I gazed at the house my family had lived in since my grandparents first immigrated to the States in the 80s. This house and our restaurant were more than places to sleep, eat, work. They represented everything my family had sacrificed so that I could have a better life. I owed my aunt and grandmother everything. Guess it was finally time to put my dreams aside to make sure their sacrifices meant something.

Well, at least until I paid them back that ten percent.

Chapter Seventeen

I needed to figure out who killed Derek Winter.

Which meant I should’ve started investigating immediately, but I figured a night in prison meant I was due for a hot shower and a good meal. The burning, pin-sharp spray from the new showerhead I’d installed as a Christmas present, followed by a huge bowl of the almondigas I’d missed out on from the day before were just what I needed. A tray of mamón, my grandmother’s special little chiffon cakes, fresh from the oven, was the cherry on top. Their restorative powers worked wonders on my mood, but one thing was missing to bring me back to 100 percent: a good dose of caffeine.

A trip to Java Jo’s and a chance to hash out a possible plan with Adeena was the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone. Or some other less murder-y, more animal-friendly proverb.

Lucky for me, the crowd at Java Jo’s was fairly light for late Saturday morning and Adeena was able to join me at my favorite corner table by the window. “Your usual coconut milk latte, but I added a bit of honey and cayenne to it. You look like you could do with a pick-me-up.”

I sipped at the sweet, creamy brew, the cayenne hitting me in the back of the throat and giving me life. “You, my friend, are an angel incarnate. This is exactly what I needed.”

She grinned. “Maybe you should get arrested more often. You’re way nicer than usual. Or maybe it’s the shot of honey that’s sweetening you up.”

I drew myself up straighter, putting on a haughty expression. “Hmph, I was going to share this bag of mamón that Lola Flor left for me, but I guess I’ll have to eat them all myself. I mean, I’m pretty hungry from being in jail overnight. It was a very traumatic experience, after all.”

OK, so maybe I was laying it on a little thick, but still. I may not have been in a maximum-security prison, but I had just been through one heck of an ordeal. Would it hurt her to fawn over me just a little bit longer?

Not sure if it was the realization of what I went through, or the temptation of her favorite snack, but she plopped down next to me and took my hand. “I’m sorry, honey. You want to talk about it?”

I handed her one of the little chiffon cakes, the top slathered in butter and sugar, and helped myself to one of the cheese-topped mamón. I tore it in half and a faint curl of steam rose up, as well as the smell of sweet butter and the sharp tinge of cheddar.

“Not really, but I don’t have much of a choice. Did your brother tell you anything?”

She broke off a bit of cake and dipped it in her chai latte. “Not much. Just that they found something pretty incriminating in the restaurant and that’s why you got locked up.” She rolled her eyes. “He takes client confidentiality very seriously, so wouldn’t tell me much more than that.”

I laughed. “Well, I’m glad that my lawyer isn’t blabbing the story all over town, but he should know I tell you everything anyway.” Well, almost everything.

I sipped at my drink and sighed. “They found drugs in the restaurant, Adeena. A big duffel bag full of filled prescription pill bottles and money and Lord knows what else was in my locker. I have no idea how it got there. You know I don’t mess with that stuff.”

The color drained from her face, an impressive feat considering she boasted quite a bit more melanin than I did. “Drugs? What kind of drugs?”

“I have no idea. Detective Park didn’t specify, and it’s not like they let me near enough to read each individual label.”

“Do . . . do you have any idea how they got into your locker?”

I frowned. “No clue. They were obviously planted there, but when? They weren’t there when I started my shift. I went in there to grab my apron.”

“What about after?”

“Not sure.” I took a sip of my latte and thought back to that day. “After everything that happened, I just wanted to go home, so I didn’t bother putting my apron back. It needed to be washed anyway.”

“I see.” She took another bite of her mamón, but chewed it without her usual gusto. “Do you think the person who killed Derek was the same one who planted the drugs?”

“It’d have to be. Why else would it be in my locker? What I can’t figure out is how they got them in there. We keep everything locked up because of Ronnie.”

