The Path of the Crooked (Hope Street Church Mysteries Book 1) (7 page)

4

Monday was a run-of-the-mill day for the employees of Make It Work! Angela put a fresh bouquet of peach roses on the corner of her desk, Ben complained about his sore muscles and rubbed his left bicep on the way out to his van, and Mr. Farmer tried to reply as politely and succinctly as possible to Angela’s seemingly endless questions. Cooper wondered why her boss didn’t ask Angela why she refused to use her state-of-the-art intercom system instead of sashaying back to his office with every new phone message, mail delivery, or interesting bit of gossip. He and Cooper were content to communicate through friendly waves and brief e-mails, especially since Angela seemed determined to fill all moments of silence with her bubbly chatter.

Cooper had spent the day emptying shredder receptacles around Innsbrook’s office park. Ben, Cooper, and a part-time employee named Stuart had a rotation so that no one was routinely stuck with the monotonous task of collecting the green bags stuffed with minuscule pieces of paper. Mr. Farmer charged his clients reasonable fees for this shredding service and then sold the destroyed paper to a recycling company for another tidy profit. Thus, the account statements, tax forms, and other confidential documents of Richmond’s top companies were reborn as rolls of paper towels and toilet paper.

Just once, when the shredding business was first getting under way, their boss purchased the recycled products for his own office. After one week, Angela threatened to quit if she had to continue using “paper as prickly as a thornbush.” Mr. Farmer quickly relented and gave Angela permission to go shopping at Sam’s Club with the company credit card. Even when she returned with a bouquet of pink roses, a vanload of Charmin, and enough microwave popcorn, soda, Slim Jims, and chewing gum to supply the employees for months, his only response was to graciously thank Angela for her thoughtfulness.

Laughing at the memory, Cooper filled up her coffee Thermos from the supply in the break room and prepared for another workday. As she entered office building after office building, inserting a master key into the locked shredder receptacles, Cooper resumed her accustomed sense of anonymity. She replaced stuffed green bags with empty ones, checked to be sure that the shredder was functioning properly by destroying a thick packet of papers held together with both staples and paper clips, and then moved on to the next site. No one spoke to her or showed her a fraction of the friendliness Brooke Hughes had.

After an uneventful day, Cooper hopped into her Jeep and drove home. She made herself a tuna melt for dinner and as she ate, she stared at Nathan’s business card. His company was called Spider Web Designs & Hosting. The card was printed on heavy gray card stock with a graphic showing an industrious spider spinning the letters
www
in a thin, silky-looking font. It was a simple yet striking card.

Taking the last bite of her tuna melt, Cooper eyed the thumbprint cookies Maggie had left on her kitchen counter. The strawberry and apricot jam in the center of each cookie glistened in the amber light of her cheap brass chandelier. She knew the cookies would complement a cup of decaf French vanilla tea followed by one or two cigarettes just perfectly.

“No. I’m done with those,” she reprimanded herself. “I can call a guy without needing a smoke.”

Cooper picked up the phone, but her fingers hesitated over the number pad. She was so accustomed to dialing Drew’s cell phone number that she almost started to call him. Feeling a sudden sharp pang in the center of her chest, Cooper tried not to think about the last time she had spoken to the man she loved, but the memory surfaced all the same.

Drew had returned to the two-bedroom apartment they had shared for more than four years—a hastily built yellow tower within walking distance of a grocery store and Home Depot—with a U-Haul van and his new girlfriend’s brother.

“Trent’s here to help me pack up my things,” Drew had explained to Cooper three weeks after his arrest. “I’m going to live on my own for a while.”

Sitting at her kitchen table nearly six months later, Cooper felt a flush of shame as she recalled how she’d cried and begged Drew not to leave her. She remembered how Trent had carried out the last box without meeting her eyes and how Drew had kissed her on the cheek for the last time, whispering that he was sorry and that he hadn’t planned on falling in love with Anna Lynne.

Reaching up to touch the smooth skin of her cheek, as though Drew’s kiss still lingered there, Cooper dialed Nathan’s cell phone number.

“I’m so glad you called!” Nathan exclaimed. “We all thought you might be put off after yesterday.”

“I was wondering how Brooke’s husband is doing.”

