CHAPTER FOURTEEN

 

When Angel exited the kitchen he noted the uneasy silence around the table. He placed the platter in front of Arturo. “Here you go, Pop.” He took a seat beside Teri as Isabel slid into the chair opposite her husband. She kept her eyes averted and remained silent during the meal.

“This is delicious,” Teri commented. Others mumbled agreement.

He squeezed her thigh under the table. It seemed as though everyone ate in record time and scattered as soon as possible. Rosario and Esme helped clear the table but Angel took Teri’s hand and pulled her out of the house before she could offer her help. He led her to his car and opened the door for her. She glanced up at him, questioningly.

“It’s all okay,” he said and shut her inside. He rounded the car and backed out of the driveway. At the corner he took a deep breath and stretched his fingers before wrapping them back around the steering wheel. He tried to release the anger he felt toward his mother.

“Where are we going?” she whispered.

“Anywhere,” he said. “How about ice cream?”

“Sure.”

He drove a few blocks and parked in front of a national chain ice cream shop. He turned off the ignition but made no move to get out. He felt as though a heavy weight restrained him.

Teri reached over to clasp his hand. Wordlessly, he raised it to his lips.

“I’m sorry if I caused some sort of rift,” she said.

“Nothing was your fault.” He turned in the seat to face her. “They say you can’t go home again.”

“Thomas Wolfe.”

He nodded. “He knew what he was talking about. The first time I was on my own was when I joined the Navy. Then I moved to New York and enrolled in the Police Academy.”

“You’ve been away a long time,” she said.

“I fly home every Christmas.”

“Your mother loves you very much.”

His throat felt tight. “I love her too,” he said. “I love all my family.”

“You’re very fortunate to have so many people to love you. I have so little family left, I’ll admit to feeling jealous.”

“Yeah, but sometimes...” He shook his head.

“You don’t honestly think your mother sees you as a big grown-up competent man, do you?”

He shrugged. “I guess not.”

“To Isabel, you’ll always be that beautiful dark-eyed little boy in the baseball uniform. She can handle that guy. It’s the man you are now that she can’t deal with.”

Angel shook his head, grinning at her. “How did you get to be so wise?”

She shrugged and dimpled. “It’s my job. I have to be able to read people.”

He took her inside to get double scoop cones. Hel got chocolate and she chose a butter pecan and a cherry with chocolate chunks. Watching her take a lick of her cone brought a rush of warmth to his chest. How childlike she was. Teri glanced up and caught Angel grinning at her.

“What?” she said.

“You. You always delight me.” He watched the color in her cheeks rise.

When they returned to the vehicle, his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and rolled his eyes. “Hello Mr. Kelso.”

Teri sat quietly eating her ice cream while Angel listened to Martin Kelso.

“Mr. Kelso, are you aware that the Private Investigator you hired in San Antonio has been killed?” He listened and then answered, “No, Marcel Farmer did not locate Teresa Slaughter.” He hung up after a brief exchange.

“What did he have to say?” she asked.

“He says he heard about the PI’s death and he’s extremely worried about you and only cares about your welfare.”

“He’s a very nice man,” she said. “Why didn’t you tell him you found me?”

“Because,” he said, “when I find you I’ll have to arrest you and return you to the City.”

She smiled. “In that case, I hope you don’t find me for quite a while.”

“I think I can keep you safer here.” He finished off his cone and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“Is that the reason?”

“That and I know the killer is here. I want to put him away for good.”

“Your mother is afraid you’d place yourself at risk to protect me.”

He sighed, groping for the right way to respond. “She’s right.” The look she gave him caused a constriction around his chest.

“I don’t want to endanger you.” She leaned closer to him. “I know you care for me but I want you to treat me like you would anyone else in the same circumstances.”

He chuckled. “About the strip search...”

Teri wrinkled her nose. “I think you already took care of that.”

#

Sister Bernadette took a stroll early in the morning. She liked to enjoy a few moments of solitude before joining the others for breakfast. The changing colors of the morning skies gave her special pleasure. She liked to think that God furnished her with a fresh art lesson every morning. She always gave thanks for the private exhibit.

Nobody does skies like God.

This morning she sat down on the concrete bench and thanked God for protecting her little sister, Teresa and for sending the man named Angel to look out for her. She sat quietly, her hands clasped in her lap gazing up at the sky. She crossed herself and looked around. She saw the new janitor standing at the edge of the garden by the low stacked rock fence. Bernie raised her hand and waved, but the man turned away, disappearing behind the laundry room at the back of the grounds.

He probably didn’t see her wave. She would make sure to introduce herself the next time she saw him.

Bernie rose and walked to the dining hall. She would have to remember this sky and try to capture it in her next watercolor.

#

Teri awoke alone in Angel’s bed. She dressed quietly and made the bed. She smelled bacon and coffee but couldn’t bring herself to go down the stairs. She sat on the edge of the bed and waited.

A short time later, Angel tapped on the door and called her name. She smiled to herself. Always taking care of me.

She opened the door and made way as Angel stepped into the room. She smiled up at him.

“Thanks.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead.

“For what?”

“For helping me to understand my mother’s pain. We had a talk this morning and she let me know how much she worries about me.”

“It’s easy to see how much she loves you,” she said. “Communication is the key to a good relationship.”

“Is that so?” He quirked an eyebrow.

She nodded. “Or so I’ve heard. Any breakfast left?”

“That’s why I came to get you.”

The tension from the previous night seemed to have evaporated. Breakfast was accompanied by light conversation.

“Angel, what are you doing this afternoon?” Esme’s eyes were alight with excitement.

“What’s up, Mia?” he asked.

“Would you and Teri come to my play practice at two o’ clock? I’m afraid you won’t be here for the real performance.”

Angel looked at Teri and she nodded at him. “Sure, little one. We’ll be there.”

“Come to the gym by two p.m. Okay?” Esme waited for Angel’s nod before tackling him with a hug.

“If you’re going to her practice, can you bring her home?” Rosario asked. “I usually pick her up because my classes are over by then but I really need to study for a test with my lab partner.”

“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.”

#