Sister Eve and the Blue Nun (12 page)

A slight smile emerged on the police officer's face. “Detective Hively mentioned earlier today that you were pretty good at picking up on clues and details. In fact, he told me that you did some significant detective work with your dad last year.” He glanced back in Jackson's direction and then again at Eve.

She shrugged. “I just heard that a man came into the victim's room and seemed to be very emotional, apparently having just driven up to the monastery.”

Detective Lujan nodded, not giving anything away. He reached for his wallet and took out a business card. “I should have given you one of these last night,” he said, handing the card to Eve and not taking her bait. “If you hear from Anthony, maybe you can give me a call just to let me know he's okay.”

Eve held the card in her hands, reading his contact information.

“Well, aren't you the cutest thing?”

“I'm sorry, what?” she asked, the surprise evident in the tone of her voice. She glanced up.

“It's the cat,” Captain Divine said, eyeing his daughter closely.

Eve looked at Detective Lujan, who had squatted down and was calling Daisy out from under the bed. She watched as her pet slowly moved past her and over to the outstretched arms of the man at the door. He picked her up and held her in his arms, looking very much at home with Daisy in his embrace.

Eve couldn't believe her mistake. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

“I'm a cat person too,” he announced, apparently not recognizing her blunder. “Well, really, I'm a sucker for any animal.”

“Sounds as if you two have a lot in common,” Jackson noted, still watching his daughter.

Eve shot her father a look. He held up both hands in protest.

“You like animals?” Detective Lujan asked.

She nodded.

“She tried to make the Catholics build a shelter out here for all of the strays she brought in.” The Captain leaned back against his chair. “That's just one of the reasons she got in trouble.”

Eve suddenly wanted the conversation to be over. “Thank you for stopping by, Detective Lujan,” she said, reaching out to take Daisy from his arms. “I will definitely let you know if I hear from Brother Anthony. And now, I really have to go because I'm late for chapel.”

The police officer handed her the cat. “Lauds,” he noted. “And
I'm afraid you missed that,” he added, brushing the hair from his coat.

Eve turned so that she could see the clock on the desk.
What time is it?
she wondered.
And how much of this day have I slept through?

“They're serving breakfast now,” Detective Lujan responded. “It's after eight. Oh, and I heard a little about the other nuns being sent away. I'm sorry about that.”

Eve dropped her eyes.

“I guess you're the last to leave.”

She didn't respond.

“Well, anyway, I'm sure we'll see each other again, Sister, if you stay, that is.”

There was a pause and Eve still made no reply.

“I'll be around,” he said, backing away from the door. “So nice to meet you, Captain Divine.”

And she was just about to correct what she thought would be the common mispronunciation of her family's last name when she suddenly realized he had said it perfectly. She stood at the door, watching as he turned and headed down the hall.

“You already in trouble?” came the question from behind her.

SEVENTEEN

“What is it with all of you?” Eve spun around and asked Daniel. He had apparently entered the building from the other end of the hallway. “Can't a person have time to get ready before folks just start showing up at her door in the morning?”

He stopped before getting all the way to where she stood. “Hey, is that what you call the ministry of hospitality around here?” He grinned. “Because if it is, Father Benedict may be rolling over in his grave.”

She put Daisy down and held out her arms. Detective Hively came over and gave her a big hug. “Now that's what I'm talking about,” he said. “Hello, Little Sister.”

Eve released her father's former partner. “Where have you been?” she asked, still somewhat shaken from her last visitor. She dropped her arms and turned back to the door to her room, managing to get a good look down the hall where Detective Lujan had just headed. She walked in when she could see that he was already gone. Daisy was sitting on the bed.

“It's only eight o'clock,” Daniel answered, following her into the room. He saw Jackson and gave a quick salute. “Partner,” he said, greeting him.

“What have you found out?” Eve's father wanted to know.

Daniel gave a disapproving look first at the Captain and then back at Eve. “Is this the way you greet people here? No ‘How you doing, friend?' Or ‘Come in and have a seat, Daniel'?”

“Come in and have a seat, Daniel,” Eve and Jackson said at the same time, and then they couldn't help themselves and both let out a laugh.

“That's more like it.” Daniel sat on the edge of the desk, angling himself so that he could face father and daughter.

“What time did you get here and what did Lujan want?” he asked.

“I think the sister here might just have a crush on the new policeman,” Jackson said.

“What?” She shook her head. “I do not.” She rolled her eyes and gave her attention to the detective sitting by her. “Did you drive the Beemer?” She had been with him when he picked out his new car, and she was curious to see if he was driving it today.

“Don't change the subject. And no, I am not driving the Beemer. It's not shipped yet. And I don't plan to drive it when I'm working. It's for the weekends.” He winked. “What did the detective want?” he asked again.

“I had a letter from Brother Anthony,” she answered.

“The victim's brother who's also a brother,” Daniel retorted.

Eve nodded and sat back down on the bed next to her cat.

“What did it say?” he asked.

“That he was sorry for the evil he had done and that he had to leave to make things right,” Jackson replied.