“We weren’t able to see Wesley.” Nathan sounded dejected. “He was meeting with his lawyer all afternoon but we wrote him a note that said we’d be back. I can’t even begin to imagine what that poor guy is going through. It’s hard enough that he’s lost his wife, but to be accused of killing her too . . . Well, we’re not going to let him go to prison or allow Brooke’s real killer to go free.”

“No offense,” Cooper said tentatively, “but what can you guys do?”

“We’re going to do a little snooping. Savannah was able to visit him today and he told her where he has a spare house key hidden, along with his blessing to search everything once the police are out of there. We’re meeting at Trish’s house after church next Sunday to come up with a plan.”

Cooper was surprised that they’d wait so long. “Don’t you want to get in the house right away?”

“We can’t. The cops don’t want anyone in there this week. They were pretty firm about that and we don’t want to do anything that might worsen Wesley’s situation. Believe me, we’re all frustrated by having to sit on our hands.”

“At least you have a plan,” Cooper said soothingly.

Nathan hesitated and then said, “I hope you’ll join us. You’re coming to Bible study, right?”

Cooper had a strong feeling that she had something to offer in the group’s efforts to exonerate Wesley, so she quickly said, “Yes.”

“Good.” Nathan sounded pleased. “I know it’s kind of awkward for us to be recruiting you in the midst of this mess involving the Hughes family, but we could use all the help we can get.” He paused. “It’s hard to explain our determination. If only you’d met them, you’d understand.”

Now Cooper knew she couldn’t remain silent about her encounter with Brooke for another second. “I actually called to tell you that I met Brooke Hughes two Fridays ago.”

“What?” Nathan’s gentle voice turned urgent.

Cooper described her encounter with Brooke.

“There has to be something incriminating about that document she needed to copy.” Nathan was clearly excited. “But you didn’t look at it? Not even a peek?” His hopeful tone deflated somewhat.

“No. I make it a point not to look at the content of any documents,” Cooper said.

“Right. Of course.” Nathan grew quiet as if he was thinking hard. Cooper found his silence rather disconcerting. She noticed that she had unconsciously ripped her napkin into little shreds during the latter part of their conversation. Suddenly, as she gazed at the mess she had made, she remembered the scraps of paper wadded up inside her rag on the bottom of her toolbox. “Nathan?” She jerked upright. “I don’t want to make any promises, but I might have part of that document at work.”

Nathan gave a little gasp. “Really? Why?”

Cooper told him about the chaotic state of Cindi’s desk and overflowing garbage can. “There was no place to throw out the pieces jammed inside the copier, so I put them in my toolbox.”

“Can you tape them together?” he asked eagerly.

“It’s going to take a couple of days. Some of the pieces are the size of cupcake sprinkles. I don’t even know if anything is legible. Most of the paper is probably full of smeared ink.”

“Will you give it a try anyway?” Nathan persisted.

“Definitely!” Cooper promised, suddenly feeling as hopeful as Nathan. She might actually possess a useful clue.

“Listen, since you met Brooke, you’ll probably want to attend her funeral,” Nathan said. “We’re all going to mourn Brooke, but also to show our support for Wesley. Savannah says that he’s been allowed to attend under guard. I’m sure their son, Caleb, will be there too. Can you imagine what that poor guy is going through? He’s not a little kid or anything. He’s in grad school, but I’m sure he’s a wreck with one parent murdered and the other in jail.” Nathan sighed sympathetically. “If he sees how many people believe in his father’s innocence, it might lessen his pain by the smallest bit, you know?”

“Does Caleb have any other family?” Cooper hated the idea of Brooke’s son facing such a momentous tragedy on his own.

“Word has it he’s staying with his grandparents. Dozens of church members have been visiting him since his father’s arrest. And the women keep cooking for him. He certainly won’t go hungry.”

“That’s good,” Cooper said absently. Her mind was on Brooke’s funeral. In all honesty, she didn’t want to go. She was on the periphery of both the Bible study group and the Hughes family and was bound to feel uncomfortable. And yet, Brooke had gone out of her way to show Cooper kindness, so she owed it to her to show up and pay her respects. “When is the funeral, Nathan?”

“Saturday at Westhampton Memorial Park. Just a graveside service at ten. I guess Wesley wasn’t allowed to plan a church memorial,” he added glumly.

“I’ll be there,” she said.

