The Root of All Evil (Hope Street Church Mysteries Book 4) (36 page)

Cooper nodded. “Just bruised my tailbone a little.” As Nathan helped her to her feet, she stared at Officer Brayden. “He had a knife, Nathan. He had a knife, and he had Daddy.”

Earl stepped over the fallen cop and put his arms around Cooper. “I’m all right. It’s a good thing Nathan showed up when he did.” Maggie joined the family embrace, and while still hugging his daughter, Earl extended a hand to Nathan. The two men shook on their victory. “I owe you, son.”

Nathan took a deep breath. “I’d settle for an explanation.”

Cooper stepped from her father’s arms to Nathan’s, burying her head in her boyfriend’s shoulder. “Come with me. I’ll explain everything.”

While Earl called 911, Cooper paced the hall with Nathan and told him all that had happened: the discussion with McNamara, the run-in with Harry, the attack at her home, Ashley’s labor and the fight with Officer Brayden. By the end, she was crying.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she finally said. “I don’t even want to think about what could have happened if you hadn’t come.”

“I’m just sorry I wasn’t here sooner. I was out driving around and decided to go to your place so we could talk. I accidentally left my phone at home.” He paused, swallowing away his own tears. “When I got to your house and saw all the police, I was so scared. I thought something happened to you.”

“No, not to me,” Cooper replied, holding him tightly, as if he were anchoring her to the ground.

“Grammy told me where you’d gone so I came right over. I saw your dad and the cop, and . . . Well, your dad’s okay, and it looks like Officer Brayden won’t be bothering anyone for a while. The important thing now is your sister. Any idea when you’ll find out more about her and the baby?”

Cooper shook her head. “Lincoln’s been back there for a long time, and we don’t know why. I figure it’s either really good—that she had the baby—or really . . .”

“It’s good,” Nathan insisted. He put his hands on Cooper’s face and met her gaze. “I know it.”

“How do you know?”

“Because it has to be.”

His explanation wasn’t scientific, and Cooper wasn’t even sure it made sense, but it was what she needed to hear. As she embraced him once again, the double doors swung open and Lincoln walked slowly into the waiting area. His eyes were red and his cheeks puffy. He didn’t even seem to see the fallen officer or the hospital security staff taking over for Maggie and Earl. Cooper’s heart sank.

Nathan and Cooper met him just outside the doors. He ran his fingers through his hair and then he started to cry.

Cooper didn’t ask for a reason. She couldn’t bear to hear it. Instead, she put her arms around Lincoln, as did Nathan, and he cried into their shoulders. Maggie and Earl joined them. Together they stood, waiting to hear the worst.

Finally, Lincoln pulled away, and through his tears announced, “It’s a girl. And Ashley’s gonna be okay.”

Cooper wasn’t sure how long they hugged and laughed and celebrated in the waiting room, but some time later, a nurse pushed Ashley’s bed down the hall and the Lee family—plus Nathan—followed along. After Lincoln and Ashley had a few minutes together in the recovery room, Lincoln emerged exhausted but all smiles.

“She’s sleeping,” he said. “But we can go see the baby.”

Cooper patted him on the back. “You don’t have to tell us twice. Lead the way.”

At the viewing room, they stood in a line, watching the little girl in the middle row sleep.

“That’s her,” Lincoln whispered. “My little girl. My Hannah. Hannah Cooper Love.”

Cooper beamed, fighting back another bout of joyful tears. “How long will Hannah Cooper Love be in there?”

“They want to monitor her heart. We should be able to take her home in the next couple days. Then she’ll be all ours.”

Earl put an arm around Lincoln’s shoulder. “She already is all yours, son.”

After watching baby Hannah for a good twenty minutes, Nathan motioned for Cooper to come with him. Leaving Earl, Lincoln and Maggie at the viewing window, they wandered back to the waiting room.

