Kicking the Habit (13 page)

“My
point exactly,” he said, throwing his hands up in the air. “You’re not strong
enough.”

“I’m
stronger than you think, Detective. Besides, it’s not like Eleanor is going to
jump me. And last I checked you were the one who hit the floor, not me.” She
smirked as she reached out and knocked before he had a chance to say one more
word.

Women
! Ace rubbed his temples to ease
the headache that had already started to form.
Can’t live with them; can’t live without them
had never been so
true.

A
woman in her forties with blond hair and stylish glasses answered the door. She
smiled curiously as she said, “Sister Mary Cecilia, how lovely to see you. To
what do I owe this pleasure?” She eyed Ace warily.

“Please,
Eleanor, call me Cece. I’m no longer a sister, though I do so love the values
of the church. I have a counseling clinic now and am still doing what I can on
the outside.” Her face looked so angelic, Ace could see why people stay glued
to her every word and trusted her implicitly. She was born to help people. Yet
another reason why he needed to stay away from her romantically. The last thing
he wanted was to tarnish her goodness, and her getting mixed up with a bad seed
like him would do exactly that.

“I
heard about your clinic, and I think what you’re doing is simply divine.”
Eleanor nodded, clasping her hands over her chest.

“Isn’t
it though?” Cece blushed, and Ace was sure she was about to swoon.

Good grief.

“Ladies,
maybe we could take this inside?” he asked, glancing around, ever on guard for
something to go wrong.

“Oh,
my heavens. How rude of me.” Eleanor stepped back. “Won’t you please come in?”

“Why,
we’d love to.” Cece marched forward, taking the lead and shooting Ace a look
that said,
Who’s the boss?

He
didn’t say a word, simply followed meekly behind; wondering when the hell he’d
lost his manhood.

“I’d
offer you something, but I see you brought tea and scones. How thoughtful of
you,” Eleanor said, leading the way to her living room.

“Thank
you, but actually, it was Detective Jackson’s idea that we do so. We met Mr.
Trumble in church, and he said you were going through a tough time.” Cece set
the tray on Eleanor’s coffee table and then sat in the seat on the couch across
from her. “He said he was filling in for you as church organist while your
sister was here visiting.”

“That’s
right, but my sister, Maggie, is out running errands now, so you’ve called at
the perfect time. Thank you so much, Mr. Jackson. You have no idea how hard
this whole ordeal has been for me,” Eleanor replied, dabbing at the corners of
her eyes with a hankie.

Ace
sat on the other half of the couch and squirmed. He hated being the center of
attention and especially hated praise of any kind. He nodded, not knowing what
to say. He didn’t do well with tears. So much for him taking the lead. Her cat
popped out from nowhere, and he jumped. He frowned hard.
Che-rist almighty
, he thought and rubbed his sweating brow with his
own hankie.

Cece
patted his knee. “Detective Jackson says you’re welcome. He knows how close you
were to the senator. We all do.” She donned a sympathetic expression, and Ace
had to give her credit once more. She was damn good at relating to people and
getting them to come out of their shells. Maybe sticking to her like a bad
habit wasn’t so bad after all, and letting her take the lead now and then
wasn’t a completely bad idea. For now, he decided to roll with it.

“Not
the Feds.” Eleanor pursed her lips. “They are relentless. They go on and on and
on, not believing a word you say. I’m not a fool. I know what the whole town
thought. Just because I was in love with Senator Sloan, doesn’t mean I was
having an affair with him.”

“You’re
absolutely right,” Cece replied. “Love comes in all forms.”

“Exactly,”
Eleanor responded.

“Kind
of like you and the senator’s campaign manager, Li Wang. We all know you can
love someone as just a friend.” She shot a quick glance at Ace and then
refocused on the organist, leaving Ace to wonder what the hell that meant. “I’m
sure you were friends for years,” Cece continued, “working so closely on the
campaign together.”

