The Root of All Evil (Hope Street Church Mysteries Book 4) (29 page)

Mug in hand, Cooper trudged up to her apartment, but she knew before she got there that sleep wouldn’t come easily. She sat at her desk, sipping tea for a good half hour before she remembered the copy of Sylvia’s will that Lewis had given her.

“If nothing else, maybe some legalese will put me to sleep,” she mused aloud as she opened the envelope and started skimming the document. Sylvia was an only child and the only surviving member of her family. She had no aunts, uncles, grandparents or cousins. And when she died, everything was supposed to go to Lewis, a fact Cooper still found difficult to swallow, even if Sylvia
was
an enabler.

“Hmm,” Cooper hummed. “What happens now that Lewis isn’t around to collect?”

She scanned the next page. In the event that Lewis wasn’t able to collect his inheritance, all money, property and other assets were to be turned over to the will’s executor to be distributed among charities and causes as the executor saw fit.

“So the executor benefits from Lewis’s death.” Cooper paused. The executor. Lewis had told them . . .

“Abigail Merken.” There it was, in black and white, just as Lewis had said the first time they’d spoken. Abbi was the executor, the one who benefited now that both Sylvia and Lewis were dead. She had full control of Sylvia’s assets.

• • •

“But I thought Sylvia didn’t have any assets,” Trish argued over the phone the next morning. Cooper had called her first thing Wednesday morning to discuss the recent discovery.

“She had her artwork and a small bank account,” Cooper said. “And it looks like she had some property in Michigan. Even if it wasn’t a lot, money is money and people will kill for it.”

“That’s cynical.”

“It’s true.”

“Yes, but it’s still cynical. The problem is, Abbi’s not a professional killer, and I doubt she could afford to hire one.”

“She wouldn’t have to be professional if she knew the victim, right? Maybe Abbi did some research to figure out how to murder someone. She could’ve talked with Sylvia and gone with her to the pastor’s office. While Sylvia’s back was turned . . . she put on a mask and started stabbing.”

“Still seems like a stretch.”

Secretly, Cooper agreed, but she wasn’t about to say it. “Whether it’s a stretch or not, I’m no longer convinced that anyone can pick out a bad guy from a brief conversation. Will you check out the Michigan property?”

“What about it?”

“Just see if Sylvia still owned any property in Michigan.”

“What about Abbi?”

“I’ll go talk to her after work.” She thought of her conversation with Ms. Donna the night before. “And maybe I’ll see if Nathan can go. I’d like to talk to him . . . He’s been so busy I haven’t seen him for a while.”

• • •

After work, Cooper swung by Nathan’s house, and together they rode to the Parham Road Campus. They made idle chitchat on the way—Nathan’s recent projects, the Make it Work! thief, Cooper’s haunted birdhouse. She wasn’t sure how to bring up the subject of their relationship, especially since it wasn’t necessarily going to be a pleasant conversation. She waited, hoping Nathan would say something to give her an opening, but by the time they arrived at the community college, she still hadn’t found one.

They found Abbi in the parking lot, ready to leave for the day.

“Cooper, hello!” The professor greeted her with a smile. “I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again. Who’s this?”

Nathan held out a hand and Abbi shook it. “I’m Nathan. It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Merken.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Nathan. What brings you and Cooper here?”

“Did you hear about Lewis Wilburson?” Cooper asked.

Abbi nodded. “I did. I can’t say I’m heartbroken, considering how he ruined Sylvia’s life, but I’m still sorry about the way it happened.”

“Before he died, he gave me a copy of Sylvia’s will, so I could take a look at it and stop bothering him. I noticed that you’re the executor.”

Abbi’s demeanor didn’t change at all. “That’s correct. Sylvia didn’t trust Lewis to do the job properly, and she didn’t have any other family.”

“She left everything to him, though.”

“Against my advice and all common sense, yes, she did. That man had a hold on her that even time and separation couldn’t break.”

“Now that Lewis is dead, you get it all.”

Abbi laughed. “Is that why you came to see me? You think I killed Lewis? Cooper, I already talked to the police and gave them my alibi. Moreover, the fact that I control the money doesn’t really benefit me. I’m in charge of
distributing
the funds. I don’t get to keep them.”

