Nun of That (A Deadly Habit Cozy Mystery, Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

of purple.
    Adam was standing next to his car, leaning against the passenger door. He opened the door for me as I approached, and I climbed up into the jeep. He shut the door behind me, and hurried around to slide in behind the wheel.
    “Where is this bakery?” he asked.
    “Mason’s? You don’t know about it?”
    “I don’t live here, remember?” Adam said. “I’m here for the Shadow Gang story.”
    “Still, how could you not know about Mason’s Bakery?”
    “I just don’t. You can make me a convert today.”
    “I will,” I said with a laugh. “We could’ve walked; it’s just down the other end of town, on the highway.”
    Adam started the car and pulled away from the curb, sitting in behind a huge truck.
    “Just down here,” I said. “Get the first parking spot you can find.”
    Adam nodded and parked up against the building. We climbed out of the Jeep together, and went to the front door of the bakery.
    “Wow,” Adam said as we stepped in, and I laughed.
    “I recommend the chocolate éclair,” I said. “But everything here’s good.”
    “Okay, I’ll have what you’re having,” Adam said, and I ordered for us, but he paid. We took our small, white, paper bags out to his vehicle, although there were a few tables inside the bakery. We sat in the car and ate.
    “Wow,” Adam said again.
    We didn’t talk much after that, until we had both devoured our chocolate éclairs, and drained the last of our coffee.
    “All right, now let’s go do some sleuthing.”
    “Tell me you don’t always call it sleuthing,” I said.
    “Okay, I don’t.” Adam grinned.
    “You’re lying.”
    “Yes.”
    I laughed, and we were off again, pulling out onto the highway. I directed Adam out of town in the direction of the convent, along a long, narrow country road. “You never see any traffic out on this road,” I said. “Sister Bertrand pretty much lives in the middle of nowhere.”
    Adam nodded. “I googled her order, the Sisters of Temperance.”
    I directed Adam to turn off onto the private lane that led down to the convent. The lane was flanked by over a hundred elm trees, a magnificent sight. At this time of year, their leaves were vivid gold, russet red, and every shade in between. They were breathtaking.
    The convent was a group of old stone buildings, covered in ivy, which now in autumn adorned the front of the building in beautiful shades of red. A long, brick wall, about twelve feet tall, extended both sides from the heavy, wooden door at the front.
    The scale and grandeur of the main convent building marked a stark contrast with the surrounding farmlands and rural setting. The grass in the adjoining farmland was already dying off, brown and crispy, thanks to the first frosts of the year.
    “This place sure is private,” Adam said. “And medieval French ecclesiastic architectural style - impressive.”
    “It certainly is impressive. By the way, I’ve never been inside the convent before,” I said.
    Adam reached up to ring the large, brass bell that hung next to the door. “Remember, just listen, and keep your eyes open.”
    I nodded, and then winced as the screeching of an alarm sounded from within the walls.
    The front door opened, and I gasped. Instead of Sister Bertrand, there was a much younger nun; I guessed she was around thirty years of age. This nun was wearing a traditional habit, not the simple skirt and white blouse that Sister Bertrand always wore. This wasn’t my running nun, however, for this nun was quite slender. Strangely, the overpowering smell of mothballs wafted from her habit.
    “I’m Rose and this is Adam,” I said. “I was looking for Sister Bertrand.”
    “May I ask why you need to speak to Sister Bertrand?” she said. “I’m Sister Maria of St. Leonard. Is there anything I can help you with?”
    Adam and I exchanged glances. “It’s just that I really wanted to see Sister Bertrand,” I said, at a loss as to what to do next.
    The nun nodded. “Sister