Bad Habit

by JD Faver

  “I plan to give you the money. I’m waiting for you. Get on the train. Sister Clem will sit in the front of the car and you will sit in the back. At the next station Sister Clem will get off and I’ll get on with the money.”

  “How do I know you’ll hand over the money?”

  “Because you could always grab Clem again or one of the other nuns. I’m tired of running. I just want this to be over. I want you to take the money and go away.”

  The kidnapper expelled a dry hiss. “No problem. I’m glad you realize that we can reach out and touch your little nun friends any time we want.” He chuckled to himself. “You know we can always take out the little nun in Maine if you don’t cooperate?”

  A shiver that should have registered on the Richter Scale rocked Teri. She cleared her throat to hide the fact that he’d gotten to her. “I do realize that,” she said. “When Clem steps off the train the money is all yours.” She disconnected and waited. Soon, she heard the train whistle. She took a deep breath and sat motionless, on alert. They’re here.

  A few seconds later she identified Clem sitting in the front of the first train car.

  Clem gripped the railing and stared straight ahead. She appeared to be terrified. Clem looked as fearful as Teri should have felt.

  Two very dangerous men were sandwiched into the rear seat of the same car. One was the man she’d seen outside the nun’s apartment and the other was Frank Altman, the man who killed Colin.

  Now I’m frightened.

  Teri stood up. She walked slowly toward the train. Several passengers boarded while others disembarked. Children shrieked in high pitched voices while their parents scrambled to collect their belongings. Surely they wouldn’t murder her with so many witnesses.

  “Hi Clem,” she said.

  “Oh, Bernie, you’ve got to get away from here,” Clem said. “These men are dangerous.”

  “I promised to give them something they want.”

  “No, just get away from me,” Clem insisted. “You can go to the police.”

  “This will never end, Clem. I have to make them stop.”

  “No!” Clem raised her voice. “No, you don’t. If you go with them, they’ll kill you and then they’ll come and kill me too. I saw their faces and I can identify them.” Clem grasped Teri’s arm. “If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for me.”

  “It’s my sister, Clem.” Teri drew a shaky breath. “He said he’d kill her.”

  “Your sister, the model?” Clem looked confused.

  “Clem, I’m Teri. My sister is Bernadette, the nun. I’ve been masquerading as her because I saw the men who killed my boyfriend.” Teri watched Clem struggle to understand. “I’m sorry for the deception, but I’ve got to go now. If I don’t hold up my end of the bargain, they’ll go after the real Sister Bernie. Please go and get the police. Stay safe.”

  Clem gazed at Teri, shaking her head. “Aren’t you angry that they killed your boyfriend?”

  As Teri stood staring at Clem, a shaft of pain replaced the fear that had moved her to such rash action. “Yes, I am.” Teri glanced back at the two men at the rear of the car. “Clem, I left a package under the pavilion. It’s on the seat by the ticket booth. Please take it to Father Conlyn. Tell him it’s for the scholarship fund. Get going!” She gave Clem a gentle shove and slid onto the seat. She turned to the men and raised the blue bag before placing it on the seat beside her.

  Clem gripped the brown paper grocery bag wrapped in tape with both hands and watched Teri as the train lurched into motion.

  As the train gathered momentum, Clem saw two men running across the grass toward the station.

  #

  Angel spotted Sister Clem standing under the Pavilion. He raced toward her with Arturo on his heels.

  “Sister Clem! Where’s Teri?”

  Clem had both arms wrapped around a brown paper package. She pointed, wordlessly, to the tail end of the train as it snaked away.

  Angel stared open-mouthed at the plume of steam rising from the smokestack to punctuate the blue sky above the park.

  “There are two men in the car with her. I’m afraid they’ll kill her.”

  Angel experienced a crushing sensation in his chest. “I hope you’re wrong.”

  He ran to a golf cart driven by two park employees and flashed his badge. The uniformed men ceded the motorized vehicle and stepped back. Angel motioned Arturo inside and took off, skidding gravel. He stared through the bug-spattered plastic windshield at the end of the caboose engaging in a desperate slow-motion pursuit of the woman he loved.

