Sister Eve and the Blue Nun (11 page)

Sister Eve got about three hours of sleep, and she hadn't intended on having those. She had borrowed one of the monastery's laptop computers and was planning to spend whatever time she had left before morning came researching Dr. Peter Pierce and trying to find as much information about him as she could.

She stayed in her room, choosing not to risk showing up in the same place as the two investigating detectives, waiting to be out and about until after Daniel arrived, trusting that he would keep her out of any line of fire. At first, after the vice superior left, having brought her the computer from his office, she sat at the desk, but then she decided to move to the bed just to stretch out her legs. Before she knew it, the sun was high and bright and she was waking to the sounds of someone knocking on her door.

“Evangeline,” the familiar voice was calling. “You in there?”

She jumped up, trying to shake off the sleep, throwing aside the bed linens in haste. “Just a minute,” she exclaimed, running her
fingers through her hair. After straightening her shirt, tucking it into her pants, and then smoothing them both down, she opened the door.

“Late night?” the Captain asked as he barreled in carrying something under his arm.

Eve glanced down the hall to see if anyone else was with him, but it appeared that he had arrived alone.

He took a seat at the desk, dropped what he was holding on the floor, and started rubbing his thigh as she shut the door. “I don't think I got Peggy on right,” he commented as he pushed and pulled at his prosthetic leg.

Eve glanced down beside him. “Daisy!” She walked over, bent down, and scooped the little cat into her arms. “What are you doing here?” she asked, giving the animal a good scratch, and turned to her father.

He shrugged. “Your cat is driving me batty,” he replied.

“Not sweet Daisy!” Eve sat on the bed and the cat settled in her lap.

“There,” he said, bending his prosthesis back and placing his foot on the floor. He looked over at the bed and then back at her. “You get some sleep?”

She nodded. “I guess I did.” She continued rubbing the cat and then slid her fingers through her hair again, trying to get rid of the bed head she knew she must have. “What time is it?”

“Later than you think,” he replied. “And yes, I've already had breakfast and my shot,” he explained before he was asked.

“Did you get in touch with Daniel?” she asked.

“Not before Boots did,” he answered.

She stopped petting Daisy and glanced up at him. “What are they saying?”

“It's officially labeled as a homicide,” he responded. “They smelled the cyanide right off. They did tell Daniel that the cup was on the floor, broken, and weren't sure whether she had it in her hand when she fell to the floor and dropped it or if someone else had tampered with the evidence.” He raised his eyebrow at Eve.

She turned back to the cat and then placed her on the floor. She watched as Daisy sniffed around the room, and then she began to straighten the linens on the bed.

“They're running it for fingerprints.” He waited.

She shrugged. “That should help,” she responded.

“Not if there're several prints found,” he said.

She sat down near him at the foot of the bed, watching as Daisy headed over to the window. “I was careful,” she finally said.

He nodded his approval. “And you're right about the brother, about her brother, the monk.”

Eve inhaled sharply.

“They got eyewitnesses that saw the dinner fight, a guest who saw him around her room before the coroner's estimated time of death. He was seen in the kitchen after whatever late-night prayers you people pray.”

He waited as if he expected her to interrupt him by giving him the proper name of the service, but when she didn't, he went on. “And there's also apparently a letter that's quite incriminating, seen by one of the investigating officers, which is in the possession of a certain nun.” He cleared his throat.

She rolled her eyes, pulled out the letter that she had kept in
her back pocket, and threw it on the desk in front of him. He glanced over it and turned his attention back to his daughter. “And there's the annoying fact that he's missing.”

She fell back on the bed, her head on the pillow. She was tired, and even though she had just woken up from at least a few hours of sleep, it was clear to her that it was not enough.

“Daniel's holding off on a search,” he added. “He said he wants to talk to you as soon as you're up for it.”

She nodded. “They got anything else?” she wanted to know.

He shook his head as he unfolded the letter and began to read it. “I told Daniel about these missing writings,” he said. “He's going to talk to your boss about that.”

“Is he here?”

“Who, your boss?” Captain Divine asked, looking up from the letter. “I wouldn't know that.”

“No, Daniel,” she replied.

“Oh, I doubt it.” He folded the letter back up, having read it. “He was going to check on the autopsy, make sure the fingerprints were at the lab, read the reports, get the tox screen results. He should be here anytime.”

Eve nodded, realizing it was going to be a very long day.

“There's somebody else here who knows the victim pretty well . . .” He hesitated. “My guess is that it's better than pretty well. Looks a lot like a grieving lover.”

“Peter Pierce,” Eve said, recalling the news from Father Oliver about the man who showed up after the police.

The Captain nodded. “
Dr.
Peter Pierce, some religion professor from UT. He taught with the dead girl.”

“I've heard about the guy; I was trying to google him when I fell asleep.”

“Google him? Is that something a nun is supposed to be doing to a stranger?” He grinned.

She ignored the joke. “What else did they find in the room? Was there a cell phone? A computer, date book, anything?” She knew that she had not seen a phone anywhere on top of the desk and recalled that she had not seen Kelly's computer, only the bag that she carried it in. She assumed if those things were missing that whoever had stolen the pages had also stolen anything that might link the murderer to the victim.

The Captain shook his head. “Not privy to the details,” he answered. “At least not until Daniel takes over. Then I figure we can know anything they do.”

“That'll be nice,” Eve responded.

