Kicking the Habit Read Online Free PDF Page A

involved,
telling me what to do.”
    “You don’t have a
choice. Not when a senator’s involved. Like I said, we’ll look into other
avenues while you babysit Sister Mary Stubborn. Let us know if she comes to her
senses or if you find anything.”
    The sister’s face
puckered up. “Why, I never—”
    “Ain’t
that the truth?” Rogers grunted.
    “Watch your mouth.” Ace
stepped between the sister and the assholes in front of him.
    “Come on, Wallace—we’re
wasting our time here.” The men headed for the front door.
    Ace was onto their game.
He knew exactly why they’d given up so fast. They had some other big lead they
were going to follow and obviously thought it was more important than whatever
the sister had to say. Ace was sure they figured with him babysitting her, he’d
stay out of their way. Screw that.
    “I’ll be sure to give
you everything I’ve got, so long as you do the same,” Ace shouted after them.
    They just kept walking
and, with a push of the door, they were gone. Share information, my ass, he thought. They weren’t about to share
anything with him, and they didn’t intend to let him solve this case either. He’d
be damned if he’d let them win. This case would advance his career tenfold. Besides,
he never was one to turn down a challenge, especially from the likes of Beavis
and Butthead.
    Ace clamped his teeth
together so hard his molars ached. The last thing he wanted was to nun-sit, but
he knew the sister was in danger. “Listen, I think it’s a good idea if we hide
you somewhere far away from here.” He turned and looked way down at her as she
stood beside him, the top of her head only reaching the middle of his bicep.
    She didn’t stand a
chance on her own.
    “What on earth for?” she
scoffed, standing a bit straighter. She might be a little thing, but she had a
stubborn streak and more backbone than most people, including himself. That
could be a problem.
    “Whoever killed the
Senator means business,” he said. “They obviously don’t want whatever he said
to get out and, like it or not, you are the only one with that information. You’re
a sitting duck, especially without your habit. You might want to reconsider
leaving the sisterhood.”
    “I will not cower in
fear. If it is my time to pass on from this earth, then nothing I can do will
change that.”
    He put his hands on his
hips and leaned over her in his most intimidating stance, but she didn’t so much as blink. “Why don’t you get it?” he asked in
frustration. “All you have to do is tell me what he said and let me put you
someplace safe.”
    She stared off in the
distance as if pondering his words and making a decision about something. At
last she nodded. “There’s a reason I was in that booth at that precise moment. Obviously,
I was meant to hear Senator Sloan’s confession, just as I am meant to solve
this case,” she said so matter-of-factly that he almost missed it.
    “Excuse me?” he blurted,
taking a step back.
    “I never said I wouldn’t
help you solve this case. I simply chose not to help you in the way you would
like. I’ll take what I know, and I’ll find the clues that will put whoever
killed Senator Sloan away so he can’t hurt anyone else.”
    “You can’t be serious!”
he sputtered.
    “Oh, I’m dead serious.” Her
eyes narrowed in that determined, stubborn way he’d already come to recognize,
which basically meant she wasn’t giving in anytime soon. “I owe the man that
much,” she went on. “Besides, I now know what I was meant to do with my life. Open
my counseling clinic so I can help the citizens of New Hope, both the living
and the deceased, and that is exactly what I plan to do.” She smiled as though
she’d just told him she’d decided to plant a rose garden.
    He couldn’t have formed
a complete sentence if he’d tried.
    “If that will be all,
Detective, I have things to do as well.” The stubborn woman turned and strolled
away, her fuzzy white