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Suarez touched her sleeve, tugging her attention back to hiles and strength in hiding For a nized a quieter version of her own shock Had he, too, read the name that had been beaten into the poorany visitors tonight, Sister?" His voice reached into her, coaxing "Relatives, delivery people?"

Aunts, uncles, UPS,offered by the detective’s co eyes and voice He did not know He could never understand Dani knehat had to co she could do to help that one now She would keep calot rid of them

"No," Dani said, before he repeated his question "No one co that the nuns here never leave the property?" Detective Brown seemed skeptical "What about doctor appointht they were nuns It was a logical assuuerite had never left the church, not in her heart Dani knew she was being foolish, intriguing them with the truth, but there were no e blossoms embraced her "Sister?"

Daniela pressed back against the doors "We do not leave I have no infor" She turned, but her head buzzed and her hands didn’t want to work

"Just a minute, Sister," Detective Brown said "I’ll need to interview the other nuns to see if they have any information as to what happened"

"That is not possible," Daniela told the door What would Marguerite tell the"

"I’ll confirm that personally," Detective Brown said, "if you don’t mind"

"No, Detective No one here will talk to you or anyone else" She faced them "It is a violation for any of us to speak to you We have all taken a vow of silence"

Two

"She knows so," Samantha said as she climbed in behind the wheel of their unmarked unit "We should have called in for a search warrant Cap could have gotten one for us"

Captain Ernesto Garcia, Chief of Homicide, played the part of their superior within the Fort Lauderdale Police Department In reality, he served as Rafael’s tresora, his human servant That he could issue orders as well as accept the a warrant as well, but the sanctity of the convent had touched hiations He had been a Te before he had joined the police force His beliefs had changed in the centuries since he had left the church, but his respect for those who devoted their lives to God had not "Finding a dead man near a convent does not constitute probable cause to search it"

"I guess But still, that nun" Because Samantha’s instincts often proved correct, she had a difficult ti, heard so when she ran back inside and bolted the door? With the ere perfu the air, she should have talked uerite had also disturbed hi a very personal one which he never allowed to interfere with his duty "Some humans do not respond to l’attrait" The individual, sweet scent produced by Kyn bodies acted like a drug on huestion It also caused a certain a on huh scent"

"Please I felt like I was standing in an orange grove You totally cancelled me out" Saht "She looked like she was going to faint when you touched her It was right after she saw the body for the first time What was that all about?"

"Shock and horror, I would think" Lust had s he had no business even conte in such a fashion "She is a nun, and has been sheltered fros Her world is made up of purity, prayer and silence"

"Correctto do with you, too"

Rafael recalled the taut face, and how she had tried to keep it averted so that he would not look at her The excessive modesty of a bride promised only to Christ "I am cursed by God I expect her reaction was a natural one"

"Cursed my ass," Samantha said "You’re a homicide detective"

He looked at her

"Okay, you’re a cursed, inhuman homicide detective Does that mean I am now, too?" She didn’t wait for an answer "Let’s focus on the ht"

Two hours later, in the small, cramped roo up the phone and rested her head against her fist "God, I hate that htto cooperate with you"

"I’d rather lick blood out of a used ashtray" She sat back "After giving rief, Smokestack perforuination He found five puncture wounds: two on the wrists, one on the temple, one on the back and one on the left side of the abdoe of the victim’s body "I saw no such wounds"