Page 26 of Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

“Of course I knowClash of Clans. So is thisWarfront Heroesthing online?”

Riki nods slowly. “Ye-es?”

“Ah, so you play with your online friends,” Vera says, writing furiously. “So they can vouch where you are at the time Marshall is kill.”

“I don’t—I haven’t joined a guild or anything. I usually play on my own.”

“Hmm, okay.” Vera nods before turning to Sana, who’s—oh, okay—Sana is openly glaring at her. “Yes? You ready for your turn?”

Sana raises her chin, no longer the meek girl Vera knew. “You’re not my mom, Vera. You don’t get to pry into everyone’s business. I’m not telling you anything. I don’t have to.”

Vera diligently jots this down in her notebook.

“What—” Sana sputters. “Don’t write that down. What are you even writing?”

“Well, refusing to give information is in itself information,” Vera says simply.

“But! It doesn’t mean I’m guilty!”

“I don’t say anything about you being guilty.” Vera closes her notebook and smiles at them. They stare back open-mouthed, like guppies.

“You mean we could’ve just refused to tell her?” Riki whispers to Julia, who shrugs helplessly.

“Missed a trick there,” Oliver mutters to himself.

“Well, this has been very—” Vera is already in the process of standing up and making her dramatic exit when the doorbell rings. They all freeze, then as one they look at Julia, who looks about as calm as a rabbit that’s just heard the victorious screech of a hunting eagle.

“Were you expecting anyone?” Oliver says.

Julia shakes her head; then she seems to take hold of herself and walks toward the door. Vera hears the sharp intake of breath and smiles to herself. She can guess who’s at the door, and my, my, things are truly about to get interesting, aren’t they? Her grin widens as Julia says, “Um, hi, Officer. Can I help you with something?” and Vera has to stop herself from rubbing her palms together. Won’t the police be impressed when they find her here and realize that she’s been helping them out with their investigation?

But when Officer Gray steps inside the house and sees everyone else in the living room, even Vera would be hard-pressed to describe Officer Gray’s expression as impressed. It’s not even close to “pleasantly surprised.” If Vera were to be honest with herself, she might describe it as “annoyed” or “vexed.” Maybe Officer Gray is hurt that Vera failed to invite her over to partake in the feast?

“Officer Gray,” Vera calls out, “so very nice to see you.”

“Vera.” Officer Gray’s eyebrows are still raised in an expression of WTF-ness. “What brings you here?” She looks around at everyone else pointedly. “I wasn’t expecting such a crowd.”

“Oh, I come here to cook for widow, of course,” Vera says. “Come, there is still a lot of food left over, although little Emmahas finish all of the beef noodles, I’m afraid. She’s a growing girl, you know. Don’t hold it against her.”

“I’m not—” Officer Gray stops herself, takes a deep breath, and says, “Mrs.Chen, I’m actually here to see you. Can we talk in private?”

Well, this just won’t do, Vera thinks, as Julia hurries forward, nodding, and leads Officer Gray into a side room. The door clicks shut behind them. The silence the two of them leave behind is thick and heavy. Vera glances at Oliver and Riki and Sana before scurrying over to the closed door.

“What are you doing?” Oliver hisses. “You can’t do that.”

Vera ignores him. She’s gotten very good at ignoring people over the years, especially when they say things like “You can’t do that” or “You’re not supposed to do that.” At her age, Vera reckons that she’s gained the right to do whatever the hell she pleases. She leans closer to the door, then presses her ear against it gently. She can hear muffled voices but no discernible words. She clicks her fingers at the other three.

“Get me a glass,” she whispers at them. They just continue gaping at her.Tch, young people nowadays. Hopeless.She presses her ear closer to the door, and that’s when it swings open, making Vera stumble and almost fall. Luckily, thanks to all of her brisk-walking sessions, Vera is very strong and coordinated for her age and she manages to right herself. Unluckily, she’s also just been caught red-handed. Or red-eared, as the case may be. Still, she recovers quickly, standing straight and smiling innocently at Julia and Officer Gray. Julia looks a thousand miles away, which Vera is quickly learning is sort of Julia’s thing, and Officer Gray looks both amused and annoyed, which Vera is also quickly learning is sort of Officer Gray’s thing.

“Were you trying to listen to a private conversation, Vera?” Officer Gray says.

“Yes.”

Officer Gray’s mouth is already open, about to say something, when she pauses.Hah, Vera thinks. The officer probably was expecting a denial from Vera. Officer Gray narrows her eyes before sighing. “Look, I might as well tell you as well, because I’m actually about to go to your shop.”

“Oh? Aha, I know it. I been waiting for you to change your mind about having some of my tea. Is very good, you know, just ask them.” Vera nods at the others.

Officer Gray sighs again. “No, Vera. I’m not going over for tea. I’m—” She pauses, glancing at Riki and Sana, who are staring at her from one side of the room. “Who did you two say you were again? What’s this... gathering about?”

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