“I'm not a lawyer, but that doesn't sound very good” came the response.

“He's upset,” Eve explained, wanting to set him straight. “He's upset because his sister is dead and he thinks that because he gave her some writings he brought this danger to her.”

“Well, it appears as if he's right about that,” Daniel noted. “Do I want to know how it happened that you got the letter?”

“He left it in Father Oliver's room. I went to find him and found the letter instead,” she replied.

“And this was after you were at the crime scene, dropping teacups and damaging the evidence?” the detective asked.

Eve looked over at her father. “Did you tell him everything?”

He shrugged. “It's my experience that the whole truth is best.”

She fell back against the pillow and crossed her arms over her chest. Daisy hopped down, getting out of the way.

“Anthony came to the chapel, told me how he had found Kelly dead and about these writings he had discovered. I told him to wait there, but he went to Father Oliver's room to make a confession after I left. Later I ran into the vice superior in the guest room.”

“Where the dead woman was,” Daniel added.

“Where Kelly was, yes,” she replied.

He appeared to be waiting for the rest of the story.

“Father Oliver sent me to find Anthony when we heard the police arrive.” She sat up. “Which reminds me, who called the police in the first place?” This had bothered her before, and she had not yet received an answer.

Daniel shrugged. “Dispatch notes say it was an unidentified caller, male; that's all we know.”

Eve shook her head slowly. “See, that's so fishy to me,” she noted. “Who else knew about Kelly other than Father Oliver and Anthony and myself? It had to be the killer. He had to have been watching and known we might mess up the way he left things.”

“And how had he left things?” Daniel wanted to know.

“In a way that made Anthony appear like the guilty party.”

“And just how was that?”

Eve did not want to elaborate, afraid she would make mention of Anthony taking his sister tea, and she wasn't sure she wanted to tell even her friend that slight bit of incriminating evidence.

“The caller could have been the brother.” Daniel didn't push her. “You said that only you and the abbot were in the room. Anthony could have called and then got nervous and ran before our guys arrived.”

“No,” Eve answered. “That doesn't make sense.”

“Well, Sister, it doesn't have to make sense. You said he was distraught, that he blamed himself. Maybe he thought turning things over to the authorities was the right thing to do.” He leaned in her direction. “Which it is, and you know that, right? Calling the police is the right thing to do when you have a dead person on the floor.” He sat back up.

“Yes, I realize that,” she answered him, sitting up as well and stuffing the pillow behind her back. “What else do you know?”

“The fingerprints haven't been processed yet, but they found a few sets of prints on the teapot and the desk.” He waited to see if Eve would respond.

She did not.

“We're still waiting for the tox screen, but it does appear she died from cyanide poisoning. And no evidence supports that this was suicide.”

Eve was hoping there was more, since this was information she already had.

“The professor who showed up later?” she asked.

“Dr. Peter Pierce, associate, perhaps friend, of the victim. He claims he flew in late last night to hear the speech scheduled for today by Dr. Middlesworth. He reported that she had called him at the last minute to come because she said that she had new material about her topic. He did not say that he knew what the material was, just that she had asked him to come.”

“And you believe him?” Eve watched her friend closely.

“I didn't hear him,” Daniel answered. “This is just secondhand.”

She nodded. “Well, he would be my first suspect,” she said.

Daniel shrugged. “Boots said he was pretty upset when he came in the room.”

“That can be a show, Dan,” Jackson offered, joining the conversation.

“Yes, it could be,” he replied. “But at this point, we have no motive for him.”

“Well, I hope you're going to dig a little deeper,” Eve noted.

“No stone unturned,” Daniel said, glancing over at his former partner with a wink.

“That's the way we always did it,” Jackson agreed.

“So, what can I do?” Eve asked, rubbing her hands together.

“You can't do anything,” Daniel answered. “The fact that you
were present at the murder scene and then left it before the police arrived, probably dropping your prints everywhere, and because of your known relationship with the victim's brother
and
as one of the last people to see him before he ran off, well, you're what we'd call a person with vital information, Little Sister. You're a witness. All you can do is stay put and out of the way.”

Eve started to laugh, but the look on Daniel's face was serious enough that she suddenly understood that this was not teasing from her old friend.

EIGHTEEN

Daniel and Captain Divine left only when Eve promised that she wouldn't go anywhere. She finally agreed to stay where she was because she decided that it wouldn't actually be such a bad thing to remain at the monastery and find out more about the writings Anthony had taken from Isleta and what they might mean. She might also get lucky and discover the answer to the all-important question: Who else might know about them? The campus library was full of books and articles about Sister Maria, and Eve thought that examining those resources might lead her to figure out what Anthony had found and what the writings might mean.

She wasn't sure what Father Oliver had decided to do about the conference scheduled to begin that day, the one she had been so excited to attend, but she guessed with the murder of the keynote speaker, it would be called off. No one would be up for speeches and panel discussions, knowing about the homicide. Daniel had even told her that many of the guests had departed once they were
interviewed by the police and had given contact information. It seemed the murder had closed down the monastery for a while.