Bad Habit (14 page)

“
Most women would rather be you
than me,” Bernie said. “You’ve done some amazing things and I’m
sure you’ll do many more amazing things. Just stay safe. Stick with
this Angel and I’ll send another one to watch over both of
you.”

“
Thanks Bernie.” Teri hung up with
a huge lump in her throat. She knocked on the windshield and Angel
joined her in the air conditioned car.

He took inventory of her appearance
and offered a tissue from the console. “Are you okay?”

She blew her nose “Sure, I’m fine.”
She looked up to find Angel gazing at her with a concerned
expression. “Really, I’m okay.”

“
If you say so.”

“
I’m saying so.” She fastened her
seatbelt as Angel’s cell phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID before
answering it. “Yes, Lieutenant.”

Teri sat quietly as he listened to
the caller.

Angel’s responses were cryptic before he flicked the
phone closed. “It was my boss. They’ve got a name for the man you
identified as one of the killers. My boss is sending me information
on his known associates so I guess we’re going back to the
library.”

Teri nodded.

Angel shifted the car into gear and
drove out of the parking garage. “By the way,” he said, glancing at
her. “Your boss is driving my boss crazy. He said Kelso is
demanding results.”

“
That sounds like Martin Kelso.”
Teri smiled. “He always wanted everything to be accomplished by
yesterday.”

“
When I was still in New York I had
the good fortune to be the recipient of many of his phone calls. He
said you were like a daughter to him and he was worried sick about
you.”

“
Mr. Kelso is a very nice man,” Teri
said. “He’s always been supportive and I tried to make sure he
didn’t regret giving me an opportunity in such a competitive
position.”

“
Kelso was the one who hired Marcel
Farmer to find you.”

Her stomach clenched at his words.
“I wonder if Mr. Kelso knows his investigator is dead.”

“
I don’t know.” Angel located a
parking space on the street close to the library. “If he does know,
I would have to wonder how he found out.” He gave Teri a long look
as he turned off the ignition.

#

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Bernie held the receiver for a
moment after Teri hung up. She took a deep breath and released it.
She thanked God for keeping Teri safe and for the man named Angel
who was protecting her.

The bell rang and classes were released. She
returned to her classroom to find her students putting their
supplies away.

“
Thanks for carrying on without
me,” she said. She finished the clean up after her students were
gone. The act of cleaning was like a balm to her troubled
mind.

Bernie washed a film of clay dust
from the stainless steel table where they’d worked. She propped the
heavy door of the kiln open with a chunk of firebrick. The kiln was
almost cool but the ceramic items inside were too hot to handle.
Removing them too soon would cause the glaze to crackle and
disappoint the girls. Tomorrow morning would be soon
enough.

She lined up the tubes of acrylic
paint and made sure all the brushes had been cleaned properly. When
she closed the door and locked up her classroom, the halls were
empty. Her rubber-soled shoes made a squishing sound on the highly
polished floors. She nodded to the janitor as she left the
building. For a moment Bernie wondered what had happened to Herman,
the man who had worked at the convent for as long as she had been
there.

#

Angel and Teri sat on stools at the
library. He logged on and checked his e-mail, opening the
communication from his boss. It took a few minutes for the file to
download.

“
Are you okay?” Angel reached out to
take Teri’s hand. “You look worried.”

“
I’m okay,” she said slowly. “I’m a
little nervous.”

“
I can’t tell you not to worry
because I don’t think it would do any good. Are you concerned about
anything in particular?”

“
Nothing in particular. Everything
in general.” She pressed his palm to her cheek. “I feel guilty for
causing so much trouble, for everything that happened.”

“
You did nothing to cause Colin’s
death.” Angel cupped her face in his hand. “If you’d called the
police when you found him, I might have met you sooner, but at
least we got to meet each other.”

“
After I lied to the nuns and the
students. Only Father Conlyn knows the truth about me.”

“
Really?” Angel gazed into her eyes.
“So you confessed and received absolution?”

“
I confessed and received his
blessing. I was still living the lie.” She smiled up at Angel. “If
I go back I can ask him for absolution.”

“
You can’t go back,” he said. “It’s
much too dangerous.”

The file was open and Angel quickly
read the entire document. “The photo was identified as Frank
Altman, a thug with a record of breaking and entering and assault.
He’s been charged seven times but the charges were dropped five
times because the complainant withdrew charges.”

Teri gazed at the mug shot.
Altman’s eyes stared back at her, hooded and flat. “Why would
someone who had been assaulted drop the charges?”

“
They were probably threatened or
paid off.”

Teri shuddered. She could read the
evil behind Altman’s expression. She remembered when she’d hidden
in Colin’s closet watching Altman go through Colin’s pockets with
his fat, stubby fingers. He’d been nervous and angry. The second
man yelled at him for killing Colin before he could recover the
cash.

“
Teri?” Angel’s hand swept over her
smooth cropped hair and came to rest at the back of her
neck.

She closed her eyes and let her
head drop back against his hand. “I was thinking about being in
that closet. I was thinking about the look on Altman’s face when he
was searching Colin’s body.”

“
You need to keep that image because
it will be your testimony that puts him away.”

Teri raised her head and opened her
eyes. An army of spiders crawled over her skin. “I’ll have to
testify. Oh, no...I’ll have to face him.” Nausea roiled up from her
stomach.

“
Don’t worry, Teri,” Angel said.
“I’ll be there with you, and Altman will be in custody. We’ll get
the other man too. I would never let anyone hurt you.”

