Bad Habit (6 page)

Teri caught her breath. “I don’t
know what you’re talking about.” She raised her chin
defiantly.

He looked disappointed, giving a
slight shake of his head. “You can play it any way you want. Just
remember one thing. I’m not your enemy.”

“
I know that.” Her gaze faltered as
his dark eyes stripped away her defenses.

Angel Garcia touched the side of her face with his
fingertips. “Such a pretty little face. I’d hate to see something
happen to you.”

“
I would too.” Her voice broke,
trailing off to a whisper. The sensation of his touch remained on
her cheek.

“
Put my number into your new phone
in case you need me in a hurry.” He turned to go, but looked back
at her from the top of the stairs. “Teri, I won’t be able to stay
here forever. You can trust me. Let me help you.”

“
I...I’m not Teri,” she
insisted.

He gave her a disbelieving look.
“Have it your way, but be careful. No more night walks.” He loped
down the stairs leaving Teri to stare after him. Her heart thumped
in her chest as though she had been running. She suppressed a sob
and hurried inside the apartment.

Retrieving her new cell, she took
it to the back steps leading from the kitchen to the dumpsters. She
sat halfway down and dialed Martin Kelso’s private line, blocking
her number with star sixty-nine. She didn’t want him calling back
and she didn’t want him to know the area code she was calling
from.

“
Martin Kelso.” His voice sounded
tired.

Teri felt a pang of guilt that she
might have contributed to that in any way. She stifled the urge to
hang up. “Martin? It’s Teri.”

“
Oh, thank God! Are you all right?”
The relief was evident in his voice.

“
Yes.” Smiling, she realized how
comforting it was to communicate with a friend who cared for
her.

“
My dear child, I’ve been so worried
about you. Where are you?”

She could picture him behind his
desk, the glasses he wore for reading sitting halfway down his
nose. “I really can’t tell you. I’m sorry.”

“
Teri, you can tell me anything. Do
you need money? Are you in the City?”

She forced a cheery note into her
voice. “I hope to be home soon. Don’t worry about me.”

“
My God! I’ve been frantic. What
happened? Why did you leave? Whatever happened, we can work it out
together. Teri, you know that I’ll stand by you.”

A sob escaped Teri’s throat. “That’s good to
know.”

“
The police questioned everyone in
the firm. They seemed to think you might be involved, but I assured
them that you would never...”

“
They think I killed
Colin?”

“
They said something about missing
money. They thought you took it from Colin. I said you weren’t in
any financial need, but if you are you know you can count on
me.”

Her breath caught in her throat.
“I’ve got to go now.”

“
I’ll come get you. Are you ready
to come home?”

“
Not yet. I’ve got to work some
things out first.”

“
Teri, wait!”

She disconnected abruptly. Gripping
the railing, she rocked back and forth rhythmically. She sighed and
dropped the phone in her pocket before returning to the
apartment.

#

CHAPTER SIX

Angel took off his jacket and
rolled his shirtsleeves up as he hiked the half block to his car.
His step felt lighter and he couldn’t stop grinning. He opened the
car with the remote.

“
I’ve got you, Teri,” he crooned
under his breath “You can lie to a cop, but you can’t get away with
it.”

He felt buoyant inside, the way he
always did when he’d solved a case, but this case was far from
over. This was different. He suspected that his euphoria had
something to do with the fact that Teri was Teri and not Sister
Bernie. All the hazy, unexpressed yearnings lurking in the shadows
of his libido could at least be acknowledged. He was falling for a
woman and not a nun.

Across the street a man in a gray
sedan turned to stare at him. Angel stopped grinning.

This could be trouble.

He climbed into his vehicle and
started it, cranking the air conditioner to high. He reached in his
glove compartment and pulled out a map. Spreading it out, he
pretended to consult it while scrutinizing the gray car.

The man in the sedan dismissed
Angel, returning his gaze to the walkway leading to the nun’s
apartment.

Angel wrote down the license
number, started his car and pulled out slowly, checking the watcher
as best he could. He turned onto a side street just past the
apartment complex and parked. Entering the maze of apartments from
the street to the rear, he wound back to the nun’s place and tucked
himself out of sight under the stairs. An overgrown purple
bougainvillea spilled onto the other side of the path, shielding
him from view.

The man from the gray sedan
appeared on the walkway and then ducked behind an oak tree. He
adjusted the setting of the camera hanging around his neck and
peered through the viewfinder. He scanned the windows of the nun’s
apartment.

Angel knew the curtains were drawn
against the heat. He hoped Teri would stay inside.

Circling under the stairs, he kept
off the path, managing to stay out of sight until he stood directly
behind the man. He noted a suspicious lump under his jacket,
indicating a holster. Tapping him on the shoulder, Angel delivered
a quick punch when the man spun around.

Angel caught the camera and jerked
it free from the man’s neck before it hit the ground.

“
What the hell?” the man grunted.
“Who are you?” His lip was bleeding and his sunglasses and cell
phone had fallen in the dirt.

“
Better yet,” Angel said, “Who are
you and why are you watching this apartment?” He pulled open the
man’s jacket and found a camera case instead of a holster. “Come on
and show me some identification?”

“
Okay, okay.” The man’s eyes seemed
to narrow when he glanced at the badge and weapon clipped to
Angel’s belt. He fished out a card and handed it to
Angel.

Scowling, Angel leaned back against
the oak tree. The card matched the driver’s license and identified
the man as a local Private Investigator named Marcel Farmer. “Who
hired you?”

“
You know I don’t have to reveal
that.” The man sat on the ground and searched his pockets for a
handkerchief.

