Fate of the Fallen

by Ellery Adams

  Nathan rolled down his window and leaned out for a better view. “They’re getting into the exit lane.”

  Cooper pulled out from behind the semi and changed lanes, separating her truck from Frank’s car by slowing to allow a motorcycle and an SUV between them. She slid down in her seat as much as she could, until she was just able to peek out over the steering wheel, just in case Grammy turned around and looked in her direction.

  Nathan poked his head out the window once again. “He’s signaling right.”

  Cooper did the same.

  Keeping as much space between their vehicles as possible, Cooper followed the Caprice around the bend with one car between them. Ten minutes of twists and turns later, Frank pulled up to the back entrance of a red brick building. Cooper parked on the side of the street as she and Nathan watched Grammy and her gentleman friend enter the building through a door that read “Employees Only.”

  “Any idea where we are?” Cooper asked.

  Nathan shook his head. “Not a part of town I’m in a lot. You want to follow them in, don’t you?”

  “We came all this way. Might as well see what’s at the end of the rabbit hole.”

  They hurried to the employee entrance and slipped inside. Once Cooper’s eyes adjusted, she could see a dimly lit hallway with a bright light at the end. The air smelled of cleanser, and a muffled ruckus emanated from the bright end of the hallway.

  “What is this place?” Cooper asked quietly.

  “I don’t know . . . but it almost seems familiar, doesn’t it?”

  “Like we should know where we are.”

  “Exactly.”

  Tiptoeing down the hallway, Cooper watched carefully for any sign of Grammy . . . or anyone else, for that matter. But there was no one. With every step nearer the light, the disinfectant smell grew stronger, and the noise louder. The sound became more distinct.

  Cooper paused. “That’s barking.”

  Finally, they turned the corner into the light, and they looked around the room. The walls were lined with cages, and in the cages were dogs, barking and howling. In the center of the room, beside a metal table, stood Grammy, brushing the matted fur of a little gray mutt that licked her hand.

  When Cooper and Nathan entered, Grammy glanced up. She sighed. “I thought I saw you creeping up behind us on the road. Wasn’t sure, though.”

  Cooper looked around her. “Where are we?”

  “The Fifth Avenue Animal Shelter,” Grammy replied. She picked up the little gray dog, cradling it in her arms. “You mentioned I might enjoy working with animals, and I thought I’d give it a try.”

  Cooper moved toward Grammy, but the dog in her arms growled.

  Grammy laughed. “It’s all right, Cupcake. She’s my granddaughter.” She looked at Cooper. “Cupcake, here, can be a tad bit protective.”

  Slowly, Cooper reached out her hand to Cupcake. The dog sniffed her fingers for a few seconds, and then returned to licking Grammy. Cooper petted the dog’s back. “Grammy, why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Several reasons. Mostly, it’s because, believe it or not, I do like to have my own privacy. You young people may not understand that, what with your twittering and face spacing, or whatever you call it. And I could see how much it was driving you crazy not knowing.” Grammy’s lips curled back in a mischievous grin.

  “Did you seriously keep this secret because you knew it drove me nuts?”

  Grammy cackled. “I have to get my kicks somewhere.”

  The door at the other end of the room opened, and Grammy’s white-haired friend entered, a mini pinscher under one arm, and an ill-groomed Yorkie under the other.

  “Frank,” Grammy said, getting his attention. “Frank, this is my granddaughter, Cooper, and her fiancé, Nathan. They decided to spy on me.”

  Frank’s laugh was deep and full. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

  Nathan shook his hand. “It’s always nice to meet a friend of Cooper’s family.”

  “Yes, it is,” Cooper agreed, giving Grammy the eye. “Very nice.”

  Frank beamed. “Your grandmother is quite a woman.”

  “I agree,” Cooper replied. She looked Frank up and down. He was tall and broad-shouldered and more muscular than Cooper had imagined he’d be. He had a white beard and mustache, which gave him a striking resemblance to Sean Connery. Grammy had done all right for herself. “So, Frank, how do you know Grammy?”

  “I met her at church.” Frank set the Yorkie on the metal table, and traded Grammy the mini pinscher for the gray mutt. “We got to talking one evening after a potluck, and she mentioned she liked animals. I’ve been volunteering here for the past few years, so I told her she ought to come and give it a try. Funny thing is, she told me you’d just suggested she should volunteer at the animal shelter.” He put his hand on the small of Grammy’s back, and Grammy met his gaze with a look of utter contentment.

  Frank gave her a little hug. “If you’ll excuse me, I left the nail clippers in the other room. I’ll be right back.”

  He hurried away, and Cooper looked at Grammy as though she were seeing her for the first time. “Go, Grammy! He’s quite the catch.”

  “Oh, pish posh,” Grammy said. “He’s just a very nice man.”

  “And I’ll bet he’s the real reason you didn’t want to tell anyone what you were up to. You didn’t want the rest of us commenting on your boyfriend Frank.”