Teri nodded, but her face felt
tight. She couldn’t tell Angel that the second man was a cop. She
sensed that it would bring their relationship to a screeching halt.
If he knew she would accuse another police officer, would he still
feel that he could protect her or would he think she was
crazy?

She could only bide her time and
wait to see how the investigation progressed.
I’ll tell him, when the time is right
.

Angel gestured to the monitor.
“Let’s look at his known associates and see if you recognize
anyone.” He clicked on each mug shot separately, but Teri shook her
head each time. “I should have known identifying the second killer
couldn’t be as simple as you picking him out of mug
shots.”

“
The other man was furious with
Altman for the killing. He must have been the boss. He yelled and
talked down to him.”

“
That’s good. Anything
else?”

She shook her head, then decided to
add, “He had a scar on the back of his left hand. It could have
been a burn.”

“
That’s something to work with.” He
relayed this information to his boss and logged off.

They left the library and returned
to the Garcia household. When they entered through the back door,
Isabel was cooking and her grandmother sat at the kitchen table
sipping a small glass of juice. The elderly woman greeted Angel and
smiled as she spoke a few words of Spanish.

He grinned and went to her side.
Teri watched him as he slipped an arm around her shoulder and
conversed with her in low tones, their heads close
together.

Isabel snapped green beans into a
colander, but her gaze remained fastened on Teri.

Teri flushed under her scrutiny and
Isabel smiled.

“
I don’t mean to make you
uncomfortable.” Isabel wiped her hands on a dishtowel and drew Teri
into the living room.

Teri picked up the orange kitten
and it stretched lazily as she sat on the Queen Anne sofa beside
Isabel. It tucked its head under its paws and began purring as Teri
scratched its ears.

“
What’s on your mind?” Teri thought
she would tackle Isabel head on.

“
You and my son.” Isabel held her
hands up as though warding off protests. “I’m not trying to meddle,
but I am concerned.”

“
You want to know if my intentions
are honorable?” Teri smiled.

“
No. No, I’m concerned about
whatever is going on. I know Angel came to San Antonio on police
business. He said he followed you here.” She looked to Teri for
confirmation and when she nodded, went on. “I also know that my son
cares for you deeply and I hope you return his
feelings.”

Teri smiled and looked down at the
kitten.

“
That’s alright Teri. I think you do
care for him.”

“
What’s this about?”

“
I can tell my son is guarding you
and I don’t want him to get hurt. He’s very protective of you and I
think he would risk his life to save you.”

Teri drew in a sharp breath. She stared at Isabel,
wide-eyed. Of all the people she’d endangered she hadn’t considered
the peril to Angel. He always seemed to be so big and smart and
invincible. Surely he couldn’t be hurt.

Teri shook her head as tears sprang
to her eyes. “Oh, no! Not Angel.” She clasped both hands over her
mouth in horror.

“
He’s just a man, Teri.” Isabel
gazed at her steadily.

Teri’s eyes filled as she realized how selfish she
had been. Once more, she was only thinking of herself.

Isabel held her arms out and Teri
collapsed in tears.

“
What’s going on here?” Angel
appeared in the doorway. “Mother, what have you done?” His gaze
fell on Teri’s tear-stained face.

She stood and reached for him.
Without a word he went to her. Teri’s arms went around his neck and
she buried her face against his chest. He felt so strong as he held
her. He lifted her and carried her from the room. He transported
her up the stairway and into his childhood room, nudging the door
closed behind them.

Angel lowered Teri onto his bed and
pulled off her sandals, letting them fall to the floor. He kicked
out of his shoes and stretched out beside her.

“
I don’t have a handkerchief,” he
said. “But you can use this.” He pulled out his shirt tail and
mopped her tears.

Teri tried not to smile but she
couldn’t help it.

He brushed her hair off of her forehead and lifted
her chin. “What did my mother say to you?”

“
Nothing.”

Angel raised his eyebrows giving
Teri a knowing look. “C’mon. Spill your guts. Don’t make me get out
the rubber hose.”

Teri laughed in spite of her tears.
“It’s just that she’s worried about you. She thinks you might be in
danger because of me.”

When he spoke, his voice sounded
strained. “I’m sorry she said that to you.” Angel lay back on the
pillow, stretching his arms overhead and staring up at the
Metallica poster.

Teri rolled up and turned to gaze
into his eyes. “Angel, she’s right. Two men are dead. I couldn’t
stand it if anything happened to you.” She placed her hand on his
chest, imploring him to heed her concerns.

Angel grinned and covered her hand
with his. “That sounds almost like you’re saying you care about
me.”

“
Of course I care about
you!”

“
Oh yeah? How much?” He pulled her
down on top of him. “Are you ready to admit that you’re in love
with me?”

Teri groaned and buried her face
against his neck.

“
Come on. This is an official
police interrogation.” He rolled over, taking her with him. He
examined her face, wiping away the last trace of her tears and
kissed her above her eyebrow.

Teri looked up into his eyes. She
glanced at his lips and he took the hint, kissing her
tenderly.

She touched his face with her fingertips. “Angel,
the last man I cared about was murdered.”

“
Did you love him?”

“
I thought I did.”

“
And what do you think
now?”

She frowned. “I don’t know. I felt
differently about him than I do about you.”

He traced a line across her cheek
with his fingertip, leaving an echo whispering on her skin. “That
means what we have could be more,” he said. “But it could also be
less.”

Teri experienced a feeling of
warmth rising from her chest. She blinked and cleared her throat.
“Colin and I were friends first. We spent a lot of time together.
We were great companions, but it was different.”