Path Of The Wicked Part 22

Cooper glanced at the hand he was using to stroke her hair and saw rivulets of bright blood easing downward from his knuckles.

"What happened?" she whispered.

Instead of answering, Nathan gathered her into his arms with infinite care. She held onto his neck and rested her head against his shoulder. The smell of his body, the feel of his wool sweater against her cheek, and the motion of his muscles as he walked infused her with feelings of safety and solidity.

"I thought I'd lost you," Nathan said as he laid her down. Cooper felt a tear fall onto the bridge of her nose and was startled to recognize that her boyfriend was weeping.

"Shhh. It's all right now." She cradled his face in her hands and then pulled his mouth to hers. She kissed him deeply until the sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted their embrace.

"Daddy!" Cooper shouted in surprised embarra.s.sment and then winced as the ache in her head intensified for a moment.

Earl blushed and then gave Nathan a little smile. "Reckon she's gonna be right as rain. We got our uninvited guest all trussed up. Mama spoke to the police and they're on the way." He looked over his shoulder. "What are you doin', Maggie?"

"He's wakin' up!" Cooper's mother called out. "I'm just makin' sure you tied these knots good and tight." Maggie appeared in the room seconds later and put her arm around Nathan. "Your man's got a powerful right hook, Coop. He knocked that boy flat! 'Course, we were there for backup, but Nathan had no need of us." She held up a rolling pin. "It's too bad, though. Grammy really wanted to take a shot at him with this, but she didn't feel like climbin' the stairs."

Immensely relieved to see her parents in perfect health, Cooper began to laugh at the absurd image of Grammy thumping Warren over the head with Maggie's rolling pin. It was so cartoonish that soon they were all giggling at the visual.

"We should have let her at him," Nathan interjected. "A little payback from the senior citizen community would have been totally appropriate."

Earl c.o.c.ked his head. "I hear the cavalry comin'. Guess I'll go meet them downstairs before Mama starts tellin' them how to do their jobs." He saluted Nathan. "Nicely done, young man."

"Thank you, sir."

Maggie beamed at him. "And here I thought we were just gonna have supper together," she teased and then walked to the other side of Cooper's bed. "Now lemme take a look at that b.u.mp."

Cooper allowed her mother to inspect her bruised head.

"No blood," Maggie declared. "Seems to me you took bigger lumps than this learnin' to ride your bike. I'll get you some ice." She removed Cooper's b.u.t.terfly pin from her ap.r.o.n pocket and frowned. "And I'll put this in a hot vinegar bath. Get rid of the germs on it and all."

"But Mama? Aren't you feeling sleepy after drinking Warren's tea?"

Maggie blinked in bewilderment. "Maybe you should see a doctor," she said as Earl led a group of policemen into Cooper's apartment. "We didn't eat or drink anything with that awful man. In fact, we never set eyes on him 'til Nathan punched his lights out." She glanced at his wounded hand. "And don't think I'm gonna let you go anywhere without gettin' cleaned up, too, mister. We're gonna have a nice supper and get ourselves calmed down."

"I don't think Investigator Rector is going to allow us to eat a leisurely dinner." Cooper sighed at the disagreeable idea of spending an evening at the police station. "He'll want to take our statements right away."

Tapping her rolling pin against the flat of her palm, Maggie prepared to close the bedroom door so that Cooper and Nathan could have a moment alone. "You two have done enough for now. You leave that policeman to me."

"I like the sound of that!" Nathan waited until Maggie was gone and then stretched out on the bed. He slid his arm around Cooper's waist and rested his head on the pillow.

"Sounds good to me, too. Besides, I need something to distract me from thinking about my throbbing head and all the rest of today's unpleasant events." Cooper reached for him. "And I have an idea of what might just do the trick."

18.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from G.o.d. Everyone who loves has been born of G.o.d and knows G.o.d.

1 John 4:7 (NIV) For the first time since the inception of their group, the Sunrise Bible study members ignored the usual array of pastries and carafe of aromatic coffee. They all spoke at once, asking Nathan and Cooper question after question about the events of the previous evening.