Eleanor
stared at Cece as though she were the smartest woman on the planet. “You’re
good. You really truly have a gift, Sister. No wonder your clinic is such a
huge success.”

Cece
flushed again and looked as though she were about to cry in gratitude.

Ace
agreed, she was damn good. He felt like he didn’t even exist as he sat quietly,
letting Sister Mary Sleuth work her magic.

 “Thank you,” Cece said modestly, “but it
didn’t take a genius to see what was going on with you two.”

“You’d
be surprised,” Eleanor responded. “Pretty much everyone thought Mr. Wang and I
were an item. I swear it’s nearly impossible for men and women to be just
friends.”

Ace
shot a glance in Cece’s direction and caught her staring intensely at him. She
flushed cotton candy pink when she caught him looking at her, and then she
turned back toward the organist. “I understand and can relate. I haven’t known
that many men outside of the church, but I have to say that men on the
‘outside’ are different: hard to understand and hard to relate to. It’s almost
like they’re aliens.”

“There’s
a book about that, you know.” Eleanor laughed.

“You
don’t say? Wow, I really have been out of touch for a very long time.” Cece
laughed back.

Ace
shook his pounding head and stifled the urge to comment.

“Anyway,
the senator and I were just friends, much to my dismay. He is such a wonderful
man. A marvelous catch. A great husband and father, but I knew he preferred men
for a while now.”

Ace
dropped his crossed foot to the floor and leaned forward. “You did?”

“I
know that the town had no clue, but like I said, we were close. His wife knew.
I know he loved her and his children as well. That was enough for her, but she
would never admit it to anyone. God forbid it leaked out and ruined his
reputation. It was easier for her to blame me for the affair than it would have
been to come clean to the public. She would have been scandalized, and he would
have been ruined. Not to mention the embarrassment it would have caused his
children and his parents. His own father was in denial. He practically ruined
me in his quest to make sure everyone believed me to be the home wrecker, but I
wasn’t the
real
home wrecker.”

“Who
was?” Ace asked, almost afraid to speak and ruin the moment.

Eleanor
stared at him as though just now seeing him for the first time, and for a
moment, he was afraid she would clam up again.

Cece
reached out before he could speak and did the most remarkable thing. She
grasped Eleanor’s hand and said, “You don’t have to say anything, Eleanor, but
know this. We want to catch the senator’s murderer as much as you do. Anything
you can tell us that might lead to the capture of the animal who murdered him
would be greatly appreciated. I also promise you that we will not rest until
justice is done.”

Eleanor
stared at Cece for a long moment, and then finally said, “I wasn’t Senator
Sloan’s mistress. His campaign manager, Li Wang, was.”

“But
you said mistress. Li Wang is a man,” Ace stated.

“Ah,
but Li was not always a man,” Eleanor clarified. “He was once a she.”

Thursday
morning Cece sat beside Ace as they drove to Senator Sloan’s campaign office to
talk to Li Wang. It was the end of October in Massachusetts, so the days were
getting shorter and colder. Today was no exception as the dark, gloomy clouds
broke open and rain started to fall. It wouldn’t be long before it turned to
snow. Cece shivered and buttoned her pea coat up all the way. Detective Jackson
must have read her body language, because he reached forward and cranked up the
heat.

The
day before, Eleanor had revealed that Li was the one the senator was having the
affair with, not her. They’d asked her about Mumfry as well, but that had
turned up nothing new. She wasn’t exactly his friend. He cleaned the church
while she played the organ, so they ran into each other a lot. She had taken
pity on him and been nice to him because he’d seemed so lost and alone, but
even she admitted he was a troubled man.

Hopefully,
their talk with Li this morning would turn out better. Time was running out to
solve this case, and they still had so many unanswered questions, with very few
leads. They pulled into the parking lot of the office building, and Li Wang came
out, looked around, and then climbed into his car. He drove past them just as
Ace cut the engine.