“I’m sorry about . . . about everything,” Cooper said when they were finally alone. “I shouldn’t have been upset. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Coop, I want you to tell me when things bother you, always. Even if they’re things I may not want to hear. I want you to be open with me. Don’t ever hold back. And I’m sorry I put you in that position. I should have been more up front.” He looked around them. “I know you want this—all of it—the house, the kids, the life together.”

“Yes, I do, but when we were talking about Ashley at lunch with my family . . .”

“I should’ve explained,” he said. “When we talked about what Ashley was going through, it bothered me, because I thought about you having to go through all of it.”

“You mean . . . you don’t want children?”

Nathan shook his head. “That’s not what I mean at all. But the thought of you being in danger, having that much stress on your body . . . It terrified me. Every conversation we’ve had about your sister’s high-risk pregnancy has terrified me. I don’t want you to be hurt. I don’t want to risk losing you. So that day I finally tried to be detached. Her due date was close, which meant the danger was greater, and I kept thinking of you being in danger. Being detached helped me not be so terrified, but I guess I didn’t react well.”

Cooper felt her whole body relax. “You were worried about me? I appreciate it, Nathan, but you don’t have to worry. I’m sorry I demanded to know what your plans—”

“Please,” he interjected. “Let me get this out. I
have
kept you waiting to know my plans, and that isn’t fair.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Maybe. But I didn’t do it right, either. The time has come to . . . to move forward. Over the past week, I’ve been getting some things in order, doing a lot of thinking and praying, and also doing some very important shopping.”

He dropped to one knee right in the middle of the maternity waiting room and revealed a little jewelry box. “I realize this isn’t a great time, but I don’t want to wait anymore, and I don’t want to make you wait.” He opened the box. Inside was a diamond ring. “Cooper, I can’t begin to tell you how blessed I am to have you in my life. I want you now and forever. I want the house, the kids, the life together with you. So, Cooper, will you marry me?”

Cooper didn’t pause. She didn’t think or hesitate. She didn’t weigh the pros and cons or consider her options. She just said, “Yes.”

• • •

By Sunday morning, the entire Bible study had heard about Officer Brayden’s involvement in the murder of Sylvia Cassel. Still, they listened intently while Ms. Donna filled in the details of the attack and Cooper related the details of Brayden’s capture. For more than half the allotted study time, they discussed Sylvia’s case.

“So what happens now?” Bryant asked. “Is it over?”

Cooper hesitated, glancing at Ms. Donna. “For the most part.”

Ms. Donna sat back and sighed. “What she means is, you’ve still got to figure out what to do with me.”

Savannah put her hand on Ms. Donna’s. “We’ll figure something out. After all, you did help to catch a killer. That has to count for something.”

“But she did steal from the churches,” Jake countered. “I’m sorry, but it’s true.”

Edward shook his head. “Yeah, but she made up for it, don’t you think?”

Cooper turned to him, shocked. “You’re sticking up for Ms. Donna?”

“Might be,” he said with a shrug. “She’s not such a bad lady.”

“I appreciate that glowing report,” Ms. Donna commented, grinning. “Tell you what. Why don’t you give it the day? All of you can think about it. I’m staying with the Lees for tonight at least, so you’ll be able to find me, regardless of what you decide.”

Cooper wanted to give Ms. Donna a hug. Yes, the woman had done something terrible, but in the time Cooper had known her, she’d come to think of Ms. Donna as a friend. She didn’t want her friend to go to prison. But if that was what justice required, Cooper might not have a choice.

When they were finished discussing the case and Ms. Donna, Nathan cleared his throat. “If I could add something . . .”

Savannah nodded, smiling. “I don’t think we’ll get to our regular study this morning, so you go right ahead. What do you want to share?”

He took Cooper’s hand and together they stood. “We have an announcement,” he said. “This beautiful woman has agreed to marry me!”

Everyone clapped and cheered and jumped up, surrounding the couple and offering hugs and good wishes. Trish and Savannah were especially excited, launching into plans for a bridal shower, wedding, reception and honeymoon, all in quick succession. The chatter following Nathan and Cooper’s news took up the rest of the Bible study time. But when the first notes of worship music floated down the hall from the chapel, Savannah closed out their time together with a prayer of praise and thanks.

