The Root of All Evil (Hope Street Church Mysteries Book 4) (15 page)

Cooper rubbed her hands together and drew in a few deep breaths. “A woman her age robbing churches,” she muttered. “I have a new kind of respect for my elders.”

• • •

“Oh, she’s guilty,” Cooper insisted, keeping her voice low enough that the other Cracker Barrel patrons wouldn’t overhear. The Sunrise Bible Study members, including Edward, were crowded around a rectangular table not quite large enough for the whole group. The place was packed with the Sunday lunch crowd.

“That’s unsettling,” Savannah whispered, shaking her head. She was the most distressed of all of them; she was the one who invited Ms. Donna in the first place. “She’s such a nice woman. How sure are you?”

“She’s a con artist, all right,” Edward declared, positive and more than a little proud that his deduction had been proven correct. “An average, run-of-the-mill con artist. That’s how she wheedled her way into the other churches. Everybody thought she was just a nice lady looking for a place to fit in.”

“It makes sense, when you think about it,” Trish said as she stirred her tea. “That’s why there haven’t been multiple robberies in a single area or denomination. One Catholic church. One Baptist. One Methodist and so on.”

Bryant nodded. “Our Ms. Donna—if that’s even her real name—couldn’t risk being seen at a function by people from a church she’d left. There’s less chance of crossing paths with someone from an old church if you switch areas and types of churches. Unfortunately, you don’t see a lot of interdenominational events, where all believers get together, regardless of the type of church they attend.”

Jake washed down a bite of sandwich with a drink of iced tea. “You’re right. If we
did
have more of those internomin . . . interdima . . . intermination . . . whatever it is you said, it’s more likely she would’ve been caught. But surely someone noticed that she left their church right after the robbery.”

“She didn’t leave right after the robbery,” Savannah replied. “With our church, she came back after she tried to rob it. She probably did the same elsewhere. If she’d left immediately, without a word, someone would have been suspicious. On the other hand, who’d suspect a sweet grandmother who continued to attend church after such a terrible incident.”

“Exactly,” Edward agreed. “She covered her tracks by returning. I’ve been thinking about it; when it came to your church, it was especially important that she come back after the job was done.”

Nathan furrowed his brow. “Why’s that?”

“Because of the murder. It’s like what Cooper said about getting a confession. If Ms. Donna didn’t want to get nabbed for theft, she
really
didn’t want to be suspected of murder. That meant her cover story was even more important here than in the other churches.”

“Remember that story she gave us about her daughter?” Cooper asked. “The first time she came to Bible study she told us that she came to Richmond to be with her daughter and grandkids, but her daughter’s recently laid-off husband got a job and relocation to Florida. What do you want to bet that in the next couple weeks Ms. Donna was going to hear from that daughter? And that the daughter has a room all set up for her dear mother? Ms. Donna would be free to leave . . . with our blessings. She probably had a similar story at every church.”

Nathan shook his head. “It’s so strange to think of someone living a life of lies. At any rate, where does that leave us with Sylvia’s murder? I may have to admit that Ms. Donna is a con artist and a thief, but surely she’s not a killer!”

“She isn’t,” Edward replied confidently. “That’s not her style, and she’s not the type to get scared, lose her temper and kill. Like when you confronted her, Coop, she ran off. If Sylvia walked in on the robbery, Ms. Donna would’ve run away then, too. My guess is that she saw Sylvia’s dead body and ran, terrified.”

Cooper rubbed her temples. Her head was beginning to ache. “That
would
make sense. The robbery at Hope Street followed the same MO as the other church robberies—the method of entry and the stereo missing from the music room.”

“But there’s a big difference,” Quinton said. “Unlike the other robberies, nothing in the pastor’s office was stolen. She broke in through the back door, went straight to the music room and took the brand-new speaker. Then she went to the office to finish the work . . .”

Nathan picked up where Quinton left off. “Only she couldn’t, because there was a body. She panicked, leaving the stereo in back of the church. But how did the killer get inside? Did he follow Ms. Donna?”

Edward’s eyes narrowed in thought. “It’s possible, but not probable, unless the killer knew Ms. Donna’s plan, which I doubt. A con artist can only succeed if they work in secret.”

Cooper picked at her sandwich. “So it’s possible there’s a second point of entry somewhere.”

