Bad Habit (20 page)

“
No!” Her voice rose in a howl like
a wounded animal.

He struggled to find the right
words. “Statistically, the only way to get Clem back is not to try
to bargain with them, but to bust them before they can harm her.
That’s what the FBI can do. They have a far better recovery rate
than local police.”

She dissolved in tears, burying her
face in the pillow.

Angel embraced her briefly. “Look
at me. The best thing you could have done was to provide this
drawing. It’s like a photograph of the kidnapper. I want you to
stay locked in here with my mom while I take this to Sergeant
Tolliver. He can search through the computer database for
likenesses.”

Teri nodded sniffling. “I’ll do
anything. Please save Clem.”

“
I’ll do my best. Let me wash up
before I go downtown.”

She nodded, her face streaked with tears.

Angel kissed her forehead and gave her a quick hug
before leaving the room.

#

Teri felt numb as she listened to
Angel splashing water in the bathroom. Two men were dead. She
couldn’t be responsible for the death of a nun as well.

Angel’s jacket hung on the back of
the door. Teri slid her hand in the pocket. She held her breath and
lifted out his cell phone.

There was a chance she could do
something more. Searching his recent calls, one number stood out
with a New York area code.

She rummaged through her meager
belongings and located the pre-paid phone she’d purchased. She
transferred the phone number to her cell and replaced Angel’s phone
just as she heard his footsteps approaching.

He embraced her and kissed the top of her head. “Try
not to worry and stay inside. If anything out of the ordinary
occurs call me immediately.”

She nodded and watched him sprint
down the stairs. She heard the back door slam and his car backing
out of the driveway.

A cold knot of terror formed in her
stomach. The kidnapper wanted what was his. He was the person
responsible for Colin’s death. He didn’t do the actual killing but
he would be the one the killers worked for.

Angel didn’t know she had the money
because she’d lied to him when she first met him and he didn’t know
there was a cop involved with Colin’s death. He believed in her.
This was not a good basis for a long-term relationship.

#

Bernie sent Sister Antoinette and
Sister Martina out the door with a wave of her hand. “Don’t worry.
I’ll put everything away.” The two nuns came to Bernie for an art
lesson once a week. She was pleased to be able to provide a
pleasant art experience for the friends.

She made sure all the lids were
tightly screwed on to the acrylic paints and stored them in a
drawer. The brushes had been cleaned and the nun’s works of art
were drying on easels. Bernie went to the back and dampened a rag
under the tap of the deep sink. She squeezed it out and turned
toward her class room.

Her throat tightened around a
scream as she ran headlong into the solid form of Klaus
Grunfeld.

They stared at one another in
silence. The hairs on the back of Bernie’s neck bristled with
fear.

“
Sorry, lady,” he growled. “I was
just checking to see if you were done in here. I have to mop the
floors.”

Bernie heaved a sigh of relief.
“Yes, we’re finished. Let me wipe down the tables.”

“
I’ll start in the far corner.” The
large man pushed his bucket of mop water to one side and started
rearranging the furniture. He stacked the student chairs on top of
the tables and began to swing the mop in a broad swath.

Bernie wiped the table she and the
other nuns had been using, but observed Klaus surreptitiously. His
sleeves were rolled up to display the muscled arms of a weight
lifter. At first, she had thought of him as being merely massive.
Now she realized he was powerfully built and this fact made her
feel uneasy.

Keeping Klaus under observation,
she noted that he also observed her, glancing up frequently to
where she stood.

She went to the back room to rinse the cloth and
hang it to dry. When she returned to the class room, Klaus had
almost finished the floors.

“
Thanks for doing such a great job,”
she said. “I’ll get out of your way so you can finish.” She turned
to the door.

“
Where are you going?” he
asked.

Bernie turned back. “I thought I’d
go to the library and find a good book.” She remained gazing at
him, her blue eyes wide with curiosity.

“
I...do you want me to walk over
there with you?”

“
It’s just a short distance from
here to the library. Is there a problem?”

“
No, I thought...” He seemed at a
loss.

Bernie narrowed her gaze. “Who are you really?”

He avoided her eyes. “My name is
Klaus Grunfeld.” He bent back to his mopping.

“
And...” Bernie advanced toward him.
“What are you doing here?”

“
I’m working. Go on lady. Let me
finish my job.”

Bernie backed out of the class
room, breaking into a trot when she reached the hallway.
Who is this man? Why is he watching
me
?

It had to have something to do with
her sister, Teri, and the death of her boyfriend. But what would
make someone think she was a part of it?

#

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Teri locked the bathroom door, her
hands shaking. She pulled up the number she’d just added to her
cell contacts and pushed the call button, fear roiling in the pit
of her stomach.

A male voice answered.
“Yeah?”

She took a deep breath and tried to
sound matter-of-fact. “It’s Teri Slaughter.”

“
Well, well, well, Teri Slaughter
herself. Do you have what I want?”

“
I want to talk to Sister
Clement.”

“
I don’t care what you
want.”

“
Then why should I care what you
want?”

“
How about if I start cutting off
little pieces of nun?”

Her stomach churned like a coffee
grinder. “How about if you let me talk to her? Otherwise I might
think you don’t have anything to trade.” She heard him
laughing.

“
You got some brass balls, Teri,
I’ll give you that. But I make the rules.”

“
If the nun is already dead, I’ll
take the money and disappear. I can go to South America. I’ve
always wanted to travel.”

“
No!” he growled.

Teri heard a soft gasp of pain.
“Clem? Are you okay?”