"I know you tried to tell us everything on the phone," Bryant said during a brief lull in the conversation, "but I still can't get over the visual of Warren waiting for you in your apartment. And look at you! You seem totally normal despite what you went through."

"It's too, too creepy," Trish muttered. "Like a scene from Psycho. How did you ever get to sleep last night? I would have needed something to help me rest after someone threatened my entire family."

Cooper touched the sore spot on the back of her head. "Having supper with my family was the best medicine. And of course, Nathan offered to sleep on the couch, but by the time we'd all had our second cup of decaf and another serving of my mama's roasted apple tart covered in warm caramel sauce, I was too full to be afraid. All I did was change into my pajamas and fall into bed." She glanced around at her friends. "Tonight may be a different story. I expect that certain things will run through my mind over and over again for days."

"You must have been really scared." Quinton drew Cooper against him in a one-armed hug. "We're so glad that you're safe."

Bryant nudged Nathan in the side. "How did you happen to be there, Mr. Knight in Shining Armor?"

Nathan colored. "It's a really strange story, actually. I was in the Kroger parking lot when I noticed that a Make It Work! van had been damaged by a yellow Hummer. For a second, I thought Cooper might have been driving the van, so I jumped out of my car to see if she was okay."

"Was it you?" Jake asked Cooper.

"No," Nathan answered. "It was her boss and one of Cooper's coworkers, a woman named Angela. Anyway, the Hummer driver obviously had plans to leave the scene, but his exit was blocked by a woman in a minivan waiting for a choice parking s.p.a.ce to come open. Because she was kind of sitting in the middle of the road, no one could go around her. Between the minivan and a line of shopping carts, he was penned in."

Bryant grabbed Nathan's sleeve. "Did you do something to stop the Hummer? Can't those things drive over small cars?"

Nathan shrugged. "Maybe. But apparently this Hummer couldn't straddle those shopping carts. Believe me, the driver tried, but he got totally stuck. So he left his truck and took off running, but Angela's little dog chased after him. The thing probably weighed three pounds, but it tripped him up. By the time the cops arrived we had the guy immobilized in the back of the Make it Work! van."

"Tell them the best part!" Cooper prodded.

"Turns out I knew the driver," Nathan added enigmatically.

Savannah, who had been listening quietly to the morning's rambunctious discussion, suddenly shook her cane at Nathan. "I can't take the suspense, my friend!" She smiled. "Sorry, but I feel like I've been on the edge of my seat since we started. Any more antic.i.p.ation and I'm going to fall off!"

Following Savannah's request, Nathan went on with the remainder of his tale. "Do you remember when we started studying Joseph and I was having that dream about a person outside my door?" His friends all nodded. "I believe that person was Tobey Dodge, the client I took on with some reservations. As I've now discovered, G.o.d was trying to warn me about this man, but I didn't listen closely enough to what He was saying. Tobey is a crook and a low-life swindler. And I totally fell for his act."

"I did, too," Cooper interjected and then added, "He was a real smooth-talker-making us believe that he wanted to help people with his products. I didn't hear any alarm bells go off when we met, though I didn't particularly like him."

"Anyway, I'd been searching for him all week," Nathan continued. "A bunch of clients wanted refunds because the Big Man muscle builders didn't work. A few of them wanted to sue him because his products had actually made them sick. Two men ended up in the hospital."

Trish frowned. "If you ask me, no one should take steroids in the first place."

Nathan shook his head. "Tobey's clients believed they were buying all-natural products, but according to one of the clients who needed hospitalization, the Big Man muscle builders were actually animal steroids. They're quite dangerous, but a heck of a lot cheaper than steroids made for humans."

"What a snake!" Quinton declared. "You know, I've bought plenty of weight-loss products that made me feel pretty awful. Looking back, it's a wonder I didn't require medical care myself! Remember when all the diet stuff used to contain too much ephedrine or that dangerous fen-phen stuff? I think I've tried it all."

Seeing the glum expression on Quinton's face, Jake smiled at his friend. "I wouldn't want there to be a pound less of you, my man."