Nathan stepped in, smiling sweetly. “Forgive us, Abbi. We didn’t mean to accuse you of anything. We’re just trying to get the facts straight. If I may ask, what did Sylvia have to pass on?”

“Not a lot.”

“What about property?” Cooper asked. “Did she have a house or anything?”

“She lived in an apartment in town,” Abbi replied. “She mentioned having a little house in Michigan that her parents left her—the only remnant of their holdings that Lewis hadn’t gambled away. He tried more than once to force her to sell it and put the money toward his new debts, but she refused. Except for selling the house, she always came to his rescue, loaning him what he needed. He never paid it back.”

“I don’t understand that,” Nathan said. “Why did she bail him out? They were divorced. She didn’t owe him anything.”

“Lewis tried to explain it to me,” Cooper added. “I still don’t get it.”

Abbi shrugged. “Sylvia had a good heart and she wanted to believe she could save Lewis. Plus, he always said he moved here away from the world he knew for her sake, so she felt obligated to help him out. Lewis knew how she felt, and he used it. He would try and force her to put that little house up for sale, so she’d find another way to help him. It was a game he played to get what he wanted. He’d threaten the last of her parents’ legacy, and he’d get money. Lewis Wilburson was as manipulative and emotionally abusive as they come. The world’s a better place without him.”

“Surely Sylvia couldn’t keep that up.” Cooper shook her head in dismay. “She couldn’t pay for herself and his debts.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure how she paid as long as she did. Sylvia had so little money on hand, but I guess that’s what happens when you love the wrong person. You give; they take.” Abbi sighed and looked at her watch. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting.”

• • •

On the way home, Cooper was quiet. She wasn’t thinking about the discussion with Abbi. Instead, her thoughts focused on the impending conversation with Nathan. It needed to happen now, before another day passed by, before she had to endure another sleepless night. All the way to Nathan’s, she considered the best way to broach the subject, but there was no easy way.

She pulled into his driveway, parked the truck and sat still and silent.

“Do you want to come in?” Nathan asked expectantly. He had that look in his eye, the one that said he wanted to hug and kiss and talk well into the night. It wasn’t a look of romance or passion, but one of routine.

“No, thanks,” she squeaked.

“Coop, what’s wrong?”

“Why do you think there’s something wrong?”

“You’ve been a little off all evening,” he said. “There’s something bugging you. I can tell.”

It was now or never. “Nathan, does it bother you that we haven’t . . . I mean that our physical relationship isn’t moving forward?”

Nathan shrugged. “Not really. I mean, intimacy is about more than just sex, right? And we’ve been through enough together that I feel like we’re . . . we’re close.” He grinned. “And I enjoy the physical relationship that we
do
have.”

While Cooper was glad to hear that he wasn’t hung up on a lack of sex, that still didn’t solve the problem. “Then what is it?”

His grin disappeared, and his brow furrowed in confusion. “I don’t understand. What is what?”

“Do you want . . .” Cooper could feel her face and neck getting hot and her throat tightening. How did she say it? How could she ask? She drew in a deep breath, and with a quick, silent prayer, plowed ahead. “Do you want a future with me?”

“Sure. Of course.” He answered without a pause, as if it were simply matter-of-fact, as if it were a foregone conclusion or a business deal. “Of course I want a future with you and a present.”

“Then why haven’t you . . . taken steps?”

He hesitated. “I’m not sure I know what you mean . . .”

“We’ve been together for more than a year, Nathan. But it feels like we’re just killing time. When my sister and Lincoln had been dating this long, they were talking rings and churches and . . . I want to know where you stand.”

For at least a full minute, Nathan said nothing, and Cooper could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She blinked them away, determined to see the conversation through. It was too late to back out now.

“Maybe I should just tell you where I stand,” she finally said, since it appeared Nathan had no idea what to say or think. “You can figure things out after that. Nathan, I want a future with you. A real future. I want the house with the white fence and a dog playing in the backyard. I want kids, and a minivan, and soccer games. Most of all, I want you.”

Nathan didn’t even blink as she continued. “I don’t know what’s stopping you or holding you back. Maybe you don’t see the same future with me. If that’s the case, tell me . . . because I won’t wait forever.”

