Bruja Brouhaha Read Online Free PDF Page A

you could talk about Paco with her. Help her get through this. She asks for you, Teresa.”
    “I thought I recognized you the other night. I know who you are now. You’re the new shrink at the clinic. You run the Wellness Group on Saturdays. What are you doing, recruiting me?”
    I shook my head. “Not my intention at all. I came here for Lucia’s sake. She’s hurting. But the Wellness Group does help women work through stress. If you’re interested in venting, everything said in group is confidential.”
    Teresa’s eyes flashed. “Nothing in this neighborhood is confidential.”
    “Your call. But will you please go see Lucia?”
    “I’ll think about it.” She bit her thumbnail.

Chapter Four
    H onoring Paco’s instructions and his wishes to be near her for eternity, Lucia shirked tradition, refused a conventional funeral, and had Paco cremated. Wednesday afternoon Victor and Carmen took Lucia to the mortuary, picked up Paco’s ashes, and brought them to his wake.
    As promised, Fidencio closed his Alvarado Street restaurant for the group of friends and neighbors gathered to celebrate Paco’s life. I wore my brightest red party dress, setting my sadness aside to appreciate the kick Paco would have gotten from the high-spirited celebration in his honor.
    Nick was with someone he knew at the bar. I stayed close to Lucia’s table near the foot of the stage. Onstage behind me, silver-studded, black-suited mariachis accompanied by violins and trumpets serenaded the crowd. Little boys in stiff shirts and tiny girls in tutu dresses dashed through the dining area, hiding under the tablecloths. Adults with plates of enchiladas, tortillas, and beans from the banquet tables were stuffing their emotions with Fidencio’s excellent food. The white-jacketed waiters hustled to keep pitchers of sangria flowing as the crowd toasted to Paco and to life.
    Teresa waltzed through the crowd in a body-hugging royal blue sheath. She sashayed toward the stage, saw me, and then hung a sharp right toward the bar. It wasn’t the first time someone had avoided me at a funeral. Rough to disguise feelings with a shrink at hand.
    Seven water-filled goblets, candles, coins, cigars, bottles of tequila, and piles of fresh fruit surrounded the brass urn containing Paco’s cremated ashes. Lucia, in a long white lace dress and mantilla, sat beside the urn with Carmen and Victor. Miguel, Park Clinic’s security guard, knelt before Lucia swiping tears off his mustached face.
    Victor appeared pallid and drained in his maroon sport coat and gray slacks. Carmen was striking in a splashy, low-cut, red and green print dress with her raven hair pulled behind her ears in jeweled clips.
    I whispered to Carmen, “Why don’t you and Victor take a break and get something to eat? I’m happy to sit with Lucia.”
    “You’re a treasure, sweetie. Thank you.” She leaned in. “She’s been calm. Victor gave her a mild sedative before we went to the mortuary.”
    Carmen urged Victor away, leaving a vacant chair beside Lucia for me.
    An elderly gent kissed Lucia’s hand, and then removed a cigar from the pocket of his salmon guayabera—an island shirt with embroidered panels. Inhaling the aroma of the tobacco, he set the cigar at the foot of Paco’s urn. “Smoke this slow, old man. Make it last until I join you.”
    The next in Lucia’s stream of visitors was a man in his early fifties with groomed black hair and a strong forehead. His blue suit, tie, and white shirt were so crisply tailored I could almost smell the starch in his collar. He bent toward her with a smile that missed his eyes. “How are you, Lucia? You doing okay? If you need
anything
, you know you can call me.”
    Lucia squinted at him, unsure. “Do I know you?”
    “It’s Ray. Ray Cansino. Paco and I were good, good friends. We’re going to get you through this, Lucia. Whatever you need, wherever you want to go, you let me know. We’ll talk.” Ray tucked a business card into her