by Ellery Adams
Nathan nodded, and quietly he and Cooper followed Quinton out the front door and around the side of the hospital to a half-hidden garden just off the cafeteria. Here, the sidewalk stopped, replaced by a flagstone path, flanked on both sides by flowers and small trees. The path split into two branches with perfectly green grass spanning the area between them. In the open areas stood bird feeders and birdbaths in full use. Cooper watched two sparrows splash around in the water, and she couldn’t help but smile.
Quinton continued walking until they came to a bench just off the path, and here they sat, in the shade of a peach tree.
For a few minutes, they were silent. Cooper and Quinton waited patiently for Nathan to tell them about his morning. He was in no hurry to talk.
Finally, Quinton pointed to the sparrows in the birdbath. “Did you see those?” he asked.
Nathan nodded.
“They seem so happy,” Cooper said. “Makes me glad.”
Quinton continued. “I was doing my morning devotion today, and I read something about sparrows. It might help you to think about it.”
Nathan turned to him. “What did you read?”
“In the Bible, in the book of Matthew, it says that not one little sparrow will fall to the ground without being in the care of God. It goes on to say that you—all God’s children—are worth more than many sparrows put together. So if God won’t let the sparrow fall without taking care of it, then you know He’s really going to take care of you. And He’s going to take care of Christine, too.”
Nathan took a deep breath. “I needed to hear that. I guess things aren’t as bad for Christine as they could be. McNamara said they’ll be keeping her the full seventy-two hours unless something happens to clear her before then, but he pulled me aside before I left and told me he didn’t think there was enough on Christine to make the charges stick, so she’ll probably be out by Sunday evening.”
“McNamara told you that?” Cooper asked, surprised. “He seemed so cynical when I told him Christine was innocent. I’m amazed he was so positive.”
“That’s the good part. When I talked with Christine, she was so down. She couldn’t sleep, and she’s terrified of being put in prison.”
“Sounds like she doesn’t have to worry about prison, though,” Quinton said.
Nathan shrugged. “McNamara really doesn’t know for sure, and even if he were certain, Christine’s still scared about it. If, by the end of the seventy-two hours, the prosecutor wants to indict, she’ll have to go to county until she posts bail.”
Cooper took Nathan’s hand. “If it ever comes to that, you know I’ll be giving you whatever I have for bail money.”
“That goes for all of us,” Quinton added.
“Thanks,” Nathan replied. “Christine knows I’d put up bail money, and so would our parents. There’s always the possibility, though, that she’ll have to spend time in a cell. A real cell. Not the little holding cell at the station.” He rubbed his eyes. “It was so hard to see her like that. Locked up, scared. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so . . . so miserable before.”
“If Savannah were here, she’d probably talk about Paul,” Cooper said. “You know, the apostle who spent a lot of time in jail.”
Nathan surprised Cooper with a laugh. “Didn’t she name her Monopoly playing piece after him?” he asked.
“I think so,” Quinton replied. “Unlike Paul, though, it sounds like Christine won’t be behind bars much longer.”
“I hope you’re right. I don’t think we’ve made much progress finding the real . . . and I haven’t been able to figure out how to corroborate Christine’s alibi.” He started wringing his hands. “I haven’t been able to do anything to help her. Nothing at all. Am I the worst brother in the world?”
“You are easily the best brother in the world,” Cooper argued. “You love Christine, and she knows it. You’ve spent as much time at the station as McNamara will allow. And you’ve been racking your brain to figure out how to exonerate her. Those, Nathan, are the marks of an amazing brother.”
Nathan turned to her and pulled her into a tight hug. “Thank you, Cooper.” He hugged her for a long time, and when he finally pulled away, he said, “It’s settled then. Celebration party at my house tomorrow night. In honor of Christine’s release. Everybody’s invited.”
