The Way of the Guilty (Hope Street Church Series #3)

First Chapter

The Way of the Guilty

A Hope Street Church Mystery

---

By Jennifer Stanley

Minotaur Books

Copyright © 2010 Jennifer Stanley
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9780312376840

---

1
The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones.
Esther 1:6 (NIV)
If Cooper Lee had known she would spend Friday night chugging champagne at an unfamiliar woman’s mansion while a trio of busty coeds modeled lingerie, she would have come up with any number of creative excuses in order to avoid the whole thing. Unfortunately, Cooper had completely misunderstood her sister’s invitation to accompany her to “a pajama party” being hosted by one of her church friends.
“Georgia Ferguson has such a gorgeous house! Wait ’til you see it!” Cooper’s sister Ashley had shouted over the roar of Cooper’s power sander the weekend before the infamous fete. “Can you turn that damned thing off for a second?”
After gently putting down the tool, Cooper slid her safety goggles onto the crown of her head, picked up a piece of sandpaper, and began working on the rough areas on a chapel-shaped bird house. “And why exactly should I be interested in Georgia Ferguson’s house?” she asked her sister while gently stroking the wood smooth. “I don’t even know this woman.”
Stopping Cooper’s hand with her own, Ashley announced, “Because I’m going to a party there next weekend and you’re coming with me.”
Imagining a room populated by Ashley’s worldly acquaintances, Cooper grimaced. “In case you’ve forgotten, I repair office equipment for a living.” She rubbed the tip of the steeple gently with a folded scrap of sandpaper. “Why would I want to go to Georgia’s party? These are your church friends. I’ve got my own,” she added happily.
Ashley drummed her fingers against the workbench and Cooper couldn’t help but admire her sister’s pristine French manicure. “You’re going to this party because you’re a mature, confident woman. That’s just the kind of woman I need by my side to help me select an array of fabulous new night things with which I can seduce my husband.”
Cooper’s neck flushed as it always did when she was embarrassed. “I am well aware that you’re trying to get pregnant, but I’d rather not have to hear too many details, okay? Some things are meant to be kept private.”
“Some things? You can’t even say the word!” Ashley giggled. “Go on, I dare you. Say ‘sex.’ Say it! Sex, sex, sex!”
“You talk about it enough for both of us, thanks very much,” Cooper retorted. “I’m going to start calling you Dr. Ruth.” She playfully elbowed her sister out of the way and reached for the power sander. Removing her safety glasses from the top of her wheat-blonde hair, she stared at Ashley with her intriguing, mismatched eyes. “Is that all? I’d like to get back to this.”
“Don’t you give me that blue-eyed, green-eyed glower,” Ashley commanded and then began to push sawdust scraps around with her finger, forming the outline of a wobbly heart on the surface of the table. “The truth is that I could use Dr. Ruth’s advice these days. Listen to me, Coop. I need to go to this party. I’m looking for a way to knock Lincoln’s socks off. To make him sit up and take notice of me like he used to.”
“Are you two having difficulties again?” Cooper looked at her sister with concern though she couldn’t comprehend how a party could change how Ashley and her husband felt about one another. “Over the baby issue?”
Looking miserable, Ashley marred the sawdust heart with a sweep of her hand. “I think Lincoln’s avoiding me. For the last few months he’s been going to all these late meetings. Then there’s the golf outings with his daddy and brother every weekend—not to mention the poker nights.” Tears pooled in her lovely azure eyes. “I feel like I’m losing him.”
Pulling off her gloves, Cooper put her arm around her sister’s tiny waist and squeezed. “He loves you, Ashley. He’d be crazy not to.”
