Page 90 of Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man)

Qiang Wen pats him on the shoulder.

“You should have park closer,” Vera scolds Oliver. “I can’t hear anything.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured safety would be number one and all that,” Oliver says.

“Haiyah.” Vera opens the door, and they all shout and Tilly pounces on her before she can climb out. “Aiya! Let go of me! You are so heavy!”

“Stay. In. The. Car!” Tilly says.

Vera grumbles but closes the car door once more. Then she rolls down the window. Tilly still holds on to her. Cold night air fills the car. Qiang Wen catches faint shouts from the abandoned warehouse. He doesn’t blame Vera for feeling curious; he himself is dying to know what is going on inside.

It sinks in then, that this is where Xander lived, and a great sorrow fills Qiang Wen. Oh, he understood all right, when they were discussing it, but seeing it in person now—this large, hulking building among other large, hulking buildings that were never meant to be anyone’s living quarters—is something else. The whole area is abandoned, patches of wild grass growing out of the ground here and there, and the entire area is so dark and lifeless it’s hard to believe there are people inside any of the buildings. Seeing it makes Qiang Wen angry at humanity as a whole. The whole place is without soul, a group of buildings built solely for capitalism’s sake and then abandoned without a single thought, only to be taken over by Xander’s captors. For the first time in a long while, Qiang Wen is filled with hatred.

“You okay?” Oliver says.

Qiang Wen blinks, looking over at the young man. “I can’t believe this is where Xander live when he is alive.”

“Yeah.” Oliver gazes out the window. “You helped locate it though. You helped the rest of the people who are trapped in there. I think that was what Xander wanted.”

Tears fill Qiang Wen’s eyes and he nods, not trusting himself to speak. All this time, Qiang Wen has suppressed all of his memories of Xander because they had been too painful, but Oliver is right. He can sense, deep in his gut, that they have done the right thing, and he can only pray that the police have gotten here in time to save Xander’s sister.

Thirty

MILLIE

Millie often marvels at the way people—especially young people—say, so casually, that they’re not afraid of death. Maybe people say that only because they’ve never actually stopped to consider it, but the thing with Millie is, she’s been close to death so many times that she knows, beyond a shred of doubt, that she is very much frightened of dying. The numerous times that Father and Mother have punished her, Millie wailed and struggled, all of her sensibilities overwhelmed by a single overriding thought:I don’t want to die.

But right now, Millie is too weak to do anything much about it. She can’t remember the last time she was given any water or food. It must have been over two days ago. She should have known, really, that someone like her couldn’t possibly live for long. Certainly not the lifespan of the average American. As she lies curled up in her bed, she considers that phrase: the average American. She wishes she could be an average American. What a privilege that would be. In her hands are the origami flowers Thomas hadmade for her, and under her bed is the letter she has written for Vera. Channary has promised that she will take the letter when she has the opportunity and keep it until the time comes when Father and Mother decide she is old enough to start scamming men in person, then she will find Vera and hand it to her.

What would Vera think then? Millie closes her eyes and tries to imagine all of the possible reactions that Vera might have. She might cry or rail at anyone who would listen. She would probably tell her daughter-in-law, the cop. Or maybe she won’t tell her daughter-in-law right away because she might get scared. A small smile touches Millie’s mouth. Yeah, right. Vera getting scared? Unlikely. One thing is for sure though—Vera would definitely demand that Channary be her niece and make sure that she is okay.

“Penxi?” Channary calls from behind the wall. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” A stupid lie, when it’s obvious she isn’t. Her voice comes out cracked and raw.

“I’m scared.”

It takes so much energy to say, “Don’t be.”

There is a sniffle. “Are they going to kill you?”

Millie takes a long time to ponder the question, wondering if she should lie to Channary, but what is the point? Best for Channary to learn now just how dangerous Mother and Father can be. “Yes.” How foolish Millie has been, to think that if she just behaved, if she just remained obedient, that she might one day be free. And now she’ll end up just the same way as the others before her. Poor Thomas. She hopes he wasn’t too scared when the time came.

Channary weeps quietly. Millie wishes she could wrap her arms around the kid. She tries to think of some piece of advice to give her, some wisdom that might help her, but her mind is blank. Finally, she says, “Don’t forget your real name.”

There is a loud boom, and shouts explode inside the warehouse. Millie jerks up, her heart pounding.

“Penxi? What’s happening?”

“I don’t know.” Adrenaline pulses through her, giving her some strength. She pushes herself off the bed and tries to stand, but her legs are too weak and she falls, landing heavily on the floor. Pain lances up her arms and legs, and she gasps. There are more shouts from outside. She needs to know what is happening. She crawls to the door and presses her ear up against it.

People are shouting, “Get down! Hands behind your head! Down!”

Millie gasps. “It’s the police,” she whispers. “It’s the cops.” One last burst of energy shoots through her and she slams her fists against the door. “Help!” she screams. “Help us! We’re in here!”

In the room next door, she can hear Channary doing the same, shrieking and kicking at her door. Down the hallway, every door is being pounded at by her siblings. Millie’s heart is racing so fast she feels like she’s going to explode. Footsteps pound down the hallway and someone shouts, “Get back from the door!”

She does so, moments before there is a thump so loud she feels it in her bones. Then another thump, and the door is flung open. Two police officers file in, guns drawn, and Millie raises her hands.

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