Page 61 of Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

“You do?” Julia says, her eyes wide with hope.

“We will have a dinner party.”

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO:

An Evening with Vera Wong

World-Famous Tea Connoisseur

Novice Sleuth

THEME:

All Shall Be Revealed

DRESS CODE:

Black Tie

ENTERTAINMENT WILL BE PROVIDED.

This invitation is valid for one person only. Do not bring a plus one.

THIRTY-THREE

OLIVER

Oliver stares with mild amusement at the invitation on his phone. He has no idea what to make of it, but over the past few weeks, Vera has wormed her way into his and everyone else’s lives, and to be honest, he does not hate it. And a formal dinner at Julia’s sounds far preferable to yet another evening spent alone in his apartment being harassed by 3B yet again for some other inane reason. Gosh, does his suit even still fit him? The last time Oliver wore it had been to—ugh—Marshall and Julia’s wedding.

With a deep breath, he goes into his bedroom to root through his closet for his nice suit. He’s still rooting around in the depths of his closet when someone knocks on his front door. Immediately, Oliver knows something is wrong. It’s not the kind of knock that a neighbor asking for help with the plumbing or electricity might make. This knock is a demand to open up right this minute, before they decide to go from knocking to kicking down the door. Oliver hurries to the door, and the moment he opens it, his world falls apart.

A piece of paper is shoved in his face and Officer Gray says, “Oliver Chen, here’s a warrant to search your premises. Please step aside.”

Someone pushes Oliver gently but firmly to one side, and he watches, dazed, as police officers swarm into his tiny apartment. “Wha—” he hears himself mumble, but no other words come out. Within the cramped space of his living room, the cops seem enormous, their bulk overwhelming, their presence sucking the very air from the atmosphere until Oliver is struggling to catch his breath. Oh god, he’s about to have a panic attack. Someone is speaking to him.

“Breathe. Count from ten to one.”

He does so, focusing on his breath as the cops ransack his living space, turning over everything from the sofa to the ancient rug, picking up books and sifting through every cupboard. Every photo frame is picked up and inspected, even the ones hanging on the wall. “But—” Oliver gasps, but his breath runs out once more. He feels dizzy. He has to sit down. He stumbles out into the hallway and finds to his horror his neighbors peering out of their units. This is horrifying. It’s humiliating. He stumbles back inside.

“While my colleagues are doing this, I suggest you come down to the station to chat with us, Mr.Chen,” Officer Gray says.

“Wh-why?”

“We have a few questions we’d like to ask you about the death of your brother.”

Oliver can barely process the words. “I don’t understand. You said it was an accident.”

“We’re still reviewing evidence.” She gestures at him to follow her, and he does, numbly, quietly, obediently. Because that’s just what Oliver is, isn’t it? Obedient. Pathetic.

He doesn’t meet anyone’s eyes as he shuffles down the hallway. He wishes he could be the type of person who’d bark,The fuck you looking at?But no. He’s Oliver Chen, meek and mild, human doormat.

Officer Gray does him the courtesy of not taking him by the arm or pushing his head down as he gets into her car. Maybe they only do that in the movies. Or maybe she senses that there is no fight inside Oliver. They are silent as she drives to the station, and silent still when they arrive and walk through the lobby, where she signs into an interview room. After the chaos at his apartment and the bustle of the station, the silence in the interview room is deafening.

Officer Gray gestures for Oliver to take a seat before sitting across from him. She turns on a speaker and says, “This is Officer Selena Gray, conducting an interview with Oliver Chen. Mr.Chen has come here voluntarily. Are you okay for our interview to be recorded?”

Oliver nods.

“You have to say it so we have a record of it.”

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