“
No, but you may want to tell me
before this is over.” Angel leaned down and grabbed the man by the
arm while deftly kicking the phone under a thick hedge of overgrown
pink oleanders.

Marcel cringed, covering his head with both hands as
Angel dragged him to his feet. “Don’t hurt me!”

“
Stay away from the nuns,” Angel
growled.

“
I...I have an assignment.” Marcel
tried to muster a little dignity as he straightened his jacket. A
few long strands of hair from his comb-over hung limply, covering
one ear like a ponytail gone awry.

“
Your assignment better not have
anything to do with these nuns.”

“
I can’t say.” Marcel straightened
the thin bolo tie he wore around his neck.

“
Then get out of here and don’t
come back!” Angel glowered at Marcel.

“
My camera-—” Marcel reached for it
but stopped, glancing up at Angel.

“
Sure.” Angel popped out the memory
card and handed him the camera.

“
But—”

“
If you know what’s good for you,
you’ll leave now.” Angel pointed sternly toward Marcel’s car. He
watched the man turn and amble away, his shoulders drooping. When
he was out of sight, Angel retrieved the phone.

He turned and found Teri standing
on the stairs, her arms folded across her chest. Her expression
told him she had witnessed his recent actions.

He dropped the phone in his pocket
and walked slowly to meet her.

She seated herself on the second
step and he sat beside her. He detected a light floral fragrance
from a soap or lotion.

Teri spoke first. “What was that
about?”

He grinned. “That was me saving your bacon,
Teri.”

“
Please don’t call me
that.”

“
It’s your name.”

She sighed. “Yes, but you’re the
only one who’s figured it out.”

“
Maybe not. That man taking
pictures was a Private Investigator. Who else would pay someone to
find you except the killers?”

Teri emitted a strangled gasp. “I
don’t know.”

“
Whoever they work for is behind
this and he or she is looking for you. Do you understand that
you’re in real danger?”

“
I know, but I felt safe here with
the sisters.”

He emitted a scornful snort.
“You’re extremely vulnerable. This apartment isn’t secure. Walking
to the school is suicide. Someone could grab you in a
heartbeat.”

Teri wiped a tear and didn’t move
away when Angel put his arm around her. “I...I feel horrible about
lying to Mother Immaculata and the others. They’ve been so kind to
me. And the girls are wonderful.” She turned to him as another tear
drooled down her cheek.

Angel wiped the tear with his thumb
and wondered how such an otherwise smart and very beautiful woman
could get herself into so much trouble.

She bit her trembling lower lip. “I was only
thinking of myself when I came here. I was so scared. I didn’t
consider how this ruse would affect anyone else.”

He stroked her hair. “Everything
will work out okay.”

“
I don’t think so,” she said. “My
lies will hurt the real nuns, especially the ones I live with. And
the students will be upset. They opened their hearts and accepted
me at face value.”

“
They’ll also be sad if you get
killed.” He gazed into her eyes. “Let’s be real here. There are
some extremely bad people after you. They may already know where
you are. You have to come with me.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks as
she leaned into his embrace.

He patted her shoulder until her
sobs abated. “I don’t have a handkerchief,” he said. “But try
this.” He pulled out his shirttail and used it to wipe her cheeks
and nose.

She laughed. “Is that a really gross way to collect
my DNA?”

He laughed with her. “You’ve been
watching way too much television. Keeping your sense of humor in a
crisis is a very good quality.”

She sniffled. “At least I have one
good quality.”

He gazed into her eyes, realizing
that he, too, was in danger. He started when he heard a sound
behind them. He took his hand off his weapon when he saw three nuns
standing at the top of the stairs watching them.

“
Sorry, Bernie,” Clem said. “We were
heading out and didn’t want to interrupt.”

“
Is everything okay?” Miriam
asked.

“
Can we help you?” Connie
asked.

“
No, I—” Teri began.

“
Nothing we can’t handle.” Angel
stood and held out his hand to Teri, pulling her to her feet.
“There’s been a development in the case and Bernie is returning to
New York.”

The nuns rushed down the stairs and
surrounded them. They hugged Teri and assured her they wanted to
help and would pray for her safe return. They departed and Angel
escorted Teri upstairs.

“
Gather whatever you want. You
won’t be coming back.” He watched Teri take a blue bag from under
her bed and stuff underwear and a nightgown inside. She packed the
prepaid cell phone, jeans and a knit shirt as well as a photo of a
young blonde woman who must be the real Bernie. She tossed in a
tube of lotion and shampoo.

“
That’s it?” he asked. “What about
your paintings?”

“
I’m really not very good,” she
said.

“
You’re wrong about that.” He sorted
through the stack of paintings leaning against the wall. “You could
make a living selling your work.”

A flicker of a smile materialized
and vanished. “I think you’re being very kind. I just started
painting again. I hadn’t lifted a paintbrush since I was in
college. Bernie has all the real talent in the family.”

“
Not so. At least I’ll take your
painting supplies. You might change your mind.” He collapsed her
easel and looked around the apartment. “Is this all you’re taking
with you?”

“
It’s more than enough.” She picked
up a blank canvas.

“
Let’s go then.” He tucked the
easel under his arm and took the blue bag from Teri. He picked up
the metal tackle box that held her paints and brushes.

“
Wait! I have to talk to Mother
Immaculata.”

“
We don’t have time. You can call
her.”

She looked like she was going to
cry again, but pressed her lips together hard. “I guess
so.”

Angel led her from the apartment
and around to the rental car he’d left on the side
street.