She slid the bottom blade of the scissors under the first cross lace nearest the toe and deftly snipped it in two. The other seven laces went as easily as the first. She slid the bottom blade inside the canvas upper next to my ankle bone and cut through the tough cloth down to the rubber sole.

I kept a white knuckle death grip on the rolled edge of the tub in anticipation of the pain that never came. She worked slowly on the shoe being careful not to move it.

She cut the canvas on the opposite side and placed the bloody scissors on the tile floor. "This is probably going to hurt," she said, taking hold of the dangling rear canvas and the red and white toe. She pulled steadily on the rear canvas until the rubber sole bent slightly ahead of the heel and then pulled it straight off painlessly. My white sock was light red along the sole and up to the ankle. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No," I said defensively. I looked at her and couldn't help but wonder who she was, what relation she had with the church, and what she was going to do after she'd finished with my foot.

She sat the shoe down, picked up the scissors and leaned over to get an angle on the top of my sock. She cut quickly down to the top of my toes, sat upright in her chair, then peeled the entire sock off, again painlessly.

"Let's get a closer look at you," she said, pulling my foot up by the big toe. She said something in Spanish to Antonio, who took over her grip on my toe. I felt her place a thumb and forefinger on either side of the gash as she opened it gently. Gentle didn't matter here. I cried out in shock at the slight pressure she applied. Her hand was gone before I had regained my composure.

"Sorry about that," she said sheepishly. "From what I can see it looks like a clean wound. The bullet didn't hit any bones and I don't think it hit any tendons."

"So what are we going to do?" I asked once I'd caught my breath.

"Well... I'm going to sew you up and you're going to enjoy yourself."

I winced at my throbbing foot. "I doubt that."

She stood up and spoke. "Don't worry, you've landed in the right place." She left without closing the door. Her wooden sandals echoed loudly in the next room.