Ashley sighed. “Love is hard work, isn’t it? Harder than I ever thought it would be. I had my dream wedding, Lincoln carried me over the threshold of our perfect house, and for a while, everything was wonderful. A fairy tale. But then I was supposed to get pregnant and grow all round and cute and waddle and have that glow. I’d deliver the most precious beautiful little baby this world has ever seen and give it like five names and dress its precious little body in hand-embroidered smocks and Robeez booties. When we’d stroll around downtown, people would stop us on the street and just stare at my Gerber baby.” She sniffed. “Instead I find out I have a bicornuate uterus and even after surgery will have a tough time getting pregnant. It’s all I think about now!” She thumped the workbench and then eyed the sawdust on her palm in distaste. “I’ve never wanted anything so badly as I want this baby! Why did there have to be something wrong with me?”
Cooper cleaned up the sawdust using a small broom and dustpan. “Ashley, maybe you need to take a break from thinking about babies all the time. It obviously upsets you and if you’re worried about your marriage, perhaps you and Lincoln need some time alone together.”
“That’s exactly what I’m planning!” Ashley’s good humor immediately returned. “I’ve booked us a romantic cruise to the Bahamas as a surprise, but I need something incredible to wear when I tell him about the trip. Something that will ensure he won’t say no to taking a week off work. That’s why we’re going to Georgia’s party. I feel compelled to buy a whole bunch of things that’ll be on display there.”
“So it’s like a trunk show?” Cooper asked, silently wondering if she had the name right.
“Exactly. And all the women attending are married and go to my church, so I doubt there’ll be anything too scandalous for sale.” Ashley added, “I know it’s not your scene, Cooper, but it would really mean a lot to me if you were with me. And you might even find yourself picking out something to wear for that magical moment when you and Nathan are ready.”
“So this is all about buying pajamas and nightgowns?” Cooper shook her head. What a bizarre reason to have a party, she thought.
Ashley scrunched up her lips as though stifling a smile and said, “Precisely. Nightgowns and robes and stuff. And what ever you set your cap on will be my treat. It’s the least I can do since you’ve agreed to come.” Shouldering her bright orange purse, Ashley flicked a wave of glossy blonde hair off her shoulder and smiled. “This whole plan has given me a fresh dose of hope, Coop! I’ll pick you up at seven. Georgia always serves the most unbelievable desserts, but make sure you eat something for dinner.” She straightened several gold bangles on her wrist. “You’re going to need something in your stomach to soak up all the alcohol.”
During the following week, Cooper forgot all about the Pajama Party. This was understandable, being that a manufacturer recall on one of Canon’s most popular copiers had every employee from Make It Work! scurrying to replace drums and fuser units across the city of Richmond as quickly as possible.
Cooper was just returning from an assignment updating all the copiers at a pharmaceutical company’s headquarters when she was accosted in the break room by one of her coworkers.
“Cooper!” She drew back as Emilio Calabria’s bass voice with its heavy New York accent boomed in her ear. The dark-haired, square-jawed, muscular hunk grabbed her by the elbow. With his nut-brown eyes ablaze, he looked more like a romance cover model than ever, but Emilio was too arrogant and chauvinistic for Cooper’s tastes. “You gotta help me!” he insisted without preamble. “I mean, you’re a girl, so you must get how girls think.”
“Glad you noticed,” Cooper replied ruefully as she looked down at her ink-stained uniform top. “What’s the problem?”
“It’s our three-month anniversary. Me and Carla’s. I need to think of something cool to do. Should I take her out to dinner? Buy her something? How much is it gonna cost for me to show her I’m better than all her ex-boyfriends? Do I have to get her some ice?”
“As in diamonds?” Cooper inquired after a moment’s puzzlement. When Emilio nodded glumly, she tried to reassure him. “I don’t think ‘ice’ is necessary. Unless you’re preparing to propose?”
Emilio paled. “Hell, no! I like this girl, but I am not ready to wear the old ball and chain. No way, man.”
Grinning, Cooper moved over to the sink and began to scrub her hands. It was too easy to push Emilio’s buttons. Still, her coworker had earnestly sought her help, so the least she could do was take him seriously. “You don’t need to buy anything. You could take Carla somewhere special. What does she like to do?”
“Same as me. Watch ESPN and reality shows on TV. Go out for big slabs of steak and cold beers. And when we wanna get our groove on, we go clubbin’.”
