A Corpse for Cuamantla (12 page)

Chapter
29

A
nna and Marianna stood in the street watching David escort the neighbors through Anna's front door on a group inspection tour. After a few minutes the two women joined the neighbors in the study where David pointed out the rifled papers and open desk drawers. Anna looked at the mess and wondered what the thief had stolen. She desperately wanted to check on her backpack hidden under the bed but not with this crowd of witnesses.

Her valuables—money, camcorder, cell phone and the contents of her pack were locked in a black box bolted to the wall under the bed, one of Art's security measures. He would have a royal fit when he heard about the break-in, one more thing to contend with on his arrival in Tlaxcala tomorrow. She wondered if he planned to stay at the house in Belén or with his family in the city of Tlaxcala.

The neighbors marched on through the house and she followed them into her bedroom where the contents of all four of her dresser drawers lay strewn about the floor. Everyone stood around surveying her belongings, shirts, slacks, and underwear. She began to feel violated. A chorus of tsks-tsks permeated the small area as villagers shook their heads in dismay at such impropriety in their tiny hamlet. Eventually the discussion turned to what to do next. For starters, everyone agreed Anna should spend the night at the Portillo's house.

"Don't worry, Maestra, the men can stay here guarding your house in case this thief returns," one of the women said, offering the services of her husband. He smiled his agreement. Did Anna know what was stolen?

"No," she said, wishing they would leave so she could search in private. " I think the thief was after my money, which means he must be very disappointed right now." The group chuckled and nodded knowingly.

Once everyone ran out of questions and decisions on Anna's behalf, Marianna encouraged them to leave, promising she would stay and help Anna straighten up the mess.

"The Maestra will want to search her belongings in private," Marianna said, discouraging the more curious who made no move to go. "And, yes," she assured them, "Anna will spend the night next door." Meanwhile, she suggested the men go outside and make certain no strangers lurked in the area before devising a schedule of guards for the remainder of the night.

Anna intervened. "Do we really need a contingent? Maybe Sr. Portillo and I can exchange places. He could sleep at my place and I'll sleep next door with you." She raised her eyebrows in David's direction, pleased to see his head bobbing up and down.

"Not a problem
,
Maestra
."
David said, shooing out the well-meaning group. "Vámanos," he told them, flicking his fingers in the direction of the door. Curiosity satisfied, the neighbors trooped back to the street where they stood chatting among themselves for at least the time it took Anna and Marianna to restore order.

As soon as the door closed, Anna checked under the bed relieved to find both her backpack and the black box of valuables untouched. She inspected the dresser. The DVD remained securely attached to the bottom panel. In some respects, she wished the thief had found it so she wouldn't have to worry about another try. She expressed her anxiety to Marianna, who decided David should not be alone in the house. Taking matters into her own hands, Marianna went outside and recruited Vicente Diaz, the neighbor from across the street.

"Bueno," she confided to Anna with a laugh when she returned, "Sr. Diaz is delighted to help. I think I appealed to his sense of adventure. God knows the man could use a little excitement in his life, living with that woman. Now, niña, let's go home to bed. You can sleep in Eva's room, she won't mind. Besides," she chuckled again, "even if she did, she's in Mexico City. What can she do about it?"

Despite the comfort of Eva's bed and the warmth of the Portillo's house, Anna slept poorly. Nightmares plagued her slumber leaving her emotionally exhausted by morning.

§

L
ike Anna, Marianna Portillo tossed and turned throughout the night, needlessly worrying about her husband's safety. In Anna's house next door, David and Vicente slept in three-hour shifts, each in turn secretly enjoying the sweet scents of Anna's bed linens. In response to their vigil or because he found what he wanted, or for reasons known only to him, the thief never returned.

Chapter
30

A
t exactly 8:15 in the morning on the sixth of May, Señor David Portillo parked his car at the curb in front of the Café Los Portales at Plaza de la Constitución No. 8 in the city of Tlaxcala. He turned on the emergency flashers and hurried around the front of the car to open the passenger door for Anna.

Miguel sat at an outdoor table next to the wall waiting for Anna to step off the Apizaco-Tlaxcala bus now entering the zócalo. Leaning on his elbows, he wondered whether the driver rushing to open the door of the illegally parked sedan in front of him might get slapped with a ticket from the over zealous traffic cop whistling and pointing in his direction. A crutch emerged from the passenger's side piquing his interest. He watched the driver help the passenger out of the car, a passenger he recognized.

