The Way of the Wicked (Hope Street Church Mysteries Book 2) (21 page)

I don’t think he’s the one,
she thought.
The murderer has to know these folks well enough to learn about their valuables. Erik isn’t big on small talk.

Cooper was a bit surprised by the route Erik chose in order to reach their final stop. Though she wasn’t overly familiar with Richmond’s East Side, her sense of direction was keen enough to recognize that Erik had doubled back, practically passing right by their second stop, in order to pull into the gravel driveway of a light blue ranch-style home.

The house looked very well kept compared to most of the other clients’ residences. The lawn was meticulously trimmed and free of weeds, the bushes lining the front path were neatly pruned, and it looked like someone had recently polished the brass knocker and kick plate on the front door until they shone.

Tucking the remaining food box under his arm, Erik asked Cooper to carry the cooler. He then removed the bouquet from his backseat and cradled the flowers in his free hand. Whistling as he walked up the front path, Erik gave a proprietary glance around the yard. He knocked jauntily three times on the front door and then let himself in without waiting for an invitation.

“Is that our knight in shining armor?” a woman’s voice called from within.

Erik was smiling widely. “Yes, milady. ’Tis me!”

“We’re on the sunporch, watching the rain fall,” a second female voice said.

Beckoning Cooper to follow, Erik set the food down in the kitchen and then, hiding the flowers behind his back, hustled through the living room to the narrow sunporch where the two women awaited him. Though both females were slight of figure and had thick, bobbed white hair, there was an obvious age difference between the two. They produced identical smiles when Erik entered the room and there was no way to miss the brightness illuminating his features.

“Cooper, this is Velma Crick.” Erik gestured at the older woman, who was probably in her early eighties. “And this is her sister, Violet.” He spoke the other woman’s name with unconcealed affection. Cooper noted that Violet was at least a decade younger than Velma.

“Someone’s brought a surprise!” Velma cooed.

Erik produced the carnations with a flourish and handed them to Violet. “To the most beautiful flower in Richmond.”

Violet giggled and thanked Erik effusively. After offering the volunteers tea, which they accepted, Violet and Velma told them to make themselves comfortable.

Watching Erik as he complimented the sisters on their tea, the china cups, and the shade of their sweater sets, Cooper felt like an intruder. After several moments of ordinary conversation, Velma insinuated that the sink in their bathroom seemed to be leaking from the faucet base and Erik leapt up to examine the problem.

“I’d better show you,” Violet said with a mischievous smile and she and Erik crept from the room like a pair of teenagers up to no good.

“That man is right smitten!” Velma cackled. “Our house has never been in such fine shape.”

That explained Erik’s bizarre route. He saved this house for last in order to spend the most time here. There was no doubt he was on intimate terms with both occupants, but Cooper believed that he had absolutely no intention of hurting these women. Erik was obviously in love with Violet.

“How long has he felt this way?” Cooper asked.

“Ever since he stepped foot inside this house over a year ago. Our middle sister, Vera, still lived here then, but she’s had to go into a home. We couldn’t take care of her anymore.” Velma’s face creased in sorrow. She gestured at a collection of framed photographs on a nearby table. “Doesn’t even know us most days. It’s a right shame.” She leaned forward and stared at Cooper’s face. “You have lovely eyes, young lady.”

“Thank you.” Cooper moved to the table and examined the photographs. Mostly black and white, the photos depicted three lovely young women in a variety of hometown settings. The sisters posed in cheerleader outfits in what was likely their high school gym, showed off ice-cream sundaes at an old-fashioned soda fountain, and posed gracefully at skating rinks, bowling alleys, and from the leather seat of a Mustang convertible. Cooper’s favorite shot was of the sisters dressed in their holiday finest, planting kisses on the cheeks of a delighted Santa Claus. None of the photographs showed the sisters in their old age—it was as if their youth was all that mattered. The time when they were all together.

The sound of muted laughter tripped down the hall. “They’re so sweet,” Cooper whispered to Velma.

“I told her to go on and marry the man, but she won’t leave me.” Velma clucked her tongue. “He’s even bought her a ring. Showed it to me once. It’s a single amethyst. Not very fancy, but lovely. It’d suit my sister perfectly and so would he.”

“Couldn’t he . . .” Cooper hesitated to interfere.

