"So there wasn't anything unusual about him like ... his height or weight or"--Cooper looked down at Nathan's shoes--"big feet or ears or really yellow teeth or something like that?"
"No, 'fraid not. Only thing I noticed was that he had a bunch of curly blond fur stuck to his jacket sleeve, like he had petted a dog with that hand and the dog hair had gotten all over his coat. I doubt it was human hair, unless someone was
really
stressed and was shedding like crazy. Working here, I could kind of see how that could happen!" She laughed. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help, but if you leave me your number, I'll let you know if anything comes back to me."
Cooper gave Jessica her phone number, thanked her for her time, and asked her to extend her gratitude to Mark as well.
"The shipping store's in Chesterfield, huh?" Nathan said after Cooper hung up. "That's about thirty minutes south of here. Some guy with a dog in Chesterfield." He stood still and thought for a moment and then shrugged helplessly. "I can't come up with anything. Let's finish up in here. It's getting late."
Cooper's stomach grumbled as she checked her watch. It was dinnertime, all right. As Nathan shifted through the other file cabinet, she took a closer look at the text on Brooke's desk that had been marked with the Post-it note. The title of the book was
Offshore Accounts: Tax-Free, Private, and Prof table
. Cooper scanned the marked page, which focused on Swiss bank accounts, but couldn't comprehend what she was reading. She had no business background and the terms seemed utterly foreign to her. She pointed the page out to Nathan, but neither of them could determine how the passage might be relevant to their search, so Nathan began to sift through the file cabinet as Cooper focused her attention on the photographs of the Hughes family.
There were a half dozen altogether, taken at various birthday celebrations, in front of the Christmas tree, at Easter egg hunts, and during graduation ceremonies. In all the photographs, the three family members looked happy and relaxed in one another's company. There was the lovely Brooke, with her kind eyes and warm smile, who stood side by side with her husband, Wesley, who was slim, but not as thin as he had appeared at the funeral. Wesley had an uneven smile and a pair of appealing dimples that Caleb had clearly inherited.
"That's Caleb, their son. Did you see him at the funeral?" Nathan asked.
"Yes. It was gut-wrenching to watch him as his father was taken away by the cops," Cooper replied somberly and glanced out the nearby window. "I wonder if he's going to ever want to come back to this house."
He's with "His grandparents live in Norfolk, so at least we're not invading his privacy." Nathan gestured at a row of manila file folders. "Most of these documents are related to him. This whole cabinet is filled with his school records, class photos, health information, award certificates, letters written to his parents, and drawings from kindergarten through college. I think everything from this kid's life has been saved."
Cooper traced the young man's radiant face in what must have been the most recent photograph of the Hughes family, taken just a few months ago at a New Year's Eve party. She studied their laughing faces as Caleb pointed at the sparkling pink tiara on his head while Brooke touched the top hat perched rakishly on hers. Wesley held up a fistful of noisemakers, and confetti fell about the threesome like fairy dust.
"That poor kid," she said and felt her eyes watering again.
Nathan joined her at the bookshelf. "Caleb's in a graduate program in DC, but I've seen him once or twice when he come to church with his parents at." He stood and lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. "We found a clue today, Cooper. We've got to see the positive side of things if we're going to help Caleb get his father back and discover the truth about Brooke's death. Let's leave it at that for now."
Nodding, she sniffed and took a last look at the picture, more determined than ever to exonerate Brooke's husband and re unite father and son.
"You know," Nathan whispered once they were back downstairs. "I'm feeling pretty down right now. It'd be nice to have some company for dinner. Do you like sushi?"
Cooper hated sushi, but she'd eat raw octopus by the forkful if it meant postponing going home for a little while. It wasn't that she didn't like her home--she had grown used to living by herself--but she also knew that as soon as she turned off the TV, closed the book she was reading, and lay down in the dark, either her memories of Drew or the faces of the Hughes family would haunt her. She would see their smiles, hear their laughter, albeit distantly, as though from a far-off place, and ache over the joy they had clearly given one another. She would fantasize about sharing that kind of joy with Drew, visualizing their reunion in which he regretted leaving her for Anna Lynne White and begged for forgiveness with tears in his gray-blue eyes. And after all that, she'd have to fight off her desire for a cigarette.
