The Root of All Evil (Hope Street Church Mysteries Book 4) (35 page)

“She needs to leave now,” Grammy announced, pulling Cooper away from McNamara.

The inspector arched a brow. “Excuse me?”

“Cooper needs to leave. My other granddaughter is in labor, and while I understand your people still need to talk to Ms. Donna and me, Coop missed most of the action. She needs to be with Ashley.”

Cooper shook her head. “Grammy, I need to be here with you.”

“I agree,” McNamara added. “We’re not done here.”

But Grammy crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly. “Inspector, you may be a stubborn man, but I’ve got the Lee stubbornness in me, and I’ve had a lot more years to perfect it than you have. Cooper needs to go.”

McNamara looked over his notes. “I suppose it won’t hurt if she leaves. However, I’ll need to speak with her again later to make sure I have all the necessary—”

“Yes, yes, of course.” Grammy pulled Cooper toward the front door. “You tell your sister I said hello and I can’t wait to see her and my new great-grandbaby.”

Before Cooper could protest, Grammy had pushed her out the door and latched it. Grammy took stubborn
to a whole new level.

• • •

On the way to the hospital, Cooper called her parents to tell them she was on her way. She decided not to tell them about the attack; some things were better saved for an in-person conversation.

Then she called the one person she wanted to talk to more than anything. The call went straight to voice mail. “Nathan, it’s me. Ashley’s in labor, and whoever killed Sylvia and Lewis attacked Ms. Donna and Grammy. They’re okay, and so am I, but I . . . Look, I know I said some things. I’m sorry I did, but if you could call me back, I really need to talk. I need you, Nathan.”

Then, somehow, she was at the hospital. She didn’t remember the roads or the traffic. She didn’t remember how fast she’d driven. She didn’t remember driving at all. In fact, the only thing Cooper could remember was praying for her sister all the way there.

She hurried inside to the maternity ward waiting area, where she found Earl and Maggie sitting on a couch. As soon as they saw Cooper, they rushed to her with warm embraces.

“What did I miss?” Cooper asked.

Maggie, looking positively exhausted, led Cooper back to the couch, and together they sat. “Lincoln’s with her. We don’t have any news yet. What took you so long?”

Cooper hesitated. One look at her mama’s face told her the woman couldn’t handle any surprises. “I got hung up,” she finally replied. She’d tell her all about the attack
after
Ashley and the baby were safe and sound. “I got here as fast as I could. I would’ve brought Grammy, too, but Ms. Donna was having a . . . a hard time with things, and Grammy didn’t want to leave her alone.”

“Must’ve been pretty serious if she’s willing to miss the birth of her first great-grandchild for it.”

“It’s pretty serious. But it’s nothing you need to think about right now.” The double doors leading to the delivery room drew her gaze. “When do you suppose we’ll hear anything?”

“Soon, I hope,” Earl muttered. He was pacing back and forth before them, and he continued to pace for the next hour. Cooper flipped absentmindedly through a magazine before studying the contents of the waiting area vending machine. Maggie read a book, or rather, she pretended to read.

Finally the double doors opened and Lincoln emerged. Cooper and her folks swarmed him, but he walked in a daze down the hallway a few steps. His breathing was labored, his face pallid and slick with sweat, and his eyes glazed over.

“Lincoln?” Cooper said softly. “Lincoln, what’s wrong?”

“She’s bleeding a lot,” he answered. His voice was so quiet that Cooper had a difficult time understanding him. “She’s bleeding, and the baby isn’t situated like it’s supposed to be.”

Fear gripped Cooper. “What does that mean?”

Lincoln shook his head. “It’s too soon to tell.”

He walked away, leaving Cooper, Maggie and Earl with that one comment.
Too soon to tell
. That meant the doctors didn’t know if Ashley and the baby would live . . . or die.

Cooper felt as though she couldn’t breathe. Her baby sister was behind those double doors, fighting for her life. And her baby sister’s baby was fighting, too.

“Please, God, let them be all right,” she whispered, putting her arms around Maggie and holding her shocked mama close.

“They will be,” Earl assured her, embracing both Cooper and Maggie. “They’ll make it. I know they will.” But the redness in Earl’s eyes and the catch in his throat betrayed his fear. His little girl was bleeding, and it was too soon to tell.

