The Way of the Wicked (Hope Street Church Mysteries Book 2) (22 page)

“He most certainly did.” Cooper opened the diary and read Aaron’s words:

April 18

Sunrise. I dreamed of returning to our farm. Annie must be awake by now. The cows will need milking. I hope the boy is helping her with the chores. I wonder if he’s taller than me now. I’m tired. Will write more tomorrow.

April 19

The doctors are beginning to wonder about my muteness. I will have to leave here soon. My wound is healing well and it is a luxury to rest in a soft bed again, so it will be difficult to sleep in fields and ditches again. My feet are still clotted with blood and I’ve lost four nails from my right foot. That comes as no surprise considering the poor condition of my boots. Most of our men went barefoot during our last skirmish and none of us have had enough food to fill our bellies for months.

The South cannot win this war. She is like David fighting Goliath, but with no stone to throw. All I want is to return home, to look upon the faces of my dear ones and to watch my crops grow.

I have forgotten what it is we have been fighting for . . .

“The poor man,” Savannah said. “I’m glad to know Lieutenant Aaron must have reunited with his family or there wouldn’t have been a Frank Crosby. I wonder how he ended up with the hospital flag.”

“He stole it,” Nathan said. “The hospital tent was in a state of chaos because a large group of wounded soldiers was brought in. Aaron used the confusion to his advantage. He left his bed, ripped down the hospital flag to wrap around his right foot, which was in pretty bad shape, and fled.” Gesturing at the flag, he added, “I assume it was well washed after he got home.”

“Frank was ashamed of his relative for retreating and then deserting,” Bryant mused aloud.

Cooper nodded. “That and more. Apparently, the field hospital fell under cannon fire and everyone inside died.”

“Because the yellow flag had been taken?” Trish’s violet eyes were wide with horror.

“There’s no way of knowing,” Nathan replied. “But Frank was obviously very ashamed of being related to this man and wanted to keep all ties to Aaron Crosby a secret.”

“
That
part of our mystery is now solved,” Savannah spoke with quiet authority. “It’s time to turn the diary over to the police, and Cooper, you
must
tell them about the message written on your truck.”

“I will. I’m going to call them right after church. But first, I’d like to ask for your forgiveness.” Cooper glanced at each of her friends. “Something inside me just wouldn’t rest until I understood Frank better. Thoughts of him have been kind of haunting me since I learned of his death.”

Trish looked at Cooper kindly. “I understand how you feel. Maybe what you did will save lives. Maybe the killer will stop now that they realize it’s not just the authorities out there looking for them.”

The sound of music drifted into the open door of the classroom, a signal for small groups to wrap up their discussions and make their way to the auditorium.

“The police are likely to interview the regular Saturday Door-2-Door volunteers about their movements Friday night,” Quinton said as he began tidying up. “I guess we no longer have a role to play.”

Bryant looked disappointed. “So there’s no need to pry into the volunteers’ lives anymore?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Savannah argued. “I have no doubt that God, through Trish, placed us in the path of those volunteers. If He hadn’t, then Leo wouldn’t be joining us for worship this morning. We should always take an interest in those around us.”

“Leo’s coming here?” The alarm in Trish’s voice made Jake grin.

“You can relax that grip on your purse,” he teased. “That boy’s all bark and no bite. Tell them the story, Savannah. Quick, before we have to go.”

“First of all, Leo was arrested for disorderly conduct.” She couldn’t hold back the smile that appeared on her face. “Turns out, our friend had a bit too much to drink one warm spring evening and found himself with a full bladder. He went in search of the closest tree—”

“But found the leg of a horse instead!” Jake hollered. “The horse belonged to a mounted cop, and let’s just say that our man Leo didn’t have very good aim that night. Both horse and rider were sprayed by something warm and smelly and wet.”

“Oh, dear.” Trish giggled behind her hand.

“Leo works for a moving company and lives in the same apartment building as his mama. We met her and she’s a fine, upstanding woman,” Savannah continued. “I also brought our new friend a copy of T. D. Jakes’s
Speaks to Men
on CD. Leo must have been influenced by the book because he called me at seven this morning to ask if there was a bus stop close to Hope Street.”

