Sharp Edges (25 page)

“Do you think we’ll ge
t interviewed coming out of the house?” asked Jeremy, looking through the living room window at the reporter walking up and down the sidewalk, smoking a cigarette and talking on the phone.

“No,” I said
, releasing Regan. “And if any of them do bother you, tell them ‘no comment.’”

“But I
want
to be on television,” he said.

“Not for this,” I said.

“Fine,” he huffed.

“Quit being such a dork,” said Regan.

He glared at his sister. “You’re the dork, not me.”

“No fighting,” scolded
my mother. “Or I won’t buy you anything at the mall.”

“
That reminds me, don’t go overboard, mom,” I said.

She sniffed
. “Nonsense. I don’t get to visit my grandkids that often and today I’m going to make up for it.”

Regan’s face lit up and that al
one was worth the extra gifts from my mom.

“Fine,” I said.  “Just remember, however, that Christmas is coming. If you buy them too much today, their Christmas list will probably dwindle down to nothing.”

“Right,” snorted Regan.

She waved her hand. “Don’t worry, Lindsey. I know what I’m doing.”

I crossed my arms. “I hope so.”

Ten minutes la
ter they were gone and I took on the task of trying to find out how bad our financial problems really were. After looking through our credit card bills and making some phone calls to our mortgage company, I wanted to join Scott. We were several months late on our mortgage, and were on the verge of being foreclosed on.

We were in dire straits.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “We haven’t been receiving anything in the mail. I haven’t seen any statements or late notices.”

“Your husband has online statements set up
; however, we have sent several letters to your home regarding the missed payments,” replied the woman.

I rubbed my forehead. “Well, my husband just passed away
, and at this point, I’m not sure when I can even make a payment,” I said.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Mrs. Shepard. I hope you don’t mind my asking, but did your husband have a life insurance policy? That might help your situation.”

“I guess I’ll have to find that out,” I said.

I hung up with the mortgage company and called Scott’s employer.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” said Dave from Human Resources. “He was a really nice guy.”

“Thank you,” I said, blinking
back tears. I’d met Dave at one of the Christmas parties and remembered how he and Scott had joked around together.

“Well,” he said, clearing his throat. “It looks like he did have a life insurance policy.”

“Oh, thank God,” I said. “I spoke to our mortgage company earlier, and I guess we owe a lot of money.”

“It looks like you should be able to catch up,” he said. “C
onsidering his policy is for two million dollars.”

I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

“Mrs. Shepard?”

“What did you say?” I whispered.

“His life insurance policy is for two million dollars. I’ll try and rush the paperwork to you so that you can send it in to the insurance company. Due to the nature of his death, however, it might take a while for them to release that kind of money.”

“I… understand,” I said, still stunned that Scott had taken out such a large insurance policy. “I just had no idea that he w
ould have taken out such a big policy.”

Dave sighed. “If
its one thing I knew about your husband, it was that he loved you and the kids. He wanted to make sure you were provided for in the event of his death.”

I swallowed back the lump in my throat.

“So,” he continued. “I’ll mail this out to you as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, Dave.”

After hanging up, I sat down in the kitchen and put my head in my hands. While I was relieved that our financial problems would be taken care of, the fact that Scott was gone seemed more real than ever.

I spent the rest of the day looking through old photo albums, trying to bring back better memories. Unfortunately, it made things worse. By the time I’d made it through the first album,
the one showing our wedding, I was a wreck.

I pushed the albums aside and decided to take a showe
r before my mom arrived back with the kids. When I finished, I put my robe on and stepped back into my bedroom. It was then that I noticed my mother had left a message for me to call her.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Oh, this rental car,” she huffed. “One of the tires is completely flat. We’re at the mall, waiting for the rental company to bring me out a new car.”

“Would you like me to pick
up the kids?” I asked.

“No,” she replied. “As soon as they make the switch, I’m taking them to a movie.
We’re going to that new
Batman
movie.”

I smiled;
it must have been Jeremy’s idea. “Okay.”

“Would you like to meet us?”

“No thanks, mom. Have fun.”

“I will. Even grandmothers can appreciate a tight
-fitting costume like Batman’s.”

“I’m sure,” I said.

“Well, we’ll see you later.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. Molly and Henry wanted to take the kids overnight.”

“Okay,” she said. “With that in mind, we’ll come home right after the movie so the kids can each pack an overnight bag. Then I’ll drive them over myself. I haven’t seen Molly since Caroline’s wedding and should pay my respects.”

“Thanks, mom.”

“No problem at all.”

I hung up and slipped
on a T-shirt and a pair of sweats. Then, I made myself a glass of iced coffee and sat down on the porch with my Kindle. As I took a sip, I noticed a car pull up to Jake’s house. I watched as a tall blonde got out of her car. She wore a tight black skirt and a blue short-sleeved blouse that showed off her perfect, model-like body. She walked up to Jake’s door and began knocking. After getting no response, she stormed back to her car with an angry scowl on her face.

I took another drink of my coffee just as she noticed me
on the porch. When she moved away from her car and towards my house, I groaned inwardly, wondering what in the hell she wanted.