“Hey,
isn’t that Mr. Wang?” Cece pointed through the rain-spattered windshield to the
striking Asian man behind the wheel of a luxury car going way too fast.

“Sure
is.” Ace cursed softly, half under his breath, and then restarted his truck.

“What
do we do?” Cece asked, as a zing of adrenaline shot through her.

Ace
pulled out after Wang and turned the wipers on high. “We follow at a safe
distance, being careful not to lose him but staying out of sight. I want to
know what he’s up to. Where he’s going.”

“Ooh,
like a stakeout?” Cece clapped her hands.

“No,
that’s when we sit tight in an inconspicuous spot and watch him, waiting him
out. This would be called tailing a person of interest.”

“Staking,
tailing—it’s all the same to me.” She waved her hands about as she talked. “I’m
just glad I get to tag along.”

Ace
glanced at her with sparkling green eyes, an amused expression on his chiseled
face. “Trust me, Sister. It’s not nearly as exciting as it sounds.” He shook
his head. “Besides, I feel better with you tagging along so I can keep my eye
on you. Every time I order you to stay put, you never do, and the last thing I
need is for you to get hurt again.”

Stay
put?
She mused. “I’m not a dog, you know.”

“I
know.” He arched a brow at her and then said, “Apparently,
I
am.”

“Keep
being a bad boy, and I’ll have to put you in the doghouse.” She tsked.

He
just grunted.

“So,
should we get donuts?” she couldn’t resist asking.

“Yeah,
sure,”—he paused for a beat before finishing—“right after we pick up some holy
water.”

“Touché.”
She laughed softly, and he smiled back a genuine smile that brought out the
crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes. She had to look away before she did
something stupid. “Where do you think he’s going?”

“I
have no clue.” The detective focused on the road. “It seems odd that he’s
leaving the campaign office after just getting there.”

“Not
necessarily. Maybe he’s finished wrapping up the senator’s campaign. I mean the
funeral is over, the tribute is finished, and I did see him talking with
Councilwoman Reynolds, so maybe there’s nothing more for him to do.”

“Maybe.”
Ace shrugged. “I wonder what he plans to do now. Stay in politics, work on
someone else’s campaign, or try his hand at something new maybe?”

“Who
knows.” Cece tucked a strand of loose hair back into her bun, thinking hard—until
she saw where Li was pulling into. “Somehow I doubt any of those things involves
buying a gun, though.”

“What
do you mean?” Ace frowned.

“Look.”
Cece pointed to the sign above the store in front of Li’s car.

Guns, Ammo & Company.

“Interesting.”
Ace turned into the parking lot of the hardware shop across the street and
waited.

“So,
would
this
be considered a stakeout?” Cece looked up at him excitedly.

“Yes,
Sister Mary Sleuth.” His sarcasm oozed over every word.

She
rolled her eyes. “Okay, Watson.”

“Watson’s
the sidekick. I would be Holmes.” He pulled his bomber jacket closed, slid down
in the seat, and leaned his head back, crossing his arms over his chest and
watching the brick building across the street.

“You
would
be if you had the kind of deductive reasoning Sherlock possesses,
but methinks you don’t, or this case would already be solved.” She fluttered
her lashes at him and gave him a smirk of her own.

“Very
funny.”

“I
have my moments.” She slouched a little, mimicking his movements, and folded
her hands in her lap. “What do we do now?”

“We’re
doing it.” He stared straight ahead through the rain, which had let up a little.

“But
we’re not doing anything.”

“Exactly.”

“Well,
this is boring.” She pursed her lips.

“Told
ya.”

“How
old are you?” She scowled.

He
sighed. “Old enough to know I made a mistake in bringing you along. Besides,
you’re the one who’s acting like you’re waiting for the recess bell to ring in
elementary school. It’s called patience, Sister. You of all people should know
that it’s a virtue.”

