Page 98 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“Oh. Jeff Christiansen said he needed to get a special license, but I thought it was a driver’s license. Why would he need that?”

“You’ve seen cement trucks, haven’t you? I’m sure it’s no picnic driving those things.”

So hehadworked in the construction industry, but he hadn’t been a builder.

She’d been thinking that perhaps the construction work the Barnetts had done that winter might have brought Aspen’s dad to their house, but their house had already been built. Why would they have needed concrete?

Every answer she got led to more questions. Would she never get to the bottom of this?

Deborah’s hand slid over Aspen’s. “I don’t think I helped you very much.”

“You did. I just don’t understand…so many things.”

“Well, I might not be able to give you the answers you need, but I can offer you a friendly dinner. How about you and Garrett come tonight?”

“Oh. I’d like that.” The thought of spending time with people who’d known and loved her mother was irresistible. “If it’s all right with Garrett.”

“I don’t know how to get in touch with him, but you were able to the other day. Why don’t you check with him?”

“Sure, and as long as Garrett agrees, I’ll see you tonight.”

Deborah went back to the circulation desk, and Aspen followed as far as the lobby, pulling her phone from her pocket. She made a Wi-Fi call to Garrett.

“I’m glad you called,” he said by way of answer. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

She glanced at the time. “It’s two o’clock.”

“I know. I just thought maybe you had a rough night’s sleep.”

She had, but she didn’t say so. “I’m at the library. Your aunt invited us to dinner.”

“Oh, good. That’s great. Will you still be there, or?—?”

“I’m going to the police station at four to meet with Chief Cote. Maybe you could pick me up there when you’re finished. I’m happy to hang around until it’s convenient for you to come get me.”

They made a plan, and she hung up, then found Deborah to confirm their evening plans and offer to bring dessert. Deborah seemed delighted at the prospect.

That task finished, Aspen returned to the computer and searched for a list of concrete companies in town. There were a number of construction companies that did foundation and other concrete work.

Dad could have worked for any one of them. Or one that no longer existed. Or one that didn’t have a website.

Even if she found where he used to work, would they tell her the jobs they’d worked on thirty years earlier? Would they even have records going back that far?

Probably not.

Giving up on that, she tried the Barnetts’ number again. Still no answer.

With nothing else to do before her appointment, and with last night’s conversation with Garrett fresh on her mind, she searched local schools to find where she might earn a teaching degree.

There was Plymouth State, her parents’ alma mater, just thirty minutes or so from Coventry. There were also a whole host of online options. She’d initially discarded that idea, believing she’d need in-person classes, not for the learning but to meet people. But if she stayed in Coventry, she already knew people. Maybe she could earn her degree from one of the online universities.

Did she want to be a teacher? She’d loved working with the kids at the church, but was that something she’d want to do forty hours a week—or more, if what she heard about teachers held true?

Really, what she loved was teaching kids about God. She loved volunteering for the church.

Maybe… She did another internet search and discovered there were degrees in church ministry. Maybe she could go that direction. The thought of running a children or student ministry program at a church made her heart thump with excitement.

Did Garrett’s church need somebody in that position?

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