“Tell me about this blue lady everybody keeps talking about, this conference you planned to attend.”

Eve sat up. “I tried to tell you before I left. You weren't so interested then.”

“Well, let's just say a murder changes the things that interest me.”

She smiled, happy to share her knowledge. “Sister Maria de Jesus de Agreda,” she answered. “She was said to have bilocated to several Indian tribes in New Mexico and Texas at the same time that she was in residence at her convent in Spain.”

“Bilocated?”

“Two places at once,” she answered, guessing that he had never heard of this spiritual gift. “She was in Agreda, Spain, but the Indians here said she was with them too.”

“Two places at once,” he repeated. “That sounds like something you've been trying to do, be here as a nun and be at home as my partner.”

She dropped back down on the pillow.
Here we go again
, she thought, throwing her arm across her face. “No, I do not have the gift of bilocation,” she answered him. “But I do think Sister Maria should be beatified and made into a full saint,” she added. “They said her writings were not in full compliance or were not considered profoundly biblical, so they stopped the process of making her a saint until they could find better evidence to argue against this decision.”

“You think these writings the victim had would support the process or halt it altogether?”

Eve didn't answer right away. It was, after all, a very good question. Before she could give a reply, however, there was another knock at her door. She sat up suddenly, wishing that she had taken a shower and changed clothes because this day was certainly getting started.

SIXTEEN

Eve watched as Daisy darted under the bed, and then she got up from her place to answer the knock. Assuming it would be Daniel, her father's former partner, she was talking as she pulled the door open. “I hope you brought breakfast.” She finished the sentence right as she stood face-to-face with the person on the other side.

There was a slight hesitation before he replied, “No, I apologize for that. No breakfast.”

It was not Daniel.

“Oh, I . . . I was expecting . . . I thought you were somebody else,” she said, managing finally to get the words out, her face flushing.

“Somebody with your morning meal, perhaps? Apparently a nun's life isn't as ascetic as I had heard.”

Eve stood at the door for a few moments without a response until her father broke the awkward silence by clearing his throat.

“Oh, I'm sorry, please come in.” And she stood away from the door, giving her visitor room to walk in.

He remained where he was but turned from Eve and glanced over at the Captain, who was still sitting at the desk. “I'm Detective Earl Lujan,” he said with a smile. Unlike Eve, he had apparently changed clothes from the night before. He was freshly shaven, wearing a clean and pressed shirt, a different tie, and a sport coat, clearly ready for a new day.

Eve glanced down at her clothes, wishing she had at least changed her shirt or even brushed her teeth. She tried not to get too close.

Her father nodded. “Jackson Divine,” he responded. “You're Bootsey's partner,” he added, recognizing the visitor's name.

“Yes, I have been recently assigned with Detective Bootskievely. He's spoken of you, Captain.”

“He's a good man,” Jackson noted. “Easygoing, smart, doesn't have a lot of hang-ups; but whatever you do, don't let him pick the restaurant when you're out. He can find places with the hottest chile I've ever eaten.”

The man at the door laughed. “Wish I had gotten that advice sooner. I've already had my tongue and tonsils on fire twice, and we haven't been partnered a month. And what's worse is that before I came to work at the Santa Fe department, I thought I could eat anything. I love spicy food, and I've always had an iron gut when it comes to chile.”

Jackson shook his head. “He take you to that Vietnamese place next to the engine emissions garage? Tell you they had the best noodle soup in New Mexico?”

“Pho sate,” he replied. “And yes, that would be incident number one,” he added, shaking his head.

“The second happen at a Mexican food truck at the rodeo grounds?”

“You know him well,” Lujan responded. “He recommended the red sauce on my breakfast burrito.”

Jackson threw back his head and laughed. “He pulls that crap on every rookie on the force. I can't believe he's still doing that.”

Eve was still at the door, holding the handle and extending her arm, inviting him in.

There was another awkward pause in the room.

“I don't think he's coming in,” Jackson said to his daughter.

She didn't respond.

“What I'm saying is that you can put your arm down unless that's some kind of special religious greeting you don't give to family members.”

Eve's face darkened another shade of crimson and she dropped her arm. Daisy stuck her head out from under the bed, taking a peek around.

“Sister, I am truly sorry to stop by so early,” the detective said softly, turning his attention back to Eve. “But it turns out that I'm going to need the letter.” He waited a beat before continuing. “As I suspected, I'm afraid it's become important to the case.”

Eve nodded and walked over to the desk. Her father handed her the letter.

“The victim's brother a suspect?” Captain Jackson asked.

Eve watched the visitor at the door as she handed him Anthony's letter written to Father Oliver.

“We haven't gotten that far,” Detective Lujan replied. “But this could be related to the death, and we just aren't at a place where we can rule anything out.” He took the letter, still folded, and placed it in the inside pocket of his jacket. “You haven't seen the victim's brother this morning, have you?”

Eve shook her head. “No,” she answered.

“Because of course it would be really helpful to us if we could ask him a few questions. Maybe he has an idea of his sister's mindset during the last couple of days, or maybe he knows if she had any enemies. He might even know of some of her connections in Austin or around here that we could also talk to.”

Eve shook her head again. “I don't know where he's gone.”

The detective nodded as if he believed her.

“What about the other professor?” Eve asked. “The one who showed up in Kelly's room after you and your partner arrived.”