  Angel kept his foot floored on the pedal, grinding down on it in a vain attempt to give it speed.

  Arturo sat patiently. “Relax, son. You can’t make this cart go any faster and you’re giving me motion sickness.”

  “Why, Pop? Why would she go after these guys by herself? She knows how dangerous they are.”

  “Women, son.” Arturo shook his head. “We’re not allowed to know what they think.”

  Angel gritted his teeth and slammed his open palm against the steering wheel. He checked his weapon and made sure he had a spare clip filled with bullets. “Pop, when we get to the next stop, I’m going to be looking for Teri. If she’s there and not in danger, I’ll make her return with us, I’ll sacrifice the arrest. If he’s holding her, I’ll have to figure it out as we go. Whatever happens, Pop, I don’t want you to get in the way. If we can get her, great, but if not, I want you to take cover and stay safe.” He handed his father the back-up gun from his ankle holster.

  Stoically, Arturo tucked the weapon in his jacket pocket. “Don’t worry about me, son.” Arturo pointed his finger at Angel. “But, if anything happens to you, your mama would make me wish I was dead...so take good care of Isabel Garcia’s oldest son.”

  “Sure, Pop.”

  #

  The train slowed as it approached the station above the main entrance to the San Antonio Zoo. Teri let all the other passengers disembark before she stepped out of the train car. The two men stood a few feet away, squinting at her in the bright sunlight. Teri steeled herself for whatever was to come.

  She walked toward them. “I’m Teri Slaughter,” she said.

  “I know who you are,” the taller man said. He was the one she’d seen outside the nun’s apartment. The other man was shorter, not more than five foot six or seven, and much stockier. She’d seen him before, when she’d been hiding in Colin’s closet. This was Frank Altman, Colin’s murderer. He glowered at Teri from under the brim of a brown felt hat. Definitely not a San Antonio hat.

  “Here you go,” Teri said. She hurled the bag as far beyond the men’s reach as possible.

  They turned, watching the bag arc in the air and tumble down the side of the ridge. The ridge was criss-crossed with well-worn walking paths and small quaint shops.

  Teri made a break for the trail. She ran as fast as she could on the rough, hard packed dirt trail. She sprinted around a young couple struggling with a collapsible stroller. She ran and kept running, her breath burning in her lungs. She didn’t stop to look back lest she trip over a root or rough place in the trail.

  Keep running!

  #

  Angel slowed the cart when he caught up to the train at the top of the ridge above Brackenridge Park. He saw Teri. She had her blue nylon bag and was talking to two men at the next train station.

  “Those men are killers,” Angel said under his breath. “They don’t know you, Pop. I want you to get out like any other tourist and if I can distract them, you grab Teri and take cover.”

  “Do my best, son.” Arturo gazed intently at the two men.

  Angel stopped the cart and sprang out. Teri had disappeared, but he recognized the man Teri’s drawing identified as Hugo Ludwig and the other, shorter man, Frank Altman. He watched them struggling to reach something that appeared to be just out of reach.

  “Teri ran down that way,” Arturo said, pointing to the trail.

  Angel called Tolliver and wait
ed for him to answer.

  “Where the hell are you, Garcia?” Tolliver’s voice boomed over the line.

  “I’m at the top of the ridge at Brackenridge Park and the kidnappers are here. Can you spare some back up?”

  “Right behind you, Detective.” He hung up.

  Angel glanced at his father and nodded toward the foot path leading down the side of the ridge.

  Arturo gave his son a meaningful glare and strode quickly down the path.

  Ludwig reached for something. It was Teri’s blue bag. He hung onto an oak sapling growing out over the cliff and fished the bag back to the top of the ridge. When he got it close enough, he swung back onto firmer ground. His hawk-like face was red from the exertion.

  He unzipped the bag and gritted his teeth together, screaming at Altman in rage as he spilled Teri’s clothing out onto the pavement. There was the lacy nightgown lying in the dirt.

  Angel couldn’t help but smile when he realized he wasn’t the only man to be infuriated by Teri Slaughter today.

  The sound of a siren split the air.

