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

She handed over the polish for her sister’s approval, and Ashley’s eyes welled with tears. “Coop, you may be the strangest sister, but . . . you sure are a great one!”

Cooper considered. “I think I’ll just take that whole comment as a compliment, so thanks. I appreciate it. Now, you sit here. I’ll go heat up some towels so I can wipe down your feet with the rosewater and get started.”

She grabbed several unused hand towels from the closet, and as she prepared the pedicure supplies in the bathroom, Ashley talked to her from the adjoining bedroom. “So what’s going on in the real world these days?”

“You haven’t been out of the
real world
all that long, Ash.”

“Sure feels like it.”

“Well, rest assured, you’re not missing much. Have you met Grammy’s new pet, Popeye?”

Ashley laughed. “No, but Mama told me about him on the phone yesterday. She said he’s the ugliest thing she’s ever seen. Where does Grammy find these animals anyway? A one-eyed pug. That’s not the kind of dog you find in a pet store.”

“It was another rescue off the news. He’s pretty sweet.”

“Mama said he’s so ugly he’s cute.”

Cooper chuckled. “That about sums it up.” She returned to the room, the warm towels draped over her arm. “Ready for your pedicure, Ms. Love?”

The light faded from Ashley’s eyes and she looked as though she wanted to cry.

“Ash, what’s wrong?” Cooper thought back through the past few minutes, trying to pin down what exactly had upset her sister. She’d learned a few months before that with pregnancy hormones, it could have been anything. “Do you not like the color? I can go pick up something else. Are you too tired for a pedicure? I’ll come back later. Or we can just talk, if you want.”

“No, it’s not that.” Ashley wiped away the tears and took a deep breath. “Coop, I haven’t had a pedicure in a month, and . . . well . . .” She paused and squirmed uncomfortably. “My feet are ugly! They’re swollen and dirty. I can’t trim the nails or anything. For heaven’s sake, I can barely see them now!”

Cooper suppressed a laugh. Of all the things for her pregnant, but still vain, sister to be worried about. She swallowed back the laughter and put on a serious and sympathetic expression. “I’m your sister, and I’ll love you no matter what your feet look like.”

Ashley sniffed. “Promise?”

“Promise. It’s written in the universal sister code. Your feet won’t offend me, and I swear I’ll never tell another soul what they look like when neglected. Okay?”

Ashley considered for a moment and then nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

Cooper sat herself by Ashley’s feet and moved enough of the bedding to do her work.

“Coop . . .”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for doing this. I know with everything else going on, I probably shouldn’t worry about how my feet look, but . . . Well, I have a little dignity left, you know?”

“Yes, and that dignity is somehow connected to the well-being of your toenails.” Cooper chuckled aloud to let her sister know it was a joke, and Ashley smiled.

“I know, I know,” the younger sister said. “Ha ha. But I’ve had so many experts staring at my . . . my
area
. . . and during the labor I’ll add a few more to that number. I’m trying to preserve my pride where I can. You just wait till you’re pregnant someday and I bring you a pedicure-in-a-box.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Cooper replied, wondering if Ashley would ever have the chance to bring her a pedicure-in-a-box during her own pregnancy. With Nathan’s attitude the other day, she wasn’t so sure they were thinking the same thing as far as a future together. But today, Cooper didn’t want to think about that, and she certainly didn’t want to discuss it with Ashley. It didn’t seem like an appropriate conversation, considering all that Ashley was going through.

She poured the rosewater onto one of the warm hand towels and started to gently wash her sister’s feet. “So how’s Lincoln handling this? The bed rest and the
looming
end of the pregnancy.”

Ashley snuggled back into her pillows. “I think he may be more stressed than I am. When he’s home, he watches over me constantly. I put on a movie the other night, and he missed half of it because he kept watching me instead of the TV.”

“It’s good he cares about you so much.”

“Yeah, but I already feel helpless, and his hovering doesn’t help. Did I ever tell you why he hired Rhonda?”

“I thought it was because he didn’t want you here alone.”

Ashley sighed. “That’s not the whole story. My first week of bed rest, I was alone. Just as he pulled in the drive, I was getting a bottle of water from the kitchen and I tripped. I didn’t fall, but I wound up sitting on the floor for a minute to regain my bearings.”

