Bad Habit by JD Faver Read Free Book Online

it out
together. Teri, you know that I’ll stand by you.”
    A sob escaped Teri’s throat. “That’s good to
know.”
    “ The police questioned everyone in
the firm. They seemed to think you might be involved, but I assured
them that you would never...”
    “ They think I killed
Colin?”
    “ They said something about missing
money. They thought you took it from Colin. I said you weren’t in
any financial need, but if you are you know you can count on
me.”
    Her breath caught in her throat.
“I’ve got to go now.”
    “ I’ll come get you. Are you ready
to come home?”
    “ Not yet. I’ve got to work some
things out first.”
    “ Teri, wait!”
    She disconnected abruptly. Gripping
the railing, she rocked back and forth rhythmically. She sighed and
dropped the phone in her pocket before returning to the
apartment.
    #
     
     

CHAPTER SIX
     
    Angel took off his jacket and
rolled his shirtsleeves up as he hiked the half block to his car.
His step felt lighter and he couldn’t stop grinning. He opened the
car with the remote.
    “ I’ve got you, Teri,” he crooned
under his breath “You can lie to a cop, but you can’t get away with
it.”
    He felt buoyant inside, the way he
always did when he’d solved a case, but this case was far from
over. This was different. He suspected that his euphoria had
something to do with the fact that Teri was Teri and not Sister
Bernie. All the hazy, unexpressed yearnings lurking in the shadows
of his libido could at least be acknowledged. He was falling for a
woman and not a nun.
    Across the street a man in a gray
sedan turned to stare at him. Angel stopped grinning.
    This could be trouble.
    He climbed into his vehicle and
started it, cranking the air conditioner to high. He reached in his
glove compartment and pulled out a map. Spreading it out, he
pretended to consult it while scrutinizing the gray car.
    The man in the sedan dismissed
Angel, returning his gaze to the walkway leading to the nun’s
apartment.
    Angel wrote down the license
number, started his car and pulled out slowly, checking the watcher
as best he could. He turned onto a side street just past the
apartment complex and parked. Entering the maze of apartments from
the street to the rear, he wound back to the nun’s place and tucked
himself out of sight under the stairs. An overgrown purple
bougainvillea spilled onto the other side of the path, shielding
him from view.
    The man from the gray sedan
appeared on the walkway and then ducked behind an oak tree. He
adjusted the setting of the camera hanging around his neck and
peered through the viewfinder. He scanned the windows of the nun’s
apartment.
    Angel knew the curtains were drawn
against the heat. He hoped Teri would stay inside.
    Circling under the stairs, he kept
off the path, managing to stay out of sight until he stood directly
behind the man. He noted a suspicious lump under his jacket,
indicating a holster. Tapping him on the shoulder, Angel delivered
a quick punch when the man spun around.
    Angel caught the camera and jerked
it free from the man’s neck before it hit the ground.
    “ What the hell?” the man grunted.
“Who are you?” His lip was bleeding and his sunglasses and cell
phone had fallen in the dirt.
    “ Better yet,” Angel said, “Who are
you and why are you watching this apartment?” He pulled open the
man’s jacket and found a camera case instead of a holster. “Come on
and show me some identification?”
    “ Okay, okay.” The man’s eyes seemed
to narrow when he glanced at the badge and weapon clipped to
Angel’s belt. He fished out a card and handed it to
Angel.
    Scowling, Angel leaned back against
the oak tree. The card matched the driver’s license and identified
the man as a local Private Investigator named Marcel Farmer. “Who
hired you?”
    “ You know I don’t have to reveal
that.” The man sat on the ground and searched his pockets for a
handkerchief.
    “ No, but you may want to tell me
before this is