  “That’s Garcia, the cop,” Ludwig shouted. Altman pulled a nine millimeter from his jacket.

  “Get down!” Angel yelled as the people milling about screamed and ran in all directions. A bullet whizzed by his head as he jumped behind a concrete pillar. He waited a second before he stepped out. He fired his weapon and Altman fell to the ground. Ludwig ran down the path behind Arturo.

  A police cruiser skidded to a halt and Tolliver emerged with two of his men.

  “That’s your man, Frank Altman, Sergeant. Ludwig got away.” Angel ran full tilt, in pursuit of Altman, his father and Teri.

  “Wait a damned minute here, Garcia,” Tolliver called after him.

  The rest was lost as Angel raced down the hill, hoping Teri was somewhere ahead, hoping Hugo Ludwig didn’t catch up to her or Arturo before he did.

  #

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  Somewhere behind her, two shots rang out.

  Teri ran with her mouth open, gasping for breath. The sharp pain in her side made her regret giving up her daily jog through Central Park.

  Really out of shape...

  She rounded a bend in the trail and encountered a batch of small shops and a number of tourists ambling around. One very large woman held several shopping bags. Her head was turned to her friend and she walked directly into Teri’s path.

  “Look out!” her companion screamed as Teri impacted with the largest bag and it went flying out of the woman’s hand to land in the middle of the path. She heard the distinct sound of shattering glass.

  “Oh, no!” the woman moaned.

  Teri was too out of breath to apologize and too frightened to stop. She glanced back and saw the two women bent over the litter in the path. The sound of footsteps running hard behind her gave her renewed energy. She took off with greater speed but knew she couldn’t last at this pace.

  A pond with a large flock of flamingos on the other side lay to her right. A chain link fence separated the flamingos from the path. Further ahead the pink birds were safe beyond a deep moat and a concrete and rock half-wall.

  Teri hoisted herself up on the fence, gripping the chain link and gaining a toehold as she climbed. She gained the top of the fence and threw her leg over the rail.

  She heard the slap of hard leather on the trail behind her. More than one person was in pursuit.

  Teri dropped down inside the fence. The area was marshy and she sank into the mud. Once white, her sneakers were quickly soaked and muddied. She spied a man-made opening in the wall at the far side of the flamingo exhibit and ran toward it. Opting to sidestep the birds, she ran close to the wall and crouched as she ducked into the opening.

  Clutching her side when the stabbing pain threatened to bring her to her knees, she ran through the employees section of the bird habitat. She stumbled, fearing to look over her shoulder. The smell of birds in close quarters filled her lungs, gagged her. She ran out into the public area where a few clumps of people strolled the winding paths or sat on concrete benches. She side-stepped them, zigzagging until she reached the far side of the aviary.

  Heart pounding in her ears, she made herself as small as possible and tucked into a niche in the concrete wall. A large bougainvillea spilled out of the wall above her and hid her from the casual passer-by. She tried to slow her breathing by inhaling through her nose for a long count and exhaling even more slowly. The ripping pain in her side was abating, but her legs still quivered with exhaustion.

  Her cell phone rang. She grabbed it and flipped it open.

  “Teri? It’s me.” Bernie sounded excited.

  “I...I can’t talk now,” Teri whispered. She peered around the bougainvillea cautiously.

  “Okay, just listen. The new janitor isn’t a janitor at all. Our old janitor is coming back next week.”

  Teri felt like throwing the phone. “I’ll call you later.”

  “But just wait until I tell you. The new janitor is really a policeman and your Angel sent him to watch over me. A man tried to kidnap me and Klaus arrested him. It was so amazing.”

  “Okay, great,” Teri whispered. “Goodbye.” She closed the phone and turned it to vibrate before tucking it back in her pocket.

  Where was Angel? What if one of the shots she’d heard hit him? What if he was wounded or... No! She couldn’t bear to think of the unthinkable. She peeked out from behind the flowering shrubs, but didn’t see the man who kidnapped Clem. She didn’t see the man who killed Colin either.

  A high-pitched scream pierced the air. It reverberated off the high glass ceiling. The hairs on her arms stood on end. She gripped the wall with her palms, listening intently. Another scream, closer this time. Teri flattened herself against the rough concrete. She peered around the edge of her hiding place as the peacock screamed again.

