LIVING ON THE EDGE

CHAPTER: 16

Sharon spent the rest of the afternoon in the office, brainstorming ideas with Stuart. Her brother-in-law, Stuart Stone, was well less than a decade younger than her husband. During a business trip to England, Daniel's mother, Sherry, had an affair that destroyed her seventeen-year marriage and produced a new family member. Stuart was a total surprise to everyone involved except Daniel's mother. Even though Sherry moved to England and married her new love interest, and Daniel was brokenhearted by the end of his parent's marriage, he cherished his younger brother. Once Stuart was ten, Daniel would fly the boy to the U.S for summers and long school breaks. The rest of the time, he was in boarding schools in England until he turned thirteen and was shipped off to the U.S. Daniel's mother and her new husband had abandoned the boy to live a lavish life of travel.

Stuart had been devastated by Daniel's death. He had stayed in town for a few weeks, sauntering along, trying to find his way. Sharon had taken a leave of absence from the department and was spending most of her days at home, examining the details of Daniel's supposed suicide. Stuart would stop by every day to share developments in a grisly string of animal murders that had eventually intensified to human slayings. Of course, her warnings to Stuart and her advice to stop looking into the murders were ignored, and before she knew it, she was a Detective with her brother-in-law. That was the beginning of their partnership. After some time, Stuart needed a place to live. Against the advice of all her friends and family, she let her brother-in-law move in and offered him a job as her assistant. Inspired by his dedication and thirst for truth, she decided to start her own private detective agency. Stuart and Sharon had been through some great adventures together, and now he was like the son she never had.

"Found out anything?" Stuart asked. He was sitting at his desk, hunched over a file.

"Yeah. NPD did not want the officers on the case to interview the families. They totally shot them in the foot. One guy quit. The other one still works for NPD, but he was really forthcoming," Sharon said.

"What about the husband? Any new information?" Stuart asked.

"Actually, yes. They never interviewed the maid," she said.

"What? Why not?" Stuart asked.

"I am not sure, but part of me thinks they may not have even known about her. The murder took place in an alley a long way from Adriana's home, and it is possible that Chase's interviews took place at the precinct, in NPD. He was difficult, I guess, but it sounds like it was because they had to investigate him as a suspect. That is uncomfortable but necessary. Anyway, the maid told me a woman came to the house the day before Adriana was murdered," Sharon told Stuart.

"A mystery woman! Housekeepers usually know all the dirt on the lady of the house," Stuart said.

"You are right. Annie Dos Santos probably knew more about what was going on in Adriana's life than anyone else. Unfortunately, her English is limited. She speaks French, and her job could have been on the line if she had said the wrong thing," Sharon said.

"It seems like we don't know anything about Adriana then," Stuart told Sharon.

"Well, we have a little bit to go ahead. Adriana was a stay-at-home mother living in Nashville township. A black woman came to see her, a day before the murder, and she appeared not to have her own vehicle when she visited Adriana. That tells me Adriana had contacts outside of Nashville. Not having a car fits with someone from Maury County."

"Yeah, but it could also fit a large portion of residents from Nashville itself. Not to mention, just because she was not currently driving, does not mean that the woman did not have a car somewhere. How do we narrow our focus, then?" Stuart asked her.

"We pray and hope we get lucky. Beyond that, I think we can say, or until we learn something to contradict it, that the person was was from Maury County. She shows up the day before Adriana is murdered, she does not have a car, and she does not enter the house. She stays outside of the house, so we are not talking about a friend, but Adriana knew the woman. She told the housekeeper that she would check the visitor at the door. So, an acquaintance Adriana was familiar with, from Maury County, came to talk with her."

Sharon knew though the maid Annie had not shared anything too private, this mystery woman might hold the key to the case.

"What is the relationship?" Stuart asked.

"Not sure, but think about it. Adriana had to have been in Maury County before she was murdered. She knew the lady. I doubt that someone from Maury County just stumbled into Nashville and met Adriana," Sharon assumed.

"Right. Adriana spent time in Maury County," Stuart agreed.

"Yes. Also, Reed's residence is a little far from the main road, and it is busy, so whoever the lady was, she could have parked at the end of the drive and walked to the house. I just don't see her getting to the house without a ride, though she herself may have not driven. If she did park far from the house, I doubt any neighbors would have seen her," Sharon said, heading over to the whiteboard to sketch Chase's property.

"Yeah, that is possible, but why park at the end of the drive? I think we must consider that she might not have been driving. Of course, it is odd because she would not have been able to get there without a car. Someone walking in the area would stand out, and it is not exactly the most diverse part of the town," Stuart said.

"True, but the properties are built for privacy. Everyone has a little land, and there is quite a bit of greenery because of the state park. It would be easy to slip in and out of that place without anyone seeing you." Sarah drew a long driveway on the whiteboard and wrote the name of the main street adjacent to Chase's property. Then she grabbed a green marker and scribbled around the house to represent the grass and trees.

"Do you think this person was familiar with the area?" Stuart asked.

"She came while Chase was not at home, and did not stay long, so it is possible, but it is hard to say one way or another. Maybe Adriana was communicating with the woman."

A/N: To be continued...