Rubio was watching her, puzzled.
She coughed. “So that’s what a cigarette tastes like.”
“Do you like it?”
“Not really, but—”
Lucia took another deep, satisfying puff. God, how she had missed this. But she knew she had to be careful. She did not want to make him suspicious. So she put out the cigarette she held clumsily in her fingers. She had been in the convent for only a few months, and yet Rubio was right. It did seem strange to be out in the world again. She wondered how Megan and Graciela were doing. And what had happened to Sister Teresa? Had she been captured by the soldiers?
Lucia’s eyes were beginning to sting. It had been a long, tensionfilled night. “I think I may take a little nap.”
“Don’t worry. I will watch over you, Sister.”
“Thank you,” she said with a smile. Within moments she was asleep.
Rubio Arzano looked down at her and thought: I have never seen a woman like this one. She was spiritual, having dedicated her life to God, and yet at the same time there was an earthiness about her. And she had behaved this night as bravely as any man. You are a very special woman, Rubio Arzano thought as he watched her sleep. Little sister of Jesus.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Colonel Fal Sostelo was on his tenth cigarette. I can’t put it off any longer, he decided. Bad news is best gotten out of the way quickly. He took several deep breaths to calm himself and then dialed a number. When he had Ramón Acoca on the telephone, he said, “Colonel, we raided a terrorist camp last night, where I was informed Jaime Miró was, and I thought you should know about it.”
There was a dangerous silence.
“Did you catch him?”
“No.”
“You undertook this operation without consulting me?”
“There was no time to—”
“But there was time to let Miró escape.” Acoca’s voice was filled with fury. “What led you to undertake this magnificently executed operation?”
Colonel Sostelo swallowed. “We caught one of the nuns from the convent. She led us to Miró and his men. We killed one of them in the attack.”
“But the others all escaped?”
“Yes, Colonel.”
“Where is the nun now? Or did you let her get away, too?” His tone was scathing.
“No, Colonel,” Sostelo said quickly. “She is here at the camp. We have been questioning her and—”
“Don’t. I’ll question her myself. I’ll be there in one hour. See if you can manage to hang on to her until I get there.” He slammed down the receiver.
Exactly one hour later, Colonel Ramón Acoca arrived at the camp where they were holding Sister Teresa. With him were a dozen of his men from the GOE.
“Bring the nun to me,” Colonel Acoca ordered.
Sister Teresa was brought to the headquarters tent where Acoca was waiting for her. He stood up politely when she entered the tent and smiled.
“I am Colonel Acoca.”
At last! “I knew you would come. God told me.”
He nodded pleasantly. “Did He? Good. Please sit down, Sister.”
Sister Teresa was too nervous to sit. “You must help me.”
“We’re going to help each other,” the colonel assured her. “You escaped from the Cistercian convent at Ávila, is that correct?”
“Yes. It was terrible. All those men. They did godless things and—” Her voice faltered.
And stupid things. We let you and the others escape. “How did you get here, Sister?”
“God brought me here. He’s testing me as He once tested—”
“Along with God, did some men also bring you here, Sister?” Colonel Acoca asked patiently.
“Yes. They kidnapped me. I had to escape from them.”
“You told Colonel Sostelo where he could find those men.”
“Yes. The evil ones. Raoul is behind it all, you see. He sent me a letter and said—”
“Sister, the man we’re looking for in particular is Jaime Miró. Have you seen him?”
She shivered. “Yes. Oh, yes. He—”
The colonel leaned forward. “Excellent. Now, you must tell me where I can find him.”
“He and the others are on their way to Èze.”
He frowned, puzzled. “To Èze? To France?”