  Teri exhaled, leaning her head against the cool wall as she willed her heart rate to slow.

  #

  Angel heard footsteps falling hard on the sun-baked path ahead of him. He kept up his pace, sensing that he was gaining ground. Teri’s sneakers would make little sound. The footfalls ahead had to be Ludwig.

  He rounded a bend in the path and found two large women squatting in the middle of strewn packages. They turned to gape at him and screamed at the sight of a six-foot Hispanic running at them with a gun. He leapt over them, recalling everything his track and field coach had taught him about hurdles. Those are some wide hurdles.

  He rounded the next bend, skidding on loose pebbles as he managed to avoid smacking into his father. Arturo stood at the side of the path cautioning him to be quiet, a finger to his lips and the handgun in his other hand.

  He tucked in close behind Arturo, giving him a quizzical look.

  “She climbed over the chain link fence into the bird area.” Arturo gestured with the gun. “The kidnapper is trying to climb in after her but his feet are too big and his leather shoes slip on the fencing.”

  Angel nodded. “Where is she?”

  “In the aviary, and she’s running like hell.”

  Angel edged forward until he saw Ludwig struggling to climb the fence. He stepped out, holding his gun on Ludwig.

  “Hugo Ludwig, you’re under arrest for kidnapping and murder,” he shouted.

  Ludwig froze for a moment, glancing over his shoulder at Angel. “You’re out of your jurisdiction here, Garcia.”

  Angel reached to drag him down from the fence but Ludwig hoisted himself over the top, landing in a heap on the other side.

  They stared at each other for a second before Ludwig took off after Teri. Angel holstered his gun and jumped to grab the top of the fence with both hands. He swung one leg over the top rail and landed in the marsh.

  The muddy sludge impeded both men. Ludwig slogged his way toward the flamingos, frightening them in the process. A brilliant panorama of flapping wings sent Ludwig sliding in the mud. He floundered, trying to regain his footing.

  Tolliver a
nd his men tried to scale the fence, Tolliver yelling non-stop orders.

  Angel caught up with Ludwig and punched out with his fist, catching him on the chin. Ludwig sank to his knees. Angel was filled with a mixture of disgust and relief. “Not such a tough guy now.” He cuffed Ludwig and left him for Tolliver. He followed Teri’s footprints in the mud and entered the concrete hole in the side of the overhanging wall. He couldn’t wait to tell her that she was safe.

  The air inside was cooler. Angel followed Teri’s tracks through the employee’s area of the aviary. The tracks faded away, but he found small clumps of mud that may have fallen off her sneakers or they might just as easily have fallen from someone else’s shoes.

  Where did you go? He tried to imagine where Teri might take shelter, not knowing that her pursuers had been taken into custody. Come on, Baby. Where did you go?

  #

  She needed to be in a crowded area. Stepping out of the shadows, Teri squared her shoulders and walked briskly to the aviary exit. A group of school children were assembled in an open area. Half a dozen women stood amid approximately thirty children who appeared to be nine or ten years of age. She edged closer to the group, gazing around all the while.

  A young man in a city zoo uniform emerged and handed out programs to everyone. He greeted them and announced that the tour could begin now that everyone was together. The tour guide led them to the entrance of the next exhibit and waited for the children to quiet down. The teacher made shushing sounds.

  A shiver ran down Teri’s spine as she realized they were going into the reptile exhibit. She was definitely not fond of reptiles.

  The interior of the reptile house was cool and dark. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust after being in the bright sunlight. She pushed her sunglasses up on her head. The smell was distinctively musky.

  She listened to the tour guide’s voice droning about the exhibit, but couldn’t focus on his words. She looked around, alert for her pursuers. The children giggled at something the guide said and the sounds of their laughter echoed off the hard surfaces.

  Teri spied a concrete bench in front of one large glass window showcasing reptiles from the Rain Forests. She perched on the edge of the bench as fatigue closed in around her like a shroud. Tears filled her eyes as her fingers gripped the edge of the bench.