11
Sunday morning, Cooper pulled into the church parking lot, straightened her blouse, and headed into Bible study. A big part of her had wanted to stay home today and shut out the rest of the world. She wanted to forget the week and how stressful it had been. She wanted to sit with Moses and Miriam, eat cookies, and watch happy movies. But she came anyway.
Greeted by the smell of a strong French roast and warm donuts wafting down the hallway, she was immediately glad she had.
However, when she entered the science classroom where the Sunrise Bible Study Group met, she noticed that the smell of breakfast wasn’t the only one awaiting her. There was a strong chemical stench in the air. Searching for the source, she pinched her nose. When Jake and Bryant spotted her, they laughed. Quinton was too busy enjoying his cruller to be bothered by the smell, but Trish looked as repulsed as Cooper felt.
“You don’t like our morning perfume?” Jake asked with a chuckle.
“What is that?” Cooper asked. “A science project gone awry?”
“I think they’re dissecting frogs,” Bryant replied. “I found a few in the fridge.”
Cooper fought an involuntary gag. She’d never considered herself a particularly squeamish girl when it came to dealing with the less pleasant side of science, but frog dissection stirred up a mess of unpleasant memories. The basketball players at her high school had decided to switch the dead frogs for live ones, so that when Cooper and her lab partner were preparing to cut into it, the poor frog leapt off the table. It had terrified Cooper and caused her lab partner to faint, while the jocks roared with laughter.
“Maybe we could move into a different room today,” she suggested, trying to breathe through her mouth. It helped reduce the odor, but only slightly, and now she could faintly taste formaldehyde as the air passed over her tongue.
Bryant shook his head and leaned back in his chair, seemingly indifferent to the stench. “We checked the other doors. They’re all locked . . . unless you want to have Bible study in one of the restrooms.”
Cooper was tempted to accept the offer, but instead made a beeline to the coffee. If she kept it right in front of her face for the duration of the meeting, she’d have a nose full of French roast instead of a nose full of frog.
At the table she stood beside Trish, who lingered over the donuts until she finally picked out a Boston cream. “I think it’s good we’re in here, in spite of the smell,” Trish said, placing her donut on a napkin. “I get the feeling the science teacher enjoys loaning us his room.”
“That’s because he thinks he’s repaying a debt,” Quinton said, and Cooper knew he was right. When the school’s art teacher was killed last year, the Bible study group helped find her killer. Ever since then, the science teacher, an ardent admirer of the victim, had insisted they use his room. He even offered to share his stash of soda pop, which he kept in the fridge right alongside the frogs, worms, and other perishable science projects.
Savannah poked her head into the room. “Pastor Matthews said he doesn’t feel comfortable opening up another room without the teacher’s permission.”
“It was a good idea,” Jake said. “But you know what? You really don’t notice the smell that much after you’ve been in here for a while. You get used to it.”
“I don’t believe that for a second,” Trish said, settling into an empty seat. “Unless those chemicals have killed your nose—I mean, actually murdered your nostrils. In that case, I believe you don’t notice the smell that much.”
Everyone cracked up at that, and as Nathan entered the room, he simultaneously smiled and wrinkled his nose. “Did something funny happen? Or is that disgusting smell som
ething like laughing gas?”
Cooper held her coffee under her nose and took a seat beside Trish. “Frog dissection. We’re making the best of it.”
“Well, I can honestly say I’ve lost my appetite,” he said, passing up both donuts and coffee and going directly to the circle of chairs. “Sorry I’m late.”
“We haven’t started, yet,” Savannah replied, her Bible open on her lap. “How’s your sister doing?”
“Not great, but . . . Look, I know we usually have a rule that we discuss business after Bible study, but do you think we could make an exception today, given the circumstances? I know you’ve all been talking to the Sphinx people, and I’ve been trying to figure out how to prove Christine’s alibi. I won’t be able to concentrate if I don’t know what you’ve all found out.”
“Neither will I,” Cooper said.
Savannah closed her Bible. “I think Ecclesiastes can wait. Nathan, why don’t you tell us how your sister’s doing, and we can all share what we know after that.”