There was a silence as everyone processed the theory. Then Bryant raised his hand slightly. “I have a question . . . Cooper, you said that Pastor Matthews locks his office at night. Why was Sylvia in the pastor’s office at all?”

Cooper looked at each member of the group in turn. Everyone shook their heads. None had an idea to share. “Maybe if we can learn the answer to that, we’ll be a step closer to figuring out who killed her. Perhaps Pastor Matthews would know why she was there.”

“Or maybe,” Nathan suggested, “we should talk to the friend that weird guy was talking about—Abbi Merken. I’m free tomorrow evening for a little snooping. Anyone else?”

“Can’t,” Edward replied. “I’ve got work in the evenings. Cooper?”

“Why not? It can’t hurt, right?” Cooper thought for a moment. “Or maybe we should start at the school and talk to the weird guy, along with the rest of the teachers.”

“I’ll come early to catch them right after their last class,” Quinton volunteered.

“Me, too,” Bryant offered. “We may be able to sniff out some other info at the school.”

Trish wiped a drop of soup from her chin. “I probably won’t make it to the school, but if you’re going to talk to Abbi Merken after that, I’ll go with you, Coop . . . That is, if Nathan doesn’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Nathan replied. “I’ll help Bryant and Quinton. You can meet Coop at the school and then head out to see the friend.”

Cooper smiled. “Perfect! Hope Street and then the community college.”

“And we’ll go talk to Pastor Matthews,” Savannah added, looking to Jake. “I’ve been wanting to talk to him anyway, about how he’s doing. I’m sure he won’t mind us asking some questions about Sylvia.”

“Great!” Cooper exclaimed. “We’ll snoop around this week and reconvene next Sunday to compare notes.”

9

Monday, Cooper had to make herself go to work. She’d spent all day Sunday thinking about the church thief. She didn’t want to spend today thinking about a Make It Work! thief.

Maybe Mr. Farmer already figured out who it was,
she thought as she parked in the Make It Work! lot and slowly headed for the door.
Maybe it’s all resolved. Better yet, maybe all the missing items were found and the whole thing was just a big mistake
.

She stopped at Angela’s desk before going to her office, hoping for good news. Angela was on the phone with a supplier, so Cooper waited. A dozen fresh white roses sat on the desk; Angela always brought roses on Mondays to start the week off right. Cooper leaned into the bouquet and breathed in the fragrance. It really was a great way to start off a sour-looking week.

Finally, Angela hung up the phone. “Well, that didn’t go well!” she announced in a huff.

“Problems? Smell a rose!”

Angela didn’t laugh. She didn’t even smile. “I was just talking to the hardware supplier. I was hoping the last shipment was short.”

Cooper’s hope vanished. “Mr. Farmer’s thief?”

“Afraid so. Thursday afternoon we got in the shipment of hard drives—the ones for those new-fangled machines . . .”

Cooper nodded. They’d had complaints about hard drive malfunctions in some of the newer office equipment and needed replacement parts ASAP. “Don’t tell me. A hard drive is missing.”

“As of this morning, yes. Worse, I’m pretty sure the fellow I talked to knows why I was asking, and he works with people over at Capitol City. If he blabs, and our clients catch wind of our problems, they may doubt our ability to get work done. Once word spreads . . .” She slumped in her chair. “Cooper, we could lose so much business over this!”

“We won’t lose business,” Cooper assured her, though she wasn’t quite sure herself. “Don’t worry about that.”

“Are you talking to Bobby and Josh today? About the thefts?”

“I’m gonna try to. They’ve both been busy on jobs, so I’ll have to find the right time.” She breathed in the rose fragrance once more. “I should get to work so I can . . . you know . . . take a break to accuse my employees of stealing.”

“Don’t do that!” Angela exclaimed.

“No worries, Angela. I’ll be tactful.”

Cooper immersed herself in work until her cell phone rang. She glanced at the clock. It was already eleven.

She answered the phone in a preoccupied voice, without bothering to look at the caller ID. “Cooper Lee.”

“Hi, Coop, it’s Lincoln.”

Cooper snapped to attention, her preoccupation with work gone. Her brother-in-law never called during the workday, and it sent Cooper into an immediate panic. “Lincoln? Is everything okay? Is Ashley all right?”

