? ? ?

Dr. Jae’s Dental Clinic was fairly new—I didn’t remember it being here the last time I was in town. The inside lacked the musty carpet smell most clinics had, and all of the magazines were less than a year old—a sure sign of quality.

I explained what had happened to the receptionist and she nodded grimly. “You’re the third one this year.”

It wasn’t even spring yet. I really needed to sit down with Kevin and talk to him about his baked goods. Adeena was bluffing, but he was a lawsuit just waiting to happen.

The receptionist checked the appointment book and said Dr. Jae would be ready in about twenty minutes. I sat down on a couch that couldn’t decide if it wanted to be comfortable or chic and managed to fail at both. I looked through the magazine offerings, finally settling on the November issue of some foodie publication.

I became so engrossed in the glossy photos and autumnal recipes that I didn’t hear the receptionist call my name. She had to come around the desk to tap me on the shoulder, curtly informing me that Dr. Jae would see me now.

Muttering an apology, made even more embarrassing by the fact that my chipped front tooth gave a whistly quality to my words, I entered the room she indicated.

A bespectacled Asian Adonis in scrubs awaited me.

He held out his hand. “Lila, right? I’m Dr. Jae. It’s a pleasure to meet you, though I doubt you feel the same about the situation.”

I tried not to stare as I gave him a respectably firm handshake and closed-lip smile. “Nice to meet you, Doctor. The receptionist said you’ve already dealt with several pastry catastrophes?”

He laughed, which was what I’d hoped for. Figured if I led with a joke, he’d ignore the gaping hole where my tooth should’ve been.

“Don’t worry, I’ll have that lovely smile restored in no time.” He smiled and gestured to the chair. “Please have a seat.”

Needless to say, it was the best dental experience of my life. Not only did he fix the tooth, he threw in a cleaning for free. The fact that Kevin was covering the expenses made it almost pleasurable.

After he finished, Dr. Jae walked me to the receptionist, who handed me the bill. She explained that it was charged to Kevin, but I needed him to sign the paperwork and bring it back. I thanked her and promised to be back the next day with the completed forms.

“We’re closed on Sundays,” she informed me. “Just bring it back when you have a chance.”

Dr. Jae gave me his card and said to call immediately if there was any pain or discomfort.

“It was great meeting you, Lila.” He escorted me to the door, then hesitated. “Are you new in town? I feel like I’ve seen you around a few times, but only recently.”

I hit him with a full-wattage smile, made extra dazzling, thanks to my newly reconstructed front tooth. “I was born here but went away for college. I moved back at the end of last year. My family owns the Filipino restaurant a few doors down.”

His face lit up. “You’re related to Rosie? Such a wonderful cook, and the kindest, warmest person I’ve ever met. Showed up my first day with a tray of noodles for my staff and me, welcoming us to the area.”

His smile slipped away. “I heard what happened. How are you all holding up?”

Ha, where to start? I watched my ex-boyfriend die in front of me, got accused of his murder and also of being a drug kingpin, was arrested, got slapped by a murder suspect, and my family’s livelihood depended on me finding the real killer ASAP. Oh, and I’d almost lost a tooth due to some shoddy biscotti, the final betrayal.

Before I could figure out a way to convey all that without scaring him off, the bing-bong sound from the door opening alerted me to Detective Park’s presence. He stood frozen in the doorway, eyes darting back and forth between me and Dr. Jae.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

I put my hands on my hips. “This is a dentist’s office, what do you think I’m doing here? Why are you here, anyway? Ready to lob more wild accusations my way?”

“For the last time, Ms. Macapagal, I am just trying to do my j—”

“Hey, quit blocking the door!” Adeena’s forceful voice rang out behind Detective Park. He moved into the lobby and Adeena pushed her way into the clinic. “Lila, you’ve been gone forever. You OK?” She looked the detective up and down, obviously not excited to see him, and then turned toward the dentist. “Jae! How you been?”

She reached up for a high five, which he gamely returned. “Hey, Adeena. You here to meet up with another of Kevin’s victims?”

She put an arm around my shoulder, boxing Detective Park out of the conversation. “Yup, Lila’s my best friend. We’ve known each other since high school.”

She must’ve felt the vibes in the room, because she added, “We’re hitting up that Mexican restaurant for dinner tonight. Want to join us?”

This was news to me.

Detective Park said, “Sorry, he already has plans.”

We all turned to look at him. “What?” he said. “He does. We’re supposed to get dinner tonight.”

Dr. Jae, however, waved his hand at the detective. “We get dinner together all the time, Hyung. You’ll be fine without me for one night.” He smiled at us, his entire face beaming with pleasure. Wow, he was adorable. “I’d love to join you for dinner! El Gato Negro, right? Does eight o’clock sound OK to you?”

Adeena grinned, winking at me. “It’s a date!”

Chapter Eighteen

After I managed not to die of embarrassment, I dragged Adeena out of the dental clinic and shoved the paperwork at her. “You deal with this. I’d kill you now, but I’m already under investigation for murder. I’m going to go sleep for a few years. See you in time for lunch.”

I woke up an hour later even groggier than before my nap, which wasn’t ideal, but I couldn’t afford to waste any more time. A quick walk with Nisa to shake the cobwebs from my brain, another hot shower to make me feel human again, and then off to grab Adeena for some very late lunchtime reconnaissance.

We decided to hit up Stan’s Diner since it was the first on the list. Plus, we figured it was time we finally visited this supposed Shady Palms institution ourselves. See what all the fuss was about.

As I drove across town, Adeena pulled the suspect list out of her bag and looked it over. “OK, according to Auntie June, the owner is Stan Kosta. A bad review from Derek led to a surprise visit from the health inspector, who gave Stan a failing grade and made him hire a contractor to fix the problems so he could open up again. Got hit with a hefty fine as well.”

Hmm, just like Yuki Sato’s story. I was going to have to pay her a visit soon.

I pulled into the packed lot at Stan’s Diner—not the most creative name, though as someone whose family restaurant was called Tita Rosie’s Kitchen, I couldn’t really judge. At least that failing grade and fine hadn’t seemed to hurt his business all that much. Adeena and I exited the car and hurried through the last of the gray winter slush to yank open the door. A blast of hot air seared our faces, the warmth almost oppressive after the briskness of the wind outside.

“Hey, close that door, you’re letting all the heat out!” the big burly man working the grill bellowed at us.

We rushed to comply and studied the man in front of us. He looked like a diner cook from the 50s in his old-school paper cook’s hat and dirty white apron. The woman working the register, likely his wife, told us there was a twenty-minute wait for a table or we could seat ourselves at the counter.

I wanted to wait since I hate eating at the counter (honestly, who eats sitting next to each other?) but Adeena yanked me to a spot right in front of the grill. I was going to protest, but she nodded toward the cook. If I were to believe the dingy name tag hanging on the grillman’s apron, that put us directly in front of Stan Kosta, the owner of this establishment and first suspect on our list.

We looked over the menu. I appreciated a good greasy spoon, but most didn’t pay a lot of attention to their vegetarian offerings. Stan’s provided plenty of tasty comfort food, but not a ton of vegetal variety.

I leaned close to Adeena, so as not to offend Stan. “Will you be OK ordering here?”

“I think it’ll be alright. They offer an all-day breakfast menu, and the pecan waffles are just what I need right now. How about you?”