Nathan told them about his visit with Christine Saturday morning and McNamara’s prediction that she’d be released. “I still don’t know how to prove Christine was watching that juggler,” he said as he finished. “The festival coordinators said they didn’t feel comfortable giving out the juggler’s phone number, but they gave me his name. I managed to track him down online and sent him a message through his website. Late last night he answered me. He said he couldn’t remember one face in the crowd. That was my only idea so far.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Cooper assured him, rubbing his back gently and momentarily removing the coffee from under her nose. She immediately regretted it. “By the way, I talked to Kenneth. He was on the phone with a client when Sinclair was killed.”
“Nala said she was wandering around the craft booths,” Trish said. “Of course, she was by herself at the time, so no one can verify that. She might be worth looking into.”
“I’m not sure,” Savannah argued. “I don’t think she’s capable of murder.”
“I’ll tell you who is,” Bryant said. “Dave. He refused to talk to Quinton and me about Sinclair, and he called us a few choice names before telling us to, well . . .”
“Go to a place we won’t be going, since we know Jesus,” Quinton said. “Dave definitely has anger issues. The problem is he struck me as a very impatient person.”
Nathan gave him a curious look. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Whoever killed Sinclair, assuming his death is connected to Sphinx, had patience. They’ve been working quietly for a long time, and I doubt Dave’s temperament could handle that.”
“I’m gonna need more of an explanation. How was the killer working quietly?”
Quinton pulled his briefcase out from under his chair and set it on his lap. He pulled out the paperwork Cooper had given him the day before. “I had a chance to look over the Sphinx financials, and Kenneth was right. The numbers don’t add up.”
“Wait, what’s going on?” Savannah asked. “What numbers?”
Cooper explained to them about her meeting with Kenneth and his suspicion about the missing money.
Quinton continued. “Here’s what we know. Sinclair maintained electronic bookkeeping software, as well as his own hard-copy ledger. Looking through both, Kenneth noticed a discrepancy, as Cooper told you. When I took to them with a magnifying glass, I found that Kenneth . . .”
Everyone leaned forward in anticipation.
“. . . was correct. According to the printouts from the bookkeeping software, the company’s overhead, expenditures, and so on remained constant for the past year, while income decreased by about ten grand a month.”
Bryant whistled at the amount.
“That’s not a lot for a big corporation, but for a small company like Sphinx that amount would hurt.”
“Doesn’t sound too questionable to me,” Jake said. “Companies do poorly sometimes. The economy hasn’t been that great. Nothing to write home about.”
Savannah nodded. “Isn’t it possible they lost some clients?”
“If I’d only looked at the electronic books, then yes, that would be entirely possible,” Quinton replied. “Clients might have left, or they might have cut back on how much they used Sphinx’s services.” He pulled the ledger out of his briefcase. “However, Sinclair’s ledger tells a very different story. It shows expenditures remaining constant for the past year, while income was constant for the first six months and actually increased slightly after that.”
“What about the missing ten grand a month?” Nathan asked. “Does his ledger explain where the money went?”
“Nope. It only shows the money is missing. It doesn’t show where it might have gone.”
Trish propped her elbows on her knees and rested her head on her fists. “Ten grand a month vanished into thin air. Where does that leave us?”
Quinton slipped the ledger back into his briefcase. “I’d say it leaves us with an embezzler in the ranks of Sphinx. A very patient embezzler. That rules out Dave. Again, assuming the embezzler and the killer are the same person, and I think that’s what we’re all assuming.”
They sat in silence, mulling over Quinton’s findings.
Finally, Savannah opened her Bible again. “I realize we haven’t reached any conclusions as to how to move forward, but now might be a good time to move on to our Bible study. We can discuss the case more afterward, if you’d like. Hopefully we’ve shared enough that everyone can concentrate.”
