Reckless

by Lori Bell

  “Tate will suffer if you do not go back. Those girls are suffering. Someone has to make them, and everyone else, understand why their lives have come to this crazy crossroad. It’s not too late to repair the damage.”

  “I tried to kill her, Rex,” Mary Lou stated, just to clarify her unforgivable sin.

  “So did her own sister. You, at least, see the harm in your actions now. Edie’s sister does not. Edie’s in danger, and you are the only one who can save her.” Rex appeared worried, and Mary Lou wondered if he could already see the outcomes – both if she turned back, or if she chose not to.

  “Our son will make it right,” Mary Lou said, hoping her husband would agree.

  “No. Our son, to a fault, has always seen only the good in everyone. He’s blinded by his love for one woman and his trust for another. He needs guidance, or he will freefall. I know what you were just wondering, and I can answer that thought for you. I am unable to see the outcome if you go back. I just know to trust that if you do, everything will eventually be okay. What I can see, however, is the destructive path that our son will take in his life if you do not choose to go back and help him. A broken heart and severed trust will tear down the boy we raised, the man we were incredibly proud of. Go help him…”

  Mary Lou stepped toward her husband. Her face was already wet with tears. He pulled her close, into his arms. Her senses were heightened. His touch. His scent. His handsome, masculine face and full head of wavy gray hair. The sound of his voice in her ears. It was all too much but she took every ounce of it in, consumed it all, as she knew this was goodbye again. She was still a mother. No matter the abundance of love

  she had for this man almost her entire life, she had to choose her son. He needed her more. Still, it pained Mary Lou to turn back.

  “Please,” she said to her husband as they parted and he smiled at her with such pride in his eyes. His wife. Oh how he loved her. She was going to do the right thing. “Please, do not let me cross back over to the other side feeling this bitter. I’m overwhelmed back there. You know that. I’m not myself anymore.”

  Rex took both of her hands in his. She felt something. Something more than before, more than she had ever felt in a lifetime of being with him. This was powerful beyond words. He had given her his strength and his goodness. She could feel it pulsing through her veins, with every beat of her heart. And she would take all of it with her. Before her eyes, his smile, his outer shell, all of him, slowly faded. And then disappeared. She was left standing there alone. But, she could still feel him. “Hold on to that,” she heard the whisper of his voice. Mary Lou looked up high into the sky, far past the very tops of the trees that looked as if they reached the white puffy clouds in the clear blue sky. There were no tears in her eyes anymore. No sadness in her heart. And then she smiled.

  *

  Edie told the cab driver not to wait when he drove her up onto the driveway of Mrs. Ryman’s house. She stepped out into the cold afternoon air, and walked on the sidewalk that Tate shoveled hours earlier. What a day this had turned out to be. When Edie woke up this morning, all she had wanted to do was confront her sister about the missing money in the Ryman’s bank account. She was not going to allow Sydney to feed her the same ridiculous story that she told Tate. Sure, there may have been other accounts hacked at the bank, but the money shown as withdrawn from the Ryman’s account was indeed gone. Edie was certain of it. And she knew Sydney was the culprit.

  All of that craziness was still not far from her thoughts, but Edie forced herself to focus on why she wanted to be back at Tate’s mother’s house. She turned the knob of the outside door that led into the kitchen, and was not surprised to find it unlocked. Tate never locked the door to his mudroom either.

  This time, Edie didn’t bother to wipe off her wet boots on the rug inside of the door. She just charged into that kitchen and walked straight over to the trash basket which sat on the floor inside of the pantry. For a woman like Edie who was prim and proper, going through trash, especially someone else’s, was enough to make her throw up. In this, case, however, she was on a mission. In the middle of coffee grounds and wadded up paper towels, Edie kept digging her hands deeper into that trash basket. She had never seen so many wadded up paper towels. And after a few more seconds of searching, it dawned on her. She took the time to unravel or shake out each wad of paper towels. After she did this three times, one of the wads felt

  heavier. Two shakes later and a pill bottle fell onto the heap of trash at the top of the basket.

