He gestured at the coffee shop. “We should talk inside.”
I let us in and flicked on the lights, while Adeena moved to the freezer behind the counter to grab us all ice candy. “Amir Bhai, you wanna try mine or Elena’s signature ice candy?”
“You choose.”
She handed him hers to see if he’d recognize her flavor inspiration. “Oh my—is this kulfi? It’s so good!” Nothing like an ice pop to transform even the stuffiest person into a little kid. “I haven’t had this since Nani Jaan passed away. She used to make this all the time when we were kids,” he explained to me and Elena.
“It’s so good, right? Just the perfect amount of rose, unlike that floral monstrosity Adeena made me drink months ago,” I said. “Elena’s is arroz con leche, or rice pudding. Try some.” I held out the ice candy and he took a large bite, wincing against the cold.
“That’s great, too. You girls are really hitting it out of the park with your offerings. So what’s your signature flavor, Lila?”
I glanced over at Adeena and Elena, whose eyes were boring into me to see if I could finally answer this simple question. “I figured since Lola Flor’s halo-halo was so popular, I’d put my own spin on it for my ice candy.”
“That’s a great idea!” Adeena clapped and squealed over this. She’d been mainlining cups of our restaurant’s halo-halo every day since summer started, so it made sense she was excited about my decision. Maybe this was the obvious choice all along.
Amir smiled at me, his warmth slowly returning. “That does sound great. Can I try it?”
“Oh, uh, it’s not ready yet.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged. “Still in development. So that information?”
“Oh, right. So the reason that Sana looks so familiar to me? She was a rising star at one of the biggest law firms in Chicago until she got into an accident and killed somebody.”
My stomach clenched at the implication. I almost didn’t want to know, but I had to ask. “Drunk driving?”
He shook his head. “She fell asleep at the wheel. Her car veered into a bus shelter and killed an old man who was waiting for the bus. Vehicular manslaughter. She was sentenced to three years in prison but was let out after two for good behavior.”
Adeena said, “I can see why she’d want to keep this private. Sana’s worked really hard to get to where she is and she probably doesn’t want her history spread all over town. Thanks for letting us know.”
I was thinking the same thing, except what Adeena saw as a matter of privacy, I saw as a motive for murder. Did Rob know about her record? Threaten to let the people of Shady Palms know if she didn’t do what he asked?
Amir frowned. “Well, it’s all a matter of public record so I don’t feel bad telling you all. But having the usual crowd around feels too much like gossip and the details of the case are rather sordid.”
“More than just the manslaughter?” Elena had kept to the background, watering her plants and minding her business, but even she couldn’t ignore the draw of “sordid details.”
He nodded. “Seems she was married to the son of the head of her old law firm. Not only did her father-in-law fire her, but he pushed his son into divorcing her while she was in jail. That’s why it took me so long to connect the dots. She’s using her maiden name now, but I’d heard of her case back when she was still using her ex-husband’s name.”
“That’s awful. I mean, I get that she killed somebody and had to serve her time, but why sever all ties with her? You said she wasn’t drunk.”
Amir raised his eyebrows. “Come on, Lila, you know why. To save face.”
The Brew-has and I all sighed. It always came to that, didn’t it? What everyone else thought of you. Your precious image.
Amir pulled a folder out of his briefcase. “By all accounts, she did her time and tried to make up for her mistakes. Volunteered with a local legal organization, doing pro bono work for nonprofits in underdeveloped neighborhoods for a while. I’m not sure what brought her to Shady Palms, but I’m guessing we’re the only ones who know the full details of her past. Well, except for . . .”
After he paused for a beat too long, Adeena rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, Amir Bhai. You know dramatic pauses are my thing. It’s not cute when you do it. So spill, who knew about her past?” Realization lit up her expression. “It was Rob Thompson, wasn’t it?”
He hesitated. “You know I hate gossip. But someone at my firm told me they’d seen Rob and Sana out on an alleged date a few days before he died. Only it didn’t seem all that romantic. It seemed like he was threatening her.”
“How so?”
“Rob put a manila envelope on the table and said something to her. She must not have liked whatever was in there, because after she looked at the contents, she threw a glass of water in his face and left.”
I frowned. “You think he was blackmailing her?”
“Most likely.”
“I don’t get it. If he blackmailed her, why would she agree to judge the pageant with him?” Elena asked, setting down her watering can. “She’s great, but I don’t think ‘suck it up and do it for the kids’ applies here.”
“The judges were chosen ages ago. I only joined because one of the original members left, remember?” I said. “And if this happened just a few days before he died, she couldn’t drop out without bringing more attention to herself.”
Adeena frowned. “Which gives her a motive for murder. She’s built up a successful business and peaceful new life here and he was threatening that.”
I swore under my breath. “Ugh, this is so messed up. What Rob did was disgusting but that doesn’t mean he deserved to die.”
“I know Sana is your friend,” Amir said, looking at Adeena and Elena before shifting his focus back to me. “And that you and Sana were getting close, so I wanted to warn you all. I’m not saying she did it. I’m just saying maybe you shouldn’t be alone with her anymore. She must know you’ve been looking at the case. She’s a highly intelligent woman.”
Thinking that the kind and vibrant woman I’d been getting to know might’ve been pushed to murder was bad enough, but then I remembered something else. “Valerie! She relies on Sana for everything. I think she might be her only friend. What happens if Sana is the killer? That the person she trusted the most murdered her last remaining family member?”
Amir held out his hand, likely trying to look authoritative but it was hard to take someone seriously when their hands were covered in ice candy drips. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. Watch her closely during your pageant events, keep your ear to the ground, and don’t hang out with her alone. That’s it. You don’t have to concoct all these wild theories about what might happen.”