"Anna," he hollered, leaping up and nearly knocking over an elderly couple entering the restaurant. "I'm sorry," he apologized, reaching out to steady the old man.

"What happened,
querida?"

Anna looked up in surprise at the sound of Miguel's voice. "Good morning, Miguel. Please don't worry, it's not that bad," she said. "I'll explain everything. First, I want you to meet my next door neighbor, Sr. David Portillo who's been a great help to me over the last several hours."

The two men shook hands while Anna hoped David hadn't noticed Miguel's affectionate greeting. If so, she would have a lot of explaining to do for Marianna.

"Can I be of any more help, Maestra?" David asked, momentarily distracted by the traffic officer's shouts to move his car.

"Thanks. You've done too much for me already. I'll see you tomorrow when we return from Zocatlo. Please thank Señora
Portillo again for taking care of my ankle and ask her not to worry. Miguel will see that I'm safe."

"Indeed, Señor, the Maestra is in good hands," Miguel said, shaking hands before David raced for the driver's seat in time to prevent the local transit officer from relieving his car of its license plate.  David pulled away from the curb to a serenade of discordant whistles from the disappointed officer.

Miguel guided Anna to one of the tables under the portico. "Is this okay or would you rather sit inside?"

"This is fine, Miguel. It's more interesting out here. I like watching the traffic police."

"I don't know what to say," Miguel said, slumping into the chair next to her, looking dejected, "except that I shouldn't have left you alone last night. What happened to your leg?"

"Not true, Miguel. It's not your fault. We have a lot to talk about over breakfast, so let's get some food. The breakfast smells are making my stomach grumble. I'm starving."

While the waiter stood by, Miguel leaned her crutches against one of the portal columns trying to prevent them from falling into the street.

"Buenos días, Señor, Señorita, can I bring you coffee?" The waiter hovered over them.

"Yes, please," they said, looking over the menu.

"Anna, are you okay? I don't understand about the crutches."

"Miguel, really I'm fine. In fact, I don't need these crutches. My ankle is feeling better already. I turned it last night when I jumped off the roof into the Portillo's courtyard."

"You did what?" Miguel covered his face with his hands. "Please, Anna, if you're trying to calm me down, this is not the way to do it."

"I don't know how to explain what happened last night without everything sounding worse than it really was." She gave him the shortened version, ending with, "so I hit him with my Kali baton. He let go of my ankle, and I ran across the roof and jumped into the Portillo's courtyard, and that's really all there is to say."

"That's a frightening story, Anna. My heart is pounding listening to you. I'm glad you're all right, but why didn't you stay at your neighbor's house last night as we agreed?"

"Well, you agreed. I never really promised. Actually, I felt safer in my own bed. Turns out I was wrong. I still don't know how the intruder got in except he must have climbed over the wall despite the thorns on the bougainvillea and then entered the house when I went upstairs to retrieve my book. I never thought anything would happen to me in Belén.  Anyway, after the thief left, David stayed at my house."

She stopped to take a breath and corrected her last statement. "Well, he didn't stay with me, I slept next door. Another neighbor stayed at my house with David in case the intruder returned, but he didn't. Then this morning Marianna wrapped my sore ankle and David took me to see the Belén Comandante to file a report about the break-in. And, also, I forgot to tell you last night but David made two copies of my DVD, so I can leave one with your police friend when we meet with him after breakfast."

She hesitated for a minute, realizing she'd just broken her promise to David, but David would understand. She knew she could trust Miguel, and if she argued with David about the matter he would only think her ungrateful. She took a deep breath, "And, that's all there is to the story." For the first time since they met, Anna witnessed a speechless Miguel.

Chapter
31

M
iguel sat at the table staring at Anna while the waiter stood patiently by.

"May I take your order?" he inquired again.

Miguel roused himself with a long sigh. "While I collect my thoughts and try to calm myself, Anna, why don't you go ahead and order. I've eaten here many times and the eggs rancheros platter is my favorite."  After the waiter left, Miguel reached over and placed his hand over hers. "I don't know if I'm more angry with you or with myself," he said, "for placing clean clothes and a shower ahead of your safety last night. I won't forgive myself for leaving you alone and I may not forgive
you
for ignoring my advice about your own safety."