“She’s just fine,” Lincoln assured her, his voice calm. “I just wanted to catch you before it got too late, so you’d have some time to consider. I have a favor to ask.”

Cooper leaned back, her panic gone, and stretched her back. “I won’t need any time. I’m glad to do what I can to help you guys. You are family, after all!”

“Thanks, Coop. The problem is I’ve been trying to get some contracts finalized here at work.” He paused to say something to one of his employees at Love Motors. “Working with the bank is taking forever.”

“How else do you expect them to make a living?”

“Good point. Anyway, I hired Rhonda to be at the house from eight till five. I pay her overtime if I have to work late, but tomorrow night she has other plans. She can’t stay past five.”

“You want me to come over?” Cooper asked. She did enjoy being an older sister and taking care of her little sis once in a while, especially now that her little sis was having a little one of her own.

“Could you? I was hoping to catch you before you made other plans, but I realize one day isn’t a whole lot of notice.”

“I’d love to come bug Ash for a while. Maybe I’ll bring over a picnic. Make it a real party.”

“That would be great, Coop. I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Well, you can forgive me if I accidentally spill nail polish on your comforter.”

“Consider it done.”

Cooper smiled to herself when she’d hung up the phone. Since Ashley had gotten pregnant, Cooper and Lincoln had a special understanding. They were closer now than they’d ever been—two people who loved Ashley and wanted what was best for her. She was glad she could be of help.

Her moment of gladness was dashed when she spotted Bobby’s truck out the window. He was back from his morning job, and that meant it was time to have the awkward conversation. She heaved a sigh, said a prayer for the right words and meandered back the locker room.

Bobby Weller was a kindly, hardworking man in his mid-forties and one of Cooper’s employees in the Leasing and Maintenance Division, where he’d been working for nearly half a year. He had six children with his high school sweetheart and was one of the most good-natured people Cooper had ever met. Cooper also enjoyed the company of his wife, whom she’d met the day after Bobby was hired on. Cooper and Mrs. Weller had spent a good deal of time talking at the Make It Work! summer picnic, which Angela had insisted Mr. Farmer throw “for the sake of company morale.” The entire Weller family was a delight.

And now Cooper had the unpleasant task of tactfully interrogating him. She’d been racking her brain since Friday for a diplomatic way to approach the subject, but as she slowly walked to the locker room, she still had nothing. Then again, given her less-than-successful interaction with Ms. Donna yesterday, maybe she just wasn’t any good at subtle approaches.

“Two thieves in one week,” she muttered. “How did I get myself into this?”

Bobby was by himself at his locker, trading the company shirt he wore for a fresh one. He’d spilled toner on himself, a stain Mrs. Weller would not appreciate come laundry day.

“Hey, Bobby!”

Her glanced up at her with a smile. “’Morning, Cooper. Got another job for me already? Good to see business is so healthy around here!”

“Business is healthy, but I don’t have anything else for you yet. I just . . . I wanted to see how the job went this morning. Looks like you had a toner mishap.”

Bobby shrugged. “You know how toner is. Likes to put up a fight sometimes, but I won in the end. Other than that, it was smooth sailing.” He stretched his arms up, and his slight paunch poked out from beneath his undershirt. He donned his clean company shirt. “Mostly the machines just needed a tune-up. The clients are happy. I’m happy. The office equipment is happy.”

“Glad to hear it.” Cooper paused, searching for the words. “So how’s your wife? I haven’t seen her since the picnic.”

“She’s doing really well, thanks for asking. I know she really enjoyed getting to meet everyone from work. I think she’d like to have another picnic, if Mr. Farmer would go for it. She talks about having you over for dinner sometime, if you’d be interested.”

“I’d love to!” Guilt washed over Cooper. Why did he have to be so nice
while
she was trying to question him? “I’ll mention the picnic to Angela, and she’ll make it happen . . . How are the kids?”

“Right as rain. Happy and healthy. Nothing to complain about there!”

Cooper nodded. “Good. Good . . . Boy, this economy is something else, am I right?” Bobby looked slightly confused at the sudden subject change, which was fitting, considering how awkward Cooper felt and probably sounded.

He shrugged. “It’s not the best, but I’m glad to have steady work.”