Cooper paused the pedicure. “Were you okay?”

Ashley waved away her concern. “Oh, I was fine! I was just shaky. But it was at that very moment that he walked in the door and found me on the kitchen floor.”

“He must have been terrified!”

“That doesn’t even begin to describe it. The very next day he introduced me to Rhonda, and she’s been here every workday since. She spends a lot of her time in the drawing room; I can’t take any more hovering. It makes me feel so . . . feeble.”

“Only a few more weeks,” Cooper assured her. “Then you’ll have a baby, and you won’t have to worry about Rhonda or anyone else trying to watch you every second.”

Ashley laughed. “Right! Then I’ll get to do all the hovering! . . . Enough about that, though. Tell me something about the real world. Say, did you hear about that church?”

“The Catholic church? Yeah, I heard that it was robbed.”

“Oh, then you didn’t hear.” Ashley tried to lean forward but failed.
“Our
church was robbed last night!”

Cooper’s jaw dropped. She recovered quickly, scooped exfoliating scrub out of its jar and continued her work on Ashley’s feet. “Are you serious? Your church?”

Ashley nodded. “Lincoln got a call this morning from one of the elders. Actually, it was for me because of the missions committee I’m on, but he took the message.”

“What happened?”

“Well, that was all Lincoln found out from
that
call, but he did a little snooping and found out some more information. Turns out somebody pried open the back door. They took some of the sound equipment and two tablets from the music room, and they broke into the safe.”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“No. No one was around when it happened.”

Cooper sighed with relief. “I’m glad for that. How much money did they get?”

“Everything.”

“What does that mean?”

“We had an emergency fund, kind of a rainy day account in case anybody at church went through a rough patch. The pastor and elders could vote to give them money from the emergency fund—just a way to take care of each other. Last I checked, it was up to a few thousand dollars.”

Cooper gaped. “A few
thousand
dollars? Why wasn’t that in the bank?”

“So the pastor and elders could get to it whenever it was needed—even on days when the bank was closed. Besides, it was more confidential this way.”

Cooper thought of the other stolen goods—the sound equipment and tablets. She knew Ashley’s church was well-to-do but hadn’t realized just how well off it was. “With all that stuff, you’d think your church would have some kind of security system.”

“Security system? At a church?” Ashley scoffed. “Cooper, the doors are open for
anybody
. We don’t want people to think they’re being watched while they pray or whatever. Anyway, the church isn’t really hurting for funds, so it isn’t too terrible a situation. It’s more the idea that bothers me: the fact that somebody would break into a church. I just don’t understand it.”

“Desperate people do desperate things.”

“I know, but . . . Let’s talk about something else. This is depressing me.”

Rather than point out that it was Ashley who’d introduced the topic, Cooper tried to think of another one. She didn’t think quickly enough.

Ashley snapped her fingers. “I know! How’s that boy toy of yours?”

“Nathan’s just fine,” Cooper said with a laugh. “Although I’m not sure how he’d feel about being called a boy toy. We’re having dinner with some friends tomorrow night.”

“What friends?”

“Remember Edward Crosby?”

Ashley’s eyes widened. Edward Crosby wasn’t exactly high society as far as dinner guests were concerned, but he was still a friend. “The ex-con who saved our lives? How could I forget! Didn’t you have a thing for him?”

“I did not have a thing, no. I was curious, but the curiosity passed. Anyway, we’re meeting him and his girlfriend. Ought to be interesting. Not as interesting as our first meeting, but still.” Cooper thought of the first time she’d laid eyes on Edward Crosby. He was in prison then and she was investigating his father’s death. After his release, he’d helped Cooper bring down an international drug-smuggling operation, and he’d taken a bullet to save Cooper.

That action had earned him Ashley’s gratitude, but apparently not her stamp of approval.

“You mean you’re actually going to be seen in public with Edward Crosby?” Ashley squeaked. “I’m glad for what he did, but he’s an ex-con . . . with a leather jacket . . . and a motorcycle!”

“If it helps at all, he sold the motorcycle.” Cooper wiped away the scrub with a warm towel and doused Ashley’s feet with aromatherapy oil. “And anyway, he’s trying hard and keeping his nose clean. He’s really worked to turn his life around, Ash. Don’t you think he needs some friends? Some non-ex-con friends?”

