LIVING ON THE EDGE

CHAPTER: 34

"Do you have any evidence that Adriana was having an affair?" Sharon asked Mrs. Davies.

"No, but I know she was. Adriana was very sneaky," she replied.

Not exactly the portrait most mothers would paint of their daughters. Sharon felt a tinge of sadness for Adriana. Her family did not seem to think that her murder was a great injustice. Her brother and mother seemed to blame her. Sharon was also getting tired of people being so sure of Adriana's infidelity. There was nothing that pointed to her being unfaithful, and yet even her own mother was ready to accuse her of infidelity.

"My assistant visited Mt-Pleasant High School and it turned out that Adriana's file contained write-ups for her having too many visitors. Do you know anything about that?"

"It was her first real job. I knew she would need help, so I took her lunch a few times. Those people made a big deal of it, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. Then again, that is what you get with those Catholics, rules, rules, and more senseless rules," Julia Davies replied.

Sharon tried to imagine her mother bringing her lunch at her first 'real' job. She had to work hard to suppress a chuckle, thinking about that.

"Did Adriana like teaching?" Sharon asked.

"Well, as I told you, she was not smart, but she loved school. She liked being in school, but she was not a good teacher. Chase married her before it mattered, but she was not going to be asked back the next year. Teaching was not for her," Mrs. Davies said.

"Is that why she became an Aerobic and Yoga instructor?" Sharon asked her.

"No. That was all for Chase, and she has dabbled in that before. She was determined to get him, and by God, she got him all right, and look what happened. He made her pay," Julia Davies told Sharon.

Sharon wondered why Mrs. Davies disliked Chase so much. He was a great catch by most standards, and he honestly seemed to be grieving the loss of his wife. Sure, he was a little arrogant, but by all accounts, he appeared to have loved Adriana. Sharon decided to change the subject.

"Do you know Melanie Jackson?" Sharon asked her.

"Of course, we know Melanie. She is a wonderful woman; she really helped Adriana become a better person. She was the one bright light in Adriana's group of friends, but she kept her distance. She is a smart woman, always doing something brilliant."

"Adriana was on her way to meet Melanie the day she was murdered, but she never made it for coffee. Do you think it is possible that Melanie could be involved?" Sharon asked her.

"Involved in what? Adriana's murder? Mrs. Stone, Melanie is a great girl. She would never do anything stupid like that," Mrs. Davies retorted back.

Just then a man who looked like a Ken doll but for an aging Barbie Mrs. Davies, stepped into the foyer. He wore an olive green polo neck T-shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a pair of khaki pants. A neat crease ran down each leg of his pants. It seemed that Adriana had inherited his ability to look almost perfect. Something was missing, but just like his daughter, he was still very attractive. Sharon took note of his sad, aqua blue eyes, artificially sun-kissed skin, and thin slit lips. He smiled and greeted Sharon with a friendly, but subdued wave before taking a seat next to his wife.

"Mrs. Stone, I apologize for not joining you sooner. It is hard, but I want to thank you for investigating Adriana's murder. We do miss her terribly, but I don't know how much we can help you," Ryan Davies said.

"Well, whatever you can tell me will be helpful," Sharon replied.

"Adriana kept secrets from us. I am sure the same was true for her marriage," Ryan Davies said.

"I don't like you saying that, Ryan," Mrs. Davies said in a sharp tone.

"Honey, it is the truth and you know that..." Mr. Davies told his wife.

"I will not have you blame our daughter, like that. Yes, she had issues, but Chase killed her, and you know it!" Mrs. Davies told her husband.

Mrs. Davies bounced off the couch in a fit of anger and stared down at her husband. She had gone from zero to one hundred speed in no time.

"I just want to tell Mrs. Stone the truth. We did not know Adriana that well," Mr. Davies told his wife.

"She was murdered! It would not have mattered if we knew her inside and out. We could not have stopped that. Why cannot you accept that?" Mrs. Davies told him.

Mr. Davies sighed and glanced in Sharon's direction, pleading with his eyes.

"Mrs. Davies, would you mind telling me what Adriana was like? It would help me to get a feel for who she was," Sharon said, attempting to get her to calm down.

Adriana's mother cast a dark stare her way before composing herself and taking her seat. Ryan Davies laid his hand on her knee and began to speak.

"Adriana was always a bit of trouble. Nicholas was angry at times, but he was usually an okay kid. Easy to deal with most of the time. Initially, I thought it was because she was a girl, and I never had any sisters, but over time, it became clear that gender was the least of the issues," she told Sharon.

"Were you in touch with Adriana when she lived in Maury County?" Sharon asked her.   

The Danies' looked at one another, eyes wide with shock.

"Um, Adriana lived in Maury County for a while... We lost contact with her for a few years. It was her choice. She wanted to be with her boyfriend more than she wanted to be with us, so we just let her be," Mr. Davies said.

Adriana had been sixteen years old when she lived in Maury County. The most likely way for her to get to Maury County was by being a runaway. It was sad to hear how cool the Davies' were about their daughter.

"Was she reported missing?" Sharon asked.

Mr. Davies sighed. "Well, we reported her missing the first couple of times she ran away. After that, her mother and I decided that we should not do that."

It was strange, Sharon thought. Runaways are not found if they are not reported missing. 

"May I ask why you did not continue to report her missing?" Sharon asked.

"You have no right to judge us. We did not want her in the system! Does not that make sense?" Julia Davies yelled.

Sharon was not comfortable with the way this interview was going, but she had to forge ahead, even if Mrs. Davies kept behaving like a madwoman.