The Path of the Crooked (Hope Street Church Mysteries Book 1) (12 page)

“He’s with his grandparents 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 to his parents, and a million crayon drawings. 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 came to church with his parents.” He stood and lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. “We found a clue today, Cooper. We have to focus on the positive side of things if we’re going to help Caleb get his father back and discover the truth about Brooke’s death.”

Nodding, she sniffed and took a last look at the picture, more determined than ever to exonerate Brooke’s husband and reunite 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 place—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 begged for forgiveness. 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 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 with the consistency of a jellyfish. I like things that have been cooked until they don’t look like they can crawl across your plate.”

Nathan laughed and led her outside into the birdsong-filled twilight.

7

On Saturday afternoon, Cooper asked her mother if they could bake cookies to bring to the Sunrise Bible Study members the next morning.

“If visiting the Hughes home was rough for you, it must have been real 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 fly, she reflected on 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’d been in his company, Cooper couldn’t help but smile. She’d tried not to notice the freckles scattered on his cheeks, the way a wave of his hair fell over his forehead, and how nimbly he manipulated his chopsticks, but she had.

Cooper was so busy reminiscing that she didn’t hear Ashley approach through the tall grass.

“You look like a cat that’s just caught the canary,” Ashley said. 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 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. “Hallelujah! We’re all 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 a guy to talk about the Hughes case,” Cooper said, 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, winding a blade of grass around her thumb. “Nathan’s committed to an online dating service and I don’t think I’m interested in him that way.”

Ashley didn’t look convinced.
“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 not trying to be mean. I want you to be happy, and I think you should go for this Nathan guy.” Ashley’s eyes flashed a brilliant blue. “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 hunting prowess. 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 layers and highlights, then you’d really be gorgeous.”

“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’re 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, 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 blonde 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. Let them see you.”

Cooper nodded, pleasantly surprised by her sister’s display of affection. “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 asked, licking his lips.

Cooper smiled at his eagerness, trying not to allow her fingers to touch the blunt layers of her shoulder-length bob or rub the sensitive skin above her eyes where hair had been ripped away. She’d barely recognized herself in the mirror when the beautician swiveled her chair around, revealing her new chic hairstyle and shapely brows.

“I smell butterscotch,” Savannah said from her chair. “Did you make us this treat?”

“Mama did most of the work,” Cooper admitted. “She’s a master baker. She makes cookies for several local sandwich places.”

“Not Magnolia’s Marvels?” Trish asked, 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 cried. “I’m 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 said, giving Cooper elevator eyes. “It looks great.”

Nathan smiled. “Yeah, you look . . . I don’t know. Fresh. Energized.”

“Totally,” Quinton agreed. “And not to change the subject, but did you bring that document from Brooke’s copier along with these
unbelievable
cookies?” He 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 the Hugheses.”

“Me either.” Cooper passed him the taped paper. “I hope you can make sense of it.”

As Quinton examined the document, the rest of the group took their seats and opened their workbooks. When everyone was clearly prepared to start, Savannah asked the Sunrise members to join her in prayer.

“These cookies are amazing,” Savannah said to Cooper afterward. “I’d love the recipe. We have the same old boxed cookies and crackers at my couples group. These would certainly perk us all up.” She dusted crumbs from her fingertips. “Does anyone have anything to share before we dive in?”

“When I was filling in the workbook answers, I thought of a strange coincidence between our study and our investigation,” Bryant said. “Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter to the church.”

“And Wesley Hughes is in prison.” Trish frowned and glanced around at her friends. “I wish I felt more hopeful about his release.”

Jake slammed his fist on his desk. “And I wish a little bit of that wrath Paul talks about in chapter two would fall on the head of the lowlife who
should
be in prison.”

“I don’t know about that,” Savannah countered with extreme gentleness and went on to review the lesson.

The group spent the remaining thirty minutes discussing their homework answers and then headed to worship service.

During the offering, Quinton pulled out a check from the inside pocket of his shiny suit coat and deposited it in the brass plate Bryant handed to him. Cooper noticed Quinton drop a piece of paper while removing his check from his pocket, but she couldn’t mention it to him, as the congregation was singing a boisterous praise song. During the brief pause between the offering and the end of the sermon, Quinton was preoccupied with blowing his nose, so Cooper decided to wait until the service was over to return the paper.

However, immediately following the final song, Quinton fell into conversation with a man seated behind him. When it became clear that the men meant to speak at great length, she headed out to the lobby to wait for Quinton there.

She took a momentary glance at the sheet and realized that the handwritten words were those of a poem or possibly song lyrics. It was completely out of character for Cooper to read any document that did not belong to her, but having already scanned the first line, she felt compelled to finish it. Ducking behind a pillar, she absorbed the words as quickly as she could.

“It must be a song,” Cooper said to herself and then finished reading the lyrics, allowing the beautiful and powerful words to sweep over her. Tucking the paper in her purse, she looked around for Quinton, and realizing that her friends had probably all left for their lunch meeting, she hurried outside to her truck.

By the time Cooper pushed open the front door of Panera Bread, she saw most of the group inside collecting their orders from the counter, filling cups with beverages, and distributing brown paper napkins around the tabletop. Cooper ordered a portabella and mozzarella melt with a small Greek salad and joined her friends.

“I know we’re waiting for Bryant and Savannah,” Quinton said after swallowing a mammoth bite of roast beef, cheddar, and all the fixings served on toasted Asiago cheese bread. “But I took a look at the paper Cooper reconstructed.” He reached across the table and patted her hand. “Good job, by the way.” He then pointed at the numbers on the top of the paper. “I believe these are credit card numbers because there are sixteen digits. Check it out.” Everyone leaned over to view the numbers. “It seems like there are only fifteen here, but there’s actually another digit beneath this ink smear. If you stare at it long enough, you can see a shape, but I’m not sure what the number is.”

Jake was skeptical. “Can I see that?” Plucking the paper off the table, he brought it close to his face. Cooper noticed that his foot was shaking back and forth beneath the table and wondered if he was exhibiting signs of nicotine withdrawal. When she’d stepped on the scale that morning and found that she’d gained five pounds, she knew that she’d been eating twice as many Magnolia’s Marvels in an effort to deal with her own nicotine cravings.

“You’re right, big man,” Jake said to Quinton. “It could be a four or a nine. It’s too blurry to tell.”

“Do you think the account is this Hazel person’s?” Trish asked, poking at her Asian sesame chicken salad.

Quinton nodded. “I do. The numbers are written right after her name. We just can’t tell what her last name is because of that unfortunate hole.”

Nathan finished his French onion soup and turned to Cooper. “This might be a crazy question, but is there any way this teeny tiny missing piece of paper could still be in the copier?”

Cooper looked thoughtful. “Maybe. I thought I got all the scraps, but I could check. I have a routine maintenance schedule at Capital City. They wouldn’t pay me any mind if I poked around in Brooke’s copier.” She glanced at her friends, her eyes glimmering. “I might be able to nose about in her office too.”