”

“Cherril got Mycroft to help?” Aunty Lee asked as Cherril came to join them after watching Selina drive away with Vallerie.

Cherril looked awkward but sat down with them as Josephine answered, “No—in fact I think that's probably when Mycroft and Cherril first met. Is that why we didn't win the case? Because Mycroft got so caught up in you he wasn't paying attention?”

“Don't be nuts.”

“But once you decided to go after Mycroft you abandoned the animals, didn't you?”

“What?”