As the two men exchanged affectionate high-fives, Trish's attention remained focused on Nathan. "How does Tobey fit into the Kroger story?"

"He was the guy in the Hummer. By the time the cops arrived and Cooper's boss, the Kroger manager, and I had finished coming up with a list of the con artist's activities, we all felt like old friends." At this point, Nathan seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Go on," Bryant prompted.

"Well, I don't know if you're aware of this, but Cooper and I . . . we . . ."

Jake finished the sentence for him. "Have the hots for each other? We know, my man."

As Cooper flushed bright pink, Nathan hurried to finish. "I'd been giving Cooper the cold shoulder all week because I thought, in a moment of total insanity, that she and the new guy at work had kissed."

"Which would never happen!" Cooper exclaimed. "Emilio is the perfect man for someone, but not for me. He's the type of guy who thinks all women want him. Yes, he tried to kiss me once but I wouldn't let him. Of course, he then thought I was playing hard-to-get so he sent me a text message saying that we could try that kiss again. The problem was that Nathan read the message."

"And you didn't give Cooper a chance to explain?" Trish swatted at Nathan. "You bad boy."

"I know." Nathan's voice was contrite. "But I was so tortured over the whole thing that I asked Angela if Emilio and Cooper had anything going on between them. That woman sure set me straight! I think I still have the scars from where she dug her nails into my arm!"

"And then you went flying to Cooper's house to apologize, right?" Savannah guessed.

Nathan nodded. "I pa.s.sed a car parked on the side of the road about a half mile from her driveway. I knew I'd seen that car before, so I pulled over to check it out. A Door-2-Door cooler was on the front seat and a bunch of boxes and bags were in the back. It looked like someone was ready to go on a long trip."

"And you just knew it was our killer," Jake whispered, entranced.

"Yeah. I felt like all the blood in my body surged through my heart at once. I don't think I even remembered to breathe as I drove the rest of the way. During those last few seconds I was imagining the worst. If I had gotten there too late . . ." Nathan's voice cracked and he had to pause and collect himself. "I practically crashed through her parents' screen door. I can't even remember what I told them. They knew who I was and they trusted me immediately, and the next thing I knew, we were storming up the stairs to Cooper's apartment. As I ran, I kept wishing I could fly . . ."

"It's okay, Nathan," Savannah spoke up. "We would have all been just as afraid. When we care about another person, our love is often mixed with fear. Look at Joseph's father. Jacob loved young Joseph so much that he kept him by his side. Joseph didn't tend the flocks or do the ch.o.r.es his brothers did. Fear and love prompted Jacob to hold Joseph close, but too much fear is destructive. Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sent far from his homeland because Jacob treated him differently from the rest."

Jake touched the cover of his Amazing Joseph workbook. "And only G.o.d's love could reunite the family in the end. Jacob was able to die right there with his son and his son's sons gathered 'round his bed. That felt so right to me."

"I was so moved by Genesis forty-eight," Trish said. "When Joseph places his two sons on the bed with Jacob and he hugs and kisses them just like any grandfather would do. Oh! It's such a sweet ending."

"And a dignified one," Quinton added. "Jacob prophesied the future of the tribes of Israel, blessed everyone, drew up his knees, and breathed his last." Looking aggrieved, he sighed. "Warren's victims weren't fortunate enough to die like that. I feel so much anger toward that man for robbing those folks of their last years. He took away precious time-the opportunity to experience life in all its joys and sorrows."

Cooper bowed her head. The image that repeated itself most while she soaked in a warm tub, ate breakfast with her family, and drove beneath a sky filled with narrow clouds outlined with pearly sunshine that morning was of Vera. To Cooper, it was the photograph capturing the old woman's contented smile, the purple rhinestone gla.s.ses, and the childlike innocence that radiated from her eyes that haunted her thoughts.

Separating herself from the others, she walked over to the food table and mechanically poured a cup of coffee. She could feel her friends watching her, their stares filled with compa.s.sion and concern.