Cooper broke away from her parents and followed after Lincoln, who’d rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. She found him sitting farther down the corridor, his back pressed against the wall, his face in his hands.

Quietly, she sat beside him and took his hand. Together, in silence, they hoped and prayed for the safety of two people they both loved dearly. Finally, Lincoln raised his head.

“We should get back to the waiting area,” he said, and Cooper nodded. They returned to Maggie and Earl, who both paced now.

With Lincoln in her parents’ hands, Cooper moved to the corner beside the vending machine and dialed her phone. “Nathan, it’s me again. I know you don’t want to talk but please, please.” She sniffed and wiped away a tear. “I’m at the hospital. Ashley’s not doing well. I don’t know what the problem is exactly, but the doctor said she’s bleeding a lot. I don’t know what’s going to happen to her . . . or the baby. Please call me back.”

She slipped her phone into her pocket and leaned her forehead against the vending machine. She just wanted Nathan, to talk to him, to hug him. She couldn’t care less about what had seemed so important before—the
look
in his eye, the passion in his voice. She just wanted Nathan.

The double doors opened and a doctor emerged. “Lincoln Love?”

Lincoln joined him, and a moment later they disappeared into the room beyond with no explanation. Was that a good sign? Did it mean Ashley was okay? Or did it mean that Lincoln needed to say good-bye?

As Cooper’s fears swirled around in her mind, a familiar voice at the nurse’s station drew her attention. A man softly asked where the waiting area was located. Cooper didn’t even have to look. She just knew.
Nathan
.

But when she turned to greet him, it wasn’t Nathan who came around the corner from the nurse’s station. It was Officer Brayden. He went straight to Cooper.

“I heard what happened,” he said, hugging her before she could stop him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Cooper replied stiffly as she pulled away. She glanced at her parents, who, although distracted by their concern for Ashley, were still curious about this strange man hugging their elder daughter. “What are you doing here?”

“One of the officers called and told me about the attack and about you taking off. I wanted to make sure you were all right.”

“Attack?” Maggie jumped up from her seat and joined them. “What attack? Cooper, did someone try to hurt you?”

“No, not me . . . I didn’t want to worry you.”

Earl silently came and stood just behind Maggie. Maggie looked from Will to Cooper. “Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”

“Someone broke into the house and tried to hurt Ms. Donna,” Cooper explained quickly, trying to get the whole story out before Maggie or Earl interrupted. “Grammy and Ms. Donna fought him off. He ran, and they’re okay. The police are taking care of it. Grammy insisted I come to be with you and Ash. Everything is taken care of.”

Maggie’s face lost its color, and Earl helped her back to the couch. Cooper knelt in front of her mama.

“Someone was in our house?” Maggie shook her head in disbelief. “It’s our home.”

“Yes, but . . . but . . .” Cooper struggled to find something comforting in the situation. “Now we know Grammy can fend off a masked villain. And Popeye got right in there, too. Bit the guy’s ankle and everything.”

It didn’t seem to help.

Office Brayden offered Cooper a hand to help her to her feet. “Sorry if I’ve caused a problem here,” he said. “I didn’t mean to.”

“I know. It’s just that . . . My sister, Ashley, she’s in labor, and things aren’t going as well as hoped.” Brayden looked as though he might hug Cooper again, but this time she was ready for it. She turned and took a long stride away from him before continuing. “I appreciate you coming to check on me, and I’ll tell you what you need to know later. All right?”

“Sure. Like I said, I just wanted to see that you’re okay.”

“I am.”

“And your friend and Grammy?”

“Shaken, but not harmed.”

Brayden crossed his arms and pursed his lips in thought. “You said someone tried to hurt your friend Ms. Donna. Why?”

“She has a . . . questionable past.”

“It must be very questionable if someone tried to hurt her. You sure there isn’t something more?”

Cooper took a deep breath, considering how much she ought to tell him. “She’s the friend who borrowed the police file.”

Officer Brayden chuckled. “I figured as much. Still doesn’t explain the attack. Why is she staying with you anyway?”

“She thought she had an intruder in her home. She didn’t feel safe there.”

“Why do I get the feeling this is all connected to the investigation?” Brayden stroked his chin. “Ms. Donna has something to do with it.”

“Do we have to have this conversation right now, Officer?”

He didn’t bother correcting her this time. “We don’t have to, but I’d think—given what almost happened to your grammy—you might want to. Ms. Donna knows something. Tell me what it is.”