  Edie picked up the prescription pill bottle and read the label. It was the Vicodin in her name, prescribed just days ago. Busted. Mrs. Ryman had stolen Edie’s pills. Edie had not brought them along in her purse, as Tate accused her of doing. His mother had to have been at their house, snooping with the intent to steal. Edie’s mind was reeling. If Mrs. Ryman wanted to take her own life and had decided to overdose, it did make sense to steal medication from someone who had just been prescribed a painkiller. But, what baffled Edie beyond words was why Mrs. Ryman wanted her help. Why did she request for her to be there? None of that made sense.

  With the empty pill bottle in her hands, Edie was still standing over the trash basket when the kitchen door opened without any warning.

  “What are you doing here?” Edie was asked, frankly.

  Edie had spent the last two and a half years of her life with this man, but right now the look she witnessed on Tate’s face was foreign to her. Telling him that she just rooted through his mother’s trash to find the empty pill bottle now in her hands was going to be the easy part. All she had to do was tell him the truth. The difficult, maybe even impossible, part was going to be having him believe her.

  Chapter 17

  “I found out that you took a cab from the hospital,” Tate told her, as he closed the door behind him. “I don’t know why, but I drove by here first. Why didn’t you go home?”

  “Why did you come here first?” she turned the question around to him. “I’ll answer that for you. You had the same thought as I did. Your mother stole my prescription. I know that for sure now. I just found it in her trash.” Edie held up the empty pill bottle for Tate to get a closer look.

  “I didn’t just walk in on you planting that in her trash?” Tate’s question, even though she was partly expecting it, angered Edie.

  “Do you even know who I am?” she asked him, trying not to sound angry but she most certainly was.

  “I thought I did,” he answered her honestly. “I also believe that I know my own mother very well. She would never attempt to take her own life.”

  “So this was premeditated murder on my part?” Edie’s attitude was snarky. “And why would I want to kill your mother? You just lost your father for chrissakes!”

  “Just help me to understand this,” Tate begged.

  “I’m the wrong person to ask,” she replied. “I have just as many questions as you do. It’s your mother who needs to fill in the blanks.” After she spoke, Edie silently hoped Mrs. Ryman’s condition had not taken a turn for the worse. Tate had left the hospital to look for her, so Edie assumed nothing terrible happened to his mother.

  “Let’s just hope she can,” Tate added.

  “Has her condition changed at all?” Edie asked, and she actually felt genuinely concerned.

  “No,” Tate shook his head.

  “Are you going back there tonight?” she asked, referring to the hospital.

  “Kathy’s flight will be in late this afternoon. I want to be at the hospital when she gets there,” Tate explained.

  “You should be there now,” Edie stated.

  “I was worried about you,” he admitted.

  “I think you suspected me and that’s why you are here,” she told him, still feeling hurt by his distrust of her.

  “Don’t make me choose between you and my mother,” he warned her.

  “What does that even mean?” she put him on the spot. He did not answer her, so Edie came to her own painful con
clusion. His mother meant more to him.

  *

  As soon as Tate dropped off Edie at home, he left again for the hospital. He never asked her if she wanted to go along with him, and she never said that she would have liked to either. The communication between them was again distant and tense, which was not unfamiliar territory for them. But, when his truck turned off of their lane road, Edie was already in the driver’s seat of her own car. She could not just sit around the house by herself.

  When she walked through the automatic door of Ry’s Market, she felt odd. She never liked going in there. She wasn’t at all domestic and absolutely hated to shop for groceries. Tate always did the shopping because for most of the two years they lived together, he was working at the market for his father. Edie preferred to shop at an organic store in Dover and did so often, during or after work.