“Excuse me!” she called
, raising her hand in greeting.

“
Yes?” I asked as she stopped at the bottom of the steps.

“Would you happen to know if your neighbor has been home recently?”

I cleared my throat. “Well, he was home last night.”

“
Hmm…I wonder if I should wait around for him,” she mumbled, turning to look back at his house.

“I th
ink he may have gone out of town,” I said. “For some case he’s working on.”

She raised her eyebrows.
“A case?”

I nodded.

“He actually told you he was working on ‘a case’?” she asked.

“Why
, is that strange?” I asked.

She snorted. “Because
he hasn’t been working for the past few months and owes me a lot of money. At least that’s what he told me. No wonder he’s been avoiding my phone calls.”

I straightened up.
“Really?”

She folded her arms under her chest.
“Yeah. Apparently he’s forgotten that he has a five-year-old son who needs food and clothing.”

“He has a s
on?” I asked, stunned.

She nodded. “
That’s right. If you see him, tell him his ex, Connie, stopped by and I’m royally fucking pissed. If he wants to see Michael anymore, he’d better pay up. My job doesn’t cover all of our son’s expenses.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “
So, you’re his ex-wife?”

She smiled bitterly. “Well,
almost
ex. He refuses to sign the paperwork. I’ve tried divorcing the bastard several times, but he doesn’t like giving up his ‘possessions’, I guess.”

I stared
at her in astonishment as she turned and stomped away.

When the initial
shock finally wore off, I went into the house and called Jake’s cell phone, pissed as all hell, but of course, he didn’t answer. I had a feeling he’d already gotten another voicemail from Connie after our conversation, and was now avoiding me. Whatever kind of game he was playing, I really wanted no part of.

Needing
someone who’d listen to my rants willingly, I tried calling Darcy, but she didn’t answer. I left her a message to call me back as soon as possible.

Feeling
completely vexed about everything happening in my life, I paced around the house for the next couple of hours, trying to make sense of it all. When Darcy hadn’t returned my calls and the sun started going down, I grabbed my keys and decided to go for a drive. I left the house without having any kind of destination in mind. I just wanted to get away from everything and clear my mind.

Not an easy task.

By the time I made it halfway through town, I was fuming again and had to force myself not to call Jake’s cell phone and let him have it. Instead, I tried Darcy once again, but there still was still no answer. It was now beginning to worry me; it
never
took her this long to call me back.

Sighing,
I turned my SUV towards her apartment and was relieved when I noticed her car in the parking lot.

I shut off my
engine and went inside to try and buzz her apartment, but she didn’t respond. Fortunately, her friendly neighbor from across the hall let me in as she was walking out.

I t
ook the elevator up to Darcy’s and knocked on the door several times. I could hear her stereo playing, but as many times as I knocked, she still wouldn’t answer.

“Darcy?
” I called. “It’s Linds, open up!”

After several attempts, I turned the knob and found
that it was unlocked. I swung the door open and poked my head through. “Darcy?”

No answer.

Her apartment was dark as I entered. I shut the door behind me and turned on the hallway light.

“Max?” I hollered.

Still not getting a response from anyone, I walked into her family room, but found it empty. I then turned and went to search her bedroom. The door was closed when I approached it.

“Darcy
?” I asked, knocking loudly. “It’s me.”

No answer.

Worried and not caring anymore if I was about to interrupt some kind of passionate interlude, I opened the door and found the light on.

“Hello?” I called,
peeking into her bedroom. When I noticed the stacks of clothing on her mattress, I sighed in relief.

She must be doing laundry somewhere in the building.

As I was about to turn and walk away, I noticed the door to her private bathroom was closed and the mauve carpet surrounding it was sopping wet. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up as I walked towards the door. 

“Darcy?”
I called, knocking on the door.

No answer but I could definitely hear water running from inside.

Alarmed, I knocked harder. “Darcy, are you okay?!”

Still not getting an
y kind of answer, I turned the knob and stepped inside.

“No
!” I gasped, rushing towards her bathtub. “Oh, my God!”

The
oversized porcelain tub was overflowing with water and looking up at me with vacant eyes, was my very best friend.

“Darcy!” I choked.

Someone had placed a large, metal barbell over her neck to hold her down and her hands were cuffed in front of her pale, naked body.

Crying, I tried
lifting the barbell, but it was much too heavy. Feeling helpless, I stood up and backed away, realizing in horror that she’d obviously been murdered.

Sobbing hysterically
, I grabbed my cell phone and called nine-one-one.

“Stay calm,
ma’am,” said the operator. Someone should be there shortly.

“O
kay,” I hiccupped.

By the time the police arrived, I’d stop
ped crying but was still in shock. My husband had been murdered and now my dearest friend.

Oh God,
poor Max!

He adored his mother and would be totally devastated.
My heart ached for the little boy who had been trying to adjust to his parents’ divorce and now had to live without the love of his mother. I felt like I was in a living nightmare that kept growing and claiming new victims.

After
the police took my statement, I called my mother and left her a message to call me back. As I hung up, the detectives working on Scott’s case stepped through the door.