"There is grief in this life," Savannah spoke in a hushed tone. "Wrongs are done to good people every day. Sometimes it's hard to understand the world we live in-the motives that drive folks to commit acts of such malevolent violence. But if we set aside our reasons to mourn for a moment, what do we have left? What have we gained by being placed in the center of these trying events?"

Bryant cleared his throat. "I vow to respect and appreciate my mother. It's just hit me how I don't know her as well as I should. What was she like as a little girl? Is there something she'd like to do or a place she'd like to see before . . ." He stopped himself. "I want to let her go like Joseph let his father go. I want her to be at peace, and now I realize that I need to find out what that means to her, not me."

"I learned that we're part of a bigger picture," Quinton said. "We hear that in church all the time, but until this happened, it was just a phrase. Because of Trish, I've met neighbors that needed my help. And in helping them, I was the one who received a gift."

Jake touched Trish on the hand. "We'd better get a bunch of folks on board if we wanna rescue the sinkin' ship called Door-2-Door. I'm gonna talk to my boss about a sponsorship, but can your company swing a few more weeks sponsoring a route? Those folks aren't gonna make it unless we act and we act now!"

"Of course I'm going to help." Trish pointed at Quinton. "I'm sure your firm can afford a month or two as well. I hope you can talk some of your clients into donating, too. I've never approached my own clients about a cause, but it wouldn't hurt to have some flyers and a collection box at our office."

Savannah listened in approval. "I spoke to some of the elders last week. Hope Street is going to organize a group of volunteers immediately. They're also discussing creating a mission trip that'll stay right here in Richmond and a.s.sist Door-2-Door clients with home repairs and such."

"I think I'll offer to spiff up their website. It could use an update." Nathan seemed to be thinking out loud. "And from now on, I'm going to try to pay better attention when G.o.d is doing His best to give me advice. I could have avoided this Tobey mess altogether."

Cooper smiled at him. "As for me, I've been feeling like I have something left to do for Frank Crosby and I think it involves his son. I'm going to visit him tomorrow afternoon, so please pray that I'll find the right words to use when I tell him about Warren and about the secret his daddy had been trying to keep for so long." She cupped her coffee mug in her hands. "I'm kind of intimidated by The Colonel. We're from such different worlds, but I understand what you said about the bigger picture, Quinton. I think we need to venture away from our safe places and take some risks in order to truly be changed."

"Well said, all of you." Savannah closed her workbook. "I realize we didn't review the homework questions, but I believe you have all grown incredibly during this study. I also want to say that I have never felt so united with a group of people in my life. When I think of the word family, your faces float before my mind's eye. I smile when I think of you or whenever I speak your names." She reached out and automatically, her hands were grasped, and then everyone took hold of their neighbor's hand. "It is scary to love, but I love you, my friends. Now, let's pray to the One who loves us most."

Cooper had invited her friends to join her after church in order to experience Sunday supper Lee-style.

Maggie had gone all out-roasting a turkey, making green bean ca.s.serole, homemade oyster stuffing, cranberry relish, mashed potatoes, caramelized yams, corn in b.u.t.ter sauce, sunflower rolls, and a smorgasbord of desserts. Though the food was formal, like a special holiday dinner, the actual meal was not. The Lee table could only seat six, so the rest of the diners ate standing up, sitting in the living room, or, in Nathan and Cooper's case, seated cross-legged on the floor.

"We ain't seen this much company since Ashley's weddin'!" Grammy yelled with a mouthful of yams. "How you feelin' these days, little darlin'?"

"Just fine, thank you." Ashley leaned over Grammy's chair and kissed her wrinkled cheek. "I'll give you those grandbabies you want yet." She then stood and winked at Cooper. "And if my body doesn't want to grow a baby, Cooper will just have carry one for me. Right, sis?"

Cooper nearly choked on a bite of roll.

"Are you tryin' to scare the pants off that Nathan boy?" Grammy snarled at Ashley. "Let him think about marriage before his mind skips ahead to the diaper-changin' part. Now go get yourself another plate. Babies like to grow in a belly filled regularly with food."

