Nun of That (A Deadly Habit Cozy Mystery, Book 1) (10 page)

Chapter Seventeen
.

I was panic-stricken. In the blink of an eye, Adam had vanished, seized by the thug we had been pursuing.

Now what? Apprehension and blind fear assaulted me from every direction, making clear thinking an impossible feat.

I came to my senses and reached for my phone.

“Sergeant Barnes,” the voice barked.

“Sergeant, it’s Rose Taylor again. Big Ted just attacked Adam and pulled him into the motel room.”

The sergeant sighed. “Oh, it’s you again. False alarms are not tolerated at this station.”

“This isn’t a fake call,” I yelled. “Even if you don’t believe us about the nuns, that’s fine, but Adam’s in real trouble right now! They might kill him! The man just pulled him into his motel room. You have to come, right now!” My voice rose to a high pitch.

“Okay, if you’re saying your friend is in genuine trouble, we’ll be on the scene shortly.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying!” I said, but Sergeant Barnes had already hung up.

I waited, and then waited some more. Time seemed to me to be passing slowly, and there was no sign of the police or any other help. I had to take matters into my own hands.

I looked around the car for inspiration, when my eyes fell upon the bag of nun’s clothing. I smiled. Now I knew exactly what I would do.

I threw the habit over my clothes easily enough, but had trouble with the wimple. I wasn’t sure that the habit was on correctly, but it would have to do; there was no time to waste.

I took a deep breath, and then hurried over to Room 107. I banged on the door. No response. I banged on it again, and saw movement in the window from the corner of my eye. Someone was peeping out; I quickly turned my back to them.

“Who are you? What do you want?” asked a woman’s voice.

“Sister Maria sent me,” I said in the most firm voice I could manage.

It was the man’s voice that answered. “What do you mean that she sent you? Right now, there are zero women working for her.”

I thought quickly, so quickly in fact that I could almost picture my synapses rapidly processing. “Excuse me? The Reverend Mother doesn’t tell you everything. She’s in charge, not you, and some things are better left unknown.” I was aiming for a belligerent tone, but I heard my voice come out as a squeak.

There was no response, and the time stretched on unbearably. Finally, after a long pause, the door opened up just a crack, with the chain still in place. I could see a thin sliver of a man’s face through the opening.

“What does she want, then?” he said, and I could tell he was somewhat shaken.

Again, I had to think fast. Adam had said that the woman met by Big Ted was his wife.

“What does she want?” I parroted. “She is furious that you risked everything just to visit your wife. She’s already angry with you for committing crimes without her permission.”

I heard him gasp. “What crimes did I do without her permission?”

“For starters, I just watched you kidnap a man that was standing by this door as I was walking up to it. I’m fairly sure she wouldn’t be pleased to hear such a thing.”

“Oh, you saw that? Well, he was snooping around, so I had to do something. She’ll understand that,” he assured me.

I adjusted the wimple. “She probably would understand this incident, if you hadn’t already stirred up trouble in town before. She hasn’t forgotten about Dave’s death, you know.”

“Listen, Dave deserved what he got. He was trying to blackmail us. I know she’s mad that we didn’t go through her, but the rest of the guys agreed that I should do it. That’s not just on me.”

Aha, so he was the one who had murdered Dave. I didn’t know whether to be pleased with the fact that he had admitted it, or to be worried that Adam was currently in the motel room. “It doesn’t matter who agreed to it,” I said in a stern tone. I was emboldened by the fact that Big Ted obviously thought I was for real. I pressed on. “The fact of the matter is that you didn’t consult Sister Maria; she never signed off on it.”

I paused for a moment to draw breath. “She’s furious about the pawnbroker’s death, because it drew so much unwanted attention to this little town,” I explained. “If we want to remain safe here, we need to stop with the needless killing. All it does is shine spotlights right on Sister Maria and the convent. The man you’re holding - give him to me and I’ll clean up this mess for you.”

The door slammed shut and again, there was silence. I tried again. “Listen, let me take care of this to protect all of us. If you do, I won’t say a word to Sister Maria about anything that’s happened here.”

A few more moments passed without any response.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and Adam was pushed out. The door slammed shut behind him.

Adam’s hands were tied behind his back with ripped sheets, and some linen was stuffed in his mouth. Without saying a word, I grabbed his arm, and made a show of pulling him to my car.

We had only gone a few spaces, when a vehicle sped up and stopped right in front of us. In a flash, I realized it was an unmarked cop car, as it was followed by the local police vehicle.

I yanked the wimple from my head, and then untied Adam and pulled the cloth from his mouth.

Sergeant Barnes hurried over, with the detectives - as I assumed they were - hard on his heels.

“Big Ted is in Room 107,” I managed to say. “He pulled Adam inside, so I had to dress as a nun and talk him into giving Adam back.”

“What?” said one of the detectives. The police officers all exchanged bewildered glances.

“All right, just get well out of the way,” Sergeant Barnes said. “We’ll need to speak about it later.”

I had no idea if they believed me or not, but I was just happy that they did believe that Big Ted was in the motel room.

Adam and I hurried back to my car and got inside as fast as we could. Adam was thanking me profusely, but I didn’t take in what he was saying. I was running on adrenaline.

The scene in front of us unfolded like a movie. The detectives and the two local police officers rushed toward the motel door. Moments later, they emerged, leading Big Ted out of the motel in his underwear, his hands cuffed tightly behind his back. The woman ran out behind them screaming, and it took both Sergeant Barnes and Constable Jones to restrain her.

The detectives must have noticed where we had gone, as once Big Ted was secured in their vehicle, two of them, along with the two local cops, walked over to my car. Adam and I got out to meet them.

