"That's quite the whistle you have," Regan remarked as she and Lauren watched Sunny descend from the stage. She dug in her ear with her finger. "My ears are still ringing."
"Sorry. I learned it from my dad. That, along with aikido and swordsmanship."
Regan's eyes widened. "He taught you how to use a sword?"
"Well, we trained with a bokken when I was a kid so I didn't kill myself. Later, though, he gave me his father's sword as a wedding present. I have it in my office and practice iaido with it regularly."
Regan gaped at her in wonder for a second. "You have a sword," she said. "How old?"
Lauren noticed Regan didn't ask what kind of sword. "World War Two, unfortunately, so not that old, and mass produced. It works, though. Still sharp."
"You said it was your grandfather's? Did he fight in the war?"
Lauren nodded. "He took it home as a trophy. My dad wouldn't tell me if he killed a Japanese soldier for it or if he just found it on the battlefield."
"So, he fought for Canada."
"Yup, and they still fucked him over."
"Fuckers." Regan hissed. "Still, what an heirloom. And your dad trained you to use it. He sounds like a cool dad."
Lauren smiled and felt the sting of tears as she said, "The coolest. He's training my kids, too." She'd pointed out her kids to Regan before Sunny had given his speech.
"Hey, have you ever visited the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre in Burnaby?" Regan asked. "It's basically a repository of the Japanese Canadian experience. Lots of exhibits and programs, for children and for seniors especially. Language classes, martial arts, ikebana, tea ceremonies, everything you can think of."
"Huh," Lauren said, surprised. "You know, I haven't visited. I feel embarrassed to admit it never crossed my mind. And my dad, well, he's kind of an exile from his heritage even though there's no one prouder of it, so he's never visited either, but maybe it's time we all go, me, my kids, and my dad. It might be good for all of us."
Regan's brow furrowed. "When you say he's an exile..."
"He fell out with his family by marrying a white woman."
"Ah." Regan nodded. "That's too bad. Mine did too, but his family's more understanding, I guess."
"I think they just saw her as a representative of everything that happened to them, and couldn't understand how he could betray them like that, never mind that my mom's family came over from England after the war, and had nothing to do with the government at that time. Who can control biology, though?"
"I get it." Regan looked at Sunny as he mingled more with the crowd. "What did you think of his speech?"
Lauren put her hand to her chest and sighed. "I never knew he could speak in front of a crowd like that. I'd be too nervous."
"Not a side of him you see, I guess?"
"No, when we all get together, it's usually just us and our kids. Pretty intimate."
"What about his platform?"
"I can't argue with any of it. I love the idea of the women's housing. It's the main barrier women have leaving abusive relationships, not having anywhere else to go. I live in Burnaby, though, so I can't vote for him. Or you. It's too bad."
Regan was only half listening to her, because she was paying attention to Sunny talking to one of the rare white men in the crowd aside from his friends. He was a young man, too, relatively, maybe in his thirties, though it was hard to tell. Floppy hair, chiselled jaw. He was pretty hot, if Lauren was being honest. He had the whole stubble thing down to just sultry enough without being a slob about grooming. It was his eyes, though, that captured her. Hauntingly blue. Sunny was talking to him, but he didn't look happy.
"Do you know that guy?" she asked Regan.
Regan shook her head. "You?"
"Never seen him before."
"I think I need to talk to him. He's right up my alley."
Lauren smirked. "I take it you're also into white guys? I married that giant over there," she said, pointing to Joe in the distance.
Regan's eyes widened. "Him? How do you deal with all of that?"
Lauren shrugged. "I'm a good climber."
Regan hooted with laughter and blushed. "Weird, though," she said. "I could have sworn he walked in with that tall redhead."
"He did. That's his lover."
Regan blinked in surprise. "Sorry?"
"Don't worry, it's a long story, you don't want to hear it."
Regan shrugged. "Maybe I do?"
She might have told her, if Sunny hadn't walked over with the guy just then, which surprised them both.
"Hi, Sunny," Lauren said, acting nonchalant. "Great speech."
"Thank you," he said flatly. He obviously had something else on his mind. "Lauren, I'd like you to meet Jordan Trevelyan."
"Hello," Lauren said hesitantly. She offered her hand.
Jordan took it and said, "Hello." He looked to Sunny for clarification.
"Hi, I'm Regan Nakamura," Regan said, offering her own hand. "I'm also running for a seat on Council."
Jordan took it and said, "Hi." He seemed preoccupied, though. Something was up, but no one was saying anything.