  She did not think anyone would recognize her, but she also had no idea where to find Sydney or the location of an office in that building. One of the cashiers caught her eye and at the moment she was not busy, so Edie walked up to the middle-aged woman with a French braid halfway down her back. She was wearing one of those burgundy Ry’s Market smocks and Edie could have rolled her eyes. Sydney’s uniform, day in and day out.

  “Hi, can I bother you for a moment? I’m looking for Sydney Klein…” Edie was polite and the employee was as well when she directed her to the back of the store.

  When Edie made her way through the market, she found the door, knocked twice, and walked in. The size of the room took her by surprise. She felt like if she reached her arms out as wide as she could, she may have been able to touch all four walls. Close corners, for sure. Then her sister spun around in her chair in front of a laptop computer on an incredibly small desk.

  “Edie? What are you doing here?” Edie expected her reaction. Really, the two of them, no matter where they were, were never pleased to see each other.

  “Well I obviously came to see you,” Edie replied in her typical sarcastic tone.

  “There’s a folding chair against the wall if you need to sit,” Sydney offered, but she never got up to get it for her.

  “I’ll stand,” Edie replied. “And I’ll also get right to the point of why I’m here.” Sydney sized up her sister standing before her, looking like a model right out of a magazine. Her black leggings hugged her every curve, her high boots were stylish and the color of her fitted winter white sweater complimented her long, shiny blonde hair. Edie had left her coat in the car, and she was happy she had because that small windowless office was stuffy.

  “I know that Tate believed your bullshit excuse about the bank,” Edie began, and Sydney never flinched but she did feel her own heart beat quicken. Was Edie onto her? “What did you do with the fifty grand, Syd?”

  Sydney rolled her eyes. “It really doesn’t matter what you think. Tate believes me. These things happen when you’re dealing with millions of dollars.”

  Edie scoffed. “No, these things only happen when you put an inexperienced moron in charge.” Edie also wanted to call her a thief.

  “If you came here to insult me, you can leave,” Sydney told her in no uncertain terms.

  “Oh, I’m far from ready to leave,” Edie responded. She paced back and forth in front of Sydney before she spoke again. The closer she got enabled Sydney to see how the bruise on her forehead was still very prominent, even concealed underneath makeup.

  “I have work to do, you know how that is,” Sydney barked at her.

  “Actually, right now, I’m on a leave from my job. I had an accident that currently is preventing me from living my life.” Edie glared at her sister.

  “You’re lucky to be alive, sis.” That comment sent chills through Edie.

  “Yes I am,” she agreed, “but if you would have had your way, or a little more luck on your side, I wouldn’t be.” Edie left it at that, and then waited for Sydney to respond.

  “You’re talking out of your head…must be the repercussions of that nasty bump that your Rodan + Fields is failing to cover up.” Sydney was far from being sympathetic, and Edie could have hauled off and slapped her.

  “Speaking of out of my head, or out of my body,” Edie said in a matter-of-fact tone, “I had one of those crazy experiences the night of my accident.” Sydney instantly looked confused, but listened raptly. “I watched the paramedics at the accident scene. I was actually out of my body. Just like in the movies. I thought I had died, but someone was sent for me, to help me make sense of what happened.”

  “Are you okay?” Sydney interrupted, feeling freaked out. “Does Tate know you’re here?”

  “I’m pretty clear-headed right now, if that’s what you are asking. And, I’m a big girl. I don’t need Tate to hold my hand.” Edie was going all the way with this. She wanted her sister to know everything. “As I was saying… Rex Ryman was sent to me that night.”

  “You saw a dead man?” Sydney interjected with wide eyes.

  “I did, and I also saw you. Right here. In this office. And in the parking lot.” Edie’s words caused confusion and sheer panic for Sydney. That was not possible. “So, I witnessed your interaction with the thug who wanted to be paid for a job you told him he had not finished. I would say fifty grand from the market’s account came in handy for you to pay off your hitman.”

