The Way of the Wicked (Hope Street Church Mysteries Book 2) (28 page)

“Nursing homes, hospitals, medical office parks. I see old people everywhere I go. Half of them have no spirit left. They sap up the government’s money, make it necessary for thousands of able-bodied adults to give volunteer time and money to keep them alive, and all they
do is look to their past—obsessing over loved ones that are long gone.”

“How did you get Vera out of the center?” Cooper asked. “Didn’t anyone challenge you? After all, if her sisters found out you were borrowing her, they’d have reported you in a heartbeat.”

Warren waved off the suggestion. “Oh, please. One of Vera’s regular nurses has a thing for me. I told her how much I missed my grandmother and that I’d like to bestow my affection on someone like her, and this woman practically rolled out the red carpet and packed the wheelchair into my trunk. She’s how I found out about Vera’s milk quirks and which days her sisters would visit. Such an agreeable lady—the nurse—but a bit old for me.” He laughed dryly.

Cooper could feel the seconds ticking by. What was happening to her family? Were they asleep? Hallucinating? Having heart issues as Warren had insinuated? “It’s not our job to decide when people are ready to die,” she told him quietly.

Warren resumed his arrogant, straight-backed posture. “I believe that eventually, we’ll all be turned off like a light when we reach a certain age. It’s the humane thing to do. My teas are such an inexpensive and painless way to administer a dose of everlasting peace.”

“You’re crazy,” Cooper whispered and instantly realized her mistake. She couldn’t afford to upset Warren. He was a calculating, unhinged murderer and the lives of her beloved family members depended on her remaining calm. “What I mean is that you could have had your
real
Grandma Helen, but you let her go. Why release Vera when you had a relationship with her?”

“She begged me to end it!” Warren exclaimed. “Vera had lucid moments like Helen did, and just like Helen, it made her sick to know how mixed up her mind was. She knew she was a burden on her two sisters. She talked to me about how they’d spent all of their savings paying her medical bills. The guilt was eating her up.” Cooper was surprised to see that Warren’s eyes were wet. “Vera knew about the others. She knew about the Jimsonweed. She told me I’d done right. She asked me to put it in her milk, so I did.”

“The poisoned milk wasn’t from Velma or Violet’s Sunday sandwich bag?”

Warren shook his head. “No. It was just a milk carton I took from Door-2-Door’s cooler. Jimsonweed doesn’t taste too good, so I was forced to use smelly herbal tea on everyone else, but Vera knew what she was drinking and didn’t care. She wanted her last drink to be milk because it made her feel like a girl, so that’s what I gave her.” His eyes bored into Cooper’s. “I knew you’d find me out if you ever saw a picture of Vera, so I’ve been following you. I saw you go into the house where her sisters live, so I crept around back and watched all three of you through a window. I know the cops are probably at my place right now.”

“Then why are you here?” Cooper wanted to know.

Placing an unnaturally cold hand over hers, Warren said, “I came for you. I’m hitting the road and I’d like some company. You’re smart and funny and pretty. I think you’ll grow to understand me with time.” His look hardened. “Come with me and your family lives. It’s as simple as that.”

Cooper swallowed. Her time was running out. Warren had explained his motives and his methods. He was done talking and ready to act. Cooper had little doubt that he’d let her family succumb to the effects of the Jimsonweed, so she knew her only hope was to agree with his warped notion that he’d provided a kind service to the elderly. If she could convince him, he might let down his guard and she could save herself and her family.

“I see what you’re saying about senior citizens,” she said after taking a deliberate pause. “My grammy misses everyone who’s gone on ahead of her, too. Especially her husband. I guess when you spend most of your life with someone and then they’re suddenly not there anymore, you feel like half a person.” Cooper met Warren’s curious stare. His hand slid away from hers. “She hasn’t been eating well lately and she’s getting depressed. Maybe she’d want . . .” She trailed off, acting uncertain.

“What Vera wanted? Maybe you’re realizing that it’s her time? Before you have to put her in a home where someone has to help her go to the bathroom, take showers, and eat? Before her care uses every dime your parents have? Or your savings?” Warren’s expression was wolfish. “See? I’m not so crazy now, am I?”

Cooper hesitated and then mutely shook her head. “No. You’ve released people from suffering. I’m sorry that your good intentions weren’t clear to me before.” Reaching across the table, she touched his sleeve. “I’ll come with you. No protests, no games.”

He eyed her distrustfully, but a spark of hope ignited his face at the same time. “Why should I believe you?”

Unpinning the silver butterfly from her shirt, Cooper placed it in Warren’s cold palm. She closed his fingers around the wings and held on to his hand. It was one of the most difficult things she’d ever done. Touching his flesh repulsed her, but her desperation to aid her family forced her to return his suspicious stare with as much sincerity as she could muster.

“The cops will be here soon. Since you told them all about me, they’re sure to check on you when they don’t find me at home,” Warren finally said in a flat voice. “But that’s okay. My bags have been packed for a while.” He glanced around the kitchen. “I’ll have to put you to the test before we go. I don’t want any dramatics on the road.” He gestured at the cabinets behind them. “Get me a coffee cup and fill it with water.”

Hastening to do as she was told, Cooper selected a white mug covered by van Gogh’s
Irises
.

