Dark Passions by Jeff Gelb Page A

easy to overtake. Hector Almanza and his wife, Manuela, were sought out by locals as gentle healers. Hector is still considered a respected brujo. Their five beautiful daughters were bright, the eldest three in the church school.
    Over a three-day period, with Hector tied to a chair, denied food or water and forced to watch, the four men repeatedly raped the girls and their mother. The females were made to cook and bathe the men, cater to their every need, and were whipped and beaten. By the end of their siege, little Ana, age three, and Yesenia, age five, were dead. Then the men, believing their fortune in not being detected would soon end, threatened the remainder of the family with the loss of their lives should they tell of their ordeal. As they went to leave, Manuela Almanza grabbed a knife from one of the laborers. When she attempted to cut him, the knife was fatally turned on her.
    The ravaged family was discovered by a nun who had grown concerned when the girls had missed school for two days. “It wasn’t like them at all,” she told this reporter.

    Jim put his hand to his chest as if struck. “Oh, man. This is worse than she said.”
    Ben patted him on the back. “Take a look at the date on the article.”
    Jim flipped back to the copy of the original article. August 12, 1921. “Nineteen twenty-one? Hell, this can’t be about her, then. Eighty-five years ago? No way. Carmen is twenty-seven now. Her sisters, one a couple of years older, the other a few years younger. No. Not possible, Benny.” Jim stared at his friend.
    Ben shrugged. “I’m not a guy who believes supernatural bullshit, Jimbo. I go with the evidence, always. But I start with my hunches. And my hunches tell me there’s a connection with the father being some kind of witch, and some bad magic here. I don’t want to believe you got yourself hooked on having sex with an eighty-sixyear-old woman any more than you do. But think about those hallucinations, seeing the other women ... her sisters? They find some guy just out of a relationship, dumped, lonely. A beautiful, sexy woman comes along and wants him. Then they do something to him, slip him a potion, some drug: do a spell. Before he knows it, he’s jonesing for it.”
    Jim closed the notebook and shivered. “Whatever this was, it’s over. Thanks, Benny. This’ll help.” He pushed the binder aside. “Just be glad you’re not their type. And you know their scam. You know, I worry about guys out there right now ... guys heading where I was. You think there’s a way to stop them?”
    â€œI’ve got some ideas. When I get some time between cases, I’ll see about locating them. They’re not hiding, changing their names. Maybe they’re lazy.” Ben’s mind whirred with “next steps.” “But hey, you’re moving on!” He grinned. “That’s what counts.”
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    Their one-year anniversary was six weeks away. Michael dreamed up a private dinner on the roof of Julian’s company headquarters. The view took in the ocean, mountains, and glittering city lights. He found it boring staying in every night having sex. He wanted to romance Carmen, to share his world. Reluctant at first, in the last month she’d become open to new things, meeting his sister and brother-in-law, a weekend in Santa Barbara. This would be his first surprise for her. It felt exhilarating.
    Since he couldn’t get access to the roof for the setup without security clearance, he made an appointment with the head of security. Michael had only been on the top floor to see Julian. He liked the highly polished woods, marble floors, and atrium garden with real plants. The receptionist had the starchy reliability of security department personnel.
    â€œYou here for ... ?” She touched the tightly wound hair at the nape of her neck.
    â€œHolden Alsop. It’s Michael