Her words were a wild babble. “Yes. Monique deserted Raoul, and he sent the men to kidnap me because of the baby so—”
He tried to control his growing impatience. “Miró and his men are headed north. Èze is to the east.”
“You must not let them take me back to Raoul. I don’t want to see him ever again. You can understand that. I couldn’t face him—”
Colonel Acoca said curtly, “I don’t give a damn about this Raoul. I want to know where I can find Jaime Miró.”
“I told you. He is in Èze waiting for me. He wants to—”
“You’re lying. I think you’re trying to protect Miró. Now, I don’t want to hurt you, so I’m going to ask you once more. Where is Jaime Miró?”
Sister Teresa stared at him helplessly. “I don’t know,” she whispered. She looked around wildly. “I don’t know.”
“A moment ago you said he was in Èze.” His voice was like a whiplash.
“Yes. God told me.”
Colonel Acoca had had enough. The woman was either demented or a brilliant actress. Either way, she sickened him with all her talk of God.
He turned to Patricio Arrieta, his aide. “The Sister’s memory needs prodding. Take her to the quartermaster’s tent. Perhaps you and your men can help her remember where Jaime Miró is.”
“Yes, Colonel.”
Patricio Arrieta and the men with him had been part of the group that had attacked the convent at Ávila. They felt responsible for letting the four nuns escape. Well we can make up for that now, Arrieta thought.
He turned to Sister Teresa. “Come along with me, Sister.”
“Yes.” Dear blessed Jesus, thank You. She babbled on. “Are we leaving now? You won’t let them take me to Èze, will you?”
“No,” Arrieta assured her. “You’re not going to Èze.”
The colonel is right, he thought. She is playing games with us. Well we’ll show her some new games. I wonder if she’ll lie quietly, or if she’ll scream?
When they reached the quartermaster’s tent, Arrieta said, “Sister, we’re going to give you one last chance. Where is Jaime Miró?”
Haven’t they asked me that before? Or was that someone else? Was it here or—it’s all terribly confusing. “He kidnapped me for Raoul because Monique deserted him and he thought—”
“Bueno. If that’s the way you want it,” Arrieta said. “We’ll see if we can’t refresh your memory for you.”
“Yes. Please. Everything is so puzzling.”
Half a dozen of Acoca’s men had entered the tent, along with some of Sostelo’s uniformed soldiers.
Sister Teresa looked up. She blinked dazedly. “Are these men going to take me to the convent now?”
“They’re going to do better than that,” Arrieta grinned. “They’re going to take you to heaven, Sister.”
The men moved closer to her, surrounding her.
“That’s a pretty dress you’re wearing,” a soldier said. “Are you sure you’re a nun, darling?”
“Oh, yes,” she said. Raoul had called her darling. Was this Raoul? “You see, we had to change clothes to escape from the soldiers.” But these were soldiers. Everything was muddled.
One of the men pushed Teresa down on the cot. “You’re no beauty, but let’s see what you look like underneath all those clothes.”
“What are you doing?”
He reached down and ripped off the top of her dress while another man tore at her skirt.
“That’s not a bad body for an old lady, is it, fellows?”
Teresa screamed. She looked up at the circle of men surrounding her. God will strike them all dead. He will not let them touch me, for I am His vessel I am one with the Lord, drinking from His fountain of purity.
One of the soldiers unfastened his belt. An instant later she felt rough hands pushing her legs apart, and as the soldier sprawled on top of her, she felt his hard flesh penetrate her and again she screamed.
“Now, God! Punish them now.”
She waited for the clap of thunder and the bright flash of lightning that would destroy them all.
Another soldier climbed on top of her. A red haze came over her eyes. Teresa lay there waiting for God to strike, almost unaware of the men who were ravaging her. She no longer felt the pain.