Is she who Mr. Pak really came to see?
Before I dig myself a bigger hole than the one already swallowing me, I divert Aunt Weeby’s attention to the repulsive slime-green, lace-trimmed mini-boxers Danni’s trying to peddle on-screen.
“Whoo-ee!” Aunt Weeby says. “Who in her right mind would buy a pair a’ them things? Just looking makes me squirm.”
“Too much information, Aunt Weeby.”
She shrugs. “What are you doing next?”
“Not listen to you, that’s what I’m going to do.”
“I beg your pardon.”
“Yeah. I listened to your nutty idea last night, and all I got is a bunch of enemies. I want no more of that.”
“Then you’re giving up on finding who killed Mr. Pak.”
“No. I’m going to do what every other sane woman would do. I’m going to leave it in the capable hands of the police.
And the FBI, who must be involved since the corpse is a foreign national—”
“Don’t go forgetting Interpol, Miss Andie,” Chief Clark says from behind me.
I fight to keep from making a sound—that groan in my throat might incriminate innocent me in his eyes. I pray, then take a deep breath. Finally, I face him and the silent detective who seems to follow him everywhere he goes. “What brings you here, sir? Do you have any new information on Mr. Pak’s death?”
He drags his hat off his head. “I was hoping you would tell me something I could really sink my teeth into.”
The way his eyes glom on me, I know I’m in trouble. Again.
How can this man think I had anything to do with the murder? My alibi’s tighter than Tupperware. “I’m sorry, Chief Clark. I know nothing more about the death than what I already told you.”
“You seem to know a whole lot about the agencies investigating this case.”
“I doubt there’s an American who doesn’t know about the FBI.”
The chief’s shadow stares at me through narrowed eyes. Chief Clark scratches his head. “You have yourself a point there. And I do have me a scrap of information for you. Them X-rays were negative.”
“X-rays? Who did you X-ray? And why? What did the films not show?”
His gaze flew to Aunt Weeby. “You didn’t tell her like I asked you to, Miz Weeby? I told you to check with her before I went ahead with it.”
Aunt Weeby dismisses his question with a wave. “I couldn’t get ahold a’ her. Where she was out there in that Mo-go Valley place she didn’t have cell phone service. Plus I didn’t want to throw a monkey wrench at your investigation and slow you down, so I figured it’d be okay for me to say yes to you. You don’t mind one bit, now do you, Andie?”
“What—”
“So I had no permission.”
Aunt Weeby tilts her chin. “She left me in charge.”
Are they actually speaking about Miss Mona, then?
Chief Clark shakes his head. “I’m not rightly sure that works as real consent.”
“Now don’t you go giving me no never mind, Donald Clark. I knew what I was doing, and probably better than Andie here does. Didn’t I tell you I’ve become an expert in the field? If I say it’s okay to X-ray, then it’s okay to X- ray.”
An idea sneaks into my head. A ridiculous idea. Still, it involves Aunt Weeby, so maybe it’s not all that ridiculous. “Did you have Chief Clark X-ray Rio?”
Her smile nearly wraps around her head. “Why, sure, sugarplum! We needed to know if your Mr. Pak fed the poor little guy some a’ them illegal rubies.”
Rubies in Rio’s gut is not an appetizing thought. Especially in view of where they would’ve ended up. But I’m not ready to go down a path that might lead to some answers. Not yet. And not in front of Chief Clark and his shadow.
“Illegal?” I tell Aunt Weeby. “I’ve never known Mr. Pak to break the law. He’s always had documents of authentication for the stones he sells. Did you find anything in the bird?” “Not at that time,” Chief Clark says, a dot of red on each cheekbone. “But there’s no way of knowing what’s gone all the way through before I got to him.”
“Now, Donald,” Aunt Weeby says. “You’ve had me check what’s come out on the newspaper in his cage from the start.”
The chief frowns. “Police work isn’t pretty, Miss Andie. Not like they make it look like on TV.”
“Cleaning Rio’s cage isn’t pretty either,” Aunt Weeby counters, “but I’m not making a big ol’ federal case.”
The chief’s eyes narrow, focus on me. “I don’t have a choice. I have to go where the case takes me. I have me a dead body, and Interpol’s breathing hot and nasty down my neck.”
His shadow shoots him a stern look.