Before Cooper left the room, Quinton came up to her and gave her a big hug. “I’m so happy for the two of you,” he said. He handed her a folded piece of paper. “I was going to share this today, but I didn’t get a chance. It’s inspired by the case.”

As he left, Cooper opened the paper and read.

All That I Need

Silver will tarnish, gold turns to dust

Money to ashes, treasure to rust

Everything here is brief as the day

All that I see will be dying away

All of my riches will fade

Though I may now suffer loss

The wealth of my silver and gold

Means nothing at all when compared to the cross

Make me rich in Your love,

A joy that won’t cease,

Abounding in mercy,

And filled with Your peace

Wealthy in faith

Overflowing with grace

Wrapped in the comfort

Of Your strong embrace

I don’t seek for gold and for greed.

To know You and be known by You, that’s all that I need

Cooper refolded the paper and tucked it into her purse.
If only Lewis and Sylvia had realized that,
she thought.
Maybe then they’d both still be alive.

She hurried down the hall and into the chapel. Nathan had saved her a seat in a row with Jake, Savannah and Ms. Donna. After the worship songs, Pastor Matthews said a prayer and followed it with announcements.

“The Lord works in mysterious ways,” he said. “How often I am reminded of this. You may have heard that Hope Street Christian Academy is short on funds. In fact, the school was very close to closing its doors for good. We’ve been trusting that God would show us some way to keep the school running; however, time had just about run out. But just this morning, I had a conversation with the executor of Sylvia Cassel’s will. It seems that Sylvia had a home in Michigan worth quite a lot, and the executor has full control over the money from the sale of that estate. She told me today that she believes Sylvia would have wanted that money to go to Hope Street Christian Academy.”

The crowd erupted in applause, and Cooper leaned over to Nathan. “Looks like Abbi Merken really is looking out for what Sylvia wanted, even now that Sylvia’s gone.”

“I hope Sylvia knew the kind of friend she had.” Nathan took Cooper’s hand and kissed it. “Sometimes we take the people close to us for granted.”

Pastor Matthews continued. “The good news doesn’t stop there, folks. This weekend, each of the Richmond churches robbed in recent months received an anonymous donation roughly equal to the amount that was stolen. No one knows who this nameless philanthropist is, but I think I speak for all the pastors and the people when I say that this individual has been a blessing.”

Cooper paused. Was that why Ms. Donna wanted them all to “give it the day”? So they could hear that news? She leaned over so she could see across Jake and Savannah and sought out Ms. Donna. For a moment, Ms. Donna continued to face forward, as if nothing were out of the ordinary. Then, she turned smiling, met Cooper’s gaze and winked.

• • •

Monday morning, Cooper called Mr. Farmer before she left the house and asked him to invite both Angela and his sister to Make It Work! When she arrived, she marched straight into Mr. Farmer’s office, the fingerprinting results in hand. Though Will Brayden was a murderer, there was no reason for him to falsify the results of this particular analysis.

“What’s all this about?” Mrs. Farmer asked, irritated. “I have things to do!”

“I’m sure you do,” Cooper replied. “This won’t take long.”

“And from what I understand this . . .
secretary
has been found guilty of theft!” Mrs. Farmer turned up her nose at Angela. “Shouldn’t she be fired?”

“There’s been an interesting development there.” Cooper handed the papers over to Mr. Farmer to look at. “You may not know the whole story, Mrs. Farmer. You see, Mr. Farmer—at the suggestion of someone he spoke to Thursday morning—decided to search the work lockers. He found the stolen items in Angela’s locker.”

“So why is she still here?”

“Well, neither Mr. Farmer nor I believe that Angela would do such a thing.”

“The evidence speaks for itself.”

“Funny you should mention evidence.” Cooper sat on the edge of Mr. Farmer’s desk so she could see his sister’s face directly. “We decided to gather more evidence. We had a policeman come down to fingerprint every employee and dust the stolen items for fingerprints.”