LIVING ON THE EDGE

CHAPTER: 25

"What did the other woman look like?" Sharon asked.

"Short, tiny actually, with black hair in a bun. Pretty."

Melanie Jackson? It should be. But why were they coming here so many times? Neither of them lived anywhere here in the neighborhood, Sharon was lost in her thoughts.

"Were they regulars?" Sharon asked.

"No. But they came in a few times. Nothing major. Probably three or four times. We do not get a lot of new people in here, so when newbies come in, we notice. Try to keep them coming back,"  the woman from the cash register said.

'Catfish Campus' the fish and chip shop sat across the street from the alley where Adriana's body was found. Why were the women hanging out in Maury County? Two successful, attractive women of means traveled to one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the state to hang out? Why? The fish and chips were delicious, but Maury County was so far out of their domain.

Adriana and Melanie were not of the neighborhood, but they had a fondness for Maury County. There was no better explanation Sharon could think of. Maybe they came back to stroll down memory lane. But how good could the old memories be? Not better than being a successful yoga teacher and stay-at-home mom married to a doctor. Why would they live in the past?

"Thank you. Hey, great food!" Sharon tossed a thirty percent tip onto the table and left. On her way to the car, she brushed past a group of girls dressed in black, with black bandanas in their pockets and on their heads. It was the same group she had seen at the party store, the previous week. Sharon turned around and headed back into the restaurant. 

"Hey, do the locals come in much?" Sharon asked the woman from the cash counter.

The cashier looked up. "No. We do not allow color gang, in here. So most of the locals stay away. We have a good reputation. People are willing to travel interstate for our fish. We have got to keep it safe in here."

Sharon slipped back out of the door, looking for the color girls, but they were nowhere to be found. So far, she had confirmation that Adriana and Melanie had been in the neighborhood; now she needed more information about why they were there. She had no idea how to find that out. She decided to switch gears and head around the corner to the house of the woman Lorna Smith, about whom the grocery food store owner Allen Gray, had told Sharon about. Lorna had stopped in after the store closed on the night Adriana was shot. 

Sharon drove around the corner and sat in the car adjacent to Lorna Smith's house. She watched for signs of life. After about twenty minutes, a small woman with thick-framed glasses came out and walked down the street. She came back about ten minutes later with a cup of coffee in her hand. Lorna Smith wore very thick glasses that she wore high on her pointy nose. She had pale skin, with a hint of orange, probably because of spending time, tanning. She had wild, thick, curly gray hair that fanned out around her head. She opened the gate in front of her house, pulled out two dog leashes from her pocket, and hooked them to two large American Pit Bull Terriers in the yard. Sharon stepped out of the car and headed toward the house.

"I don't want anything, so do not even try to sell it," Lorna Smith said, on seeing Sharon.

"I am not selling anything. I am a Private Detective looking into the murder of a woman. She was from Nashville Township," Sharon said, knowing that mentioning the posh town would trigger Lorna's memory. "She was murdered and left in the alley, behind the grocery food store owner Allen Gray's shop. I want justice for her family." Sharon spoke loudly to overcome the barking of the dogs.

"Justice? Well, that is great. Kids have been dying in these streets for decades, and now because some rich white lady died, we need to find justice? I have got nothing to say," Lorna Smith said.

It was not the friendliest response, but it indicated that the woman had been living in the neighborhood for quite some time. Sharon tried to let her anger die down a bit before continuing. "Madame, I worked on these streets as a police officer for several years. I care about justice for the people of this neighborhood, but I do not think that just because someone does not live here, or they are of a certain race, they do not deserve justice. I want justice for everyone; especially Adriana Reed's little children that she has left behind. "

The woman opened the gate and looked back. "You worked in this neighborhood? Prove it."

"In 2010, we ran a sting operation that ended the drug network that ran from Kansas Hill to Spring Hill City. This led to an increase in vacant houses, thus making the neighborhood safer. Your former neighbor, Jake Marshall, lived two houses down. He was robbed at gunpoint one weekend and shot the next week. We caught his killer within a week. Shall I go on?" Sharon asked Lorna.

Lorna Smith freed one hand and turned to face Sharon.

"Lorna Smith," she said, giving Sharon a warm handshake. "Sorry for being so salty. I am just tired of people looking for justice for only some people. I guess you work all sides, and that is all right with me. What do you want to know?"

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

"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.  

A/N: To be continued...