Bad Habit (16 page)

“
Sure, we can bring her
home.”

Esme looked thrilled. She waved and
ran out the door after Rosario.

Teri sipped a second cup of coffee.
She eyed Isabel, thoughtfully. “It must be tough to educate so many
children.”

“
If you only knew,” Isabel said.
“Esme and Mikey are in parochial schools. Rosario goes to the
junior college but tuition has gone up each semester. And Elena is
at Our Lady of the Lake University. She’s got a partial scholarship
and she’s going to graduate in December.” Isabel looked across the
table at Angel. “My son threw away his baseball scholarship to the
University of Texas when he joined the Navy.”

Teri smiled at Isabel across the
tense silence that ensued. “Darned kids,” she said. “They just
won’t live out the life script you write for them.”

Isabel smiled as the significance
of Teri’s words settled in. She pointed a finger at Angel. “Your
girlfriend is very smart.” She turned and went to the
kitchen.

“
Girlfriend,” he pronounced as Teri
grinned and rolled her eyes.

“
And what are we doing until two
o’clock?”

“
I’m going to take the mug shot of
Altman to the Sergeant in charge of the local case. You are going
to stay here.”

“
Alright,” Teri said. “Could you
help me set up my easel on the screened porch upstairs?”

He brushed the side of her face
with his fingertips. “I’m glad you decided to paint.” He settled
Teri on the porch with her painting supplies arranged, and left the
house. He felt confident that she would be safe, nested in the
bosom of his family.

He drove to the police headquarters
and asked to speak to Sergeant Tolliver. The Sergeant came to the
front and escorted Angel to his office.

Sergeant Tolliver stuffed himself
behind the aged and battered wooden desk. “I hope you came to give
me some good news?” He sorted files around on top of his cluttered
work surface.

“
I brought you a suspect.” Angel
handed him a sheaf of papers including a copy of Altman’s mug shot
and the photo from Marcel Farmer’s memory card along with a print
out of the NYPD information on his priors.

Tolliver leafed through the material. “Who is this
guy?”

“
He’s been identified as one of the
killers on my case. He had a partner but the second guy is unknown
at this time.”

“
Why do you think he’s involved with
the death of Marcel Farmer?”

“
Farmer was hired to look for a
principal in the case I’m working on. He was staking out the
convent in case the biological sister of one of the nuns showed up.
This photo was taken outside the convent just a few days ago so it
stands to reason the killers are looking for the same person.
Perhaps Marcel Farmer got in the way.”

Tolliver pushed back from his desk, regarding Angel
with a deeply creased frown. “That’s nice and tidy, isn’t it?”

“
Sometimes the right answer is the
simple one.” Angel shrugged his shoulders. “Occam’s
Razor.”

“
I’m a Gillette man myself. I think
you know more than you’re lettin’ on.”

“
I’ve told you everything that
could possibly relate to your case.” Angel pushed his chair back
and stood up. “Since this man has a record as long as your arm and
he’s right here in your jurisdiction, I thought you might be
interested in him.” He turned, as if to leave.

“
Hold on! Just hold on now.”
Tolliver gestured to the chair Angel had vacated. “No need to get
your panties in a wad. Just sit back down and talk to
me.”

By the end of their conversation,
Tolliver agreed to put out an APB on Altman and to inform Angel if
he was apprehended.

When Angel returned to the house he
was relieved to find Teri on the screened porch where he’d left
her. His sister Elena was curled up in a wicker rocker, an open
textbook and the orange kitten in her lap. Teri had roughed in a
remarkably good likeness of them. He watched her from the
doorway.

She looked relaxed for the first
time since he’d met her, the haunted look missing from her eyes.
She was too engrossed in her task to notice him so he took the time
to observe her. She wore jeans and a tee shirt and her feet were
bare.

He smiled as he noticed her toes. A
small gold toe ring sparkled from the middle digit of her left
foot. If he’d seen that, he would have known that she wasn’t a nun
earlier.

“
What are you grinning at, big
brother?” Elena asked.

Teri spun around, a look of
surprise on her face.

“
What are you girls doing?” he
asked, pretending he’d just arrived.

“
I’m studying,” Elena said. “Big
Sociology exam this week.”

“
And I took advantage of a model
who would sit still for me.” Teri lifted the canvas off the easel
and set it on the floor facing the wall.

“
Hey!” Angel turned the canvas over.
“That’s really good. Don’t you know how talented you
are?”

“
My sister, Bernie has all the
talent,” she said. “I just know how to daub a little paint now and
then.” She plunged her brush up and down in a jar of
cleaner.

Angel wondered how he could have
thought her vain. “You don’t have to stop painting just because I’m
here.”

“
I thought I should start cleaning
up. We don’t want to be late to Esme’s play rehearsal.”

Angel smiled, pleased that she
considered Esme’s feelings. “I didn’t forget.”

She flashed a grin at him over her
shoulder. “I didn’t think you would. It takes me a while to clean
up with oil paints.”

He brushed a strand of hair away
from her face and when she raised her chin he leaned toward her,
stopping just short of kissing her. He glanced at Elena.

“
Would you two just get a room?”
Elena said. “I’m trying to study here.”

Angel drew Teri away from the
porch, leaving his grinning sister to shake her head. He led her to
his former room and swept her inside. He closed the door and backed
her against the wall. He stroked her cheek with his fingertips and
lowered his lips to hers. His kiss was soft, his lips caressing
hers again and again. When he pulled away her expression tore at
his heart.

“
Would you like to do that, Teri?”
he asked, his voice thick with emotion. “Would you like to get a
room?”

Her eyes widened before she ducked
her head. She spoke against his chest. “Yes and no.”

