Bad Habit (22 page)

She realized how isolated Teri must
feel.

Bernie had an entire order of
fellow nuns. Teri only had her and she lived in a convent a whole
state away. Now they were half a continent apart and her hands were
tied.

Where is this Angel? Why isn’t he
protecting her?

“
Sister Bernadette? Are you
alright?”

She turned to find Sister Clair
smiling at her. She nodded, making light of her reverie.

Leaving the parlor she returned to her classroom.
She tidied the desks and laid out the supplies for the next
lesson.

She had an eerie feeling as though
she was being watched. She glanced out the open doorway but there
was no one in the hall. She scanned the bank of louvered windows
and saw Sister Mary Magdalene holding onto her skirt against the
stiff breeze as she scurried across the quad.

Bernie crossed herself and said a
prayer for Teri’s safety. She stepped into the hallway and found
Klaus standing on a stepladder changing a florescent tube in the
light fixture overhead. She stared at him, open-mouthed. He didn’t
seem to be paying any attention to her as she sidled past him and
strode quickly to the other end of the building into the
student-filled dining hall.

#

Angel left his father in the car
with the motor idling. The tracking device showed that Teri was on
the move, but she’d been here. He spotted the priest talking to two
students and sprinted to where they stood.

“
Pardon me, Father,” he
said.

The priest turned to him,
dismissing the girls.

“
Have you seen this woman?” He held
a small photo of Teri Slaughter, looking tanned, with long hair and
make-up.

Father Conlyn smiled. “Yes, I have.”

“
She’s in great danger, Father.”
Angel’s dark gaze would have intimidated a lesser man. “Where is
she now?”

“
I can’t tell you, son. She came to
me for confession.”

Angel turned away, gritted his teeth and then turned
back to the priest. “Can you tell me how long she’s been gone?”

“
Probably ten minutes, at most.”
Father Conlyn made the sign of the cross in the air, blessing
Angel. “I pray you can save them.”

“
Them? She’s going after Clem?”
Angel realized he wouldn’t get an answer from the priest. He raced
back to the car and found Arturo studying the tracking
device.

“
I think she’s going to
Brackenridge Park,” he said.

#

You want me to drop you here, lady?” The taxi driver
looked around uncertainly. “Is someone meeting you, or
something?”

“
Or something,” Teri handed him one
of the crisp hundred dollar bills. “Keep it,” she said.

She clutched the blue bag and
walked briskly across the wide grassy lawn approaching the train
station from the rear. The grass looked smooth from the street, but
it was difficult to walk on due to large bare areas of hard-packed
earth. She tried to walk with purpose, but knew if she turned her
ankle in one of the cracks in the sun-baked clay she wouldn’t be
able to accomplish her mission. She kept her head down, picking her
way carefully through the disastrous ruts until the grass grew more
lush, closer to the train and picnic area. She stepped under the
shade of a covered picnic pavilion to wait and observe the
train.

#

Angel called Tolliver and explained the situation as
succinctly as possible.

“
What the hell you been up to,
Garcia?” Tolliver’s deep voice rumbled in his chest.

“
My neck, Sergeant. Please send
back-up. I’m rolling now.” He disconnected. Angel glanced at his
father.

“
I’m glad your mother doesn’t know
what you do for a living, son.”

“
And we’ll never tell her.” Angel
turned into the park and slowed, looking at the device in Arturo’s
hands. He pulled to the side and touched a few keys, enlarging the
image. He drove forward slowly until it appeared he was right on
top of the blinking dot on the screen.

He stopped the car and looked
around.

“
There’s nothing here,” Arturo
said. They were in the middle of the park with the zoo just ahead
and to the right and a wide grassy area with railroad tracks for
the miniature train to travel.

Angel punched in Teri’s cell one
more time, breathing a sigh of relief as she answered.

“
Teri, are you alright?”

“
Why do you keep asking me that? Is
there some reason I wouldn’t be alright?”

Angel motioned to his father and
took the tracking device from him. “No, baby. I just wanted to hear
your voice.” He narrowed his eyes as he pinpointed her location. At
least she was stationery. He handed the GPS monitor to
Arturo.

Teri laughed. “Liar.”

“
No, really,” he said as he started
across the grassy area toward the train. “You can’t tell a man you
love him and then hang up. How much do you love me?”

“
A lot,” she said. “I’m kind of busy
now. Can we talk about this later?”

“
Sure, we can talk over dinner.
I’ll take you for a romantic meal and you can tell me how much you
love me. How does that sound?” He and Arturo were gaining
ground.

“
Whatever you want,” she said.
“I’ve got to go.” The whistle from the Brackenridge Eagle sounded
close in the background.

“
No, Teri. Please talk to
me.”

“
Angel, I’m not a bystander.
Whatever happens, just remember that I really loved you.” She
disconnected.

“
Damn! She thinks she’s going to
die.” Angel shoved the phone in his pocket and ran full out toward
the train, his father close behind.

#

Bernie locked her classroom and
walked down the hall to leave the school. She looked around for
Klaus but didn’t locate him spying on her from any vantage point.
Bernie expelled a relieved breath.

She needed exercise. One quick
circle around the grounds wouldn’t hurt. After that she could have
dinner with the other nuns in the convent dining hall and perhaps
look over the wildflower book she’d checked out of the
library.

She set out briskly, swinging her
arms. First she rounded the garden with its flagstone walkway. Then
she circled the greenhouse and potting shed. She noticed that the
door to the potting shed stood ajar.

Bernie stopped and peeked inside. Seeing no one, she
closed the door and stood on tiptoe to latch it.

“
Here, let me get that for you,”
Klaus said. He easily reached over her head and fastened the
latch.

