LIVING ON THE EDGE

CHAPTER: 26

"How long have you lived here?" Sharon asked Lorna.

"Twenty-seven years. We bought this house for twenty-five thousand dollars. It is not perfect, but it is our little slice of happiness. I did not know that the drugs and gangs would spring up around here the way they did, but my husband grew up in this area. He wanted to come back for some reason; probably because he is a long voyage trucker and he does not have to be here often." Lorna Smith let out a loud, harsh laugh. The laugh lines showed her joy and happiness.

"Did you know that the woman who was murdered and her body was dumped in the alley, behind the grocer's shop, on 10th May 2019, lived in that house across the street, in 2006?" Sharon said.

"No! No way! You will have to walk with me; these dogs are not going to wait," Lorna said.

Sharon walked beside Lorna as the two dogs pulled her down the street. 

"Adriana Davies lived across the street. She would have been young, in her late teens. Any of that sounds familiar?" Sharon asked.

The woman's forehead creased as she struggled to keep up with the dogs and see if she remembered Adriana.

"She looked much different then, but here is a more recent picture." Sharon pulled out the picture Chase had given her.

"Yeah, I remember her. She was living with a no-good loser. He was dangerous. His whole family was into things. There was one time when his sister, who also lived there for a while, was dragged down the street by the father of her children. Rumor has it that the baby's dad came back and killed her daddy. It was absolutely crazy s**t!" Lorna Smith said.

"Do you remember that guy's name?" Sharon asked.

"Hmm... let me think. DeMartin? No. It was De- something. Maybe Sam DaCosta... Yeah, that's it! I remember because he ended up getting arrested later on for something. He was on the news and I recognized him," Lorna said.

"Okay, and Sam DaCosta's father was allegedly murdered by his pseudo-brother-in-law?" Sharon asked.

"That is what we heard. The father was found in an overgrown field. I don't know how true it was, but there was a time when the supposed killer's mother came over to the house and there was a huge argument. They were out in the street screaming and yelling. We had to call the police. It was ugly," Sharon stated. 

"How many people would you say lived in the house?" Sharon asked.

"I don't know, but the family of the Sam was always coming and going. One night a cousin broke the front window. It was one of those things where the family was just crazy- always fighting, always arguing, and now and then they would shoot at one another or break windows... They were not the best of neighbors to have. In fact, they are the reason why we have a fence. We were extremely worried because their kids would come into our yard and do whatever they wanted. They had no home training," Lorna said.

"What can you tell me about the girl, Adriana Davies?"

"Not much. She was just your average follower who did not really make much of an impression. Her eyes were dull and dim, not the brightest lady, obviously. We never saw any other white people, so her family was not involved in her life. We figured they had disowned her, you know. Not because he was black, but because he was no good. The only real memory of her I have is the catfight she had with this girl that came by. She was a little girl, but she was argumentative and determined. Both the girls fought over the no-good man, which was just a shame. The black girl had a little one with her. She sat her kid on the lawn and went to the door with a great deal of fury. It was chaos! I watched the whole thing from my window. I called the cops, but they did not come that time," Lorna told Detective Sharon Stone.

"You would not have recognized Adriana after she got married, but she drove a red Range Rover. Do you ever recall seeing that car on the block?" Sharon asked.

Lorna thought about it for a moment while she waited for one of the dogs to take care of his business. She pulled out a bag and cleaned up when the dog was done.

"Well, now that you mention it, I saw a red truck that was too new for this neighborhood. If you are smart, you don't buy new cars around here. They will be stolen, or they will get you killed. Yeah, there was a red Range Rover around these parts, but I have not seen it for some time now," Sharon stated.       

Of course, because Adriana was now dead, Sharon thought. She found herself going back to the fight that must have happened between Adriana and Melanie. "The fight you told me about; do you know what it was about?" Sharon asked Lorna.

"Yeah, everyone on the block knew. A love triangle. He was living off both of them. Let us just say it was our soap opera for a while. Every day, something new happened," Lorna said.

"Is there anything else you remember about Adriana, Melanie, Sam DaCosta?" Sharon asked her.

"There were rumors that the black girl was smart... She washed her hands of him and moved out of the neighborhood after she graduated high school."

So, Melanie Jackson had come a long way. Impressive, Sharon thought. She then thanked Lorna Smith and headed back to the car.

"Hey, keep me updated. I want justice too!" Lorna called after her.

"Will do!" Sharon called back to Lorna. She had enough evidence to safely say that Adriana was in Maury County before her death, and that information might change the entire direction of the investigation.

                                                          ********

Sharon was meeting Nicholas Davies, Adriana's brother at 'Olive Garden,' Italian Restaurant, a classy place at the edge of downtown. She spotted a tall, thin man with blond hair spiked in every direction. He was leaning against the restaurant's door, engulfed in a cloud of smoke. Nicholas Davies had a hardened look, just like his sister. According to Chase, Nicholas was five years older than Adriana and was ill-tempered, and had rarely got in touch with them. Sharon parked in the far right corner of the parking lot and headed toward the restaurant.