Read Online Rocky Road by Josi S. Kilpack - Free Book Online
Authors: Josi S. Kilpack
Tags: cozy mystery
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own diagnosis after watching so many other women through the years must have been surreal, you know?”
Sadie nodded, but was now more focused than she’d been before. “Could he have had debts, or an addiction that he was struggling with?”
Lori shook her head. “He wasn’t that kind of guy. He was raised with really high standards and worked hard and smart. There wasn’t room in his character for those kinds of things.”
If something had happened to Dr. Hendricks, someone could have put his car at the trailhead to make it look like he’d gone camping. If he’d disappeared on purpose, he could have done the same thing for the same reason. Caro had posed these exact scenarios, but Sadie hadn’t taken them in. Now it was like rediscovering the possibilities. “What about another woman?”
Lori looked at her quickly, but with boldness. “Not Trent.”
Sadie met her eye. “You’re so certain?”
Lori went back to the fruit. They were almost finished. “My father was married to someone else when my mom got pregnant, and my mom went on to have two more kids with two more men before she finally settled down with a complete creep who was never faithful to her. It created chaos for all of us that I swore I would never repeat. Trent’s reasons for being faithful were different—he was raised religious, and even though he ended up with questions about the theology of the Mormon church, he believed in abstinence and fidelity, which they draw a hard line on. He wouldn’t cheat. Besides that, Anita is a perfect companion for him. She’s domestic and elegant and smart. She helps run the office and the foundation and the boutique. She hosts dinner parties for his friends and golfs with their wives. I was never that kind of woman—which I’ve come to realize is likely the biggest reason why it didn’t work for us—but Anita gave him everything he wanted. And she’d just recovered from cancer.” She turned to look at Sadie. “I know why you’re asking and, like I said, I’ve wondered the same thing, but every time I go down that road of thought I end up with only one possibility: something happened to him out there in the backcountry. I can’t come up with any reason he would leave this life on purpose.”
But Sadie had more questions. “Could anyone have wanted him not to come back? Even if he was living a clean life, like you said, maybe he made some enemies along the way.” But people who lived clean lives didn’t make those kinds of enemies.
Lori shook her head. “Everyone liked Trent. He wasn’t the type of guy who had conflicts with people. In fact, this one time we had a property dispute with a neighbor, and after months of back and forth, Trent just signed over the few feet we were arguing about. We had to redo our sprinkler system and our fence line, but he said it just wasn’t worth the fight. He and that neighbor ended up being golfing buddies after that. Really, he was a good guy—who overestimated his backcountry skills.”
Sadie nodded and went back to her fruit, pondering what she had learned. Lori lived two hours away from Dr. Hendricks and the life he had here. Though they were divorced, they seemed to have a good relationship, and what she saw in his life was likely what everyone else saw, too. Sadie agreed that a substance addiction was an unlikely possibility because it would affect his work a great deal, but there were other types of addictions: pornography or gambling, for example. And despite Lori’s assurances of his living a clean life, Sadie had seen too many people with a public persona that was different from who they were behind closed doors. Leaving to pursue that kind of addiction would require money, though, and Lori had said nothing was missing—though she might not be aware of everything.
“Lori!”
Startled, Sadie looked up to see Caro and Tess come through the doorway. Sadie was instantly reminded of how she’d shut down this investigation less than an hour
Sadie nodded, but was now more focused than she’d been before. “Could he have had debts, or an addiction that he was struggling with?”
Lori shook her head. “He wasn’t that kind of guy. He was raised with really high standards and worked hard and smart. There wasn’t room in his character for those kinds of things.”
If something had happened to Dr. Hendricks, someone could have put his car at the trailhead to make it look like he’d gone camping. If he’d disappeared on purpose, he could have done the same thing for the same reason. Caro had posed these exact scenarios, but Sadie hadn’t taken them in. Now it was like rediscovering the possibilities. “What about another woman?”
Lori looked at her quickly, but with boldness. “Not Trent.”
Sadie met her eye. “You’re so certain?”
Lori went back to the fruit. They were almost finished. “My father was married to someone else when my mom got pregnant, and my mom went on to have two more kids with two more men before she finally settled down with a complete creep who was never faithful to her. It created chaos for all of us that I swore I would never repeat. Trent’s reasons for being faithful were different—he was raised religious, and even though he ended up with questions about the theology of the Mormon church, he believed in abstinence and fidelity, which they draw a hard line on. He wouldn’t cheat. Besides that, Anita is a perfect companion for him. She’s domestic and elegant and smart. She helps run the office and the foundation and the boutique. She hosts dinner parties for his friends and golfs with their wives. I was never that kind of woman—which I’ve come to realize is likely the biggest reason why it didn’t work for us—but Anita gave him everything he wanted. And she’d just recovered from cancer.” She turned to look at Sadie. “I know why you’re asking and, like I said, I’ve wondered the same thing, but every time I go down that road of thought I end up with only one possibility: something happened to him out there in the backcountry. I can’t come up with any reason he would leave this life on purpose.”
But Sadie had more questions. “Could anyone have wanted him not to come back? Even if he was living a clean life, like you said, maybe he made some enemies along the way.” But people who lived clean lives didn’t make those kinds of enemies.
Lori shook her head. “Everyone liked Trent. He wasn’t the type of guy who had conflicts with people. In fact, this one time we had a property dispute with a neighbor, and after months of back and forth, Trent just signed over the few feet we were arguing about. We had to redo our sprinkler system and our fence line, but he said it just wasn’t worth the fight. He and that neighbor ended up being golfing buddies after that. Really, he was a good guy—who overestimated his backcountry skills.”
Sadie nodded and went back to her fruit, pondering what she had learned. Lori lived two hours away from Dr. Hendricks and the life he had here. Though they were divorced, they seemed to have a good relationship, and what she saw in his life was likely what everyone else saw, too. Sadie agreed that a substance addiction was an unlikely possibility because it would affect his work a great deal, but there were other types of addictions: pornography or gambling, for example. And despite Lori’s assurances of his living a clean life, Sadie had seen too many people with a public persona that was different from who they were behind closed doors. Leaving to pursue that kind of addiction would require money, though, and Lori had said nothing was missing—though she might not be aware of everything.
“Lori!”
Startled, Sadie looked up to see Caro and Tess come through the doorway. Sadie was instantly reminded of how she’d shut down this investigation less than an hour