Free A Corpse for Cuamantla by Harol Marshall Page B

seating twenty people. White bed sheets served as tablecloths and canopies, shielding guests from the hot afternoon sun.  The scene resembled a suave cocktail party with everyone including small children chatting with a drink in their hands.
    María and Juan sat beside Anna at the dignitaries' table, while the education officials, including union member Tomás Bello, surrounded Miguel. Anna remembered seeing Bello chatting briefly with Pedro before he entered the rose garden. She wondered if their exchange had anything to do with Pedro's murder. She tried without success to shake off thoughts of the murder.  Everyone was a suspect in her mind.
    The dinner proceeded normally, adding to the dreamlike quality of the setting. Surely someone must be concerned about Pedro's murder . She noticed María pop more pills during the after-dinner speeches. Emotionally exhausted herself, Anna decided against staying in Cuamantla with Miguel for the evening fireworks display, which turned out to be a good decision since María asked if they might leave together.
    "Yes, thank you, Maestra," Anna told her. "I'm too tired to stay any longer. Give me a minute to tell Miguel I'm leaving and to thank Señor Gomez and I'll join you." Anna made her way to the head table. Her host seemed pleased to hear she enjoyed herself and asked if she might send him copies of the video and the photos. Anna assured him she would, fully intending to do so if her budget could afford it. "María and I are leaving now," she told Miguel, who tried to persuade her to stay for the fireworks. "I can't, I'm too tired."
    "Is it okay if I stop by your house later so we can talk?" Miguel seemed intent on meeting with her tonight.
    "That's fine, Miguel," she said, wondering if she could stay awake that long.
    "It might be late," he warned. "After ten, and I might be a little drunk."
    "As long as you're sufficiently sober to answer my questions and make plans for the morning, I can handle it. If I don't answer, keep knocking in case I've fallen asleep."
    "No problem, Anna. Until later." He gave her another mischievous wink, but she pretended not to notice.

Chapter 17
     
    D usk had fallen by the time Anna left the party in search of María. She found María standing near the corner of the queen's house talking with Juan. María motioned Anna over as she reached out to shake hands with Juan who hugged her instead.
    "Thanks for waiting for me Anna. I didn't want to leave the party alone and I didn't want people to see me leaving with Maestro Juan as kind as he is."
    "Ah, I wondered about that. He seemed insistent about something."
    "No, not really, only a little overprotective. Juan's a nice man, very considerate, and if Pedro hadn't come along, who knows? I might be married to Juan today. In retrospect, few people would disagree about the wisdom of my choices."
    "Were you seeing Juan before Pedro?" Anna hoped María wouldn't tell her to mind her own business even though she wouldn't blame her.
    "Yes, we dated for nearly a year when Pedro began his campaign for my heart. I'm afraid Pedro's persistence won out over Juan's good-natured patience. So much for my judgement."
    "Sounds like Juan was seriously outgunned." Anna could have bitten her tongue over the poor choice of words but María appeared not to notice.
    "What's done is done," María said. "Time to move on."
    "Maybe moving on will include Juan?"
    "Between you and me, Maestra?"
    "Of course."
    "And not for Miguel's ears?"
    "I promise."
    "Yes. Juan and I have been seeing each other recently. Today was my day to end my relationship with Pedro. I told Pedro this morning that he was to move out by the weekend. I had no idea someone else would end our relationship even sooner. And certainly not in this way, leaving me with conflicted feelings. I did love Pedro once and I'm grief-stricken over his death, keeping myself together with pills."
    "I understand, Maestra. Let me know if I can help in any way."
    "Lend me your shoes,