“Thank you for the tip,” the detective said. “We’ve been following Big Ted’s wife for months now, but we had no idea she’d meet her husband in such a small town. May I ask how you knew that the suspect was here?”

Adam spoke first. “I’m actually a journalist writing a book on the Shadow Gang. We had a lead on Big Ted, and followed him to this motel. He dragged me into his room when I got too close trying to get proof for you guys.” Adam looked over at me with a warm smile. “If it wasn’t for her, I probably never would’ve seen the light of day ever again.”

I reached back into the car for the bag. I’d already taken off the habit and placed it back inside. “Here,” I said, handing it to the cops. As they peered inside, I attempted to explain what had happened. “We watched Big Ted leave the convent in the nuns’ car. He was dressed as a nun when he left, but then he stopped at some bushes. When he emerged, he was dressed in normal men’s clothes, and there was no sign of the bag, so Adam went into the bushes and found it.”

Sergeant Barnes looked at me in disbelief. “You tailed this guy from the convent and then stole the disguise that he randomly threw into some bushes on the side of the road?”

I was cross. “How do you think I got Adam back before you guys showed up? I dressed in those nun clothes and told Big Ted I was working for the Reverend Mother, and that I’d come to take care of his problem for him.”

The detectives exchanged worried glances, and then Sergeant Barnes asked to speak to them in private. They walked away, just out of hearing, and looked to be discussing something. After several minutes, they returned to the car, all wearing amused looks.

“You still don’t believe us?” I snapped. “Big Ted has been masquerading around town as a nun, and he’s not the only one!”

“It’s all true,” Adam said. “I’m a journalist, and I’ve been chasing these guys for months.”

Constable Jones had his phone to his ear. “According to the Reverend Mother, the car hasn’t been in use all day, but she’s taking a look now to see if it’s been stolen,” he told the other cops.

Constable Jones started speaking once more, and after just a few moments, he ended the call. “The Reverend Mother confirmed that the convent car has been stolen, so I think it’s fairly obvious what happened here. Big Ted stole the car and the clothes, hoping to meet his wife, and escape the notice of the law.”

“That’s not how it happened!” I said.

“We were obviously right about one gang member dressing as a nun,” Adam said. “Why can’t you believe the rest of the gang is doing the same thing?”

  “Because it’s highly unlikely,” the detective said, the corners of his lips twitching. “It’s probable that you received a blow to the head, and Ms. Taylor is in shock from the whole ordeal. That would also account for your confusion. Take it easy tonight, and try to get a good night’s sleep. You should both be fine in the morning.”

“There is no confusion here,” Adam said. “At any rate, ask Big Ted about his role in Dave’s the pawnbroker’s death. We both heard him admit that he was the one who murdered him.”

The detective nodded. “He’s actually already confessed to the murder of David Jameson,” he said. “He told us he had to confess if he was ever caught, or
she
would make him sorry. By
she
, I assume he means his wife.”

At that, the detectives and the local cops all left. I shook my head. It was all too much; why wouldn’t anyone believe us? I looked at Adam, and he looked just as weary as I was. “Would you like to come back to my place for a little bit?” I said. “I need a glass of wine or two after all that stress.”

Adam smiled and nodded. “Thanks, that sounds great.”

When we reached my apartment, I was still shaken, but was relieved that Big Ted had confessed to Dave’s murder.

“Red or white?” I asked.

Adam smiled. “You choose.”

I reached for the bottle of Moscato. “I still can’t believe that after everything that’s happened, the police still don’t believe us.”

Adam sighed as he opened the cupboard to fetch the wine glasses. “Don’t worry about that so much. We’ll get the others, but at least we took one of them down. All thanks to you,” he said. “You saved my life.”

I filled the glasses with wine and handed one to Adam. Our fingers lingered longer than they should have. “I’m sure you’ll return the favor sooner or later,” I said, with a laugh.

Adam sipped his wine. “You know, the cops might not believe us, but at least we know we’re right. The mystery is finally solved. We know that Dave was their fence, and was murdered because he tried to blackmail the gang, and Big Ted confessed to the crime. Justice has been done.”

“Do you think Big Ted will come clean to the police about Sister Maria and the rest of the gang?” I wondered aloud.

“Not a chance.” Adam shook his head. “Criminals like that rarely turn on each other, and this gang is no different. If he says one word that incriminates any of the others, someone inside that prison will take him out for it.”

“Oh,” I said. It made sense that criminals would stick together. “Dinner?”

“Sure,” Adam said. He followed me into the kitchen.

I peered into the fridge to see what I could whip up, and as I turned around, Adam was right there. I threw my hands against his chest to balance myself.

For a moment neither of us moved, and I shut my eyes. Suddenly, there was a loud crash. Bernard had jumped onto the counter top, and had knocked over Adam’s glass. Tiny shards of glass splattered all over the floor.

I glared at Bernard. What an ungrateful cat. I had saved him and offered him a good home, and this was how he repaid me, by stopping me kissing Adam.

Still, I had a lot to be grateful for. Recently, I was all alone, but now I had Adam in my life, and even Bernard, although at that moment I was in two minds about that. I did have bills piling up, but who didn’t? Life was looking pretty good. We had brought down one member of the Shadow Gang, and there were only six more to go. How hard could that be?

* * * * The End * * * *

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Book TWO in
The Deadly Habit
Cozy Mystery series.

Nun the Wiser
.

One of Rose’s best customers – the elderly Evelyn Sutton – is found dead at the bottom of her staircase, clutching a rosary. It appears to be an accident, but Evelyn wasn’t Catholic – and as Rose and Adam begin to sift through the clues, Rose nearly pays for it with her life. Will Rose solve the murder, or will she remain
Nun the Wiser
?