Nathan’s voice was quiet and gentle. “I didn’t realize you were feeling this way.”

Despite her determination, Cooper couldn’t manage any more words without crying. Instead, she just nodded.

“Do you want to . . . talk some more . . . about anything?”

Cooper shook her head.

“Do you want me to go?”

Cooper stared hard at the steering wheel, and Nathan took that as his sign. He slid out of her truck, walked to his front door and went inside without looking back once.

15

Nathan didn’t call that night or the rest of the week. He didn’t show up to Bible study or church on Sunday. Cooper did her best to concentrate on her work and not think about him, but he was really all she could think about. Every time her phone rang, she hoped it was him. Every time she heard footsteps in the hall, she held her breath to see if he’d dropped by for an impromptu visit.

In the meantime, life went on and work continued. Harry Wintersteen called six times, and Cooper ignored every call. The atmosphere at Make It Work! was tense, and Cooper didn’t know what to do about it. Trish discovered that the Cassel family estate was worth nearly half a million dollars. Sylvia had refused to sell because it was the last part of her family history that she owned, but she paid for that obstinacy by being broke most of the time in Richmond.

While Cooper was glad to learn the information, Trish’s call wasn’t the one she wanted. It wasn’t until the following Thursday that she answered her cell and heard Nathan’s voice.

“I’m glad you called,” she said in lieu of a greeting. “I wanted to talk to you about—”

“I know what you want to talk about, but there’s something else going on right now,” Nathan interrupted. “I spent the day at Hope Street with Savannah so she could do her substitute teaching. We found the girl in the picture.”

It took Cooper a moment to realize what Nathan was talking about. “You mean the sketch?” she asked. “The one in the copier?”

“That’s the one. She was a student in one of Ms. Cassel’s classes.”

“Did she know anything about the sketch?”

“Unfortunately no. She’s the daughter of a computer programmer and a homemaker, and she grew up in Richmond. There’s nothing questionable about her, I’m afraid, and she had no idea where the sketch came from or why someone would steal it.”

“So that’s it?” Cooper asked, slumping in her chair.

“A dead end.”

“But why would the killer take that sketch? It makes no sense.”

“Well, I just thought you’d want to know. See you Sunday.”

“Nathan, wait. Can’t we talk, please?”

Nathan sighed. “Look, Coop. You spoke your mind, and I’m glad you did. You’ve given me a lot to think about. But now you’ve gotta give me some more time to think.”

“Oh. Okay.” Cooper tried to keep her tone upbeat even though she wanted to cry. “I’ll see you Sunday.” She hung up the phone, staring at it for a few minutes thereafter. Had she destroyed their relationship? Was this the end?

She folded her arms on her desk and laid her head down. The “Oh my!” from the door told her that Angela had picked this exact moment to come in for a visit.

“Are you ill?” Angela asked, rushing to Cooper’s side.

Cooper raised her head. “I think I made a big mistake. I may have ruined things with Nathan.”

“Well, if things are over with Nathan, you have your cop friend, and if that doesn’t work out, there’s always Emilio’s buddy!”

“Don’t remind me,” Cooper groaned. “I still haven’t figured out what to do about Will, and I’m not going out with anyone who calls himself Emilio’s buddy. Not to change the subject or anything, but how’s Mr. Farmer?”

Angela’s eyes twinkled. “He’s wonderful, as usual. And I think his sister’s warming up to me. She came in just this morning and said, ‘Hello!’ Either she’s learning to like me or she decided it’s useless to cause a ruckus, since I’m not going anywhere. Frankly, I don’t care which one it is so long as she stays outta my way!”

“I’m glad to hear it, but I was thinking of the situation here at the office. Mr. Farmer hasn’t said anything since we all went to lunch together.”

“As great an idea as that lunch was, you and I both know it didn’t do any good. We’re not trained to spot thieves!”

Even a person who can spot thieves didn’t see anything worthwhile,
Cooper thought. “Do you know what he’s got planned next?”

“No, but . . .” Angela’s phone began to ring. “I’ve got to answer that. Talk in a bit?”

When Angela was gone, Cooper meandered down the hall to Mr. Farmer’s office. The door was open, and Mr. Farmer looked up from his computer when she stepped inside.