Page 42 of The Texas Sterling Collection
Rod leaned back and nuzzled my ear. “You okay, baby?”
I nodded. “Sorry…after the ordeal in Italy, gunshots still haunt me.”
Rod tightened his arms over mine. “Nothing will hurt you here.”
I nipped at Rod’s earlobe. “Being with you calms me.”
Rod grabbed his mug and stepped out of my arms. He refilled his mug. “Let’s sit in the comfy deck chairs, and I’ll tell you about Patrick.”
I refilled my mug and joined him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
ROD
“I met Patrick while in school, working on my doctorate. He studied for his MBA, and we shared a class together. Ethics, I think. Which is laughable considering the way things turned out. Anyway, the instructor assigned us a project together. One thing led to another, and we started dating. We moved in together a month later and stayed a committed couple for almost ten years. After getting his degree, Patrick found a job at one of the big banks in Dallas. I landed a job at the same bank, managing corporate training. We worked in different departments, but it was nice
that we could commute to and from work together.”
Wyl sipped his coffee and eyed me as if I had shared something with him I shared with no one else. True, except for my family. Otherwise, I buried Patrick's past.
“We bought a little house in the Oak Lawn area. A consulting firm specializing in developing and presenting training for large corporations wooed me. Patrick worked up to a vice president position with the bank. He soon became president of one of the local Dallas branches. We did well. I traveled for business quite a bit, but it didn’t appear to impact our relationship.”
“It sounds like you were happy,” Wyl said.
“True. A nice home. Friends. A good position with a solid firm. A husband who became a successful bank president. What's not to like?”
“So what happened?”
I sighed. “As I said, I traveled a lot. I discovered Patrick made regular trips to a casino in Shreveport. He told me he went to play a few slots and attend the shows. I now realize he played more than slots, and Shreveport casinos don't include shows. He left Dallas on a Friday evening, gambled all day Saturday, and came home Sunday morning. Of course, he didn’t do this when I stayed home between gigs. But sometimes my projects kept me away for two or three weeks at a time.”
“Wow,” Wyl said. “It must have been hard on you.”
“Yes, but the money was good, and I enjoyed the challenges.”
“So, you said Patrick disappeared?”
I nodded. “It turns out he blew through our savings account before cashing in his retirement. When the money dried up, he started getting creative at the bank.”
“He told you this?”
“No, when the bank tried to take the house, it came out. Come to find out, he embezzled about half a million dollars.”
“Wow,” Wyl said.
He appeared surprised, but I didn’t think Wyl’s surprise included the dollar amount. From what Stella said, his wealth included the large ranch and producing oil wells. Exactly how rich I didn’t care, but someday I would find out.
“So, did he disappear before or after the bank discovered the crime?”
“Before. I think he sensed their suspicions, though. One day, he said he needed to spend a few days with his parents. After a few days of no texts or calls. I called his parents. They had no idea he planned to visit and hadn't seen or heard from him. Red flags went up in my mind. Something was up. When the feds and the bank executives showed up at the house, I learned what he did. After the initial shock wore off and we worked out the details, I realized he may have gotten creative with my retirement accounts. As far as I can tell, he never tried.”
“Did he have access to your retirement funds?” Wyl said.
“No. Dad encouraged me to set mine up through his bank here in Blackfield. I never gave Patrick access, but since he served as a bank president, I figured his connections may justify a funds transfer request or something.”
“Sounds like your dad gave you smart advice, and you were smart to listen to him. Do you have any idea where Patrick might be?”
“Not a clue. His parents are both dead now. He mentioned a brother and a sister, but I never met them. He grew up in Austin, but had no connections in Austin that he mentioned to me.”