“
I...I’m scared but they haven’t
hurt me.”

“
Can you see them?”

“
Yes.”

“
That’s enough girl talk,” the
man’s voice said. “How do you want your nun? Whole or filleted?”
This set him off on another peal laughter.

“
What do you want?” Teri gripped the
phone with both hands.

“
I want what’s mine. I want the
money your boyfriend stole from me.”

“
I’ll give you the money, but I
have to know that Sister Clement is safe.”

“
She goes free when we have the
money.”

Teri licked her dry lips. “I must
ensure her safety first.” There was silence on the other end of the
line.

“
Do you want to take her
place?”

She felt her breath sucked out of
her lungs. She struggled to regain a thin grasp on her composure.
“If you want the money and I want the nun, we can both come out of
this okay. The police have no idea I have the money.” She paused to
let this fact sink in.

“
That cop must be one dumb son of a
bitch.” He laughed a short, gruff syllable. “You must really have
him pussy whipped.”

“
That’s not important,” she said.
“What’s important is that I don’t want to go to jail. I’m willing
to give you the money and keep my mouth shut, but the nun has to be
safe.”

“
I’m not the dumb cop,” he said.
“And I’m not screwing you so what makes you think I’d believe
you.”

“
I can’t spend the money because
I’m not supposed to have it. As I see it, here are my choices. I
can take the money and run, I can keep the money hidden and remain
quiet, or I can give it to you for the nun’s safe
return.”

There was a long silence on the
other end. Teri’s pulses throbbed against her eardrums. She held
her breath, forcing herself to wait for his response.

“
How would you suggest we make this
trade?”

“
I’ll call you,” she said. “I have
to get the money first. I’ll call you when I’ve gotten away from
the detective and have the money in my hands. Is that good
enough?”

“
Yeah, that’ll do just
fine.”

“
In the meantime, you better take
very good care of Sister Clem. If she’s not in mint condition, I’ll
split with the cash.”

“
I hear you.” The phone
disconnected.

Teri stared at the cell. Panic rose
from her core, clutching its bony fingers around her
heart.

What have I done?

How can I face Angel with the
truth?

What if I get Clem
killed?

And myself?

#

Angel showed the drawing to Sergeant Tolliver. He
was rewarded with a grunt.

“
That’s the perp?” Sergeant
Tolliver held the drawing at arms length, squinting. “Dang it!” He
scrabbled through the clutter on his desk. “My wife bought me some
reading glasses at the pharmacy.” He located them and shoved them
onto his face.

Angel tapped the drawing. “My
witness saw him outside the nun’s place last night.”

“
And your witness just happened to
ask him to pose for a drawing?” Tolliver could convey a range of
expressions from doubt to scorn with just one glance.

“
My witness is an artist. The
drawing is from memory.”

“
You wait right here.” Tolliver
left Angel sitting in his office and took the drawing to another
detective. They held a murmured conversation, during which each
glanced suspiciously at Angel multiple times through the glass
surrounding Tolliver’s office.

When Tolliver returned, he sat
behind his desk and stretched his legs out underneath it. He
regarded Angel across his desktop, piled with the papers that he
insisted were in order.

“
We’re making a computer search for
anyone with similar physical characteristics to the drawing.”
Tolliver slammed his palm down on the only bare spot on the desk.
“In the meantime, why don’t you start over at the beginning and
tell me the whole story.”

Angel took a deep breath. “I’m
investigating a homicide that took place in New York City. I
followed up on a marginal lead, searching for the only relative of
the dead man’s girlfriend. The girlfriend’s sister is a nun and she
transferred to a local convent to teach. I met with the nun and
found that a local PI had been hired to check out the same nun in
case her sister showed up. I talked to the PI and gave him a few
bucks to let me know if anyone else was looking for the nun’s
sister. Next thing I knew the PI was dead.”

“
Yeah. I know that much of your
story. I checked it out with your boss. Tell me something I don’t
know.” Tolliver glared at Angel.

“
I asked the nuns to move back to
the convent and not to take any chances, but Sister Clement went
back to the apartment today right after breakfast to print her
lesson plans. This morning I got a call from Sister Clem and the
kidnapper.”

“
Now why would anyone kidnap a nun?”
Tolliver spread his hands wide. “Everybody knows they ain’t got
nothin’.”

“
Agreed.” Angel shrugged. “Maybe
the kidnappers think she’s got something.”

Angel spent the next hour waiting
for the computer geeks to search for the kidnapper while dodging
any of Sergeant Tolliver’s questions that might endanger
Teri.

Another detective knocked on the
door. “Sergeant Tolliver. The techs found a name for you, sir.” He
handed Tolliver a sheet of paper.

Angel jumped up and peered over
Tolliver’s shoulder.

Frowning, Tolliver passed the sheet
to Angel. “Does the name Hugo Ludwig mean anything to
you?”

“
Not to me.” Angel looked at the
face staring back at him from the photograph.

Tolliver narrowed his eyes.
“Arrested but never convicted. It looks like he was a tough guy in
his youth, but nothing recent.”

“
He must have been pretty well
connected,” Angel said.

Tolliver raised an eyebrow and
scratched his grizzled head. “Or maybe he got smarter with a little
age.”

Angel looked up at him. “This is
your town. How do we find him?”

“
If he’s from out of town he’s got
to be staying somewhere. Let me get some people on this. We can
circulate this photo at area hotels and maybe we’ll get
lucky.”

“
I’ll forward the information to my
boss. He may know this guy or have some ideas.”