LIVING ON THE EDGE

CHAPTER: 5

Sharon closed up the office at five-thirty that evening. She pulled a gift-wrapped box out of her desk drawer and handed it to Stuart, her brother-in-law c*m assistant, before turning out the lights.

"Sharon...you didn't have to get me anything," Stuart said to her.

"Don't make a big deal. It is Christmas, for goodness sake. Everybody needs a gift," Sharon replied.

She watched him blush at that.

"Let us get out of here. You have got any plans? Midnight Mass is on tap if you are free," Sharon said while grabbing her umbrella.

"I do have plans, but thanks," Stuart replied.

She knew it was probably a lie, but she let it go. As they headed out down the narrow staircase, Stuart fired off a volley of questions about Chase Reed. "Do you think he did it? What do you think the cops will say about you taking the case? What do you want me to do?"

At the bottom of the staircase, she turned to face him, remaining silent. Sharon's first inclination was to snap and tell him to settle down, but then she remembered how much she owed him. He had given her a purpose in life, and for that, she was eternally grateful to him. She thus adjusted her features, softening her hardened frown. Recognizing the look on Sharon's face that said, "Slow down, pace yourself." Stuart nodded gently. 

Sharon unfurled her umbrella and opened it before stepping out into the rain.

"Want a ride?" Stuart asked her.

"No, thanks. I will walk," she replied.

"Sharon, it is a downpour out here," Stuart tried convincing her.

"I know. That is the reason why I want to walk. Merry Christmas." Sharon blew him a kiss and headed for the crosswalk.  

Living four blocks away from the office made it nearly impossible to drive, even when the weather was miserable. As Stuart pulled away, the chilled rain began to turn into hail and the slosh of her boots in the cold puddles increased her feelings of loneliness and regret. The meeting with Chase Reed had pushed her deeper into a dismal mood. Something was depressing about spending the holiday alone in a place where you should know people, Sharon thought. While the opposite is true of out-of-town Christmas vacations and she wondered again why she had not booked a flight.

She had spent the previous Christmas in Vancouver, Canada, sipping on wine and having breakfast in bed, in a cozy, 'Diana's Luxury bed and breakfast.' She had spent a week in the old section of the city, making temporary friends with random strangers and rambling along the freezing, snow-covered cobblestone streets. The companionship of the strangers she met was too short to sour but long enough to satisfy the need for human contact. She had returned after New Year's Day feeling refreshed and ready to get back to her world of all work and no play.

Sharon was born and raised in Sweetwater, Tennessee, in the U.S. She had spent most of her life in southeastern Sweetwater. Her parents, who lived there, tolerated yearly visits, but they had not been close for a long time. She had a brother, Peter, elder to her by two years. He had disappeared one day when they were playing at the edge of the dead-end street adjacent to their house. He was abducted, to never be found when he was 12 years. The loss of Peter had destroyed their family, causing her to seek shelter somewhere far away from her parents.

She had attended a boarding school in Illinois, as a teenager, which was 4 hours and 40 minutes away from Sweetwater. But something had brought her back to Sweetwater for college. But it was ironic that she felt most lonely in the place where she was born. Her haunted past had followed her around the state, with the ghost seemingly incapable of leaving her. During her time in Illinois, she had been free of the guilt of being the sibling that had not been abducted. Returning to Sweetwater had rekindled painful memories of her brother's absence. She then shifted back to Illinois for her graduate school and then did her Master's in Criminology.

She was then offered the post of Police Detective at Maury County, which was one hour and fifteen minutes from, Nashville, Tennessee. Maury County is a historic district that meets the ghetto. It also offered cheaper living options. It has a Midwest swagger with a hint of southern hospitality and an edge of danger. If you get a flat tire, someone will stop and help you change it, but if you leave your front door open, someone might come in...and maybe take a thing or two. People speak to each other when walking down the street, and hippies, scholars, students, and drug dealers manage to co-mingle without much friction.

Shuddering underneath the umbrella, she felt the chill of isolation. The street was quiet and calm, but the glow of windows warm with Christmas Eve cheer filled her peripheral vision. She thought she should have invited Stuart over for a drink, but there was a part of her that did not desire any company. The loss of her husband Daniel reminded her that some parts of life were dark, and there was no way to eliminate them. Accepting that fact had helped her deal with the sorrow. Instead of thinking it would end, or that she needed to fight against the pain, she accepted that most days would be no better nor worse than the previous day. Daniel would always be in the corner of her mind, silent, but ever-present.

She had learned that staying busy and productive is a great way to suppress loneliness, but there are times when even being busy fails to distract from the truth. Even so, she was going to do her best to let this new case consume her. As she stuck her key in the front door, she began to organize a plan of action to find out who killed Adriana Reed?