“Move in with us?” Velma completed Cooper’s thought. “I’ve suggested that, too, trust me. We all get along like a gaggle of geese and I’m too old to be jealous of Violet’s happiness.” She pointed down the hall. “He’s already doing most of the chores around here. We pay for our Door-2-Door meals,” Velma added proudly. “But if we had a man to run to the store for us, Violet would start cooking again and her food is miles better that what you bring. No offense intended.”

“None taken.” Cooper gave Velma a quick bow. “What’s your sister’s objection to his moving in?”

Velma stirred her tepid tea. “She’s afraid it’s not proper. That she’d be breaking her wedding vows, but her man’s been under the ground for two years and he never treated her like he should have, anyhow, so I don’t know why she’s letting him hold her back. Now Erik, he’s a good man.”

At that moment, Erik and Violet reentered the room. Violet declared that the sink was fixed and that once again, she and her sister were in his debt.

“I’d do anything to make sure your days were filled with ease,” Erik whispered to Violet. They exchanged tender smiles, and then Erik bent over and kissed her hand. After giving Velma a chaste peck on her wrinkled cheek, he and Cooper bid the ladies farewell.

“Velma approves of your marrying her sister,” Cooper blurted as they headed back to Door-2-Door. “She says there’s plenty of room for you in their house.”

Taken aback, Erik blinked at her in surprise. Then he frowned. “Velma’s not the problem. It’s Violet I need to convince. I know she loves me, but she feels guilty about marrying again. She said she made a vow and has never broken a promise in her life.”

Cooper mulled this over. “Is Violet a religious woman?”

“Well, she goes to church every Sunday and she and Velma read the Bible to each other every night. Why?”

“I think Savannah might be able to give you some advice on how to show Violet that she’s not doing anything wrong by remarrying,” Cooper said. “She leads our Bible study and always seems to know the answers to life’s most difficult puzzles.”

Beaming, Erik parked his truck, turned off the ignition, and grabbed Cooper by the hand. “I’m not getting any younger, so if you can offer me some hope, I’d be really grateful. Can we ask her right away?”

Hurrying inside, Cooper found Savannah talking with Leo. She’d just finished getting directions to his apartment even though the truculent young man muttered that she’d be wasting his valuable free time. Unperturbed by his hostility, Savannah smiled at him and said that she was looking forward to their visit and promised to arrive with a homemade maple-apple cream pie as well as other surprises.

After Leo stalked off, Cooper propelled Erik into the seat next to Savannah’s and explained the older man’s dilemma.

“If you love one another, you should celebrate that love through the bond of marriage,” Savannah said.

“But what about Violet’s former marriage vows? Would she be betraying them?” Erik wrung his hands together.

“Romans chapter seven, verse three states that if a woman’s husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage and is not an adulteress, even if she marries another man.” Savannah touched Erik on the arm. “Perhaps you can share that passage with Violet. If she still has doubts, I’d be available to talk with her. I also run a couples discussion group at Hope Street Church on Wednesday nights, should you two care to join.”

Erik leapt from his seat. “Thank you! Romans seven, verse three. Romans seven, verse three. Got it!” He smiled like a schoolboy. “I’m heading back to her house right now! I’m going to read her that verse and then kneel down, and offer her the ring. I bought her a violet gem, because I can’t see the color purple without thinking of her. I’d give anything to slip that ring on her finger today!” And off he raced, his truck wheels screeching as he tore out of the parking lot.

“I don’t think he’s our killer,” Cooper said to Savannah.

“It certainly seems like he’s focused on something other than money,” Savannah agreed quietly. “I rode with Brenda today. The woman is devoted to these clients and to her son. I doubt she’d risk having him placed in foster care while she was sent to jail for murder.” She sighed. “The brutal death of Darik’s father has made her repulsed by violence, not attracted to it.” Savannah placed her cane on the floor and stood up. “I hope our friends have discovered a deep, dark secret about one of their partners because you and I certainly haven’t.”

Thinking of Erik’s hope-filled face, Cooper smiled. “You know, it was kind of nice to be in on a romantic adventure instead. I hope Violet says ‘yes.’”

