J.J. pinched her thumb and forefinger together and tapped the counter a couple of times. “Off the record—isn’t that how you guys put it?—I don’t like him and never have. He’s got this too-cool-for-school swagger, like he owns the world.But, that said, Shan’s crazy about him, and she’s been a perfect wife for him. As far as I know, he’s never given her any reason to think he was catting around.”
Which didn’t mean, of course, that there wasn’t a girlfriend tucked in the wings.
“Ever any sign of domestic abuse?”
“No way. And Shannon and I went to the local beach a lot—not so much this past summer but every other summer—so I would have noticed something like that.”
“Why not so much this summer?”
“Since March she’s been helping Cody out a little atwork—at Baker Beverage. They’re expanding, and she said he needed her to lend a hand in the office. It’s only part-time, but it takes up a chunk of her week.”
“I saw the house. Cody’s business must be doing well.”
She paused for a drink of coffee, but I wondered if she was also choosing her words. “Seems to be. They’ve got a big boat. Condo in Florida. Take pricey vacations with their kids.”
Was J.J. envious? I wondered. It couldn’t be easy for her as a single mom.
“How did they meet, do you know?”
“In the Caribbean, actually. Shan was in her twenties and looking for a fun change of scenery, so she took a job doing marketing for a resort down there. Cody had just finished a tour in Afghanistan and ended up working at the same place.”
“And he’s from Texas?”
“Yup. Near Fort Worth.”
“How’d they end up coming back here?”
“Shannon was a little homesick, I think. Plus, not all that long after she met Cody, she ended up pregnant.”
“Was he happy about it?”
“I guess so. Apparently they’d already decided to make it official. They had the wedding down there—one of those destination deals—and moved here in time for Noah to be born.”
“Do you mind if I switch gears for a sec? I’m wondering if Shannon does any kind of volunteer work, like an activity that could have inadvertently put her in proximity with someone unsavory?”
J.J. lowered her gaze, tapping her fingers again. “She volunteers in the school library but not as much as she used to—because of her work at Baker.”
“Was Shannon feeling stressed or upset about anything lately?” Cody had told me he didn’t think she was, but women didn’t always share inner turmoil with their husbands.
“Not stressed. Maybe a little preoccupied, but who isn’t when they have kids at home? Besides, why would that even matter?”
“I’m just wondering if maybe life got too crazy for her and she needed a break... and now doesn’t know how to come back.”
J.J. was already shaking her head before the words were out of my mouth.
“No way. Even if shewasa stress mess, Shan would never abandon Noah and Lilly that way.”
But her eyes suddenly flickered.
“What?”
“There’s something I told the sheriff, but I don’t want this showing up in any article of yours.”
“You have my word.”
“That day on the phone? She seemed kind of off, like she wasn’t really focusing on the conversation. She didn’t take any interest in my trip, which was unusual for her.”
“Did you ask her if something was the matter?”