Glancing askew at Nathan, Cooper decided that having a meal with a friend from Bible study wouldn't in any way be a betrayal of the feelings she still harbored for Drew.
"Dinner sounds great," she said, "But I'm not eating anything that has the consistency of a jellyfish. Just tell me they've got something that's been
cooked
for a good long time on their menu."
7
What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off ?
Matthew 18:12 (NIV)
On Saturday afternoon, Cooper asked her mother if they could bake some cookies to bring to the Sunrise Bible Study members the next morning.
"If visiting the Hughes home was rough for you, hon, it must have been powerful hard on the folks who knew them," Mama had replied, tying on a frilly apron and reaching for her recipe box. "This is gonna take one of my
special
cookies."
As Maggie rummaged through index cards, shaking her head and occasionally lifting one to the light before dropping it dismissively back into the box, Cooper took Columbus to the field for a snack.
As she watched him soar overhead, she mused over her dinner with Nathan Wednesday night. She pictured his pleasant face, his gentle eyes, and the way in which he cocked his head slightly to the side as he listened. Thinking about how at ease she felt in his presence, Cooper couldn't help but smile. She had tried not to notice the freckles scattered on his cheeks, the way a wave of his hair fell over his forehead, and how his fingers nimbly clasped a piece of sushi and then delicately dipped the seaweed-wrapped morsel into a bath made of soy and wasabi sauces, but she had. And while Nathan wasn't Drew, and she didn't think she felt romantic toward him, it was nice to be out on the town again.
Cooper was so busy reminiscing that she didn't hear Ashley's approach through the tall grass.
"You look like a cat that's just caught the canary," Ashley marveled. Draping her arms languidly over the top rail of the fence, Ashley surveyed her sister. "Something's up with you."
Cooper felt her neck grow warm and knew that spots of red were prickling her skin. Hoping to disguise her telltale embarrassment, she pointed at Columbus. "Looks like he's caught two mice. There's one in each talon."
"Eww," Ashley squeaked, but wasn't about to be put off so easily. "You were thinking about a guy, weren't you? Look at your neck?" She elbowed Cooper playfully. "Praise the Lord! Finally! We're all so sick of you moping over Drew. Now, spill it. He's in your Bible study, right?" Without waiting for an answer, she put her hands on her hips and gave Cooper a smug grin. "I
told
you church was a good place to meet men."
"I just went to dinner with this guy to talk about the Hughes case," Cooper replied, feeling a bit silly for using such an official-sounding term when in truth all they were doing was blindly nosing around. "It wasn't a date," she quickly added, and began to peel apart a piece of grass. "Nathan's involved with some kind of online dating service and I don't think I'm interested in him that way."
Ashley scowled. "You don't think you're interested? Well,
that's
going to have to change. Nathan, huh? I like that name." She paused. "Seriously, Coop.
I
can tell you like him, even if you can't. Are you going to do anything about it, like exert some feminine charm?" She took Cooper's elbow. "I'm really not trying to be mean. I want you to be happy. I think you should go for this Nathan guy." Ashley's eyes flashed a brilliant blue beneath the clear, bright sky. "You're making some changes in your life already. Going to a new church, giving up smoking, becoming a freelance detective--what's a few more?"
Cooper held out her arm for Columbus, and the hawk returned to her, issuing a squawk of triumph over his productive hunt. Stroking the magnificent bird, she shrugged. "I guess I'm about due for a new hairstyle. Nothing crazy," she warned. "With my Visa bill being what it is, I can't spend hundreds of dollars on beauty treatments."
Ashley rubbed her hands together with glee. "I know, but if you'd add some layers and get some highlights, then we'd really be talking."