"So, what do you do, Jordan?" Regan asked. She was on the make, but Jordan's body language didn't convey interest. Pity. Regan was attractive, the cat's eye glasses giving her a nerdy sexiness. The two would have looked good in bed together, and even better if Regan kept the glasses on.
"Uh... I'm an IT guy," he said.
"Oh, so you're good with computers," Regan said, smiling. She'd be twining her jet black hair with a finger if it were long enough. "I have a problem with mine maybe you can help me with."
"Another time, Regan," Sunny said. "I'm sorry, but I was hoping to introduce Lauren to Jordan in her capacity as an investigator."
"Oh!" Regan and Lauren said at the same time.
"What's going on?" Lauren asked.
"So, remember when I told you my sister was murdered?"
"What?!" Regan squawked. "You never told me that, Sunny."
"I'm sorry, it's not something I can just bring up in conversation." Sunny gestured to Jordan and said, "Jordan is the man my sister was in love with before she got married, and, if rumours are true, after as well."
"Oh." It was all Lauren could say. How else did one respond to that?
"I won't comment on the rumours," Jordan said. "They're irrelevant to what happened to her. No one deserves to be murdered for having an affair."
So the rumours were true, Lauren thought. It was all there on his face. He loved Sunny's sister desperately, and he looked like the kind of man who could inspire the same desperation in the right woman. Those eyes... "I agree," she said. "I thought, though, that situation was resolved. The people responsible are in prison."
"It is, and they are," Sunny said. "I've spoken at their parole hearings to keep them there, too. I get to look in their smug faces and tell them my family and I still haven't recovered from the loss, and they need to stay there."
"Jesus, Sunny," Regan said. "That must be horrible for you."
Sunny shrugged. "I'll gladly do it forever if I have to."
"So..." Lauren looked between Sunny and Jordan. "Is there a new development you think I can help with?"
"My girlfriend's missing," Jordan said.
"Okay, you know what, I think I'm going to go mingle," Regan said, backing away. Lauren could tell that was just an excuse for her to leave. She was either turned off by the idea Jordan had a girlfriend, or by the fact that women involved with Jordan met with tragic fates.
Sunny's shoulders relaxed; he was relieved she was gone, but wouldn't admit it.
"Your girlfriend's missing," Lauren repeated. "Is she also South Asian like... I'm sorry, Sunny, should I say your sister's name?"
"You can say it. Bishan. I know, I don't say her name a lot because it's painful to say."
Lauren's heart broke for him, and she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Sunny cleared his throat. "Anyway," he said, "it appears our Jordan has a type."
Jordan shrugged. "I can't help who I fall in love with. I've dated other women, though. All colours."
"Okay, we don't need the whole 'I don't see colour' spiel," Sunny said in annoyance.
"Did you file a missing persons report with the police?" Lauren asked to get them back on track. "That's really what you should be doing first."
He sighed and shook his head. "I went to them and found out her husband already did."
"Jesus Christ, Jordan," Sunny growled. "Is this a pattern with you?"
Lauren wasn't going to comment on Jordan's propensity for having affairs with married women. She was in no position to judge. "So what's the problem, here?" she asked. "The police have more people and resources than my firm has. They'll do their best to find her, I'm sure."
"I'm worried, though," Jordan said. "I don't think she's really missing. I think he did something to her."
"Spouses are always at the top of the list when someone goes missing. If the police suspect something I'm sure they'll find the evidence." Lauren shrugged. "I'm really sorry, but I don't know what I can do that they can't."
"Okay." Jordan put up his hands. "Okay. There's something else."
Lauren felt that tingle in her chest she felt whenever she knew she was about to discover something game changing, that first thrill of beginning a new case. She felt it so rarely nowadays, because most of the cases her firm dealt with were depressingly familiar: the husband cheating with his secretary, the construction worker doing heavy lifting in his backyard when he was supposed to be laid up with a bad back, collecting disability insurance. All her clients wanted was something they could point to and say, "You're busted, and now you have to pay the price." What Jordan might be about to offer was something she could use to find someone in trouble, and wasn't that the purest expression of her work? Wasn't that the mission statement of the Lawrence Street Detective Club, "We find what is lost"?
Sunny looked to him and said, "What is it?"
Jordan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I can't go to the police with this, because they might actually charge me with something."
Thanks for reading this far! Is this Jordan a concerned boyfriend, or a criminal? Find out what evidence he has in the next chapter! If you liked what you read so far, click on "Vote" to send this title up the ranks, and leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you! Click on "Continue reading" to see what they do next.