"Miguel, please. Let's call it a wash and start over. I can take care of myself and if I thought I was in danger last night I would have insisted you stay with me or I would have spent the night next door. Now, let's put the night behind us and concentrate on the day ahead. I want to forget about the whole business."

"Okay, Anna," he said, softening his tone, "I'll forgive you as long as you allow me to remember at least some parts of last night, agreed?" He smiled as though they shared a secret.
So, he really did kiss me on the ear last night.
She gave his hand a squeeze. Noticeably relieved, Miguel held onto her hand refusing to let go while he peppered her with questions, back to his old self, wanting to know every grim detail of the previous night. He asked several times about the identity of her attacker and how much she could see of him.

"He had a bandana over his face and wore a cap on his head," she said. "Even in the bright moonlight, I couldn't have recognized him and I wasn't trying. I just wanted to get away, but I remember his cologne. The scent wasn't one I recognized, but I'd know it again in a heartbeat. I'm very good at remembering odors."

"That may be important, Anna. The bandana suggests he thought you might recognize him if you saw his face. He may be someone we know. I don't like that idea. How many people from Cuamantla know where you live?"

"Only you and María as far as I know."

Miguel sat quietly for the next few minutes. Anna wondered what he was thinking.

"I'm particularly concerned that he tried to hurt you, although it won't happen again, I assure you. I'm not letting you out of my sight until this hoodlum is found. Ah, here's our food. Everything looks good," he said, as the waiter arranged the lavish plates on the colorful tablecloth. "Let's eat so we can get to work finding this despicable person who murdered Pedro and tried to hurt you."

"We don't know at this point if they're one and the same," Anna said, breathing in the steam rising from the platter in front of her. "Mmm, this smells so good. I love the smell of cilantro. To me, it's the essence of Mexico."

"
Eau de cilantro
. Maybe we can bottle it and earn a fortune in the U.S." Miguel joked, adding a large spoonful of salsa verde to his tortilla before rolling it up. "I'm afraid it won't sell well in Mexico, though."

Anna told him the idea had potential. He laughed harder, finally relaxing after the stress of Anna's news from the previous night. Near the end of their meal, the watchful waiter hurried over offering more tortillas or coffee. Miguel told him they were finished and ready for the bill.

"Right away," the young man replied, adding more coffee to their cups anyway.

Miguel reached over for Anna's free hand. "Anna," he said somewhat awkwardly, "I care very much about what happens to you and I want you to know that."

Her heart leapt into her throat. She wasn't sure how to respond but decided honesty was the best policy. "Miguel, I do know and I believe I know what you're trying to tell me. I'm a little frightened to talk about my feelings right now, but at some point I hope I can do that. For the time being, can we acknowledge that we care and let the future work itself out? We have some serious business to settle over the next few days."

"I hear you, Anna, and I'll try to hold my feelings in check until you let me know differently. It's nearly nine o'clock and the library opens in a few minutes, are you ready to leave?" Miguel counted out pesos onto the tray holding the breakfast check.

"Sí, vámanos," she responded, reaching for her backpack and crutches. "I really would like to walk without these, they hurt my arms."

"I'll carry them for you." Miguel reached around for the crutches. "If you need them, let me know. For now, take my arm, if that helps."

"It helps," she said, wrapping her arm around his.

"If your ankle were normal, we'd walk the few blocks to the Biblioteca, but let's not take the chance. We have a long day ahead." Miguel guided her to the taxi stand across the street and opened the back door of the last cab in line helping her inside. He passed the crutches over before striding around to the other side and climbing in beside her.

"Biblioteca Casa Tlaxcala, San Idelfonso numero 40, por favor," he said, shutting the taxi door and adjusting his frame into the tight confines of the back seat. The driver, expecting a longer ride with a higher fare turned around to argue, but Miguel cut him off with the promise of a good tip. "And you'll be back here waiting for another fare in five minutes," he told the driver. "Besides, there are a lot of cabs in front of you. You might as well get paid to wait."

Both men laughed as the driver pulled away from the curb. Even with traffic and one-way streets, they arrived in less than two minutes. Miguel kept his bargain about the tip, refusing any contribution from Anna. The pleased driver wished them a pleasant day and drove back to the zócalo, probably hoping for more fares like this one to help wile away the time.