Read The Graves of the Guilty (Hope Street Church Mysteries Book 3) for Free Online

visits.”
    He stepped forward into the red glow of the flare and Cooper’s jaw dropped as she recognized his face. “Get the phone, girl. I’ll jack the truck.”
    Cooper picked up her phone. At first, she was too stunned to make sense of Ashley’s  hysterical cries, but then she finally heard coherent phrases like “Please! The car! There’s a man! He’s dead! He’s in my house!”
    “Slow down, Ashley!” Cooper shouted in an effort to calm her sister. “Take a deep breath and try not to yell. I’m right here, okay?” She waited silently while Ashley struggled to control her rapid breathing. As Cooper listened, her eyes were fixed on Edward Crosby, aka the Colonel, who was busy removing the lug nuts from the flat tire.
    Cooper had met him a few months ago when he was an inmate at Jail West, serving out the remainder of his sentence for the sale and distribution of narcotics. Her only communication with him had been through a telephone handset attached to a plate-glass divider, so she hadn’t been able to appreciate his formidable physical presence until now.
    He wasn’t tall, but Edward Crosby’s body radiated strength. There was a sense of danger about him—something predatory. He stared up at her with his gunmetal gray eyes and she could see the shadow of the flag of Dixie tattoo that lay beneath the cropped hair of his scalp.
    “There’s a dead man in the trunk of my car!” Ashley wailed.
    After establishing that Ashley was unharmed and that a corpse had somehow materialized inside the locked garage of her sister’s house, Cooper promised she’d be right over and told Ashley to call the police.
    “I can’t do that!” Ashley’s voice cracked as it rose an octave. “What if Lincoln gets in trouble? I got this car—it’s a rental—from his dealership because mine’s being serviced. What if there’s something going on at the dealership and his name ends up in the papers?”
    “Make the call, Ashley. As soon as you’re done, turn on all the lights and fix a pot of coffee,” Cooper said in a gentle but firm tone. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
    She slid her phone into her coat pocket and pulled the lapels closed over the skin of her neck. The night air felt needle-sharp.
    Edward stood, offering her the wrench. “One of your lug nuts is stripped. It’ll take time you clearly don’t have to get off. Tell me where you need to go and I’ll take you there.”
    Cooper didn’t hesitate. She grabbed the truck keys from her ignition and stuffed them into her purse. She then strapped on the extra helmet Edward had quickly produced and told him where Ashley lived.
    “Hold on tight!” he shouted. “I don’t drive slow.”
    As the motorcycle lurched onto the pavement, Cooper gasped in surprise and threw her arms around Edward’s waist. She’d never been on a motorcycle before and was struck by the force of the icy air as it careened up her pant legs and slapped the exposed flesh of her neck. Edward shifted gears and the bike shot forward, and Cooper tightened her grip on his leather jacket.
    Edward’s body felt taut beneath his coat. It was as though every cell in his body was focused on getting Cooper to her sister as quickly as possible. Despite his near reckless speed, Cooper trusted his driving abilities. For some reason, she felt confident that she’d come to no harm in his company.
    She followed Edward’s lead as he leaned into turns and hunched over when he accelerated. He tore through intersections and soared under the pools cast by flashing yellow lights until they had reached the dark corridor that was River Road. Slowing now, he waited for Cooper to tap him on the shoulder, indicating he should make a left or right turn. They had no other way to communicate, but seemed to have a natural connection—their bodies engaged in a wordless conversation.
    Cooper was confused by her own reluctance to release her hold on Edward after he came to a stop in front of Ashley’s