“And the document? Can you bring it with you on Sunday?” Nathan asked. “Maybe we can make some sense out of what we
can
read. I’ll let Trish know you’ll be coming to lunch at her place after the worship service.” He took a breath, as though unused to speaking that many sentences in a row. “That is, if you’re free?”

“Hmm. Let me check my calendar,” Cooper joked. “I have dinner with the governor on Tuesday, a spa treatment with Jessica Simpson on Wednesday, and Oprah and I are reviewing her latest book picks on Thursday, but Sunday’s wide open. I’d love to join you guys, thank you.” And just like that, Cooper officially became a member of the Sunrise Bible Study.

• • •

It was with regret that Cooper told Angela she would pass on their weekly takeout order from the Curry House. She never grew tired of chicken curry served over basmati rice with a side of warm
naan.
Instead, she ordered a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and extra pickles, large fries, and a Diet Coke at the McDonald’s drive-thru. She then drove to the LifeWay Christian store and parked so that she could eat and complete her bookstore errand within her lunch hour.

After she’d wolfed down her food, Cooper wiped away a smear of ketchup from her chin and entered the store. The shelves of glitzy giftware immediately overwhelmed her. The displays included crosses on stands, plaques, candles, angels, throws woven with lines of Scripture, and spinner racks of bookmarks. Cooper cast her eyes around in search of signage. Noting that the books seemed to be in the center section of the store, she navigated through aisles of inspirational reading, self-help books, and journals until she ended up in the children’s section.

“Can I help you find anything?” asked a young, pretty salesgirl.

“Yes, please.” She unfolded a piece of paper from her coat pocket and handed it to the girl. “I’m looking for this workbook.”

“Our study guides are in the back of the store,” she said cheerfully. “Follow me.”

“Only if you promise to leave a trail of breadcrumbs,” Cooper joked. “This place isn’t big, but I’m feeling overstimulated. It’s like a scene from
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
without all the candy.”

The salesgirl laughed. “We have candy at the register. I recommend the chocolate peanut-butter meltaways.” She led Cooper to the back of the store. “Here’s the Ephesians workbook. Do you need the leader’s guide or the student guide?”

“Oh, I’m definitely
not
the leader!” Cooper laughed at the idea. “To tell the truth, this is my first Bible study and I’m a little nervous about the whole thing. I haven’t cracked open a Bible since the
first
Bush was in office.”

The girl smiled. “I just started my first in the fall. We’re doing a Beth Moore study called ‘Breaking Free’ and I totally love it. Don’t worry, it’ll be awesome. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Cooper thanked the enthusiastic young woman and surveyed the different workbook titles. She then meandered over to a wall filled with assorted Bibles. Her illustrated children’s Bible wasn’t going to cut it for the Ephesians study.

She flipped through a hardcover study Bible but decided that it was too cumbersome to carry to class. A New Living Translation with a smooth brown leather cover appealed to her, but the print was way too small. Another New International Version seemed like the perfect size, but the pages were so thin Cooper feared she’d tear them. Having no idea what an amplified version was or the difference between a 21st Century King James and an American Standard Bible, Cooper sank back on her heels, a pile of Bibles strewn out around her on the floor.

“You look like you’re building yourself an enclosure,” a man standing behind her said. “It can be overwhelming to pick one, I know.” He squatted down next to her and chuckled. “My wife said it was harder for her to shop for a new Bible than it was to find a husband. Lucky for me, she’s stuck with both her Bible
and
me for over twenty-two years.”

Cooper held out her workbook so that he could see the cover. “Any idea what would be the best Bible to go with this book?”

The man flipped the workbook open. “Looks like the author refers to passages in the NIV.” He gestured at the wall and grinned. “That narrows your search to a few hundred. Don’t worry, the right Bible will find its way to you. Good luck.” He saluted her playfully and walked away, leaving Cooper alone with six rows of the New International Version before her.

Passing on the illustrated, large print, daily, and study Bibles, or those geared toward a specific gender or age group, Cooper’s fingers brushed against the caramel spine of a novel-sized Bible with a soft leather cover. As she opened the pages, she was pleased by the font size and the summaries presented in the front of each book. She liked the chocolate-colored ribbon that would help mark her place and the way the Bible was fastened with a slide-tab closure in the same dark walnut hue. Everything about it felt right.