“
Just one straight answer. That’s
all I want.” He raised her chin.

Her eyes teared up. “Yes, I’m
incredibly attracted to you, but I’m also terrified of
you.”

“
You? Scared of me?” His brows drew
together. “I’m not scary. You can’t be afraid of me.”

A gurgle of laughter escaped her
throat. “You’re the scariest man I’ve ever known.” She smiled
through the tears that betrayed her. “I’m afraid of the way you
make me feel.”

“
Is that more than just being
attracted to me?”

She ducked her head again and
nodded against his chest.

He sighed and stroked his hand over
her short cropped hair. “I’ll take what I can get.”

#

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

A few minutes before two, Teri and
Angel walked hand in hand into Incarnate Word High School. She felt
surprisingly buoyant considering her situation. Having her hand in
Angel’s gave her courage. For the first time since she had left New
York City, she felt secure.

He winked and squeezed her hand.

“
You seem to know your way around
here pretty well,” Teri said.

“
Both Rosario and Elena graduated
from this fine institution. It hasn’t changed too much.”

“
It’s pretty upscale when compared
with St. Pius.”

“
It’s run by a different order of
nuns and it’s affiliated with Incarnate Word University. There are
plenty of well-heeled alums to help out.”

“
The grounds are beautiful,” Teri
said.

“
They’re always improving the place
but they stick with the original architecture so everything goes
together. Here’s the gym.” He pushed through one of a set of double
doors.

The gym was a multi-purpose space
with a raised stage at one end and a large shiny floor marked for
basketball. Two netted hoops were folded up out of the way at
either end of the room.

They walked toward the group of
people gathered around the stage. Esme caught Angel’s eye and
grinned from ear to ear. She covered her mouth and whispered to the
girl beside her. All of the girls as well as the teacher turned to
stare at the newcomers.

The teacher, a woman around Teri’s
age, flicked an appreciative glance over Angel and turned to Teri.
“Teri Slaughter! I recognize you. I’ve seen your face on lots of
magazine covers.”

“
That was a while ago.” Teri
self-consciously swept her fingers through her cropped hair before
recovering her manners. She reached out to shake the woman’s hand.
“I’m pleased to meet you.”

“
I’m Ruth Barnes. I wanted to be
you.” She turned to Angel and offered her hand. “And the beloved
big brother slash super hero.”

Angel shot a look at Esme that reduced her to a fit
of giggles. Angel and Teri were given folding chairs and allowed to
see the entire production of The Wizard of Oz.

Esme played the Wicked
Witch.

Teri and Angel applauded in all the right places
though the production was stopped for changes in blocking several
times. When they left, Esme turned to Angel.

“
Well, what did you think? Was it
okay? Was I good?”

Angel held his nose. “I smell ham;
spoiled, rotten ham.”

“
Don’t pay attention to him, Esme,”
Teri said. “You were wonderful. When is your opening
night?”

Esme’s eyes sparkled. She danced
along beside them. “Two weeks from Friday. Do you really think I
was good?”

“
You were great,” Teri
said.

“
Stop! You’re giving her the big
head.” Angel ruffled Esme’s hair. “Next thing you know she’ll be
running off to New York to be an actress and Mom will be mad at you
for encouraging her. Seriously, Esme, you were
terrible.”

When they were in the car, Esme curled her feet
under her and fell asleep leaning against the pile of books on the
seat beside her.

“
She’s wiped out,” Teri said in a
whisper. “Tell me, how was your visit to the police
department?”

Angel glanced at Esme and spoke in
a low voice. “It was no big deal. Sergeant Tolliver put out an APB
on Altman. If he’s arrested, Tolliver said he’d call
me.”

She gazed at him anxiously. “Is
that likely to happen?”

“
You never know. It would make my
job easier.”

“
It would make my whole life
easier,” she said.

“
We still have to find the other
man. We don’t know that he’s in San Antonio. He could still be in
New York.”

“
Is that a park?” Teri pointed out
the window to a lush wooded area.

“
Brackenridge Park. The San Antonio
Zoo is just beyond the trees there.”

“
It’s beautiful. It looks like
Central Park without the tall buildings crowded around
it.”

“
Keen observation. We can take a
detour through the park if you like.” Angel turned onto one of the
winding drives criss-crossing through the verdant recreational
area. The oak trees grew thick and reached long intertwining
branches across overhead. The car splashed through a shallow stream
artfully rushing across the road.

Angel stopped for a flashing light as a wooden arm
came down at a railroad crossing. A few seconds later a train
chugged by and the arm raised.

“
How cute! She said. “It looks just
like a real steam engine, only smaller.”

“
That’s the famous Brackenridge
Eagle. It’s the longest miniature railroad in the world. It’s built
to one-fifth scale.”

“
Thanks for taking the long way,”
she said. “It’s beautiful. Someday I’d love to explore this
park.”

“
That can be arranged.” He drove
them to the Garcia house and gently woke Esme. After a moment of
disorientation she blushed and stretched.

Teri smiled to see how tender he
was with his family. A considerate man. She closed her eyes to
reminded herself that she’d only known him a short while and that
he would be arresting her soon. Not a good basis for building a
relationship.

She followed him into the house as
he carried Esme’s books and guided her with his hand on her
shoulder.

“
You better hit your homework fast
because I don’t think you’re going to last very long.” He gave Esme
a pat as she headed upstairs yawning.

“
Thanks for coming to my
rehearsal.” She waved from the top of the stairs and disappeared
into her room.

#

After dinner, Teri slid closer to
Angel on the sofa in the front room. He picked up her hand and
pressed his cheek against it. The stubble of his beard prickled her
skin, aroused her senses.