Maggie was all too pleased to ladle several servings of starch onto her youngest child's dish.

Once the supper plates had been cleared, desserts sampled, and coffee poured, Savannah whispered something into Jake's ear and he exited the house expediently. Upon his return, he handed a rectangular packaged wrapped in butcher paper to Cooper's grandmother.

"What's this?" Grammy demanded, eying Jake with suspicion.

"It's one of my paintings," Savannah answered. "A while back, Cooper told us how much the pin you gave her means to her. During that moment, I sensed such love and grat.i.tude in her story that I have thought about that little b.u.t.terfly many times since then." She smiled. "This is my way of thanking you for enriching our lives with your story of hope and courage."

Grammy squirmed in the face of such an overt compliment. "Well, I've never done a single thing to merit that kind of praise, but I won't say no to a present. I haven't got enough years left in me to reject kindness, so I thank you."

Ripping off the paper with glee, Grammy seemed transformed. Suddenly, she was a little girl tearing the gift wrap from a joyfully antic.i.p.ated birthday or Christmas present. Cooper watched as her grandmother's expression became illuminated with pleasure as she gazed at Savannah's work.

"Come on, Grammy," Ashley complained. "Turn it around and let us all see."

"Keep your socks on, granddaughter. I'm havin' a fine time just soakin' in the colors and feelings of this picture." She handed the painting back to Jake and shuffled over to Savannah. "It's right lovely. Thank you." As the two women embraced, Maggie burst into tears.

"Isn't the Lord amazing? Look how He's brought all of us together!" she cried, dabbing at her br.i.m.m.i.n.g eyes with the corner of her ap.r.o.n. She then took a step closer to Cooper so she could examine Grammy's painting. Cooper slipped an arm around her mother's waist and simultaneously, they bent down in order to properly examine the artwork.

The scene was a familiar one in that it depicted Noah and his family stepping onto dry land for the first time in forty days and nights. The family members held hands as they raised their faces toward the sun-filled sky, seemingly oblivious to the stampede of freed animals bursting past them. Birds and insects filled the air and Cooper was amazed at the energy Savannah had managed to infuse into the movements of every creature, from a pair of ants to the magnificent grace of an antelope couple. Lions roared in rejoicing, elephants trumpeted in celebration of their survival, and a group of primates launched themselves into the trees with rapturous animation.

The most personal detail of the painting, however, had to do with the rainbow stretching across the horizon as a reminder of G.o.d's covenant. Unlike most rainbows, which seemed like hesitant, ephemeral blurs of pale color, Savannah's rainbow was alive-literally. Brilliant shades of violet, indigo, emerald, saffron, pumpkin, and crimson were represented by dozens and dozens of b.u.t.terflies. The beautiful insects had been designed so that their delicate wings touched one another, but not so completely that pinp.r.i.c.ks of light couldn't find their way through the openings.

"Amazing," Maggie breathed. "You gave Mama more b.u.t.terflies than she's ever dreamed of havin'. And what these stand for . . . oh, it's too lovely!" She began crying all over again.

Maggie wasn't the only one shedding tears. To everyone's surprise, Trish was weeping as well.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to subtract from this moment, but I've been trying to keep my worries inside for days now and I just can't. I've never felt so scared before!" She buried her face in her hands.

Maggie rubbed Trish's back. "What's wrong, honey?"

"I had a biopsy on Friday," Trish whimpered. "And I won't get the results back until Wednesday. The waiting is tearing me apart. Breast cancer runs in my family and I've been pretending like it can't touch me. Not me, the successful businesswoman, wife, and churchgoing mother of two. But it can and I'm really, really frightened!" Trish hid herself in Maggie's comforting bosom.

Cooper watched as Maggie stroked her friend's copper hair and murmured into her ear.

"No matter what the results are," Bryant spoke firmly to Trish, "we'll be here for you. We'll lend you strength and pray for your health and even come with you to the doctor on Wednesday."

Jake nodded. "Yeah, you tell us what you need and we'll be on the job."