Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Vera’s tea shop once had many customers—mostly older immigrants—and now her only regular is her friend Alex Chen. She keeps a ledger of special teas she has concocted for him over the years, each one different. Today, she makes yet another tea for him and his ailing wife, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Alex arrives, and they sit down for a pot of Tieguanyin as she asks about his family. Of his two sons, he brags about his filial son Fasai, who brings him groceries every week and has a successful business. Alex ends up being the only customer of the day. Vera knows that someday, she will have to close the shop for good.

The next morning, Vera rises at 4:30 a.m. as usual and goes downstairs, where she finds a corpse on the floor of her shop.

Julia Chen hates her husband, Marshall, for walking out on her and their daughter, Emma, the night before. However, she hates herself more for being controlled by him. She spent the night stuffing his things into trash bags and piling them by the door. Julia is startled when two police officers, Officers Gray and Ha, arrive at her door and announce that Marshall is dead: He was found at Vera’s tea shop, his face bruised and scratched, with ecstasy in his pocket—thus, they suspect an overdose.

Vera has been unable to sleep, preoccupied by the recent police investigation of Marshall’s corpse. She had carefully drawn a line around the body to save the police trouble. However, she was aghast that the police didn’t immediately suspect murder. Officer Gray questioned Vera, who doesn’t know the identity of the deceased. She assured Officer Gray that she didn’t touch the body and asked if he was involved with drugs. When asked if she touched the deceased’s things, Vera lied—she took a flash drive found in his fist.

The medical examiner told Vera that Marshall likely died of a heart attack. When everyone left, she concluded that the police wouldn’t be able to solve the murder—though she admits her own part in this failure, as she took evidence. Without the flash drive, the police have no reason to suspect foul play, but she considers herself better qualified to solve the murder anyway. Vera then made a list of suspicious details about the deceased: a bruise on one cheek and scratches on the other, bodily swelling, ecstasy in his pocket, and the flash drive.

Riki Herwanto sees Vera’s obituary for Marshall Chen in the local newspaper and on the internet. He can’t bring himself to empathize but regrets what happened in his last encounter with Marshall. He visits Vera’s tea shop to see the place where Marshall died. The shop is dark, with grimy windows and crumbling posters. Vera tells Riki to sit while she makes tea. Struggling to explain his presence, he tells her that he is a reporter from Buzzfeed.

Sana Singh bumps into Riki as he leaves Vera’s tea shop. She tells Vera that she is investigating Marshall’s death for a true crime podcast and suspects there is more to her by the cunning glitter in her eyes. Questioning Vera, she realizes Marshall died only a few hours after she herself last saw him. Vera becomes distracted by a woman carrying a toddler outside the shop. When the woman flees, she tries to catch her, to no avail. Vera returns to find Sana peeking into one of her drawers of tea ingredients.

After meeting Riki, Sana, and the woman outside her shop, Vera feels she has nearly solved the case. She makes a list of observations: Riki is too handsome to be a real reporter, Sana’s nails are badly bitten after having possibly scratched Marshall, and the unidentified woman was strong enough to outrun Vera while carrying a toddler, making her possibly strong enough to kill Marshal.

Vera calls her son, Tilly, and asks how one would go about unlocking a flash drive found on a corpse. He is appalled at her interference in a possible murder, tells her to stay out of trouble, and promises to call back after work. After he hangs up, she remembers that Alex came to the shop that morning, but she shooed him away so he wouldn’t scare off potential suspects. Vera assembles a care package and takes it to his apartment. A disheveled Alex heard about the murder and expresses sympathy. Vera assures him that she is not distressed and is determined to find the killer.

Vera returns to her shop, pleased by Alex’s gratitude for her tea. She is shocked to see “Marshall” waiting outside her shop.

Oliver Chen, the man outside the shop, explains that he is Marshall’s twin brother. He reflects on always being a people-pleaser, in contrast to Marshall, who has always been a user and abuser. He has always been the scapegoat in his family, blaming himself for his mother’s death when he was six. Marshall became their father’s favorite and blamed Oliver for everything he himself did wrong.

Vera asks Oliver what his brother was like. He tells her the truth—that Marshall was charismatic and cruel and that Oliver was his favorite target. She says this is what she expected, as she was certain that Marshall was murdered because he was a bad man. Oliver is shocked by the suggestion of murder, as the police told him that Marshall died from an allergic reaction. He was allergic to many things, including bees, nuts, and bird feathers. Vera tells him to give her his phone number so that she can call him when she finds the real killer.