Angel Among Us by Katy Munger Page A

even more uncomfortable. ‘It was something to do with religious matters. It is a private matter that I do not wish to speak about.’
    â€˜And you know nothing else that might help us find her?’ Maggie asked.
    â€˜I am sorry, I do not,’ the man said mournfully. I think he really wanted to help them.
    â€˜Do you know of other people we could talk to about her?’ Calvano asked. ‘Perhaps some people she is counseling?’
    The gardener looked nervously at the door. ‘I think maybe you should talk to Father Sojak about these things.’
    Maggie sighed. She was losing patience with him. ‘Is there anybody else here who might know something?’
    The man shook his head vigorously. ‘We have only the old man and the old woman who look after the house and kitchen,’ he explained. ‘And a girl who comes in to help Mr Romero’s wife. Ms Wylie is with child, you know. And sometimes people are hired to help me with the grounds.’
    â€˜Why don’t you send in the maid?’ Maggie said calmly. ‘You can go.’ She was determined to get through the questioning without losing her cool.
    As the gardener left the library, Maggie gave Calvano the kind of stare he had not seen in at least half a year. ‘I thought you talked to the priest?’ she said sarcastically.
    â€˜I told you I thought he was hiding something.’
    â€˜There is no way that one gardener is taking care of the grounds on his own, so we know there’s at least one other person working here and we’re never going to get to talk to him unless Father Sojak makes it happen.’
    â€˜Let’s just see what everyone else has to say and then we can talk about the priest.’
    Maggie looked skeptical and I couldn’t figure out if it was his faith or his incompetence she was holding against him. Apparently, neither could she. ‘You believe in some odd things for a grown man,’ she finally said. ‘I can’t decide if I envy you or pity you, Adrian.’
    The air in the library grew suddenly cold and there was an odd smell lingering in the corners, like the Easter egg I hid behind the washer one year when I was a boy. My brother discovered it six months later and when we opened it up, it stunk up the house for days. Now, the same smell permeated the library. The flowers in a vase on a table behind Maggie and Calvano fluttered, as if a wind was passing through them. I was the only one to notice.
    Calvano was trying to be gentlemanly but he had smelled the odor, too. He glanced at Maggie.
    â€˜Don’t look at me,’ Maggie said grimly, shooting him a glare.
    â€˜That’s not me,’ Calvano said, looking mortified.
    While neither had seen the flowers, they could not miss what happened next. As if in slow motion, a book high up on a shelf, nearly to the ceiling, tumbled off and spiraled downwards to the floor, hitting it with a crack as loud as a gunshot.
    Maggie and Calvano were instantly on their feet, hands on their guns.
    â€˜What the hell was that?’ Maggie said. ‘This place gives me the creeps.’
    â€˜That is because it is full of bad spirits,’ a voice said timidly from the doorway. ‘I say over and over that something lives here, but no one will believe me.’ A young Mexican girl no more than twenty entered the room, clutching papers in her hand.
    Maggie could barely hide her skepticism as she settled back into her chair, but Calvano was too busy gawking at the maid to respond. I didn’t blame him. She was absolutely beautiful, with thick black hair that framed her oval face and hung straight to her waist. Her skin was the color of caramel.
    Calvano decided to be a gentleman. He led her to the chair across from him and took her papers, bringing them back to Maggie to examine.
    â€˜I am in this country legally,’ the girl said. ‘My papers prove it.’
    â€˜I’m sure you are,’ Maggie