As Savannah spoke, Nathan reached his arm toward Cooper and put it around the back of her chair. She smiled at him and then looked at the Bible study members one by one. These were some of the best people she’d ever known, and she loved them all. Realizing just how much she loved them made her realize just how much she would miss them. Maybe it wasn’t the appropriate time—given that Jake was now reading from Ecclesiastes and Nathan’s sister was in jail—but Cooper couldn’t help thinking about Nathan’s job offer in L.A.
These mornings with Savannah, Jake, Trish, Quinton, and Bryant were precious. The entire group was a second family, and Cooper was facing the prospect of leaving them. She felt a tear in her eye and faked a yawn so she could casually wipe it away. Nathan squeezed her shoulder, and she saw the warm compassion in his eyes. Doubt and confusion filled her heart. She wasn’t ready to leave, but neither was she ready to tell Nathan to pass up an amazing opportunity.
Maybe a little more time would convince her. Time and a sympathetic ear. Cooper glanced at Nathan. He wanted her to keep his news secret, but she needed to talk to someone. Someone she could trust. Someone who would give her an honest opinion.
• • •
“It’s Aunt Cooper!” Ashley exclaimed to Hannah, who smiled and giggled in her arms. “What a wonderful surprise!”
“I hope you don’t mind company for a while,” Cooper replied. “I’m in need of some sister time.”
“That I can provide, if you’ll take the next dirty diaper.”
Cooper laughed. “You’ve got a deal.”
Ashley led her into the kitchen. “Care for any leftover chicken parmesan? Lincoln made it.”
“I had no idea he was such a wiz in the kitchen.”
“One of the ladies on our church committee offered to watch Hannah yesterday evening, so Lincoln surprised me with a date night.” Ashley dished out a hearty serving of chicken from its container onto a plate for Cooper. “He had me get all dressed up, and while I was primping, he was putting the final touches on the meal. I came out of the room to find a candlelit dinner on the table with wine, fancy place settings, and chocolate cake from the bakery for dessert.”
Cooper smiled. So there were people at Ashley’s church who would watch Hannah if Cooper wasn’t there to do it. That was nice to know. “Where is the chef this afternoon?”
“Since he surprised me with dinner, I decided to surprise him with a free afternoon. I think he had big plans to wander around the hardware s
tore for a while.”
“I hope I didn’t interrupt your quiet time. If you’d rather not have company, I can go.”
“Are you kidding? Me? The extrovert? I thrive on company.”
“Glad to hear it.” Cooper wondered if something more than extroversion made her sister happy to have company. Telltale signs of fatigue peeked through Ashley’s makeup—little bags under the eyes, a thinness to the lips, a pallor in the cheeks. Ashley was probably glad to see her, because Cooper could help her out for a little while. Cooper reached for Hannah. “Why don’t you let me hold the munchkin for a little while, and you can eat?”
“Really?” Ashley’s eyes were full of gratitude. “I’d get to have both hands free while I eat?”
“I think Hannah and I can manage for a little while. Enjoy your date night leftovers.”
Ashley handed her daughter over and sighed as she cut up her chicken. “I can’t tell you how marvelous it is to be able to use a knife and fork. Usually I have to just stab big pieces of food with my fork and tear bites off with my teeth, because I only have one hand free.”
“Doesn’t Hannah play by herself?”
“Sometimes, but she’s teething right now, and when she’s teething, she’s grouchy. When she’s grouchy, she wants to be held.”
Cooper tickled Hannah’s stomach, and the baby laughed. “This little thing? Grumpy?” Cooper shook her head. “I don’t believe that.”
“Believe it.” Ashley pulled up a stool to the counter and sat. “How are things at home?”
Cooper began to bounce Hannah on her hip. “Just fine.”
“And how are Mama and Daddy?”
“They’re all right.” Cooper gave her sister a look. “Don’t you talk to them pretty often?”
Ashley nodded. “We always talk about Hannah, and by the time we’re done with that, I have to go change a diaper, or nurse, or clean her nose. I never hear what’s happening with them.”