After leading Savannah out to the Mr. Faucet van, Cooper found Nathan in the walk-in fridge and asked him to join her for lunch followed by an afternoon reading through Frank Crosby’s Civil War diary.

“A chance to check out the treasure you discovered? Of course I’m in,” Nathan whispered as Quinton and Bryant walked past. “But I’m not looking forward to making a confession during Bible study tomorrow about our activities Friday night.”

“At least I have faith that our friends will forgive us.” Cooper frowned. “I’m not so certain the cops will be as merciful.”

• • •

Cooper entered the classroom where the Sunrise Bible Study met and inhaled an enticing aroma. Quinton had baked pecan cinnamon coffee cake muffins and had kept them warm using the oven in the teachers’ lounge, while Nathan had provided a healthy side dish of a bowl of sliced red Anjou pears mixed with golden raisins and Trish had supplied them with fresh-ground Kona coffee.

“This was an exciting week for Joseph,” Savannah said as she waited for her friends to sit at their desks and turn to the appropriate workbook page. “How do you feel about Joseph’s treatment of his brothers when they came to seek help for their folks back home during the time of famine?”

Quinton frowned. “I was torn. On one hand, I thought it was fair for Joseph to cause his brothers some anguish. On the other hand, I wanted him to just reveal himself and have a big-time reunion banquet right off.”

Nathan, Jake, and Trish all shared their thoughts.

“Cooper, anything to add before we move on?” Savannah asked.

Starting guiltily, Cooper found that she’d been so focused on the entries from the Civil War diary that she hadn’t been following the discussion.

“Page 181,” Nathan whispered.

Glancing quickly at her workbook, Cooper said, “I loved the end of chapter forty-three. I could just picture the scene where Joseph hears that his father is still alive. That news must have made his heart swell. This whole scene was really moving.”

Trish dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, leaving blotches of mascara on her upper cheeks. “The reunion between Jacob and Joseph was so beautiful. It made me think of you, Jake. I prayed that one day you’d see your daddy again and that when you did, you could forgive him.”

Now it was Jake’s turn to become misty-eyed. He whispered “Thank you” to Trish and then got up from his desk to refill his coffee cup.

“Before we go on,” Cooper cleared her throat. “I need to tell you about something, um, deceitful I’ve done. Nathan was with me, too, but only to make sure I didn’t get hurt.” As she picked at the crumb topping of her muffin, Cooper described how she and Nathan had gained access through the back door, retrieved the diary from inside the rocking chair, and realized that the killer had followed them. Lastly, she repeated the words that had been written on the side of her truck.

“Seek and die!” Trish shrieked. “That’s a pretty serious threat!”

“Why didn’t you tell us before we showed up at Door-2-Door yesterday?” Bryant demanded. “We could have asked everyone what they were up to Friday night!”

Jake’s mouth formed a crooked smile. “Yeah, sure. I could have just turned to Penny and said, ‘Hey, lady. Were you out in the rain last night, writing threats on my friend’s truck?’” He waved off the notion. “Give Cooper a break. She did something she felt she had to do. Didn’t we all just read some lessons about making mistakes?”

Quinton studied Cooper and Nathan, his eyes lit with interest. “Did you read the diary?”

“I did, and now we know why Mr. Crosby had such an aversion to the color yellow. We decided to read the diary at the Tuckahoe Library in case we needed to look up any facts. Lucky we did too, because one of the reference librarians recognized this.” She pulled a plastic bag from her purse. Inside was a rectangle of yellow fabric. Very carefully, she took the fabric out of the bag and unfolded it.

“It’s shaped like a flag,” Bryant said.

“You’re a clever guy,” Nathan said. “It’s a hospital flag from the Civil War. It was flown outside the hospital tents. Frank’s relative, Lieutenant Aaron Crosby, spent time in a Union field hospital.”

Jake nearly choked on his coffee. “He was a Yankee?”

“No, but he was shot in the back by one during a retreat,” Nathan explained. “So he took the coat and sword from a dead Union soldier lying nearby and, because they thought he was one of their own, they carried him to their hospital. Aaron wrote that his own army was on the run and that his only chance of survival was to pretend to be a Yank.”

“That seems a bit dishonorable,” Quinton said.

Trish’s violet eyes narrowed. “The man just wanted to live. Maybe he had a family he wanted to see again—a future he dreamed about.”