Chapter 3

Well you guessed it. They did not return in a week. In ten days I was getting calls from the law office wanting to know if I had heard from my wife. Then about two weeks later the sheriff’s office sent a detective out to take a statement. I referred him to my attorney. I showed him all of Sue’s crap sitting by her car waiting for her. I never heard from him again.

It was about a month later that the feds came by one night after I had gotten off work. They had some interesting questions.

“Do you know a Jose Gonzales?”

“No should I?”

“How about a Manuel Gonzales?”

“Him either, what is this all about?”

“The client Paul was on the way to see in Miami was Jose who is Manuel’s father. Paul had represented him in a drug trafficking case last year and had committed an error during the trial. He asked a question he did not know the answer to and it opened a can of worms for his client, Manuel. He was found guilty and sentenced to 50 years in Federal prison. Jose wanted Paul to represent his son on an appeal. That should have been a red flag but Jose wired $100,000 to Paul’s firms account and asked him to come to Miami to discuss the case since he was sick and could not travel. Like an idiot Paul thinks he is going to get more money for a big appeal and he decides to take your wife, who he had been having an affair with for almost a year. Paul filled up his corvette in town, we know this because he used his credit card. We think he then came out here and picked up your wife and they started out for Miami. We cannot find another gas receipt so the Colombians must have got to them before they stopped for gas or to eat. That’s what we figure anyway.”

“What does this Jose have to say about it?”

“Nothing. He went into a hospital about a week after they disappeared and he died six days later. We never got to question him on the matter.”

“Well I guess that means I can get rid of all her shit. I have it in garbage bags in the garage. You are welcome to look thru it if you want.”

“That will not be necessary. We would like a copy of that letter she left, just for our files.”

“No problem.”

I found them a copy of the letter and they left. That was over 30 years ago and I have not felt a disturbance in the force since the day I buried Sue and Paul under what is now my hog pen.