Angie and her husband, Aldo, are celebrating their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary on a small Caribbean island in the British West Indies when Aldo makes a fateful decision. With his wife's best interests in mind, Aldo commits suicide by diving off a cliff, ultimately avoiding a long and painful battle with terminal cancer. Shocked and dismayed at his spontaneous choice to end his life, Angie runs into the ocean and tears up his suicide note, realizing it is too late to stop him. Life as she knew it is suddenly over. A few hours later, Aldo's body washes up on shore. After Angie identifies his remains, she flies his body home to New York. But she is about to receive another shock when her mortician friend, George Macklin, discovers the body in the coffin is not her husband and recommends that Angie cremate the body and collect the insurance money. Angie reluctantly follows his suggestion-without knowing that George is on the verge of revealing a surprising dark and dangerous side. In this suspenseful international thriller, two friends are about to go over the edge for money-with disastrous results.

THE EDGE

a novelBy DICK BARBIERI

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Dick Barbieri
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-2645-6

Chapter One

As Angie awoke to the warm, tropical sunlight shining through the open window and the sound of the surf off in the distance, she wondered what time it was. Then, she thought, she did not care. They were on vacation. It was a special vacation.

She and her husband, Aldo, were celebrating their wedding anniversary and had returned to the place where they had honeymooned 25 years ago. It was a small Caribbean island in the British West Indies. They were staying at the same beach house where they had spent their first week of marriage, even though it was quite a bit more expensive now, and they had to use some of their savings to pay for it. But, it was a beautiful spot and they both figured it was well worth it, and that they deserved it. It was a raised beach house, with panoramic views off the large patio of one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. The powdery white sand and pristine blue-green water was perfect for snorkeling or scuba diving among the many coral reefs. Yet, it was a quiet little island, still undiscovered by most tourists.

Angie thought about her husband and felt for him next to her. When he was not there, she knew he had already gone for his morning walk, as he had done every morning, both here and at home on Long Island. She smiled to herself when she recalled how wonderful last night had been. They had gone for dinner to celebrate their wedding date at a little local restaurant with a beautiful sunset view. They stayed past sunset, walked home hand in hand, and then they made glorious love, as good as when they were newlyweds, but made even better by 25 years of commitment and experience.

She lingered in bed for a few more minutes, savoring the moment, then got out of bed. She looked for her robe but then thought, why bother since she was alone, and headed naked toward the bathroom. That was when she noticed the folded note on the vanity next to the bed. Wow, she thought, he left me a love note. Tears of joy were starting as she slowly opened the letter.

"My dear Angie," it started. "Last night was wonderful and I hope you remember us like that forever. I have some terrible news, and I hope you forgive me for telling you like this. When I went to doctor Mangio last month for my stomach problems, he sent me for some tests. Then he sent me for more. I didn't want to scare you so I didn't tell you. Last week he told me I have cancer that is spreading fast. He gives me maybe six months. No chance of remission. We have no health insurance since the company went under and six months of fighting a losing battle would destroy us financially. You would be left with nothing. No house, nothing. I do have my life insurance, double indemnity in case of an accident, $500,000. Please forgive me, but I have decided to die at my own time, in the place I love, the ocean. This is my wish, please help me see it through. Destroy this note. No one can ever see it. Wait awhile, then call the constable, tell him I haven't returned from my walk. Please do this! Live a good life, remember us as we were last night.. I LOVE YOU, GOODBYE, ALDO"

For a moment Angie was paralyzed. Her brain was shocked and confused. Then what she had just read hit her and she almost lost consciousness. She recovered momentarily and ran out onto the patio. "Aldo!!" she screamed. She then realized that she was naked and quickly went back into the house. She found a shirt on the floor and pulled it over her head as she stumbled down the patio stairs and headed toward the beach.

A half a mile away, Aldo sat on the beach, contemplating his last hurrah. He thought about the events that had led him to this point, to the fatal decision he had made and was now about to carry out. Ten months earlier he had begun to feel cramps and bloating in his stomach that he thought were due to the stress he was going through when his company began failing. For a while he took antacids and other over the counter medications which would temporarily ease the problem. Angie kept insisting that he see a doctor but he kept putting it off. He thought it was an ulcer. He lost his appetite and began losing weight. It was then that he finally went to see his doctor, who sent him for a series of tests. When he finally got the news he had feared, he anguished over how to tell his wife. He knew she would be devastated and he did not want to put her through the hell of watching helplessly as he slowly died. He hid the pain, made excuses and lied to Angie that the test results were still incomplete. It was a nightmare. It was soon after that he made the decision that brought him here, to the point where he would end his life. He had gone through it in his mind many times. There was a spot on a hill up the beach where a small platform had been built years ago to view the sunset and the catamaran races the natives held on holidays. It was on a cliff 100 feet above the ocean, with jagged rocks below. He had calculated the time the tide would be highest so if the fall didn't kill him, he could never survive the rough sea and strong currents. The observation platform, only 12 feet wide and 16 feet long, had been abandoned and closed to tourists a few years ago when the cliffs below started to erode and it became unsafe to stand up there.

It was still early in the day, so the beach was deserted. He would run along the beach, up the path straight to the deck, slip past the barrier and run right off the edge. Good bye and good luck! When his body washed ashore, it would look like an accident, like he fell off. He only hoped that Angie and his doctor could keep his secret. His stomach cramped, the pain reminding him of what he had to do. He got up and started to run, hoping that by the time he got to his ending point, he would be so out of breath that he would lose consciousness during the fall. He ran faster and faster up the path. Getting closer and closer, panting, gasping, he bounded onto the platform, over the edge!!

When Angie reached the beach she did not know which way to turn. She ran up the beach 100 yards, stopped, turned the other way and started running back, not knowing which way her husband had gone. She screamed again. "No, Aldo, please, no!!"

She started running again, stumbled and fell to the sand, her heart racing. She saw that she still clenched the note in her hand. She opened it and read the words again. "This is my wish, please help me see it through. Please do this!!" She put her arms around her head and started to cry hysterically.

"Why, why, why didn't he tell me?" She tried to get up, but fell back down. After minutes of sobbing and agonizing, she realized it was most likely too late to save him. When he was determined to do something, he usually had a flawless plan, and executed it perfectly. Now, hopelessly, she thought, if this is what he wanted, she must do her part to make sure it ends as he had planned.

She got up, looked again in both directions and then toward the sea. She walked slowly into the water. When it was up to her waist, she tore the note into tiny pieces, dove below the surface and scattered the pieces along the ocean floor. She wished she could stay down and be with him there forever, but her natural instincts pulled her to the surface. She swam in, and slowly made her way back to the house.

Chapter Two

Ding!! The attention signal from the cockpit awakened her. "Once again, folks, this is your captain. We are approaching JFK and should be on the ground...