“You could make her a mixed CD of her favorite dance songs,” Cooper suggested.
He frowned and handed Cooper twice the number of paper towels she needed to dry off her hands. “No dice. Did that for our two-month anniversary.”
Two months? This is so junior high school, Cooper thought.
“What about your man? Your church boy?” Emilio prodded. “What’s he given you that made you go weak in the knees?”
Turning away from Emilio, she said, “Nathan bought me a bicycle for Christmas. It’s the old-fashioned kind, with lots of chrome, a straw basket, and a big rubber horn. I love it.” She smiled, remembering how Nathan had covered her eyes while he led her into his garage where he had hidden her shiny blue bike beneath a bedsheet. He had whipped off the sheet in a dramatic flourish, revealing the bicycle and the curled red ribbons hanging from the handle-bars. She had thrown her arms around him in delight, kissing him fervently.
“Now for your gift,” she’d whispered a few minutes later.
He’d pulled her close once again and stared at her intently. “I don’t need anything else but you.”
Eventually, Cooper had managed to disentangle herself from Nathan’s embrace. She’d led him through his kitchen and out the back door. Standing in the small garden area behind Nathan’s row house, she’d waited for his reaction upon seeing his gift. For the past month, she’d been busy in her father’s garage making a bird house in the shape of a TIE fighter, the spaceship Darth Vader piloted in Star Wars, Nathan’s favorite movie.
“Did you make this?” Nathan had been utterly delighted by the workmanship. When Cooper nodded, he told her that it was the best gift he’d ever received and then led her inside.
“I can thank you more properly in here,” he whispered, kissing her lightly just below her earlobe. “No prying eyes.”
But just when Cooper was wondering if this was the moment to indicate her readiness to make her way upstairs to Nathan’s bedroom, the doorbell rang. Nathan’s sister had stopped by with her boyfriend, and what was supposed to be a romantic evening for Nathan and Cooper quickly became an intense Monopoly competition between the two couples.
“Carla isn’t gonna be bowled over by a bike,” Emilio grumbled, bringing Cooper back to the present.
“Why are you freaking out about this gift, Emilio?” Cooper inquired as they headed for the employee break room. “Are you worried she’s not, ah, as keen on your relationship as she was in the beginning?”
Emilio’s thick brows creased in worry. “She’s been hanging out a lot with the other mailmen. What if she’s thinking about ditching me for one of them? I don’t see why she would, seeing as they wear those dorky uniforms, but women don’t make sense, most of the time.”
Cooper decided not point out that Emilio was currently dressed in a rather lackluster uniform comprised of black pants and a gray shirt embroidered with the company logo in charcoal-gray script. “Buying Carla something for your anniversary isn’t going to make everything better. You need to talk to her—find out how she’s feeling about your relationship.”
“Who do I look like?” Emilio spluttered indignantly. “That Dr. Phil clown? Ever since I told her how crazy I was about her she’s been less into me. I sure as hell am not gonna do that again. Maybe I’ll make her jealous—make her realize how good she’s got it. Tons of chicks would thank their lucky stars to be able to get with me.” He squared his shoulders and touched a lock of gelled hair.
Cooper pushed open the kitchen door. “That’s not a good plan, Emilio.”
“Pfahh! What do you know, anyhow? I can tell you and your man haven’t even brought your relationship to the final level yet. You still get all embarrassed to even think about doing the nasty, don’t you? What are you scared of, anyhow? It’s not like you haven’t done it before.” He sat down in front of a foot-long sandwich and slung his arm around Angela, Make It Work!’s office manager. “Tell her what she’s missing, gorgeous. I’m sure you know how nice it is to have someone keeping you warm in the winter.”
“I like it downright toasty.” Angela handed Cooper an Italian hero from Subway and winked. “That’s right, darlin’. I’ve got the fire department on standby, just in case things get too hot.”
As Angela and Emilio unwrapped their subs and bantered companionably, Cooper ate her lunch in a state of mute irritation.