His tone was suddenly different, his demeanor much less friendly. It started to scare Cooper.

But before she could speak, Earl interrupted. “I appreciate you coming to check on Cooper, Officer,” he said. “It’s good to know the police take their job so seriously.” He gave Officer Brayden a sturdy pat on the shoulder. Brayden grimaced.

All the pieces suddenly fell into place.

Will Brayden was new to the area, and according to Lewis Wilburson, Borreo often had policemen on his payroll so he could keep tabs on official business.

Will had tried to dissuade Cooper from looking into the images on the copy machine.

He
had given the USB drive to McNamara, which meant he had ample opportunity to corrupt the information on it.

He
had ingratiated himself in her life with his “friendship” and flirting, distracting her and keeping her off guard.

Just after Cooper told him about Ms. Donna staying at her house, Ms. Donna was attacked there.

He
had lingered beside her truck’s front tire, presumably to pick up the papers he “accidentally” dropped. That was more than enough time to sabotage the tire so he could get to the Lee house and kill Ms. Donna.

Here he stood, demanding information about Ms. Donna, the only witness to Sylvia’s murder.

And now Will’s shoulder was hurt, injured where the sliver of vase had embedded itself in his skin.

“You,” she said quietly, backing away. “It was you the whole time.”

Brayden’s eyes narrowed and a small, condescending smile appeared on his face. “Ms. Lee, you’ve had a difficult day. We’ll talk later.”

“No, we’ll talk now!”

Earl stepped between them. “Coop, is something wrong?”

“Yes. Before he died, Lewis Wilburson told me that John Borreo has a hand in ‘every cookie jar’—mayors, governors, senators, unions . . . and cops.”

Brayden’s smile broadened, and he laughed. “Do you really think I’m an informant for a mobster, Ms. Lee?”

Cooper shook her head. “I think you’re a killer for a mobster, Officer Brayden.”

As Brayden took a step toward her, Earl blocked his path. Cooper’s daddy may have been shorter and smaller than the officer, but he had that famous Lee stubbornness on his side. He straightened his shoulders and held his head high. “I think you ought to sit down while we straighten this out, Officer,” Earl said, his voice low and his tone warning.

For a moment, the two men locked eyes and didn’t move. Then Brayden said, “How about I leave instead?” He turned and walked around the couch, headed for the exit.

Without thinking, Cooper launched herself at him, grabbing for his injured shoulder. If she didn’t stop him now, he’d disappear, just like Borreo had so many years ago. For Sylvia, for Lewis, for Grammy and Ms. Donna she had to fight to keep him from vanishing.

When Cooper dug her fingertips into his injured shoulder, Brayden growled in pain and struggled to push her away. With a strong shove, he knocked her to the floor, and she slid several feet.

His mistake was not pushing Cooper to the ground. It was doing so in such close proximity to Earl Lee.

Earl wasn’t an angry man or a person prone to confrontation, but no one messed with his little girls. Before Cooper could get back on her feet, Earl knocked Officer Brayden into the wall, holding him by the lapel to keep him from moving. A moment later, Maggie was beside him, ready to help. While Earl struggled to keep Brayden from running, the officer drew a knife from his belt. He drew his arm back as far as he could.

Cooper saw the glint of steel, the same one she’d seen at the house. This was the blade that had already killed two people and had attempted to kill a third. Now it was set to bury itself in Earl’s gut.

Cooper shouted a warning, trying to stand and stop Brayden, but her body wouldn’t move quickly enough. It was as if the scene before her played in real time but she was moving in slow motion. With gritted teeth and a cold stare, Brayden pushed the knife forward.

Cooper looked away. She couldn’t watch.

A moment later, a body fell to the floor and Cooper had to look. Much to her surprise, it wasn’t Earl. It was Officer Brayden, and his body was twitching and convulsing. Cooper stared at him for a moment before following the trail of the two thin wires embedded in his chest up to the Taser in Nathan’s hands.

“Nathan?” she asked quietly, not sure if she could trust her eyes. “When did you . . . ?”

“I just came around the corner.” He paused and swallowed hard. “Your dad and the cop were fighting, so I . . . I grabbed the Taser off of the cop’s belt. I’ve read about them, but I’ve never actually used one . . .” He dropped the Taser to the ground and knelt beside Cooper. “Are you okay?”