“Savannah was perfect,” Jake said with enthusiasm. “She just listened to Leo talk and then told him that everyone makes mistakes and that we can learn from them and be changed by them. His mama is going to be in seventh heaven when she finds out that he’s coming to church today.”

“Then we’d better get a move on.” Savannah stood. “Cooper, I hope that you don’t get in too much trouble for poking around in Frank’s house.”

“Maybe the Colonel and I can be cellmates,” Cooper joked, but her heart was filled with trepidation as she followed her friends down the hallway and into the large chapel, where a sea of joyful faces were waiting to sing the opening hymn.

During the time of silent reflection, Cooper prayed that Ashley’s surgery would go smoothly the next day and then asked for the courage to walk into the Henrico County Police Department’s headquarters and face the consequences of her actions.

14

After grabbing a quick lunch, Cooper drove north toward the cluster of governmental buildings on Parham Road. She had to explain herself to several officers before a gruff woman with hair pulled into such a tight bun that her forehead seemed stretched took her name and phone number. The female cop reluctantly took the diary from her, flipped it over and, not finding anything interesting on the front or back covers, tossed the Ziploc onto her desk.

“That’s it?” Cooper was incredibly relieved that she’d gotten off so lightly.

The woman snorted. “No
.
Investigator Rector will be calling you tomorrow. He’ll want to hear your colorful story for himself.”

“Do you think I’m going to—” Cooper gulped. “Be arrested?”

The woman shrugged. “Who knows? You broke into a crime scene, tampered with evidence, and possibly compromised a police investigation. It’d sure be within our rights to read you your Miranda warning.” She pointed a stubby finger at Cooper’s chest. “Just don’t go anywhere. You come marching straight here the second Rector calls, no matter what you’re doing. He doesn’t like people to be late.”

Beads of perspiration dotted Cooper’s brow. “Yes, ma’am. And I’m really sorry. I wasn’t trying to mess things up. I just wanted to find out what happened to Mr. Crosby. I
was
actually hoping to help the police.”

The female officer hitched her weighted belt higher on her round hips. “Save your speeches for tomorrow. Lucky for you, I’m not the one you need to convince.”

And with that, Cooper was dismissed.

• • •

Monday morning was unusually fair and mild. The weather was incongruent with the displays of Halloween decorations, chrysanthemums, hay-stuffed scarecrows, and pyramids of waxy pumpkins gracing every storefront Cooper passed on her way to the office.

She’d barely stepped foot through Make It Work!’s front door when Angela rushed over, grabbed her by the hand, and pulled her toward the magnificent assortment of red, pink, and fuchsia roses bursting from a picnic basket.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you didn’t get those from Costco,” Cooper said, touching a few of the silky petals.

Angela thrust a label into Cooper’s hand. “Look at the tag! This design is called the Kiss.” Next, she yanked a florist’s greeting card from its plastic fork in the center of the group of roses. “Now get a load of this!”

Obediently, Cooper read the card. “‘Because I dream of kissing you.’”

“Who do you think it’s from?” Angela clutched the card against her heart. “Emilio? Did you see the way he danced with me in the garage the other day?”

“It’s not him,” Cooper immediately responded. Seeing the hurt on her friend’s face, she softened her tone. “I’m sorry, Angela, but this is way too classy for Emilio. Take the wording of the note, for example. It doesn’t sound like him at all.” She lowered her voice. “I think it’s from Mr. Farmer. You made him jealous and he’s trying to tell you that he cares.”

Angela rolled her eyes. “I doubt it. I told you before, he’s had a bazillion chances to reel me in.” She crossed her arms defensively and stared at Cooper from beneath her fake eyelashes. “What is with you today? Your tongue is sharp as a lightnin’ bolt and you look like you haven’t had a wink of sleep. Is it Nathan?”

“No. Everything’s fine between us.” Cooper felt queasy just thinking about the phone call she’d be receiving from Investigator Rector. “Ashley’s having surgery today,” she said, sharing her other source of stress. “I’m a little worried about her and I doubt I’ll be able to concentrate until Mama calls and tells me she’s okay.”

