Page 20 of Craving Vengeance
Walker shifted the car into gear, pulled into traffic, and headed in the direction of St. Mary’s.
Spinelli pulled his cell phone out and tapped the display screen. A picture of Shannon loaded. Her bright emerald eyes stared back at him. He pulled her up on the contact list and put the phone to his ear. The call went to voicemail. “Damn it!” he growled.
“What’s the matter?” Walker asked.
“She’s not answering.”
“Could be by design.”
“That’s not funny. I expect that kind of comment from Marsh. Not you,” Spinelli snapped.
Walker flashed his eyes in Spinelli’s direction. “It wasn’t meant to be funny. I was just trying to say that maybe she’s busy, and everything is okay.”
“Oh.”
Within minutes Walker had parked the unmarked in the church’s parking lot. A single exterior light shined above the side door facing the street. They sprang out of the car and rushed to that door assuming it would be unlocked. They were right. Just inside the doorway was a lit stairwell leading to the basement. Following the scent of roses, they raced down the stairs to find the priest and a couple of what he assumed to be “Sisters” indulging in some Valentine’s Day chocolates. It was much easier to identify nuns in the old days when they wore habits.
Spinelli flashed his badge and introduced himself and Walker. Wide smiles instantaneously stretched across the faces of the priest and women. “So, you’re Shannon’s beau,” one of the ladies commented as she kept an inquisitive eye on him. “I’m Sister Pat,” then she gestured toward the other woman and the priest. “This is Sister Lora and Father Daniel.”
He couldn’t help but smile. They all looked so pleased; little did they know. “Yes, ma’am I am Shannon’s boyfriend. Do you know where I can find her right now?”
Sister Pat lifted the reading glasses that hung by a chain around her neck and perched them on the end of her nose before she picked up the clipboard that lay on the table in front of her. “Oh, dear, they all had so many deliveries scheduled, and that poor girl has to do hers by herself since her partner didn’t show up. We can try her cell phone to find out where she’s at.”
“She’s by herself?”
Sister Pat fixed her soothing blue-eyed gaze on him, obviously picking up on his discontent. “Yes, we didn’t have anyone else to send with her when she left. Father Daniel and Sister Lora just got back from their deliveries, and I was the only one left here to man the fort. Because she was alone, we sent her on the downtown business deliveries. You know, to the ladies and gentlemen who are working tonight. The majority of them are working at stores or restaurants,” Sister Pat paused and smiled. “People just love to surprise their loved ones at work.”
Spinelli worked to get his voice in check. He knew he needed to get it together. “Can you tell me who she was supposed to work with tonight?”
“Joshua Meyers, but he didn’t show up. That’s so unlike him. I hope nothing happened to him.”
Walker shot Spinelli a sideways glance. He knew what he needed to do. He didn’t like it one bit, but he knew.
Spinelli shifted his gaze to Father Daniel. “Father, were you dressed like cupid earlier?”
“Yes.”
“Can I borrow your costume?”
Father hesitated for a moment. He must have read the concerned look in Spinelli’s eyes. “Sure.” He glanced toward Sister Pat. “Why don’t you call Shannon and see if you can locate her. Maybe Mr. Spinelli can catch up with her and help her finish with her deliveries.”
Sister Pat nodded and picked up the phone receiver. Spinelli leaned toward her. “I’d like to surprise her if I could.”
She nodded before her call connected. “Hi, Shannon. This is Sister Pat. We received two more delivery requests in your area. Do you think you could take them on and still finish by 8:00 or so?...Uh huh...oh no, dear, we’ll have someone meet you at your next stop with the names, addresses, flowers, and candy. Where is your next stop and when do you think you’ll be there?...Okay, got it.”
Sister Pat hung up the phone receiver and fixed her gaze on Spinelli. “She’s working North Water Street right now, and she’s just about to stop at a client’s, so that will take some time. Her next stop is at Billy’s BBQ. She’s delivering to a waitress there. She’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”
“Okay, we’ll meet her there. Sister, do your delivery teams check in with you through the course of the night, or do they just make all their deliveries and check back with you when they’re done.”
“Unless there is some sort of issue, we don’t hear from them.”
“How many teams do you have working tonight?” Spinelli asked as he wondered how many more potential dead cupid candidates there were out on the loose.
“There are twelve delivery teams counting Shannon’s.”
Shannon was working alone, and Father Daniel was back already, so that only left ten of their cupids, plus now himself, roaming the streets.
Father handed Spinelli his cupid costume. It hung from a hanger, wings, and all.
