Crime by Sofia Cruz

carrying a .38. He had found their mother and her lover in the kitchen, while the girls were swimming out back. Confronting his wife, the two engaged in a very ugly argument. Their mother’s lover had tried to intercede and he shot her. Their mother attacked him and he had shot her as well, finally turning the gun on himself. Jessica, eight years old at the time, had silently witnessed the entire incident, hiding behind the counter.

David had taken custody of the sisters and immediately sent them to a therapist. Felicia, 14, began acting out, constantly in trouble, both at school and with the authorities. Unfortunately, Felicia’s therapist had written off her behavior as mostly teenage rebellion, and their uncle hadn’t questioned it. Felicia loved her sister, but had also begun harboring some resentment, due to the preferential treatment Jessica always received from their uncle.

Felicia had spent the last year listening to their uncle rave about Jessica, telling everyone how she was due to come home from college, with her Master’s degree in accounting, and lead the company into the future. Tired of coming in second, Felicia decided to siphon some money from the company accounts, hide it, then sit back and watch Jessica fall on her face.

Melanie watched as a myriad of emotions rolled across Jessica’s face. She felt deflated. She couldn’t fix this for either one of them. They would have to work it out themselves. Right now, she was just another wedge between the two of them.

Jessica stared at Felicia in total disbelief. Several moments passed, the house thick with tension, before she found her voice. “You could have destroyed us all, Felicia. Do you really hate Uncle David and I that much?”

“Oh, please,” Felicia scoffed. “Always the drama queen, aren’t you, cher?”

“She’s not being dramatic, Felicia. Don’t you understand what could have happened? What could still happen.” Watching Felicia, Melanie could see that she wasn’t able to see past her grand plan of bringing Jessica down a few notches. Melanie walked up the steps until she stood just a few steps below Felicia.

“Felicia, what do you think is going to happen when your stockholders find out half a million dollars has disappeared,” Melanie asked, making every effort to keep her voice normal and even.

“But it hasn’t. It’s sitting in a bank, downtown. All I have to do is transfer the money back and no one will ever know it was gone.”

“If you can transfer it in time, if word hasn’t already leaked out about the embezzlement. Why do you think David hired me? If he had gone to the police, the story would have hit the media. Missing funds tend to make stockholders nervous. They get nervous, they start selling shares, like rats deserting a sinking ship.” Melanie watched as her words finally started to sink in. She went up a few more steps, passing Felicia. She turned around so that she was standing sideways on the staircase, keeping a close eye on Felicia and Jessica.

Felicia just stared, dumbfounded, at Jessica. “Oh God, Jessica! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean…I didn’t think…”

“No, you didn’t think at all, did you? You were so involved in making sure everyone saw me as a screw up, that you didn’t stop to think that you’re little scheme could destroy our family. Not to mention the countless families that depend on us for their incomes.” Jessica felt fury and confusion pour through her. She couldn’t believe her sister, her own blood, could have been so short sighted, so self-absorbed. And she felt betrayed, hurt, that the sister she thought she was so close to, had hated her all these years. She ran up the steps, afraid that in one more minute, she’d do something she’d forever regret.

Melanie watched, helpless, as Jessica disappeared up the steps. For the second time that night, she listed to the sound of Jessica’s bedroom door slamming shut. Felicia looked devastated, stunned, as