She
took a deep breath and eased the tension out of her shoulders. “You’re right.”

“I
am?” His brows shot up, and he gaped at her. “I couldn’t possibly have heard
you correctly. Maybe you need to say that again.”

She
counted to ten. “I’m working on not being so stubborn. Let’s just say patience
is something that’s going to take a few more trips to Father Flannigan’s
confessional and an act of contrition or two.”

The
mention of the priest and the confessional erased the smug grin from the
detective’s face. Before either of them could say another word, Li Wang came
out of the gun shop, carrying a small bag just big enough to hold a pistol. He
looked fidgety and upset; then his shoulders slumped, and he slid behind the
wheel of his car, taking off at a rapid pace once more.

Cece’s
alarmed gaze shot to Ace’s. “That doesn’t look good, Sherlock,” she said.

He
rubbed his whiskered jaw. “No it doesn’t, Watson. Hold on.”

No
words were necessary to know what they had to do. Ace threw his truck into gear
and took off after Wang before he could do something stupid, and Cece prayed
they wouldn’t be too late.

Ten
minutes later, Ace knocked on Wang’s apartment door. “Mr. Wang? Open up, it’s
the police. We know you’re in there.”

There
was a long pause, and then the door slowly swung open. “What do you want?”

“A
minute of your time,” Ace said. “I’m Detective Jackson, and this is Miss
Monroe. We’d like to ask you some questions.”

“Now
is not a good time. I was right in the middle of something.”

“We
know exactly what you were in the middle of.” Ace gave him a hard look.

“I
didn’t do anything wrong, and I’ve already answered the FBI’s questions,” Wang
responded defensively.

“We’re
not the FBI,” Ace countered. “What’s the problem, Wang? You got something to
hide? Like maybe you’re the person Senator Sloan was having the affair with?”

Wang’s
face paled. “But how …?”

“Never
mind that. You need to—”

“Relax,
Mr. Wang.” Cece placed her fingertips on Ace’s lips, giving him a look that
said
I’ve got this
, and his heart skipped a beat. She focused back on
the campaign manager, who had already calmed considerably. “You need to quiet
yourself and take a breath. How about some tea? Do you have any?” She finally
removed her fingers from Ace’s mouth, and he could breathe again, but the heat
from her touch still lingered.

Li
quickly nodded and led the way inside.

Damn
she was good, Ace thought. She had such a natural way with people. They trusted
her, felt safe with her. While he, on the other hand, felt anything but safe
when she got too close. And when she touched him, he’d damn near come undone.

Cece
shot Ace an odd look. “You coming, Detective?”

Ace
swallowed hard, refusing to acknowledge the fact that he could still feel her
touch. “Sure, yup, right behind you.”

Ace
sat in a chair, and Li sat on the couch across from him, while Cece made
herself at home in his kitchen and fixed him a cup of tea. After handing him
the cup, she sat beside the man.

“So,
Mr. Wang—”

“Please,
call me Li.”

“Alright,
Li then.” She smiled kindly and used a gentle tone. “Feeling better?”

He
nodded, but shot Ace a wary look.

“Look,
Wang. Eleanor Meriwether told us everything. We know what happened so you might
as well come clean,” Ace said bluntly, running out of patience.

Cece
shot him a disapproving frown.

“I
didn’t mean to run his father off the road,” Li started rambling as he stood up
and paced. “I only wanted to talk to him. None of this would have happened if
it wasn’t for him.” His eyes welled up with tears, and he turned away. “He
ruined my life.”

Ace
glanced at Cece, and she looked as confused as he was. They communicated
silently to play along.

“Come,
have a seat, Li. It’s going to be okay. We just want to help.”

He
sat beside her once more. “No, it’s not. Nothing will ever be the same again
because Stanley is dead. I don’t care what happens to me anymore.” He glanced
to the bag from the gun shop.

