Fate of the Fallen
Page 34
Quinton took a sip of water and then put down the cup and sighed. “I don’t know how to tell you this, because she was such a sweet and generous woman. She was . . .” He trailed off and dropped his gaze.
Cooper felt a deep sense of dread creep into her belly and rise inside her chest. She couldn’t tear her gaze from Quinton’s pained face, even when the anguished man looked up and stared at Cooper’s peculiar eyes.
“Oh, my friends,” he cried softly. “It’s Brooke Hughes. And her husband has been accused of killing her.”
Trish closed her gaping mouth and then opened it again. “Brooke! I just saw her at the Women’s Fellowship luncheon last week. She was happy, healthy. This is insane. She can’t be dead! And Wesley wouldn’t hurt a hair on her head!”
Quinton nodded, reluctant to confirm what he knew. “One of the officers who responded to the 911 call is a member. I just overheard him in the teachers’ lounge telling Pastor Matthews what he knew.” He pressed his fingers into his eyes to stop his tears from escaping. “The cops think Wesley’s responsible.”
Jake sprang to his feet, his face filled with fury. “Wesley Hughes wouldn’t step on a snake even if it bit him. He’s been an elder at this church for years. Those idiots have the wrong man!”
“Friends, friends!” Savannah called out urgently. “Reach out to one another. Hold on tight. Now is the time for prayer. Then, we’ll come up with a plan of action.”
The Sunrise Bible Study members grasped one another’s hands. Cooper hastily closed her eyes and took the hands of Jake and Savannah. They squeezed hers firmly and she took comfort from the warmth of their skin.
Savannah prayed for strength and discernment and for help in discovering the truth. She also asked for comfort for Wesley Hughes, which told Cooper that Savannah also refused to believe that he was capable of killing his wife.
Why Brooke? Cooper demanded silently, feeling a surge of anger. Who would murder such a lovely person?
At that moment she was grateful to be in this circle of strangers.
Even after their prayer was over, the Bible study members did not release one another’s hands. They stayed still for a long time, wordlessly mourning the loss of Brooke Hughes. And in the silence, no one let go.
The Hope Street Church Mysteries
Be sure to read all the books in the
Hope Street Church Mystery Series!
The Path of the Crooked
Cooper Lee was at a crossroads. 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.
The Way of the Wicked
Cooper Lee and her friends in the Hope Street Bible study group have just volunteered for a local charity, delivering much-needed food and cheer to shut-ins in their community. It seems like the perfect way for the group to do good, and to Cooper it offers the welcome opportunity to get out of the house and spend more time with her new boyfriend, Nathan. But when one of the charity’s recipients is murdered, the police have no choice but to single out the church group and their fellow volunteers as the prime suspects.
Determined to make sure no evil deed goes unpunished, Cooper and her friends decide to discreetly interrogate each volunteer in their search for the killer, even if it means putting themselves at risk in the process. And as serving the needy becomes more treacherous than any of them could have imagined, they just might discover that the road to murder is paved with good intentions.
The Graves of the Guilty
Cooper Lee is on top of the world, thanks to her great friends at Hope Street Church and the satisfaction of having solved two perplexing mysteries. And with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, she’s hoping that love is in the air for her and her new boyfriend, Nathan. But Cooper’s faith is about to be tested when her sister, Ashley, discovers a corpse and is implicated in the gruesome murder. And just as troubling, a darkly handsome and exciting man has come into Cooper’s life and just might tempt her to stray.
As Cooper and her friends from the Bible study group once again spring into action to root out a killer—and Cooper digs deep to solve a more personal mystery—she discovers that following the clues is raising more questions than answers. But one thing’s for certain: when cold-blooded criminals mess with Cooper’s family and friends, the killers haven’t got a prayer.
The Root of All Evil
Cooper Lee has never been happier. She has terrific friends at Bible study, a great boyfriend in Nathan, and best of all, a new niece or nephew on the way. But storm clouds are gathering when a string of church robberies comes to Hope Street and an art teacher is found dead in what appears to be a robbery gone wrong. With Halloween approaching, Cooper’s beginning to think there are far more tricks than treats coming her way.
No sooner do she and her friends step in to help the police unearth a killer than they discover a con artist among their flock. Lost in a morass of confusing clues—and even more confusing signals from Nathan—Cooper’s not sure which way to turn. With the stakes high, she sends up a prayer for some divine guidance, because Cooper knows that sometimes it takes the help of a higher power to bring down the lowest form of evildoer.
Books by Ellery Adams
Click to see all the Ellery Adams
books at Amazon
The Hope Street Church Mysteries
The Path of the Crooked
The Way of the Wicked
The Graves of the Guilty
The Root of All Evil (with Elizabeth Lockard)
Fate of the Fallen (with Elizabeth Lockard)
The Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries
A Killer Collection
A Fatal Appraisal
A Deadly Dealer
A Treacherous Trader (with Parker Riggs)
A Devious Lot (with Parker Riggs)
The Books by the Bay Mysteries
A Killer Plot
A Deadly Cliché
The Last Word
Written in Stone
Poisoned Prose
Lethal Letters
Writing All Wrongs
The Charmed Pie Shoppe Mysteries
Pies and Prejudice
Peach Pies and Alibis
Pecan Pies and Homicide
Lemon Pies and Little White Lies
Breach of Crust
The Book Retreat Mysteries
Murder in the Mystery Suite
Murder in the Paperback Parlor
Writing as J. B. Stanley
The Supper Club Mysteries
Carbs and Cadavers
Fit to Die
Chili Con Corpses
Stiffs and Swine
The Battered Body
Black Beans & Vice
About the Authors
Ellery Adams
Ellery Adams grew up on a beach near the Long Island Sound. Having spent her adult life in a series of landlocked towns, she cherishes her memories of open water, violent storms, and the smell of the sea. Ms. Adams has held many jobs, including caterer, retail clerk, car sal
esperson, teacher, tutor, and tech writer, all the while penning poems, children’s books, and novels. She now writes full-time from her home in Virginia.
Elizabeth Lockard
Elizabeth Lockard has a B.A. in Communications from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. She began writing in kindergarten, and her mother still has the first two-sentence story Elizabeth ever wrote. Though she’s been writing since childhood, Elizabeth always thought of writing as a hobby rather than a profession. However, after working in the communications field and gaining more writing and editing experience, she turned her full attention to her oldest love—the written word—and decided to try and make a career of it. Her favorite authors are Elizabeth Peters and Krista Davis, but she enjoys most books with mystery and/or thriller elements.
A game geek, Elizabeth spends much of her nonwriting time challenging her husband and friends to various board and deck-building games. She also enjoys photography, reading, and designing her own board games.
Elizabeth lives in Phoenix with her husband, son, and two dogs.
Contents
Cover
Fate of the Fallen
Title Page
Copyright
Acknowledgments
Contents
Epigraph
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Magnolia’s Marvels
Excerpt from The Path of the Crooked
The Hope Street Church Mysteries
Books by Ellery Adams
About the Authors