“I suppose. Where are you going?”

“The Steak House.”

Ashley groaned. “Fine. Just make sure he knows how to use a knife and fork and doesn’t try to pick up the steak and eat it with his fingers.”

“I think we’ll be okay.”

Ashley winced and tugged her foot away from Cooper. “Ouch! That’s sore.”

“Sorry.” Cooper eased up on her pressure. “How’s that?”

“Ahh. Much better.” She readjusted herself against her pillows. “Coop, this is exactly what I needed. I’ve been stuck in this bed forever! I can barely walk to the bathroom and back!”

“That
is
how bed rest works.”

“Thanks Ms. Know-It-All.”

“Read any more good books?”

Ashley shook her head. “I got tired of reading. I’ve taken to online shopping.”

“I was wondering how you’d get your retail fix, but that sounds dangerous. What did you buy? Clothes? Shoes? Baby stuff?”

“Yes, yes and
so
much. I found the cutest Tracy Reese frock to be my inspiration for losing all the baby weight, and the dress will go perfectly with the Michael Kors pumps I ordered yesterday!”

Cooper nodded, trying to hide her ignorance of high-end designer names. “Good, good. I’m sure the Tracy Kors new line is just fabulous.”

Ashley laughed. “Tracy
Reese
and
Michael
Kors. Coop, you’re hopeless!”

“Let’s get back to all of your binge spending, shall we? What else did you buy?”

“I got a great deal on a Yuri Varoff.”

“More shoes?”

“No, silly! He’s a painter in New York. A real up-and-comer in the art world. I’m not big on postmodernism myself, but I heard from some ladies at church that in a few years he’ll be in every major gallery on the East Coast.”

“So it’s an investment painting.”

Ashley shrugged. “More or less.”

Cooper wiped down Ashley’s feet one last time and reached for the polish. “Are you ready for Rockstar Pinkly?”

“I
knew
you had it in you somewhere,” Ashley said, her cheeks dimpled deeply from a broad smile. “I
knew
there was a girly girl underneath the office machines and woodworking and all that grease.”

“Don’t get too excited. I picked it out because I thought
you
would like it. I’d no intention of wearing it myself.”

“Still. The fact that you were willing to purchase such a color lifts my spirits.”

Cooper quieted her own chuckles so she could paint Ashley’s toenails, and for a little while Ashley just talked. She rambled on about church, Angelo Newell’s art, all the clothes she couldn’t wait to wear. It occurred to Cooper that her extraverted sister wasn’t just going crazy from sitting all day. Ashley had gone from being a part of every committee and charity board to being stuck in a room at home. She’d gone from brunches, lunches and tea parties to the shopping channel. Ashley wasn’t just bored. She was lonely.

I could come by more often,
Cooper thought, nodding absentmindedly in response to Ashley’s rant about the postmodern art movement.
I could bring something for us to do together. I could really be a better sister.

Cooper said a silent prayer that she’d be more conscientious of what Ashley needed, and then she started a clear coat. She knew she wasn’t Ashley’s ideal conversation companion, but she could certainly listen and respond.

Maybe that’s all Ashley needed right now.

3

Cooper and Nathan sat in a corner booth at the Steak House waiting for Edward and his date to show. The potato skins they’d ordered for the table were taunting Cooper. She’d eaten three already and was fighting the urge to eat them all.

Her stomach growled in protest.

“You can go ahead if you need to,” Nathan assured her, pushing the appetizer plate in front of her. “We’ll order another plate. They’re probably cold by now anyway.”

Cooper pushed it away again and shook her head. “I won’t be that rude . . . even if they
are
twenty minutes late.”

Nathan kissed her cheek. “You know how Edward can be. He probably stopped to admire somebody’s Harley and lost track of time. He won’t care if you go ahead and eat. I doubt he has a firm grasp on all the rules of etiquette.”

Cooper laughed and looked up at the front door. There stood Edward Crosby in his leather jacket, talking to the maître d’. He was alone.

“He was supposed to bring his girlfriend,” Cooper whispered.

“Maybe she’s parking the car or something.” Nathan stood and waved to Edward, and after another moment’s discussion with the maître d’, Edward gave the man a friendly pat on the shoulder and hurried to the booth.