Edge of Blackest Night

I was searching the shelves for mom's favorite book of Robert Frost poems when my cell phone rang. I answered and put it on speaker to continue my search.

"Riley! He proposed!" This jubilant declaration was followed by a shrill scream of excitement. I couldn't help but smile. My best friend and her boyfriend had been dating for nearly six years.

"That's great, Mara," I said. I could hear the "he" in question in the background. "It's about time you put a ring on it, Johnny! I was worried I was going to have to put the Southern smackdown on you."

"No smacking, Southern or otherwise, will be necessary," Johnny replied.

"Will you be my maid of honor?" Mara asked, shooing him away from the phone.

"I'd be insulted if you didn't ask," I said, still smiling as I pulled books from the shelves.

"How's your grandma?"

"Sick, but still tough and stubborn as always."

"Well that must run in the family," Mara said, and I could practically hear her rolling her eyes through the phone.

"Whatever do you mean?" I asked innocently. I heard the front door open and Remi strode in. I pointedly turned my back on her.

"Have you gotten anymore work done on your manuscript?" Mara asked me. I heard Remi's footsteps still at the base of the stairs.

"It's coming along," I told Mara.

"When you become a hot-shot New York Times best-seller, you're going to dedicate a book to me right?"

"I think we may be getting a little ahead of ourselves here, but yes. As long as you name your first born after me."

Mara and Johnny both laughed. "We planned on it!" Johnny said.

"Have you set a date for the wedding?" I asked.

"Not yet, it'll be a while."

"I'm happy for you," I said, and I meant it. Mara and Johnny had a love most people only dreamed of.

"I'll talk to you later babe, I still gotta go call my mom," Mara said. "Send my love to your grandma. I'll call again soon."

"Love ya," we said simultaneously and I ended the call.

"What was she talking about, your manuscript?" Remi blurted. I turned to face her, my arms filled with books. I stared coldly at her for several moments. "I went to New York for college, Remi. I was accepted at Columbia. I graduated early, in December, with a BFA in creative writing. I've been, how did you put it, expressing myself." I felt a glimmer of smug satisfaction when she looked a little chagrined. I walked past her and started up the stairs. I paused and looked at her again, getting in her face this time. "You can sit there on your high horse all you want, Remi. But you don't know me. You don't know anything about me. And let me remind you of something, Daughter of the Year. You left Dad too. So now who's the hypocrite?" I strode up the stairs without waiting for a reply. I took my books into Gram's room to read to her like I had been doing most evenings, and closed the door.



I avoided both Remi and Dad as much as possible over the next three days. My conversations with Dad were always brief and tense, and on the rare occasion that I did cross paths with Remi, she always seemed like she was about to say something, but she never did. I overheard snippets of their conversations when I passed by the kitchen or the living room. Remi had had lunch twice with some guy, was drawing some pictures for another guy, and Dad said something about a report of a missing girl from Black Marsh, a town about fifty miles east of us; and that he was having a BBQ for the squad at the house in a few days. I spent my time jogging, writing in my room, or visiting with Gram, who was the only person in the house I could have a normal conversation with.

"Families aren't meant to be divided, sweet pea," Gram told me one day. "I want to know that I can leave this world behind without having to worry about all of you."

"You don't need to worry about me, Gram. I can take care of myself."

"Yes, I know. You've always been headstrong and independent. But everyone needs someone sometimes, Riley, and if you don't have family to turn to when the time comes, then who do you have?"

I went into town later that day, for no particular reason. I just needed to get away from the house. I wandered the old streets; not much had changed since I left. I passed the library, which Mama had used to run. I wondered if Mrs. Goode was still in charge, since she had taken over after Mama died. I turned away, unwilling to go inside. I was wandering up Main Street when I heard a familiar voice.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here," it drawled. "I didn't believe it when they said you was back in town."

"Hello, Billy," I said warily, turning to face my old high school boyfriend. He still had his dark sandy hair cut short, and his blue-green eyes looked me up and down a couple times before he sneered at me.

"That's all I get?" he asked. "You dump me on graduation night and disappear without a trace and four years later all I get is hello?"

"Looks that way, doesn't it?" I replied. "And I'm not back in town. I came to see Gram. As soon as she doesn't need me anymore, I'll be out of everybody's hair."

"Where'd you run off to anyway?"

"New York," I muttered, already walking away from him. I still couldn't believe I had ever dated that idiot, star quarterback or not. Of course, after hearing Remi's voice mails the other day, I guess a loud-mouthed, drunken moron of a jock wasn't as bad by comparison.