Ronnie was my screw-up cousin and Tita Rosie’s only child. He didn’t live in Shady Palms anymore, but when he did, he’d had a habit of rifling through our belongings, stealing and/or selling off our stuff to support his other, equally illegal habit. Which was another reason it was so ridiculous to be accused of being a drug runner.

“Anyway, you know I don’t mess with that stuff. Not after Ronnie. I’d never do that to my aunt.” I shook my head. “Besides, I got dreams. I’m not stupid enough to waste my time and money on that sh—”

Adeena put her mamón down, not even pretending to eat anymore. “Being stupid has nothing to do with it. Drug abuse is a serious problem, and I don’t appreciate you acting like you’re too smart to be affected by it.”

My mug was already at my lips, but I lowered it without drinking after Adeena’s impassioned statement. “What’s gotten into you? You know how I feel about drugs. What they’ve done to my family. Why are you defending those fools?”

Adeena got up. “You know what, I have to get back to work. I’ll talk to you later.”

She cleared off the table, grabbing both our mugs and placing them on a tray to bring back to the kitchen. I wasn’t finished with mine yet, but I wasn’t about to argue with her.

“Yeah, sure.” I stood up too, slipping on my jacket. She started to walk away, but I placed a hand on her arm. “Adeena, are we OK? I didn’t mean to upset you.”

She sighed, pushing back a tendril of hair that’d escaped from its clip. “Yeah, we’re fine. I’ll explain some other time.”

Something that Amir said at the station came back to me. “Wait, Amir told me that the county had been cracking down on drug-related offenses lately. Did I miss anything big while I was gone?”

She gave me a strange look. “You haven’t been home in almost three years. You missed a lot of things. You’re so—” She shook her head. “Never mind. I’m not ready to talk about it right now. Maybe later, OK?”

I nodded, not really sure what there was to talk about. “Um, you want to grab a late lunch? We can’t open the restaurant till the health inspector gets back or the case is solved, so I thought we could start tackling that suspect list the aunties gave me.”

Adeena smiled. “I’d like that. I get off at two, so swing by then, OK?”

I hadn’t realized how tense I was till my shoulders sagged in relief. She really wasn’t mad at me. “Sounds good. I think I’ll take a nap till then. Something tells me this is going to be another long day.”

As if on cue, Kevin popped up with a tray of biscotti. “Oh, Lila, are you leaving? Wanna take some of this biscotti with you? Nobody’s touched them and I’d hate to throw them all away.”

Adeena widened her eyes and shook her head in warning, but I grabbed a few anyway. I loved checking out other people’s biscotti to benchmark my own.

“It’s not worth it,” Adeena said. “Trust me.”

I shrugged. “Even mediocre biscotti is still biscotti. I could use the sugar rush.”

I reached out toward the tray in Adeena’s hands, dipped the cookie in the last of my latte and took a big bite.

Crunch, crunch.

Barely two bites in, I felt a sharp pain and spit out part of my tooth. Oh heck no. Sure it had been some time since I’d seen a dentist because it was way too expensive on my crappy insurance, but there’s no way my teeth were so bad they’d crack on a cookie.

I held out my hand, chunk of tooth on full display. “Are you serious? These biscotti are so bad I chipped a tooth?”

Kevin panicked. “I’m so sorry! I knew they were a little old, but I didn’t think they’d be that hard.”

I stared at him. “You fed me expired biscotti?”

“Um, there’s a good dentist two doors down. Give him my name and tell him to bill me. I’ll take care of everything.” He put his hands together in a pleading gesture. “Please don’t tell my customers about this.”

I stood there glaring at him, but Adeena nudged me. Might as well use this to my advantage. “All right, but you have to cover my dental bill in full and give Adeena her own section on the menu. Oh, and I might need her to sneak out a little early for the next couple of weeks without you docking her pay. Deal?”

“Whoa, that’s . . . you’re kind of asking for a lot.”

Adeena balanced the tray in one hand and put her other hand on her hip. “Kevin, that’s nothing compared to what my brother would make you pay if he found out about all this. He is Lila’s lawyer, after all.”

He paled. “You drive a hard bargain, ladies. OK, Lila, you’ve got a deal. Now you better head over to the dentist if you want it taken care of today. He’s usually busy in the afternoon.”

* * *