Bernie jumped away, too frightened to speak. She
hadn’t heard him approach. She seemed to be frozen in place, her
wide blue eyes staring up at the man who could snap her neck with
one hand.

“
Are you okay, lady? Do you need to
sit down or something?” Klaus reached out to steady her.

She looked down at the large
fingers gripping her elbow. Bernie found her voice. “Who are
you?...I don’t mean your name. What are you doing here?”

“
I’m just Klaus, Ma’am.” He released
her elbow. “You should go inside now.”

She turned and rushed away from
him, almost running toward the safety of the convent.

Suddenly huge hands gripped her and
lifted her off her feet. She felt herself being held against a rock
hard chest as she was carried from the convent grounds.

She took a deep breath to scream,
but a meaty hand clamped over her mouth. She tried to make as much
noise as she could while she kicked her heels against her
abductor.

Clutching Bernie against his chest,
he ran out through the stone archway at the entrance to the
convent. She saw a car at the curb and another man behind the
wheel. He swung the passenger door open.

Bernie locked her legs in a wide arc and stiffened
her body, making it difficult for the man to fold her into the
car.

Suddenly she was falling backwards
as her abductor was thrown on his back. The car sped off without
them, tires screeching.

Klaus stood over them, his foot on
the would-be kidnapper’s neck. He held out his hand to
Bernie.

She gazed up at him and stretched
both hands toward him. He lifted her effortlessly to her feet and
shoved her behind him as he handcuffed the man on the ground. “You
have the right to remain silent,” he said. He recited the rest of
the Miranda mantra as Bernie made an attempt to recover her
composure.

“
Who are you?” she asked when he
was done.

“
I’m
just Klaus, Ma’am. Officer Klaus Grunfeld.
Detective Garcia assigned me to protect
you.”

Bernie laughed. She laughed so hard
her ribs hurt. She leaned against the stone archway at the entrance
to the convent grounds and laughed until tears rolled down her
cheeks.

#

CHAPTER TWENTY

Teri’s distinctive hair was hidden
under her Spurs baseball cap and the large hot pink sunglasses
dwarfed her features. She sat under a pavilion reserved for large
parties. The massive concrete pillars supported a poured concrete
roof. She guessed it had been built in the thirties as it bore the
unmistakable stamp of that era.

It was relatively cool in the
shade. She watched a family with two small excited boys waiting for
their turn to ride on the train.

She felt disconnected and unafraid.
In some neat compartment of her mind, Teri thought she should be
terrified, but she couldn’t bring it to the forefront.

It might have been all those years
in front of the camera where she’d put aside her personal feelings
to promote whatever product the sponsor was trying to sell. Or it
could have been the recent years in advertising when she put on a
smile and greeted clients who were so impressed with themselves
because Teri Slaughter, former model was their account
manager.

Absolutely! Teri Slaughter could pull this off.

She glanced at her watch. She
moistened her dry lips and phoned the kidnapper.

“
Where are you?” she
asked.

“
What do you mean? Where the hell
are you? You better live up to your end of the bargain, or else. .
.”

“
Or else what?”

“
If you don’t watch your step the
little nun won’t make it through this adventure.”

“
I plan to give you the money. I’m
waiting for you. Get on the train. Sister Clem will sit in the
front of the car and you will sit in the back. At the next station
Sister Clem will get off and I’ll get on with the
money.”

“
How do I know you’ll hand over the
money?”

“
Because you could always grab Clem
again or one of the other nuns. I’m tired of running. I just want
this to be over. I want you to take the money and go
away.”

The kidnapper expelled a dry hiss.
“No problem. I’m glad you realize that we can reach out and touch
your little nun friends any time we want.” He chuckled to himself.
“You know we can always take out the little nun in Maine if you
don’t cooperate?”

A shiver that should have
registered on the Richter Scale rocked Teri. She cleared her throat
to hide the fact that he’d gotten to her. “I do realize that,” she
said. “When Clem steps off the train the money is all yours.” She
disconnected and waited. Soon, she heard the train whistle. She
took a deep breath and sat motionless, on alert.
They’re here.

A few seconds later she identified
Clem sitting in the front of the first train car.

Clem gripped the railing and stared
straight ahead. She appeared to be terrified. Clem looked as
fearful as Teri should have felt.

Two very dangerous men were
sandwiched into the rear seat of the same car. One was the man
she’d seen outside the nun’s apartment and the other was Frank
Altman, the man who killed Colin.

Now I’m frightened.

Teri stood up. She walked slowly
toward the train. Several passengers boarded while others
disembarked. Children shrieked in high pitched voices while their
parents scrambled to collect their belongings. Surely they wouldn’t
murder her with so many witnesses.

“
Hi Clem,” she said.

“
Oh, Bernie, you’ve got to get away
from here,” Clem said. “These men are dangerous.”

“
I promised to give them something
they want.”

“
No, just get away from me,” Clem
insisted. “You can go to the police.”

“
This will never end, Clem. I have
to make them stop.”

“
No!” Clem raised her voice. “No,
you don’t. If you go with them, they’ll kill you and then they’ll
come and kill me too. I saw their faces and I can identify them.”
Clem grasped Teri’s arm. “If you won’t do it for yourself, do it
for me.”

“
It’s my sister, Clem.” Teri drew a
shaky breath. “He said he’d kill her.”

“
Your sister, the model?” Clem
looked confused.

“
Clem, I’m Teri. My sister is
Bernadette, the nun. I’ve been masquerading as her because I saw
the men who killed my boyfriend.” Teri watched Clem struggle to
understand. “I’m sorry for the deception, but I’ve got to go now.
If I don’t hold up my end of the bargain, they’ll go after the real
Sister Bernie. Please go and get the police. Stay safe.”