"Oh, I see," Billy called after me. "You decided you'd just run off and become a fancy pants city girl and thought you were too good for me, is that it?"

"Oh I don't think I'm too good for you, sugar," I said over my shoulder. "I know I am." I marched purposefully down the street, ready to get the hell out of there before I ran into any other old acquaintances, and instead ran right into one.

"Whoa! Slow down there, roadrunner." Jake smiled at me, catching my shoulders and setting me upright before I could fall on the ground and make an ass of myself. "How's your grandma doing?" he asked. "I've been meaning to drop by and say hello, but ever since the Pinches have been helping the sheriff with house repairs, he hasn't needed me so I haven't been around much."

"The Pinches?" I asked.

"Family that moved in almost a year ago," Jake explained. "They live out in your neck of the woods. Your dad and Teddy Pinch are pretty good friends."

"I have trouble imagining my dad being friends with anyone," I said. Then I had a thought. "Speaking of, Dad is hosting a stupid BBQ for the local force tonight. Would you like to be my plus one?"

"Well I've never tried stupid BBQ," Jake said, lips twitching. "I suppose I could give it a whirl."

"Great. See you tonight then. Six o'clock." As soon as he disappeared around the corner, I hauled ass home to change. "What to wear, what to wear?" I muttered, pawing through my closet and duffel bags. My closet was no good, since it consisted of the frilly little sundresses and mini skirts I used to wear, and of course my old red and white Hayesville High cheerleading uniform. I shook my head. I hadn't paid hardly any attention to what clothes I grabbed when I'd been packing to leave New York, and I dumped everything into a pile on my bed to sort through it. Jake wouldn't go for the chic city girl look, but neither did I want to pretend to be something I wasn't. In this case, a normal resident of Hayesville. Finally I settled on a long black skirt that was slit halfway up my thigh on the left side, and a rosy pink tank top. I carefully did my fingers and toes in a shade of purple that almost exactly matched my highlights, and applied the barest trace of blush and purple eyeshadow. I let my wavy hair hang loose down my back, wore no adornment other than my silver cross and some simple amethyst stud earrings. I opted to not wear shoes at all.

I could hear people arriving downstairs, and knew Dad would be firing up the grill soon. I padded downstairs. I recognized most of the men, and halfway expected to get cuffed like I did the time Billy and some of our other friends broke into the school to watch a meteor shower from the roof. I smiled at the memory. It was one of the few good ones I had of my high school friends.

"Riley Mae!" A booming voice called across the room. I recognized Dad's predecessor, Sheriff Rawlins. "Have you been staying out of trouble, girl?"

"Trying, but it somehow always finds me," I replied. He chuckled good-naturedly. I had been lectured countless times by Sheriff Rawlins, but he had a lot of respect for Dad and had never been too hard on me. Dad himself was another story. I hovered near the door, and jumped to answer it when the doorbell rang. I was disappointed to see an older man with graying hair and a man about my age with long brown hair standing on the porch instead of Jake.

"Hi there," the older man said, tipping his hat my way. "You must be Tom's daughter Riley. I'm Teddy Pinch and this is my son Robert. We're friends of your father's." He smiled politely and stuck out his hand for me to shake. I didn't take it. "Dad's out back," I said. The two of them looked a little taken aback.

"Robert!" Remi hurried over, her hair tied back in a twist and wearing a yellow peasant top and cut-offs. "You guys made it," she said. I could see the goo-goo eyes she was making at Robert and nearly gagged. This must be the guy she had been having lunches with the past week. She ushered Teddy and Robert inside and the three of them made small talk as they walked away. I shook my head. A young deputy bumped into me and apologized hurriedly.

"It's okay," I said. Then I did a double take. "Joshua Sinclair!" I exclaimed. "You're a cop? I never would have guessed!" Joshua had been valedictorian the year I graduated. He was a soft-spoken, studious type. "Never in a million years would I have pictured you as a cop," I went on. "I thought surely you'd be off at MIT or Yale or someplace, building the latest super computer or something."

He blushed. "Mama got sick, and we all needed to pitch in to take care of her. I couldn't leave town and leave my younger sisters and brother to do it alone."

I felt a tug in my heart. "I'm sorry, Josh," I said gently, touching his shoulder.

"Well look who I'm complaining to," he said. "Here you've lost your mother and your grandmama is sick and I'm bothering you with my sob stories."

I smiled. Josh always had been the nicest guy ever born. "It's no bother," I assured him.

"So how've you been?" he asked, his light green eyes skimming over my purple-streaked hair. "Word on the street is you've been in New York City."

"That I have, Well, am. I'm here to see Gram. But enough about all that; look at you! In your swanky uniform. Go on, turn around. Let me get the full effect."