I’ll show them! I’m going to buy something at that Pajama Party that’ll make Nathan weak in the knees. I’m going to tell him I love him and that I’m ready to spend the night in his arms. She tore open a bag of Sun Chips and bit down on one savagely. Nothing is going to get in my way this time!
“Why are you wearin’ pajamas to the table? You sick?” Grammy scrutinized Cooper from top to bottom. “’Cause if you are, you need to turn right around and go back to your apartment. I’m goin’ to the P. Buckley Moss Museum tomorrow and I wanna do some real damage at Golden Corral’s breakfast buffet beforehand.”
“I feel fine, Grammy.” Cooper squeezed her grand-mother’s shoulders affectionately. “I’m going to a party with Ashley tonight and I’m supposed to dress like this.”
“You’re a little old for sleepover parties, ain’t you? Unless you’re havin’ one with Nathan,” she cackled.
Not Grammy, too! Cooper lifted her eyes to the ceiling in appeal.
Cooper’s mother entered the kitchen and peeked into the oven. “Leave her be, Mama. She’s a lady and ladies don’t kiss and tell.”
Grammy snorted, but mercifully remained silent. Cooper expected one of her grandmother’s long-winded lectures on how to procure a marriage proposal from Nathan, but for the moment Grammy was more interested in Maggie’s pot roast than Cooper’s love life.
“You look cozy,” Earl commented to Cooper as he took his seat at the head of the table. “I saw your latest bird-house in the garage. What are you doin’ with that one?”
“Donating it to Hope Street’s winter bazaar. The church is raising money for a youth mission trip to Mexico,” Cooper replied.
“Can they send your daddy and me to Mexico?” Maggie laughed. “Seems like we haven’t been out of the state of Virginia since man walked on the moon.”
“Don’t stick around on my account,” Grammy remarked huffily. “I know my way around the coffeepot and the can opener. What else does a woman my age need?”
Maggie smiled indulgently at Grammy. “We all know how independent you are, dear. It’s more about our empty piggy bank than us frettin’ over you. After all, Cooper would look after everything if we went away, wouldn’t you, honey?”
Cooper nodded—her mouth full of scalloped potatoes. She glanced at her father, who looked especially tired. As the head groundskeeper for one of Richmond’s private schools, he performed physical labor that men half his age would find fatiguing. And her mother baked gourmet cookies for a dozen sandwich shops in the West End of Richmond, waking up at four in the morning in order to produce three varieties of her famous Magnolia’s Marvels.
They’ve worked all their lives, Cooper thought. They really deserve a special vacation.
“He can retire in three years,” Maggie had told Cooper one Saturday as she’d packed plastic baggies of fresh-baked cookies. “But we’ve put aside every spare penny in case Grammy develops a need for special medical care. We’re not gonna have her rot away in some nursing home. She’s gonna leave this earth with dignity—from her own bed—if it costs us the roof over our heads.”
Fortunately, Grammy was still perfectly healthy and spry. Sharp-tongued and witty, the matriarch of the Lee clan spent her time caring for stray animals, hovering in the kitchen in hopes of receiving rejects from Maggie’s cookie production, watching reality shows, and nagging her granddaughters about her desire to become a great-grandmother before meeting her Maker.
Cooper glanced at her grandmother, who was shoveling pot roast into her mouth as though it were her last meal, and then flicked her gaze to her mother, who was assessing her husband from the corner of her eye. Cooper was about to suggest to her father that he should get checked out by a physician and had just opened her mouth to speak when her first syllable was cut short by the blast of Ashley’s horn.
Excerpted from The Way of the Guilty by Jennifer Stanley.
Copyright © 2010 by Jennifer Stanley.
Published in September 2010 by St. Martin’s Paperbacks.
All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws and reproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material in any manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher.


Continues...

---

Excerpted from The Way of the Guilty by Jennifer Stanley Copyright © 2010 by Jennifer Stanley. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---