But for my grandmother? Unforgettable.

An oppressive silence settled over the group, and no one seemed to be able to break it. Even my godmothers stayed quiet, though Ninang June seemed engrossed in texting, her arthritic fingers flying with surprising dexterity, only coming to attention when Tita Rosie came out to tell her it was her turn.

Amir stood up to greet my aunt. “Were you speaking with Detective Park?” he asked. She nodded and he groaned. “Without me around? Why would you do that?”

“I know, I know, I said the same thing. But Tita Rosie insisted on getting it all over with. She really seems to trust this Detective Park,” I said, a sharp edge to my voice.

The corner of Ninang Mae’s mouth tugged down at my tone as she came to Tita Rosie’s defense. “It’s fine, we didn’t talk about anything special. What time I got here, when did Derek arrive, if he came together with Mr. Long . . . like that. Why such a big secret?”

She sniffed. “He also wanted to know if things happened the way Lila described. ‘Did anything strike you as different?’ or if she forgot to mention anything. Practically called her a liar!” She patted me on the arm. “Don’t you worry, I set him straight.”

That was not as reassuring as she thought it would be. “What do you mean ‘set him straight’?”

“I told him, yes, Lila and Derek had a fight before he died, but everybody fought with Derek. Many people didn’t like him, such a difficult young man. God rest his soul,” she added, crossing herself.

I groaned and buried my face in my hands. Adeena put her arms around my shoulders. “Don’t worry about it. You two having beef is public knowledge, and if the good detective does even the tiniest amount of investigating, he’ll find out half the town had reason to hate him. Not like your restaurant was the only one he wrote about. It was just . . .”

“The one he attacked the most,” I said, finishing her sentence. “Does that make it better or worse?”

I directed that question to Amir. He rubbed his jaw, square-set, recently shaven, and as perfect as the rest of him before saying, “Depends on how badly the negative press affected the other restaurants. Anyway, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. You haven’t been formally charged with anything and it’s highly unlikely that your food was the cause of Derek’s death.”

He was right. Of course he was right. Ninang June switched out with Ninang April for the final interview, so I got up to help my aunt and grandmother, who’d gone to prepare a snack for everyone. Might as well get the opinion of people I trusted on whether or not my ube cookies were ready for public consumption.

I got to the kitchen just as my aunt and grandmother made their way out, hands filled with snacks.

“Lila, grab the tray with the coffee,” Lola Flor commanded.

So much for sharing my treats with the group.

I followed her directions, almost bumping into Detective Park as he and Ninang April emerged from the office.

“Ope, sorry, Detective. Could I interest you in—”

“Ms. Macapagal, I’m sorry, but I’ll have to stop you there.” Detective Park held out a hand. “You weren’t supposed to be walking around, remember? That kitchen is closed and you cannot serve food out of it until this investigation is over.”

“I—What? What do you mean? I thought you said we weren’t being charged with anything.”

“You’re not. But the fact is that a man died while eating here, and to be safe, we need to keep the kitchen closed until we analyze the dishes and get the health department over here.”

“Wait a minute,” Amir interjected. “You don’t have a warrant. You can’t take those dishes out of here.”

Detective Park’s head whipped around at Amir’s voice. “Mr. Awan? What are you doing here?”

Amir stepped forward. “I’m their legal counsel. From now on, you can’t question anyone in the Macapagal family without my presence. And those dishes stay here.”

Detective Park smiled and shook his head. “Tough luck, Counselor. I already got the OK from the owner to take those dishes.”

“Auntie Rosie, is that true?” Amir asked.

“I’m sorry, Amir, but I want to help out as much as possible. Nancy deserves to know how her son died, and if those dishes can help, so be it. Besides, Jonathan promised we’d be cleared in no time.”

I set the tray down on the table. “And how long is ‘no time’? One day? Maybe two?”

His brows knitted together. “We only have one health inspector and the lab is already backed up with other cases in the county.”

“So?”

He let out a breath. “We’re talking two or three weeks, minimum. Maybe more if the medical examiner finds something strange in Mr. Winter’s system.”

My aunt, grandmother, and I all reacted at once.

“Two or three weeks? That’s ridiculous!”

“Jonathan, I have a business to run. How can I pay my bills if we’re closed that long? I just got a shipment of fresh produce. What am I supposed to do with it?”

My grandmother just let loose the foulest string of Tagalog curse words I’d ever heard.

Detective Park shook his head. “I’m sorry, ladies. Until we figure out what killed Derek Winter, Tita Rosie’s Kitchen is closed until further notice.”

Chapter Seven

My aunt retired to her office after the detective and his crew left the restaurant. She said she wanted to get some paperwork done, but the rest of us out in the dining room could hear her sobs through the thin walls.

“We really need better insulation,” was all my grandmother said before heading into the kitchen. She came out moments later with her jacket on and some foil-covered trays in hand. “We can’t serve this food to customers, but he can’t stop us from eating it ourselves.”

“Um, Lola. He already stopped us earlier, remember? Shouldn’t we be throwing this all away?”

She shoved one of the trays into Amir’s hands. “I’d like to see him try. Do you think this food is going to kill you, too? No? Then eat up. No wasting food.”

She marched out of the restaurant, hands still full with the other trays. My godmothers, all smart enough to be afraid of my grandmother, waited till she’d left before getting up themselves.

“We should go, too. Take care of your tita, ok?” Ninang April said.

Ninang Mae hugged me. “We’ll come over to your house sometime tomorrow. I’ll bring my ensaymada. I know it’s your favorite.”

I smiled my thanks, then turned to Ninang June, who also hugged me. I started to pull away, but she held tight, her lips close to my ear. “Come over to my place for dinner. I might have some information for you.”

Before I could say anything, she’d released me and scurried off after the other two.

“That was weird,” I said, facing Adeena and Amir, who were the only ones left.

“What’d she say?” Adeena asked as she peeled back the foil to check the tray’s contents.

Her eyes lit up when she saw the lumpia, then wrinkled her nose when she broke one open and saw the ground beef inside. She shoved the tray to Amir, who happily dished up a plate.

“She wants me to come over for dinner. Said she had information for me.” I handed Amir a container filled with sweet chili sauce.

He dribbled the sauce over his fried spring rolls before digging in. Between bites, he asked, “Auntie June was the one texting the whole time, right? I wonder who she was talking to.”

I snorted. “She was probably just telling everyone she knew about what happened here.”

What I said slowly dawned on me. I peered through the blinds at the parking lot, which was blessedly empty. When Detective Park and his team had left with the evidence, he delivered a general statement, basically repeating what he’d told us: investigating suspicious death, no crimes alleged, etc. The news van seemed to have left when the police did. Still . . .

“With the Calendar Crew on the loose, the whole town will know Derek died here, if they don’t already. How’re we going to recover from that? Who’ll want to eat at a restaurant where someone died?”

Amir nodded. “Unfortunately, I think you’re right. Even if you’re innocent, until we know the real cause of death, people will likely avoid this restaurant.”

Tita Rosie emerged from the office in time to hear Amir’s statement. “I’m not sure that matters now. You heard Jonathan. Closed for weeks while we wait for the results? We’ll be out of business by then. We can barely pay the bills as is.”