  Sydney laughed out loud. It was a nervous laugh, which Edie recognized. “You are fucking insane, big sister! Does Tate know you are talking like this?”

  “Stop bringing Tate into this,” Edie insisted. “No, wait. He’s the reason, isn’t he? You’re obsessed with the man I–”

  “The man you what, sis? Live with? Are sleeping with? The man you call your boyfriend like if you’re still in high school? Try saying it, Edie.” Sydney waited, but not long enough for Edie to respond before she spoke again. “You can’t say it because you are incapable of feeling it. It’s called love. And Tate deserves it. He deserves so much more than you can give him!” Sydney had raised her voice with a truth she had believed for years now.

  “What Tate and I share is none of your business,” Edie stated. “You need to get a life of your own and leave us alone.”

  “Is that what you came here to tell me today?” Sydney pushed her.

  “That, and I just wanted to prepare you for a visit from law enforcement. They come after people like you who break the law. Oh, and I’m not holding back when I turn you in. They can lock you up for all I care!”

  “Of course they will believe you…your story isn’t the least bit crazy.” Sydney mocked her.

  “I can prove the money is missing, and I’m sure they can track a thug suddenly paying off bills or wildly spending an awful lot of money everywhere.” Edie was proud of herself. The story that Tate was so afraid of everyone else knowing, especially his mother, didn’t even have to come out in its entirety in order for Sydney to pay. Her sister could very well go to prison, and Edie didn’t even care. All she could think about was she had almost died and it was this person’s doing. This person sitting in front of her now, who was her only family left in this world. But had she ever really cared about claiming her? No, and she most certainly didn’t give a damn now either.

  “You may want to wait on going to the police,” Sydney spoke calmly. “You know, like the old saying goes, if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours?” Edie frowned at Sydney. She was more than confused. Until Sydney clarified it all for her. “If Mrs. Ryman dies, you will be the one rotting in a jail cell.” Edie was surprised that Sydney already knew about Mrs. Ryman’s overdose that occurred merely hours earlier.

  “I had nothing to do with that,” Edie defended herself.

  “Oh but it will not look like that at all,” Sydney spoke with certainty, a confidence that Edie barely recognized in her. “It was the perfect plan, don’t you think? I mean, right up until the little old lady mixed up her coffee with the cup meant for you.”

  Chapter 18

  After Tate spoke with his sister outside of their mother�
�s hospital room, they sat together at her bedside, waiting and willing her to wake up. To come back to her family. All of his life, Tate listened and always sought advice from his sister, ten years older and wiser than him. He could not get out of his mind what she said to him after he tried to explain the overdose story. When he stated that their mother had somehow ended up with Edie’s drugs in her system, his sister’s exact words were, It’s time for you to open your eyes, little brother. Do not trust Edie Klein.

  *

  Edie took three steps backward in that stuffy little office. She felt her body bump up against the closed door. She just stood there, feeling like she could not get enough air to breathe. This was all so unbelievable, and shocking. If what Sydney said were true, Tate’s mother had tried to kill her too. That was the missing link. Mary Lou Ryman had not wanted to take her own life. She had stolen Edie’s pain medicine, summoned her to the house, poured her a tainted cup of coffee, and had planned to make it look as if Edie was suicidal. But why? Because she was a grief-stricken woman who had gone to extremes to protect her son from a woman she did not approve of? But, to resort to murder? Nothing made sense to Edie anymore. Except for the fact that she was surrounded by recklessness. And she was not safe. She had never before been this scared out of her mind.

  With one arm behind her back, Edie reached for the doorknob. Sydney had not moved. She only continued to sit there and wait for Edie’s reaction. Which was, for Edie to run.

  She opened the door behind her back, and took off running through the aisles of Ry’s Market. She just missed knocking over a child around one corner, and actually did have a collision with the front end of a woman’s grocery cart. It was when Edie was in aisle three, almost to the front entrance of the store, that she heard someone speak loudly to her.