"No way am I coloring my hair," Cooper objected. "Too much expensive maintenance."
"Fine." Ashley pretended to pout as they walked back to the house. "But at least get those tumbleweeds you call eyebrows waxed. They are so out of control Columbus is going to start hunting for mice in there." She playfully flicked Cooper's left brow.
Cooper gazed at her reflection in the glass of the back door. "Are they really bad? I tweeze them twice a month."
Ashley stood next to her sister. "But you're not
trained
in the art of plucking, Cooper and it shows. Look at mine. They're nice, subtle arches. You can actually
see
my upper eyelid. Now, compare yours."
After glancing at the gentle curve of her sister's blond brows, Cooper examined her own. Ashley was right. Hairs grew well below her natural arch and several stuck out too far above the bridge of her nose as though one day planning to form a unibrow. They were a bit unkempt, but Drew had never commented on her eyebrows. He had always said that he could only focus on her beautiful green eyes. Of course, at that time, she'd worn her green contact so that her eyes matched.
Ashley seemed to have read her mind. "Ever since you ditched that contact, which I think was wonderfully brave, you've looked so much more like
you
." She slid an arm around Cooper's waist and squeezed--something she hadn't done for a while. "Let people see all of you, Coop. You're lovely--a natural beauty. You really are. Let them see you."
Cooper nodded, pleasantly surprised by her sister's display of affection. "I stopped wearing that contact because I want people to take me as I come, but I haven't really been putting my best face forward. Okay, then. Where should I go, Ms. Yellowbook?"
"Leave it all to me," Ashley declared, reaching for her fuchsia cell phone.
"You look different," Jake said and then his gaze immediately fell upon the basket in Cooper's hands. "What are those and are they for us?" he demanded, licking his lips.
Cooper smiled at his eagerness, trying not to allow her fingers to touch the blunt layers of her new, shoulder-length bob or rub the sensitive skin above her eyes where hair had been ripped away using hot wax and strips of white cloth. She had barely recognized herself in the mirror when the beautician swiveled her chair around, revealing stylish hair with movement and body. Cooper also saw that her eyes, though rimmed with smarting skin, seemed more willing to welcome their own reflection. Even the beautician's declarations over the different shades of her client's eyes hadn't put a damper on the final result.
"I'm smelling butterscotch," Savannah said from her chair. "Definitely homemade baked goods. Did you make us this treat? Aren't you nice."
"Mama did most of the work," Cooper admitted. "She's a master baker. She makes cookies for a lot of the local sandwich places."
"Not Magnolia's Marvels?" Trish inquired, her interest clearly piqued.
"Actually, yes." Cooper handed the basket to Savannah and placed her travel mug on the surface of an empty desk. "These are her butterscotch cheesecake squares."
"Come on, Savannah. Grab one and pass the basket my way!" Trish ordered. "I am addicted to everything that woman makes. If I didn't have a treadmill
and
a StairMaster in my house, I'd be a thousand pounds because of those cookies!"
At that moment, Nathan, Bryant, and Quinton stepped into the room.
"Hey, you got your hair cut," Bryant observed, giving Cooper elevator eyes. "It looks really good."
Nathan smiled. "Yeah, you look ... I don't know. Younger, more energized."
"Whoa,
that's
a great haircut," Trish said once her mouth was empty. "If it can turn back time, it's a winner. I like all the layers around your face. Makes you look softer, more feminine."
Shaking his head, Nathan said, "No, that's not what I meant." Still staring at Cooper, he continued, "You look refreshed, um, ready for--"
"Like you're ready to take on the world!" Savannah completed his sentence for him. Nathan looked at the blind woman gratefully.
"Did you bring that document from Brooke's copier along with these
unbelievable
cookies?" Quinton brandished a cookie in each hand. "I know we're supposed to talk about this stuff at lunch, but I can't stop thinking about a way to help the Hugheses."
"Me either, Quinton." Cooper passed him the taped paper. "I hope you can make some sense out of it."
