CHAPTER: 19
1107 Words
A quick internet search informed Sharon that Charles and Elizabeth Reed still ran Reed Construction out of an office in Nashville. Curiosity moved her to hop in the car and head to their office in Nashville.
Rush hour was beginning to snarl the traffic, but a jigsaw route of back roads delivered Sharon to Reed's office in thirty minutes. The office was a small, well-kept Victorian house. She parked in the adjacent lot, squeezing her Toyota Avalon between a shiny, vintage black Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and a Toyota Fortuner, and bundled up before stepping into the chilly air. A series of bells announced her arrivals and a buzz invited her into the cozy lobby. A petite woman with a name tag that read "Leanne" and her skin the color of caramel greeted her with a smile.
"Hello. Welcome to Reed Real Estate and Construction. How may I help you?"
Sharon answered her with a big smile and an outstretched hand. Her tiny fingers, limp and weak, fell into her palm.
"I need to speak with Mr. and Mrs. Reed," Sharon asked.
"Okay. Are you a renter or a homeowner?" Leanne asked Sharon.
"I am a homeowner," Sharon replied. She was not lying. She was a homeowner. She just had not bought her property from the Reed.
"Excellent. Give me the address and I will get you in right away," she told Sharon.
Sharon gave the receptionist her address, hoping that Mrs. Reed did not know all of the addresses of her properties by heart. She then sat in an elegant chair featuring a lion's head at the end of each arm, waiting to be thrown out of the office. The receptionist strolled down the short hall, and after five minutes returned to her desk.
"Mr. Reed is busy, but Mrs. Reed has agreed to see you," she informed Sharon.
Elizabeth Reed was standing when Sharon entered the room. She clasped Sharon's hand in a tight handshake, towering over her like a scion. Her thin blonde hair had a few streaks of gray here and there, but she looked no older than fifty-five. Her body was taut and toned, and she walked the way she had sat in the old interview on video that Sharon had seen before meeting her. Elizabeth Reed was tall, proud, and strong. She had cropped hair quite close to her skull, with just enough length left for pleasant curls to weave their way around the sides of her head. She had a slightly masculine air that was so common among women who had worked in male-dominated fields.
"Mrs. Stone. I have been expecting you," Mrs.Reed said.
She did not mention, the deception Sharon had used with the receptionist.
"Thank you for meeting with me," Sharon told her.
"It is a pleasure to meet another pioneer. I have heard great things about you from Chase," Elizabeth Reed said.
"It is a pleasure and honor to meet you as well, Dr. Reed," Sharon said.
"You have researched about me, I believe, Mrs. Stone."
"Just a simple collection of data... but no less impressive, Dr. Reed."
A tight-lipped smile spread across her thin lips.
"You are here about Adriana. How can I help?" she asked Sharon.
"As you know, Chase has asked me to look into her murder. It appears that Adriana did not have many friends, so I am talking with family members to get a feel for who she was," Sharon said.
"Hmm, I see. A type of, one could say, a psychological dissection?" Elizabeth asked.
"Something along those lines. The NPD has been kind enough to share a little information with me, and I could not find any information or interviews with you or your husband," Sharon said.
"That is correct. I could not stomach talking with petty cops. The comments they made on the news and the way they handled the investigation were shocking. When they insisted on meeting with us, we refused on principle," Elizabeth replied.
"You thought that the police did not do a good job investigating the case?" Sharon asked her.
"Mrs. Stone, I have much more faith in a determined young woman who seeks the truth than a bunch of young, untrained, and uneducated men," Mrs. Reed said.
Sharon thought about the amount of intelligence and college degrees held by the guys on the police force. Assuming that the officers were untrained and uneducated was rather arrogant on the part of Mrs. Reed.
"Did the officers offend you?" Sharon asked her.
"No. They just asked elementary questions. I suspect your questions will be much more advanced. You have already intrigued me with the psychological dissection," Elizabeth Reed replied.
Police have a different scope and sequence than private detectives. Sharon would not be asking Mrs. Reed any of the basic questions because the detectives from NPD had already done that. She was thankful to them because their 'elementary' line of questioning was going to work in her favor. The key to keeping Elizabeth Reed talking was to remain interesting to her.
"What was your opinion of Adriana?" Sharon asked.
"I don't know that I had an opinion about her. I loved her because my son loved her. He was happy and that is all that matters to me."
"Okay. Did you and Adriana ever have a daughter-in-law and mother-in-law dates?" Sharon asked.
Elizabeth Reed laughed and threw her head back. "Oh, Mrs. Stone, you don't know a thing about our family, do you?"
"No ma'am, I do not. Would you mind telling me what I need to know?" Sharon asked her.
"Yes, I think we should start there. There are no dates. Not even Charles and I have dates. We have appointments and business to take care of, and we do our best to see Chase and his family on the holidays. Our love is not based on time spent together. The cliche is true; 'absence makes the heart grow fonder.' I think I am clear, Mrs. Stone?" she said.
"Okay. Makes sense. When was the last time you saw Adriana before she died?" Sharon asked.
"It had been at least a month, maybe more. Charles and I want to stay healthy, so we keep busy. If we are not at the office, we are out with friends or attending a charity event. Charles and Adriana were also very busy, so we mostly reserved the holidays for family get-togethers," Mrs. Reed said.
"What do you think happened to Adriana?" Sharon asked.
Elizabeth Reed sighed.
"No theories?" Sharon asked.
"I am not a private detective, Mrs. Stone. I don't like to contemplate," she said to Sharon.
A/N: To be continued...
- Writer
