CHAPTER: 12
1045 Words
Chase seemed to be agitated. Sharon tried to elucidate whether this was his usual nature, or if he was just overwhelmed with rekindled grief.
"For me to know who Adriana was, I have to meet the people like Melanie, with whom she spent her time. That is all. I have her parents and brother on my list as well," Sharon told Chase.
He rolled his eyes and took a long swig of his martini. "Adriana's brother Nicholas, is a total f**k-up. We rarely saw him, because he is a drunk... gets loud and mean when things don't go his way. Amy, his wife... rather, ex-wife now; is kind. I hope she will talk to you. She and Adriana were somewhat close."
"I will get in touch with Amy. Is there anyone else you think I should speak with?" Sharon asked him.
Chase took a sip of his martini. "I cannot think of anyone else."
"May I speak to Annie Dos Santos?" Sharon asked him.
"Sure, but she is the housekeeper. Do you think she will have something worthwhile to share?" Chase asked her.
"I won't know until I speak with her. Sometimes people don't even realize that what they know is important. I just want to be thorough," Sharon replied.
"Of course. Thank you. I like thorough people. I shall take the kids and you can speak with her," he said.
Chase seemed slightly bothered by the fact that Sharon wanted to speak with the housekeeper, but he spoke to Annie in French and called the kids to his side. They followed him into another room and Sharon went into the kitchen.
"Bonjour, Cherie'," Sharon greeted Annie, holding out her hand. Annie hesitated at first, but then relented and shook her hand.
"Bonjour, Mrs. Stone," Annie responded with a shy smile.
"Is it okay if I ask you some questions?" Sharon asked her.
"Yes, yes. It is okay. Sit, please." Annie motioned towards the table. They both sat down.
"I am trying to find out who killed Mrs. Reed. I know you had only begun working for her a few weeks before her death, but I would like to hear about your relationship with her. What can you tell me about Mrs. Reed?" Sharon asked.
"Are you a police?" she asked Sharon.
"No. I am a civilian, a regular citizen who looks into crimes on my own," Sharon replied.
"Like a... what do they call it? Um... freelancer?"
"Yes. That is exactly right. I am a freelancer," Sharon replied.
"Ah, okay. Well, I can tell you that Mrs. Reed was very nice all the time, but sometimes, she was nervous about things," Annie shared.
"How did you know she was nervous?" Sharon asked her.
"She was having some phone calls, which she attended in private, and when this lady came to the door, Mrs. Reed told me not to answer. She answered herself," Annie replied.
"So, you usually answer the door, but she answered the door for one visitor?" Sharon asked.
"Yes. She was a small lady. She knocked on the door and gave Mrs. Reed a note. That was the day before she died. I had never seen that lady before," Annie told her.
"Was Mrs. Reed nervous or angry, happy or friendly, when this lady showed up?" Sharon asked her.
"Nervous. The lady was using a tough voice while speaking to Mrs. Reed. I am not sure what she said, but it did not look good," Annie said.
"Would you mind describing her to me? What did she look like?" Sharon asked.
"Short, a little fat, and she was black," Annie said.
Sharon wrote down the details. So, a woman had shown up at Adriana's door the day before she was murdered. She spoke in a mean voice, and she was not someone the housekeeper recognized. Not exactly a lead, Sharon thought.
"Had you seen this woman before? Do you think she was a salesperson, or someone trying to talk to Adriana about religion?" Sharon asked.
"No. I had never seen her before, but Mrs. Reed did see her before," Annie replied.
"Why do you think that, Annie?"
"Because she knew her before she went to the door. And she did not ask who it was. Mrs. Reed always answered the door when she knew the person," Annie said.
"Okay. So, you usually answer the door, unless Mrs. Reed knew the person, correct?" she asked Annie.
"Yes. Unless she tells me no," Annie said.
"Mrs. Reed told you not to answer the door?" Sharon confirmed.
"Yes. Mrs. Reed said, No, Annie, I got it, I got it, and she did this to me." Annie then demonstrated by dismissively flapping her hand.
"Anything else you can tell me about the woman who came to see, Mrs. Reed?" Sharon asked.
"The woman did not have a car. There was no car in front of the house."
Strange, Sharon thought. Because one needed a car to get around Nashville, Tennessee Township. If one was not riding a car, then one would have caught a ride with someone. The public transportation system did not stretch too far into the suburbs.
"That is all I know," Annie said.
"Have you by any chance shared this information, with the police?" Sharon asked.
Annie rubbed her hands together and waited before answering. "They never spoke to me."
"Am I the first person to ask you questions about Mrs. Reed?" Sharon asked.
"Yes. No one has spoken to me. If they would have spoken to me, I would have told them," Annie replied.
Is there anything else you can tell me about Mrs. Reed?"
"Uh, no. Just that she was a lot of nervous," Annie repeated.
"Okay. Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me, Annie."
Annie nodded, pushed back her chair, from the table, and headed back toward the living room where Chase was with the kids.
A short black woman with a bit of extra weight, without a car, came to the door the day before Adriana was murdered. It was not a lot of information, but it was something, to begin with. Now it was time to look at the murder book, Sharon thought.
Sharon bid goodbye to Mr. Reed and left the place.
- Writer