  Grammy moved back to the metal table, a hand on each of the dogs there. She shrugged. “I guess you just reach a certain age when you don’t particularly want a lot of input when it comes to who you’re . . . friendly with. Folks treat you like you’re a child again, and I don’t need that kind of supervision, thank you very much!”

  Cooper felt a twinge of guilt. Here she was, thinking she needed to supervise Grammy and take care of her, when that was precisely what Grammy had wanted to avoid. Cooper took Nathan’s hand. “Well, we’re very happy for you.”

  “And now your mama and daddy will be happy for me, and sooner or later folks at church will find out, and they’ll all be happy for me.” She shook her head. “I guess it was naïve to think I’d get some time with just me and Frank. It was nice while it lasted.”

  Feeling even more guilty, Cooper rushed to her grammy, putting her arms around her. “It doesn’t have to end.”

  “No?”

  Cooper pulled away. “No. Nathan and I won’t tell anybody. We promise.”

  She looked to Nathan, who nodded. “Sure. We promise.”

  “Do you mean it?” Grammy asked gratefully. “I do enjoy my little secrets every now and again. They keep me young. And Frank really is a good man. You’ll see.”

  “We won’t get in the way of it,” Cooper said. “At least . . . not again.”

  Grammy sighed contentedly and smiled. “Then let me introduce you to our two newest residents. The mini pinscher is Sassy, and the Yorkie is Tangle.”

  “Are these residents of the shelter, or residents of the Lee household?”

  Grammy’s smile widened. “We’ll just see what happens.”

  • • •

  The next morning at Bible study, Savannah waited until everyone was seated, enjoying hot coffee and slices of red velvet cake, then she held up her hands for silence. “This has been a busy few weeks for all of us,” she began. “Praise the Lord, we were able to free an innocent woman from prison and help catch a murderer. And I just have to say that I am so proud to be a part of this group.”

  “Hear, hear!” Jake exclaimed, raising his coffee cup. “And ditto.”

  Bryant was already through his first slice of cake and had started on a second, when he took a brief respite from chewing to speak. “What’s happening to Mandy?”

  “I talked to Kenneth,” Quinton replied. “He said he spoke with McNamara. Apparently once Mandy was faced with all the evidence, she caved and confessed to the whole thing—embezzlement, Sinclair’s murder, the hit-and-run, and the attempted murder of Danny. Apparently Sin
clair figured out she was embezzling from his company. He confronted her at the park that day and threatened to go to the police. She convinced him to take a walk so they could talk it over, and that’s when she killed him. When she got back to the office the following week, she broke into his safe and put the stolen money in it to erase the evidence. Seems once she started talking, she couldn’t stop.”

  “From what I saw of Mandy, that sounds about right,” Trish commented. “What about Danny? Has anybody talked to him?”

  “I talked to him Friday,” Savannah said. “He said that Cooper’s sister, Ashley, helped him put together a résumé and set up some interviews. She told him that with his military background he should have no trouble finding work. And Cooper, he wanted your sister and her committee to know how much he appreciates the opportunity.”

  “I’ll pass along his thanks,” Cooper replied. “I’m sure Ashley will be thrilled to know she’s making a difference.”

  “Worked out well,” Jake said. “Match made in heaven if you ask me!”

  “Speaking of heavenly things,” Savannah said. “Perhaps we could get on with our study in Ecclesiastes. Today we’ll be covering the first eight verses of chapter three. Nathan, would you mind reading for us?”

  “Not at all.” Nathan opened his Bible to the correct page. “'‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.’”

  “Beautiful passage,” Trish said. “Everything in its time.”

  “And not just any time,” Savannah said. “Everything in God’s time.”

  Cooper stared at the words in her Bible. A time to plant and a time to uproot. She thought of the job in California. “It’s amazing how applicable the Bible is, even today.”

  “That’s the truth,” Jake said. “Every time I read it, it’s like it’s talking right to me.”

  “I like the bit about a time to mourn and a time to dance,” Quinton said. “Although I do wish there was something about a time to bake.”

  As she laughed, Cooper said a quiet prayer for the Sunrise Bible Study Group, that no matter what season it was, whether members were mourning or laughing, speaking or uprooting, they would always have each other. She prayed they would always be a family.

  And deep down, in a very peaceful place in her heart, she knew they would.

  Magnolia’s Marvels

  Coconut Cream Thumbprint Cookies

  Cookies:

  1/4 cup butter

  1/4 cup shortening

  1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

  1/4 cup sugar

  1 egg, separated

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  Scant 1-1/4 cups flour

  1/8 teaspoon salt

  1 cup chopped pecans

  Filling:

  1 cup milk

  1 cup light cream

  3 tablespoons flour

  1 tablespoon cornstarch

  3/8 cup sugar

  1/4 teaspoon salt

  3 egg yolks, beaten

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  1 tablespoon butter

  3/4 cup coconut

  1/2 cup coconut for toasting

  Allow the butter and shortening to soften slightly (this should take about ten minutes). Cream butter, shortening, and both sugars just until mixed. Add egg yolk and vanilla. Separately, combine the flour and salt, and then slowly add this to the butter mixture. Mix until ingredients are just blended. Form into balls using 2 teaspoons of dough per cookie. Chill for 1 to 2 hours.

  Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is preheating, toast the 1/2 cup coconut in a dry pan on the stovetop. Stir often and cook until it browns slightly. Watch carefully to prevent burning.

  Roll each cookie first in egg white and then in the chopped pecans. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and press your thumb into the center of each one, forming an indentation. Be careful not to burn yourself! Then, return the cookies to the oven and bake for an additional 6 to 7 minutes, until slightly brown around the edges. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely.

  To make the filling, scald the milk and cream in a double boiler. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt and mix thoroughly. Stir just enough of the scalded milk into the dry mixture to make it smooth. Add the remainder of the scalded milk to the dry mixture, and cook 15 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Stir 1/4 cup of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, stirring vigorously. Add the egg mixture to the double boiler, and cook a few minutes longer until very thick. Cool slightly, and add vanilla, butter, and coconut.

  Fill the cookies with the coconut cream filling and top with toasted coconut. Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies.

  Cherry Pistachio Scones

  2 cups self-rising flour

  Scant 1/3 cup sugar (add a little more if you like sweeter scones)

  1/8 teaspoon salt

  3/4 teaspoon baking powder

  1/2 cup unsalted pistachios, chopped

  1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped

  1/2 cup butter, softened

  1/4 cup heavy cream

  1/4 cup buttermilk

  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and start with a chilled bowl and utensils. A metal bowl works well. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Stir well. Remove 1/4 cup of the flour mixture and add it to the cherries and pistachios, tossing to completely coat the fruit. Rub the rest of the flour mixture into slightly softened butter until the texture is that of cornmeal. A pastry blender works well to start the process, but finish by using your fingertips. Add the nut and fruit mixture to the flour and butter mixture, and gently stir. Then, add heavy cream and buttermilk, and mix until just blended. Turn out onto a floured board or pastry sheet. Dust a little flour on top, and gently kneed twice. Form 3-to-6-inch rounds.

  Cut each round into four triangles. Place these on the cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until slightly browned. Serve with jam, butter, or sweetened cream cheese.

  Note: As with biscuits, the secret to good scones is working the dough as little and as gently as possible.

  Chocolate Pecan Balls

  1 cup butter, slightly softened

  3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  2 cups flour

  1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

  1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons cocoa powder

  1 package white chocolate chips, melted

  Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla and mix.

  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, pecans and cocoa. Slowly add these to butter-and-sugar mixture. Blend well. The dough will be slightly crumbly. Press dough into very small balls, using approximately 1 teaspoon of dough per cookie. Cover cookies and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour (cookies may be refrigerated overnight).

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cookies on cookie sheet approximately 1-1/2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Do not overbake. After removing the cookies from the oven, let them rest on the baking pan for 10 minutes before removing to cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool completely. Drizzle with melted white chocolate. Makes approximately 4 dozen.

  In case you missed it,

  keep reading for an excerpt

  from the first book in the

  Hope Street Church Mystery Series

  by Ellery Adams,

  The Path of the Crooked!

  Cooper Lee was at a crossr
oads. Her boyfriend of five years had just left her for another woman, she was living in an apartment above her parents’ garage, and her job as a copier repairperson was feeling a little, well, repetitious. Hoping for a fresh start and a new outlook on life, she joins the Bible study group at Hope Street Church. The last thing she expects while studying the Bible is a lesson in murder.

  When Brooke Hughes, the woman who first invited Cooper to Hope Street, is found murdered in her home, all signs point to her husband as the culprit. But Wesley Hughes was an elder at Hope Street Church, and the members of the Bible study are filled with disbelief that such a kind and loving man could take a life, much less his wife’s. Unwilling to let an innocent man and friend be railroaded into prison, the Bible group decides to investigate on their own.

  As Cooper and this humorously diverse group of people—including a blind folk artist, a meteorologist with a taste for younger women, and a soft-spoken web designer who might be out to catch Cooper’s eye—dig deeper into the clues, they’re about to discover that finding the truth sometimes takes a leap of faith.

  1

  Cooper Lee was more comfortable with machines than people. She drove all over the city of Richmond, Virginia, to fix them. By the time she got to these copiers, laminators, or fax machines as they waited in their offices, hospitals, or schools, they were broken. Broken and quiet. Cooper would kneel beside them and meticulously lay out her tools, and as she did so the machines didn’t raise their brows in surprise or barely concealed amusement that a woman worked as an office-machine repairman. A thirty-two-year-old woman dressed in a man’s uniform shirt didn’t seem odd at all.