Free THE BRIDGE by Carol Ericson

I’ll give you the key.”
    She reached for her wallet, but Elise held up her hand. “I’ll get lunch. After all, I’m going to be your guest for the next few days.”
    “Longer if you need it.” She waved to an old Chinese woman stationed by the door. “Auntie Lu, come and say hello to my friend.”
    Elise stood up and exchanged a quick hug with her friend, who then kissed Auntie Lu’s pale cheek on her way out of the restaurant.
    The old woman placed a hand on Elise’s arm. “Sit.”
    Elise sat down and Auntie Lu arranged herself in the chair across from her.
    “Courtney busy girl.”
    “Courtney is a good friend.” Elise pulled some bills from her wallet and dropped them onto the check tray. “How long has your family owned this restaurant?”
    “Many years. You going to watch the parade today? Starting soon.”
    “I am.”
    Auntie Lu tapped Elise’s teacup. “You have leaves. Do you want me to read your tea leaves?”
    “Can you do that?”
    “Ancient practice.” She winked at Elise and slid the cup in front of her, wrapping her gnarled hands with their painted nails and heavy rings around it.
    Auntie Lu studied the bottom of the cup, and the smile she’d been wearing faded. Then she pushed the cup away. “Silly.”
    A wisp of fear trailed across Elise’s flesh. “What is it? What did you see in there?”
    Auntie Lu spread her crooked fingers. “Nothing. I lost my touch.”
    She eased from the chair, patted Elise’s shoulder and shuffled back to her stool by the door, where she stared onto the street through the window.
    Elise tipped the cup and squinted at the residue swimming in the bottom. Then she splashed a little more tea into the cup and gulped it, leaves and all. “That takes care of that fortune.”
    She dropped her wallet back into her purse, hitched it over her shoulder and hung the plastic bag of food over her wrist. She smiled and nodded at Auntie Lu by the entrance and grabbed the door handle.
    Auntie Lu’s seemingly frail hand gripped Elise’s elbow in a vise. Elise looked into her dark, gleaming eyes.
    Auntie Lu whispered, “Be careful.”
    For a second, Elise thought she’d imagined the entire exchange as Auntie Lu’s grip turned into a light squeeze and she smiled and nodded. “Goodbye, Ming Na friend.”
    Elise knew Ming Na was Courtney’s middle name, so she smiled back and pushed out of the suddenly oppressive darkness of the restaurant into the sunshine.
    The pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk had doubled since lunch. Elbows and shoulders bumped as people jostled for position on the sidewalk facing the parade route.
    Elise threaded through the crowd, looking for a gap she could squeeze through to get a clear view of the festivities. She darted across the street and then backtracked toward Han Ting.
    Spying daylight, she scooted through two people and popped up behind a boy and a girl wiggling with excitement.
    The acrobats led the parade, clutching sticks with colorful streamers on the end that created a kaleidoscope of hues as they leaped and tumbled. A float decorated with flowers sailed past, cradling the royal court of Dragon Boat princesses and their queen, all doing the parade wave and smiling.
    A few firecrackers popped and the kids in front of her squealed as Elise jumped, clutching her purse.
    A Boy Scout troop marched by and the fresh, innocent faces of the kids calmed her nerves.
    Nerves? When had she started feeling anxious? The press of people didn’t bother her; even after coming from the wide-open spaces of Montana, Elise had reveled in the crowds and excitement of the city.
    It must have been the noise from the firecrackers that had set her teeth on edge. Or the warning from Auntie Lu.
    Ridiculous. She already knew to be careful after her encounter with a killer. Auntie Lu wasn’t telling her something she didn’t already have imprinted on her brain, and Auntie Lu probably issued that warning to all young women.
    Standing on her tiptoes, Elise