“Now, a spoon,” Warren ordered pleasantly as he opened the Ziploc. “The seeds are very toxic. A small bit will cause hallucinations and short-term memory loss.” He measured out his blend of Jimsonweed and tea. “My little plant has so many names. So many faces. Did you know that when Virginia was an English colony we used this stuff against British soldiers at Jamestown? Grown men in their prime ran around like lunatics. Dancing naked. Spilling all their secrets. The next day, they couldn’t remember a thing. Aren’t Virginians crafty?” He stirred the mixture until the clear water mutated into a pale brown that resembled beef broth.

Cooper watched his movements with morbid fascination. “So you didn’t give my family enough tea to kill them?”

Warren shook his head. “No. They’re just napping. But this cup of tea will release your grammy for good.” He tapped the butterfly pin, which was within reach of his left hand. “And I will keep this to remember her by. The other things I’ll sell when we find a new place to live.”

“And where’s that?” Cooper’s voice was much lighter now that she knew her parents and grandmother weren’t in immediate danger. Of course, Warren could be lying. He was a master of deceit, but she felt that he’d revealed himself to her and had no cause to tell her partial truths after confessing all that he’d done.

“First, I need to believe that you and I understand each other.” He eased the hot mug into Cooper’s hand. “Careful. Don’t spill any.”

Leading Cooper to her front door, he jerked it open and then stepped back in surprise. A tall figure darkened the doorway, and before Cooper knew it Warren was falling backward onto her. Unbalanced, she flung the cup of tea from her hand and an arc of scalding liquid landed on Warren’s scalp.

He didn’t even cry out.

Before she could make sense of what was happening, Cooper was knocked flat. Her head banged against the floor with a commanding thud and she moaned as pain splintered from the point of contact and radiated through her skull and down the vertebrae of her neck. It was so sharp that she squeezed her eyes shut and saw stars instead of blackness.

She felt a pair of hands touch her face. A familiar voice whispered softly near her still-ringing ear. She couldn’t make out the words, but when she was able to open her eyes, she saw Nathan bending over her. He smiled and then brushed her hair from her forehead and kissed her tenderly on the cheek and then again on the lips.

Cooper was content to lie motionless as sounds filled her apartment. She hadn’t fully realized that Warren’s unconscious form was draped over her legs until he was lifted off her. The pain in her head had dulled somewhat; its jagged edges had softened.

“I’m going to carry you to your bed,” Nathan murmured softly to her. “Do you think it’s okay for me to move you? I don’t want to hurt you.”

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

“What happened?” she whispered.

Instead of answering, Nathan gathered her into his arms with infinite care. She put her hands on his shoulders and rested her head against his chest. The smell of his body and the feel of his wool sweater against her cheek made her feel safe.

“I thought I’d lost you,” Nathan said as he gently eased her onto the bed. 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 once and then pressed her forehead against his.

The sound of someone clearing their throat made her look up.

“Daddy!” Cooper cried in relief and then winced as the ache in her head intensified for a moment.

Earl took Cooper’s hand in his and gave it a tiny squeeze. He then turned to Nathan and smiled at him. “Reckon our girl’s going to be all right. Our
uninvited guest
is all trussed up. Mama called the police and they’re on the way.” He glanced over his shoulder. “What are you doing, Maggie?”

“He’s waking up!” Cooper’s mother called out. “I’m just making 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, sweetheart. He knocked that boy flat! Of course, we were there for backup, but he had no need of us.” She held up a rolling pin. “It’s too bad, though. Grammy really wanted to club him with this, but she didn’t feel like climbing 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.

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

Earl cocked his head. “I hear the cavalry coming. I’ll go meet them downstairs before Mama starts telling them how to do their jobs.” He put a hand on Nathan’s shoulders. “Nicely done, young man. We’re in your debt.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Maggie beamed at him. “And here I thought we were just going to have supper together.” She walked to the other side of Cooper’s bed and kissed her daughter’s cheek. “Now let me have a look at that bump.”

Cooper allowed her mother to inspect her bruised head.

“No blood,” Maggie murmured. “You got bigger lumps than this learning to ride your bike. I’ll get you some ice and you’ll need to take it easy for a day or two.” She removed Cooper’s butterfly pin from her apron pocket and frowned. “I’ll put
this
in a hot vinegar bath. Get rid of the germs on it.”

“Hold on a sec, 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 until Nathan punched his lights out.” She gestured at his bloodied hand. “And don’t think I’m going to let you go anywhere without cleaning those cuts, mister. When we’re all tidied up, we’ll have a nice supper and get ourselves calmed down.”

“I don’t think Investigator Rector is going to allow us to have 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 said, “You two have done enough for now. You leave that policeman to me. If he wants to talk to either of you, he can do it after dessert!”

18

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, peppering Nathan and Cooper with question after question about the events of the previous evening.

“I still can’t get over the image of Warren waiting for you in your apartment,” Bryant said during a brief lull. “And look at you! You seem totally normal despite what you went through.”

“It’s too creepy,” Trish muttered. “Like a scene from
Psycho.
How did you ever get to sleep last night?”

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 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 at her friends. “Tonight may be a different story.”

Quinton drew Cooper into 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. 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 said. “It was her boss and a coworker, a woman named Angela. Anyway, the Hummer driver obviously planned to leave the scene, but a minivan was blocking his exit. The guy got out of 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 man immobilized in the back of the Make It Work! van. As it turned out, I knew the driver,” Nathan added enigmatically.