“Oh, honey. She’ll be right as rain.” Angela threw her arms around Cooper. “And I’m sorry that I’ve been so self-centered lately. It’s gettin’ older that’s doing it. I want to take care of somebody and I want somebody to take care of me.” She smiled and her eyes turned misty. “I have a drawer full of Hallmark cards and I’m going to get everybody to sign one for your sister. Just say the word if you need to leave early today. I’ll rearrange your schedule in a flash.” She snapped her manicured fingers.

Cooper felt a rush of affection for her friend. “Enjoy your flowers, Angela. No matter who they’re from, someone obviously recognizes what a catch you are.”

A flicker of genuine sadness passed across the secretary’s face and it was that brief glimpse of Angela’s fear of aloneness that propelled Cooper to march straight to Mr. Farmer’s office. Her boss was bent over a spreadsheet, an adding machine next to his right hand and the latest issue of
Popular Mechanics
near to his left. He looked up at her, blinking, as though surprised to see another human being in his lair.

“Good morning.” He removed his glasses, drew his hand away from the adding machine, and waited for her to speak.

Cooper shut the door behind her and, after removing a pile of newspapers from the only other chair in the room, sat down and faced her boss. “Sir. Did you send Angela roses?”

Mr. Farmer blushed from the bottom of his cheeks to the bald spot in the center of his head. “Well, I—”

“Because I know you care about her and that you might think she has feelings for Emilio. In a sense, she’d like him to have feelings for her, just for vanity’s sake, but the truth is that she wants a man to share her life with. That man isn’t Emilio.” She stared intently at Mr. Farmer. “It’s you.”

Flustered, her boss’s fingers twitched erratically and his pinkie hit the total button on the adding machine. Numbers appeared on the thin strip of white paper as the machine buzzed in a wild frenzy of ink. Mr. Farmer reached out to turn it off, but he couldn’t control his hands, so Cooper walked around the desk and flicked the switch for him.

“You need to make a bold statement, sir. Not roses. Something that declares how you feel in a direct manner. Prove to Angela once and for all that you’re willing to take the risk and ask her to be with you.” Cooper paused, wondering if she was making a grave mistake by issuing orders to her boss. “Forgive me for butting in here, sir, but she’s been miserable lately and I think you have, too.”

After a lengthy pause, Mr. Farmer issued the briefest of nods. Finally, without meeting Cooper’s eyes, he murmured, “What should I do?”

For the moment, Cooper forgot her own troubles. She grinned at her boss. “Don’t worry, sir. I have an idea.”

• • •

Cooper’s first appointment after lunch was at an unexpected location. Lali Gupta had phoned earlier in the day and requested an annual service contract with Make It Work!

“The director asked for you personally.” Angela handed Cooper a work order. “They have a busted copier and fax machine. Get her to sign our annual contract form before you leave, too. Mr. Farmer is going to give them a special rate because they’re a nonprofit. He has such a big heart, that man.” Opening her makeup compact, Angela reapplied a layer of scarlet lipstick. “He asked me to stay late tonight. We’ve never worked a minute past five before. I can’t imagine what he’s up to.”

“Me, either,” Cooper replied innocently. “But there are some nasty-looking spreadsheets in his office, so it can’t be anything fun.”

Frowning, Angela returned to her desk while Cooper slid the Door-2-Door paperwork onto her clipboard and headed out to a work van. Emilio intercepted her before she could open the driver’s door.

“Hey, gorgeous.” Emilio leaned against the van, his knuckles pushing his biceps outward. “How was the weekend? Did you sit around, eat bonbons, and wonder what I was doing? Because I thought about you
.
Let’s go out tonight. What do ya say?”

Emilio was the last person Cooper wanted to see at the moment. Hoping to run him off, she opened one of the van’s rear doors, planted her toolbox firmly on the floor, and slammed the door shut. Giving him a wide berth, she walked back to the front of the van. “I had a lovely weekend, thank you. I ate a bunch of fried food, broke into an old man’s house with my boyfriend, received a threatening note from a serial killer, went to church, and then turned myself into the police because I broke the law. In fact, I’m waiting for a phone call from one of the detectives, who’s probably going to tell me to get my tail down to the station before his coffee gets cold, so if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get to this next job as quick as I can.”