came to the door so she could talk to me in person. âYou didnât take it upstairs for your meeting with Miss Frankie, did you?â
âIâm almost positive I didnât,â I said, trying to retrace my steps in my memory. âI thought I put it here in my office. My purse is here and so is the bag with the non-prescription things I bought, but the prescriptions are gone. Iâve looked everywhere. How could they just vanish into thin air?â
Edie leaned one hip against the door frame. âMaybe you did leave that bag here. Maybe somebody took it.â
I looked up in surprise. âNobody here would do something like that.â
âIâm not saying it was one of
us
.â The last word was heavy with meaning, but I was so tired and sore it took me a minute to grasp what she was saying.
âYou think Destiny took it?â
Edie shrugged. âI found her sneaking around in your office. You tell me.â
I thought about her dazed, unfocused eyes and slurred speech. I thought about her admission that sheâd taken something for a âheadacheâ and wondered if one of my pain pills could take effect that fast. Iâd been raised to look for the best in people and always give the benefit of the doubt, and usually I tried. But under the circumstances, it was difficult to think the best of Destiny. âI think she has a serious problem,â I said. âBut Moose said she was changed.â
Edie glanced over the top of my desk, probably to see if she could see the pills. I could tell she didnât expect to. âI have one word for you about that,â she said when sheâd satisfied her curiosity. âRelapse.â
I felt a buzz of curiosity. I try not to gossip, but this was different. Two whole bottles of my prescription pills had disappeared.
And
the woman probably responsible for taking them was running for a position of responsibility, one that could affect the livelihoods of everyone in the neighborhood. I felt a duty to find out what Edie meant. âI guess that means that Destinyâs had trouble with drugs before? I mean besides the arrest?â
âDuh! Why do you think she missed the first three alliance meetings?â
I took a guess. âBecause she was high?â I couldnât say that I was surprised after what Iâd witnessed in the break room, but I
was
surprised that no one had said anything about her problem last night. If Edie knew, then surely other people did. âIs that what Edgar meant when he said sheâd been ill?â
âIâm sure it was. As far as I know, she doesnât have any other health issuesâexcept the ones she makes up to get the drugs she wants.â Edie lifted her chin and gave me a smug look. âAquanettia told me a couple of months ago that Destiny was in rehab. Obviously, it didnât work.â
I thought about Moose and felt a pang of sympathy. âDo you think her husband knows that sheâs using again?â
Edie shook her head. âMaybe. Maybe not. From what Iâve heard, heâs been dealing with this for a while now. Itâs hard to imagine that he doesnât recognize the signs.â
But heâd still asked me to let Destiny work here? That didnât seem very neighborly.
âIâm telling you, Rita, sheâs bad news. And if she actually wins the election next month, weâre all in trouble.â
âI donât think that will happen,â I said. Inside I was arguing with myself about jumping to conclusions. I couldnât deny that Destiny had seemed to be under the influence of something, but maybe there was another, more innocent explanation.
We didnât get a chance to discuss it further. The front door opened and someone sang out, âYoohoo! Anyone here?â
âSounds like Aquanettia,â Edie said, standing. âAre you ready for this, or do you want to sit it out?â
âAnd leave you to