“Please, can you hold this?” she asked, handing the paper bag with the bread to Cándido while she leaned down to calm the overexcited animal.
Cándido crouched down. “What did he talk about with that detective? I know you, and I’ll bet you were spying through a keyhole. I’ve seen how you behave at your aunt’s table. Always the quiet one, but always listening.”
“Mr. Linares asked me to fetch him a coffee, so I did. By the time I brought it back, the detective was leaving. I didn’t hear anything, but they shook hands, and they seemed to be on good terms. I got the impression the man wanted to be thorough, but he didn’t think Mr. Linares was in trouble.”
“He must have said what he was after, why he was looking for him. No man hops on a train to Puerco Ahogado because he’s bored.”
“It’s like Mr. Linares said: he was looking for Mr. Lagos, who used to live in the same guesthouse in Mexico City, but Mr. Linares already explained to you that he wasn’t friends with that Mr. Lagos.”
“There’s something you’re not telling me.”
She looked down at the ground and opened her mouth, but before she could speak, he stretched out a hand and clutched her chin, tipping it up so she was forced to look at him.
“It’s harder to lie when you look into a man’s eyes. Look at me, you silly girl. What aren’t you telling me?”
She held the dog in her arms. It wriggled, upset, trying to gain its freedom. She shook her head and sprang up. “Nothing. That’s all I know.”
“Hello there! Did you ring the bell?” Ulises asked. “Diógenes! Come here, boy!”
He stood at the door of the house and smiled, slapping a hand against his leg to attract the dog. Diógenes ran toward him, wagging its tail.
Cándido shoved the bag with the bread back into her hands and went toward Ulises. “I did ring. Is Perla home? I need to borrow her car. Mine is at the mechanic’s shop today and I must fetch many boxes of candles for the festivities next weekend.”
“Ah, the festivities,” Ulises said as he busied himself petting the dog, and smiled at Cándido. “Is this an errand for Father Anselmo? My wife would never say no to helping the church. She’s in the sitting room. I think you know the way.”
“I do know it,” Cándido grumbled.
He stomped inside the house. Ulises looked over his shoulder and grinned. “He’s angry.”
“I hope his stupid car is in the shop for a whole month. Come with me to my room, we can talk while they’re together.”
They dashed up the stairs. When they walked into her room Ulises noticed the mannequin wearing a blue dress. “Your latest creation, huh?”
“I hope Aunt Perla will like it.”
“It’s beautiful. You could open your own shop and sell this.”
She smiled. If she had any money she would open her own shop and sell fancy clothes to all the wealthy girls, all the actresses. But she had nothing. She glanced at the pictures of movie stars adorning her walls. He looked in the same direction.
“I’d dance with those starlets. I’d go to all the good nightclubs,” he said, as if he could guess her thoughts.
“Which ones are the good clubs?”
“El Patio. Anyone living in Mexico City knows El Patio. Or Ciro’s, or El Minuit. Any place with a floor show and a house band and beautiful cigarette girls who wink at you.”
“You’ve been there? To El Patio?”
“No,” he said, examining the sleeve of the mannequin’s dress. He smiled. “But I’m going to go there, don’t you worry. I’ll have a reserved table. Or I’ll buy an old hacienda and spruce it up. Move to the countryside where the bombs can’t hit you.”
“What bombs?”
“We’re at war, haven’t you heard?”
“They’re at war in Europe,” she said with a shrug. “All that happens here is the prices go up. They don’t drop bombs over your head.”
“You never know. These are dangerous times. There were nights when I was living in Mexico City when I felt this heavy weight on my chest as I was sleeping, and I thought, ‘God, the roof caved in over my head. I’ll have to dig myself out of the rubble.’ ”
“That’s a stupid fear.”