He blushed again, but did as I asked. I whistled. "You know a lot of girls love a man in uniform," I teased. Truly, he looked pretty good. His dark reddish hair was no longer falling into his eyes, but was now cut short and neat. He had a little bit of five o'clock shadow on his face, and he was still tall and lanky but had grown out of his awkward teenage phase. He still had a habit of blushing though; he reminded me of a flashing neon sign sometimes. "Are there any girls on your life, Josh?"

"No, ma'am," he said, but I saw his eyes dart quickly to the side, looking at someone across the room. I followed the gaze and saw Remi still talking to Teddy and Robert. I remembered how Josh had signed up for a ceramics class as his senior year elective. The same one Remi had taken. I laughed out loud and socked him in the shoulder.

"Joshua!" I said. "You still have the hots for my sister, don't you?"

This time his face went scarlet and he looked flustered. "I, what? Who? No. What?" He pulled nervously at his collar.

"Why don't you make a move?" I asked. "Go for it, she's right over there. Go show her your...gun." I giggled.

"Remi doesn't even know I'm alive," he protested.

"She will if you go ask her out, Deputy Sinclair."

"She's been on several dates with Robert," Josh muttered.

I snorted. "Robert Shmobert, you're way better than that guy."

"You met him five minutes ago."

"And I already know I like you better." He was saved from answering when the doorbell rang again. This time it was Jake, and I smiled like a fawning school girl. Get it together, Riley Mae.

"Glad you could make it," I said, regaining my composure. He was wearing a clean blue flannel shirt and his hair was still damp from a shower. "I take it you know Deputy Sinclair?" They exchanged pleasantries and then Dad was announcing that the food was ready and we all migrated outside. I stuck near Josh and Jake, but still wound up sitting at the same picnic table as Dad, Remi, and the Pinches. Fortunately they chatted among themselves while Jake and Josh asked me questions about New York.

"A writer," Josh said. "That must be exciting."

"When you have an idea, sure. Writer's block, not so much." I spread mustard on my hamburger and loaded it with pickles. Gram, who had insisted she attend the party, was sitting a table over, laughing at all of Sheriff Rawlins' ridiculous stories. I caught her eye and mouthed, "floozy." She just grinned.

"So what about your boyfriend?" Jake asked, casually scooping some cole slaw onto his paper plate.

"To answer your not so subtle question, Mr. Lamb, I don't have a boyfriend." He took a bite of his burger, as though waiting for me to elaborate.

"I dated this one guy, about a year after I moved to New York," I said. "But it...it didn't end very well, and I haven't really been in the dating scene since then." I stirred potato salad around on my plate absently.

"He hit you," Jake said, and I jerked at the matter of fact way he said it and the dark tone that entered his voice. The conversation further down the table quieted and I knew Dad at least was listening in.

"He put me in the emergency room," I admitted. "It was pretty bad. I took a couple of self-defense lessons at the community center after that. Nothing fancy, just some basics. But I figured something was better than nothing."

"He give you any more trouble after that?"

"He showed up at my apartment a few weeks later. I told him to kick rocks, he got mad, made a move to hit me again."

"What did you do?" Josh asked, looking disgusted.

"I punched the bastard in the face," I said, a note of pride entering my voice. "I was so mad I broke his nose. It felt pretty good," I added with a laugh. "He underestimated this little Georgia girl."

They both chuckled. "So just to clarify," I said, looking at Jake. "I was essentially off the market for a while. So there's no boyfriend back in the city." I stared him dead in the eye. He smiled slightly. "Good to know," he said. The conversation turned to lighter subjects, and after dinner Jake said he was going to take his leftover to his dog. I tagged along, wincing as the gravel in the driveway poked my feet. But I forgot all about it as soon as I saw the Bloodhound puppy in the bed of Jake's truck.

"This is Beau. Beau, say hi to Riley." Beau let out the most adorable howl I had ever heard and tried to scramble out of the truck bed. Jake fed him his leftovers and then pulled him out of the truck and handed him to me.

"Well aren't you just the sweetest thing!" I gushed. "Can he fetch?"

"Miss Riley, you are talking about a genuine Southern hound. Of course he can fetch."

"Oh well I'm sorry to offend your delicate sensibilities."

"I'll forgive you this time," Jake said. He retrieved a frisbee from the cab of his truck, handed it to me, and then swept me literally off my feet. I let out a startled yelp.

"I saw you hobbling over these rocks," Jake said, making his way around the back of the house. There were a lot of raised eyebrows and a few catcalls as he carried me back into view of everyone.

