Rafael (The Santiago Brothers Book One) Read Online Free PDF Page A

style, but the women
back in his church in San Diego thought they made him look
intelligent. After nearly flunking out of high school, he needed to
at least look intelligent. The compliments made him less
self-conscious about his eyesight. If his brothers knew he wore
glasses now, they’d punch his face in memory of all those geeks
they terrorized in school.
    Genie straightened her back, crossed her arms
and leaned forward. “Don’t you have to read a lot in order to be
nearsighted?”
    Rafa let out a strained sigh and met her
eyes. “And? So?”
    “If I recall, you barely passed high school.”
She leaned back, hands on her hips.
    So, she noticed him all those years ago. He
was arrogant enough to believe it back then, but now, just knowing
he was on her radar at all gave him the chills. In a good way. A
side of his lips edged slowly up towards his eyes. “I read the
directions for the assignments. Didn’t actually do them.” He winked
at her.
    Genie let out a breath, rolling her eyes.
    “How ‘bout we focus on the case?” His simple
chastisement muted her. He nearly laughed out loud as the warm
color in her cheeks deepened. She rotated back to the board.
    “The first murder occurred just under two
weeks ago. The victim was a Hispanic male, age fifty-five. He was
walking home after finishing his shift at La Cocina Dulce…”
    The hairs
on his neck rose. “La
Cocina Dulce? You’re sure?”
    Genie turned around. “Yes, I’m sure. We
recovered his time stamp card and interviews of family, friends,
and coworkers confirmed he worked at the restaurant. He’s been
employed there ever since the restaurant opened a few years
ago.”
    Rafa lifted his glasses and flipped through
the file until he came to the write-up on interviews regarding the
victim. Even the quick glance of the file’s table of contents told
him the word “meticulous” didn’t even begin to describe how Genie
operated. The folder was packed with page after page of write-ups.
In two weeks, she had managed to interview more than what he
guessed were three dozen people, each of their statements long and
detailed. Did she ever sleep? Was this her only case? Respect
couldn’t be the only thing driving her to work so hard. There had
to be a story, one root cause for her dogged commitment to the job.
He would ask her about it… later. “Okay, I’m sorry. Continue.” When
he didn’t hear her voice, he glanced up. Genie watched him with
narrowed lashes. “Yes?” he drawled.
    “Winters mentioned a La Cocina Dulce in San
Diego. What do you know of it?”
    Rafa took a deep breath and locked his hands
behind his head. “Well, it’s the only other La Cocina Dulce in the
country, so it’s not exactly a chain. It’s family owned with your
location being managed by the baby brother of the owner out in San
Diego. And probably, and this might be the most important fact,
those brothers are ranking members of the Snakes.”
    “The organization out in San Diego?”
    “Right. Not only do they specialize in
freshly made tortillas and Spanish rice, but also in the washing of
what amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug money
earned in the sales of kilos of cocaine. I had heard one of the
brothers skipped town a few years back, but I hadn’t heard anything
more than that.”
    “And now he’s here in Virginia.”
    “So he is.”
    Genie crossed her arms over her chest. Her
top teeth slowly massaged her lower lip. For a moment, he
concentrated on that lip. Was she dating anyone? He couldn’t
imagine her dating in high school. Not with those conservative
blouses she used to wear.
    He forced his eyes up. The wheels in her head
were turning. No guessing what or who would be her target. She
inhaled deeply, taking an extra moment before speaking. “Winters
said you are in law enforcement.”
    Rafa’s
muscles tensed. He was her target. Let the inquisition
begin . “That’s
right.”
    “What’s your rank?”
    “I’m a detective.”
    Her eyes