Ace
kept a close eye on him as he said, “If you’re the one who ran old man Sloan
off the road, then why didn’t he tell the police who it was?”

“God
forbid our affair might leak out to the press. When Sloan found out about
Stanley and I, he threatened to cut off all funding to his campaign if he
didn’t break it off with me. I knew Stanley loved being a politician, but I
truly thought we had something special. I never imagined he would choose his
career over me. I was such a fool.”

“Is
that why you went to talk to Mr. Sloan?” Cece asked. “To see if you could get
him to change his mind?”

“Exactly,”
Li said, looking at her as though he’d found someone who finally understood. “I
just wanted to talk to him, but he took off in his car. I followed him, but he
sped up and then he spun off the road. I panicked and left the scene.”

“Or
did you leave him there, hoping he would die and leave you and the senator in
peace?” Ace interjected.

“I
admit I wouldn’t have been heartbroken if he had died, but no, that wasn’t my
intention at the time.”

“And
maybe you killed the senator in a jealous rage. If you couldn’t have him, then
you didn’t want anyone else to have him either,” Ace added.

“That’s
not true.” Li sat up, ramrod straight. “I would never hurt anyone, let alone
Stanley.”

“Yet
you conveniently called in sick that day and can’t prove you were home alone.”
Ace narrowed his eyes.

“I
was
home alone. I was a mess.” Li wilted back against the couch. “Stanley
refused to take me back, and his father refused to speak to me. There was no
way I could have functioned at work that day.”

“Yet,
interestingly, you bought a gun today. Something tells me you could function
just fine pulling a trigger.”

“I
have a license. I bought the gun for safety. There’s a lot of dangerous things
happening around town lately.” Li’s gaze shot to Cece, tracing over the faint
bruises still left on her throat.

Ace
had to wonder if it was a warning. He didn’t think Li was involved, but maybe
he knew who was. “Do you know anything about the person responsible for
attacking Miss Monroe?”

“Sadly,
no. I’m just saying politicians aren’t the only corrupt people in this town.
There are eyes everywhere. It’s too late for me, but if I were you I’d watch my
back and not trust anyone,” he said the last part to Cece.

“It’s
never too late, Li, and certainly nothing is worth hurting yourself over,” Cece
said. “Please tell me you’re not a danger to yourself. Just know I am here to
help if you need it.”

“Thank
you, Sister, but I don’t think that anything can help these days.”

“Telling
us all you know would be a damn good start,” Ace said.

“Detective,
I don’t think—”

“It’s
okay, Miss Monroe,” Li interjected. “Believe me, if I knew anything that would
help put the animal that killed Stanley behind bars, I wouldn’t hesitate to say
so. Unfortunately, I don’t.”

“So
you say,” Ace said. “Just do me a favor and don’t leave town anytime soon.”

“Call
me if you need anything,” Cece said.

“Be
careful, Miss Monroe. You’re a good woman. It would be a real shame if
something bad were to happen to you.” Li looked at Ace. “Now, if you’ll excuse
me, I have things to do. I’m sure you can find your way out, Detective.” Li
stood and walked upstairs, grabbing the legally licensed bagged gun along the
way, and there wasn’t a damn thing Ace could do about it.

Cece
and Ace sat in Millie’s Diner, having a late lunch. The diner wasn’t busy. Most
of the lunch crowd had already gone back to work, and it was too soon for the
dinner crowd to arrive. That was a blessing since she wasn’t in the mood to
socialize. She picked at her Caesar salad while Ace devoured a burger.

“I
don’t have a good feeling about this,” she said, shaking her head. “What if
something happens to Li? We shouldn’t have left him. My gut is usually right
about these things. Something is going to happen today. I can feel it.”

“We
had no choice, Cece,” Ace stopped chewing long enough to say. “He has a gun
license, and he wasn’t breaking the law. I’m more concerned about his warnings
to you. I think he knows more than he’s letting on.” He popped another French
fry into his mouth.