"He was a perfect gentleman!" I called as he set me down. "Here, hold this til I get back," I instructed, shoving Beau into his arms. "This party could use some music." I bounded up the stairs to retrieve my iPod and portable speaker. I set them on the porch railing and cranked some of my favorite dance music. I could see my dad's pained look, but I didn't care. I danced my way back to Jake, taking the frisbee and throwing it. Beau woofed excitedly and took off after it. I raised my arms in the air and swayed with the music. Jake laughed low in his throat. "You're different from when you left," he remarked. The old Riley Bradshaw certainly wouldn't have danced around barefoot in front of everyone.

"How so?" I asked.

"I think you're more like you than you've ever been before." I stopped dancing to stare at him. Jake was far more perceptive than I had ever realized. It made me like him more. My iPod was set to shuffle, and it apparently felt like helping a girl out, because the next song was a slow song.

"May I have this dance?" Jake asked, bowing slightly. I curtsied and moved forward. He tried to take my hand, but I wrapped my arms around his neck. He arched an eyebrow at me as he settled his hands on my waist. "You know I wouldn't want anyone to get the impression that I am anything other than a proper Southern gentleman," he said. "This is not arm's length apart."

"Well maybe I"m not a proper Southern lady," I retorted. "In New York, we don't bother with any of that arm's length apart nonsense. Now hush up and dance."

"Yes, ma'am." Even though I knew people were watching us; Dad's eyes were fairly boring a hole in my head; it was the sweetest, most romantic dance of my life. The sun sank below the horizon, and I spent my evening playing fetch with Beau and then Jake helped me catch fireflies in Mason jars. By the end of the night my hair was a mess and my feet were covered in dirt and grass stains, but it didn't bother me one bit. The crowd dwindled and I finally walked Jake out to his truck, a sleeping Beau in his arms.

"You still have horses?" I asked.

"Sure do."

"Would it be all right with you if I came out to the ranch to ride sometime? It's been years, and I think i would like to ride again while I'm here."

"You're welcome anytime, Riley."

"Saturday?"

"I'll be there." I stood up on my tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Good night, Jake."

"Sweet dreams, Riley." I limp-ran over the gravel and executed a perfect pirouette as I sailed through the front door with a dopey smile. Gram chuckled from her place on the couch.

"He's a wonderful boy, Riley. When will I be having great-grandchildren?"

I laughed. "You keep on the way you were tonight with Rawlins, Dad may have a new sister or brother." Gram burst out laughing and I turned to see Dad standing in the kitchen doorway looking slightly ill.

"Take me up to bed, will you son? Good night, girls."

I hugged her gently and kissed her cheek. Remi came out of the kitchen to do the same and then Dad helped her up the stairs. I still sensed that there was something Remi wanted to say, but I headed for the stairs and she didn't stop me. I thought about how it had felt dancing with Jake, and I fell asleep that night with a smile on my face.



I rose later than usual the next day, but still donned a racerback tank and some sport capris for my jog. I cut across our property and took the trail through the woods that bordered Bradshaw land. It was secluded and peaceful and had become my regular jogging trail. I knew it well by now, but halfway through my run I stubbed my toe on a rock that I was positive had never been there before. Cursing, I lost my balance and fell, rolling down the hill. Sticks clawed at my arms and face, and I felt something slice my leg. I landed with a groan of pain, sprawled on my back. There was a gash on my calf and my pants were torn. It was bloody but probably looked worse than it was. I had an assortment of cuts on my arms and I felt a couple scratches on my face, though for the most part it had been spared.

I struggled upright and a flash of white caught my eye. I stood and limped through the brush. My heart stopped. It was like that day ten years ago all over again. Remi had gone home with a friend and Dad was at work. I searched for mom, and found her lying at the bottom of the garden hill. She had looked like she was sleeping, until I saw the halo of crimson around her head. But this was not ten years ago, and this girl did not look like she was sleeping. Her eyes were open, dead and staring at nothing. I blinked several times, trying to make my brain understand what I was seeing.

She was dressed in a tattered white night gown; she was barefoot and covered in cuts and bruises. But what held my attention the most were the barbed wire and red ribbons that circled her ankles, wrists, and neck like grotesque jewelry. The blood staining the ribbons was now dried and brown.

The girl from Black Marsh. The one the police had been searching for. Bugs were swarming across her body. She couldn't have been any older than me. My stomach churned and my heart was pounding so loud I was sure they could hear it like thunder several counties away. There was a dead girl, a murdered girl, lying in the woods. Someone had just left her there, after wrapping her in barbed wire. A maggot crawled out of her mouth.

I screamed.