The Most Difficult Day

On the late morning of March 29, 2006 I received a phone call that would change the rest of my life. Kristy called me to relate to me that my Dad had been contacted by my brother Tony describing that his local police department had contacted him concerning our sister Eve. Apparently the police questioned Tony concerning the whereabouts of Eve because she had not shown up for work that morning.

Eve was the store manager of a convenience store called "The Beverage House" in Safford, Arizona. Her normal routine included opening the store every weekday morning and managing the store alone until other employees were scheduled later in the morning. When these other employees arrived and found the store still closed they contacted the owner of the store who contacted the police. This was very unusual behavior for my sister and so a missing persons report was immediately filed and that is when Tony was contacted. The word spread fast, Tony contacted our Dad, who contacted Kristy, who contacted me. As Kristy provided me the details my heart sunk further and further, my spirit knew nearly instantly that this would only turn worse. I discussed the matter with Tony and the Safford Police Chief and resolved that I would be leaving for Arizona as soon as possible.

I immediately discussed the matter with my supervisor who quickly identified my concern before I could convey the information. I told him that I would be leaving for Arizona that day and would let him know more as I could. I had to take care of some of my clients at work who were at various places within the community. When all was cared for I contacted my Dad and encouraged him to join us on our trip to Arizona.

My heart was holding out that maybe all would be made right, we waited until 7:00pm to make the final decision to go when no news had yet been received. By 11:00pm we were on Interstate 70 headed west.

Our 30 hour drive felt like 100 hours as we constantly kept in contact with people through our cell phone. The constant distraction of phone conversation was very helpful in keeping our minds far from the thoughts of worse case scenarios. However just over half way through our drive Tony called with the solemn news.

Our sister was found buried in the desert near an exboyfriends truck which had been rendered inoperative due to two flat tires. This exboyfriend was soon charged with her murder. The remainder of the trip was the most difficult drive of my life. We did our best in distracting ourselves with antics and discussions of other topics but the cards were as they were.

Had my sweetheart not been there I certainly would have lost all ability to go on. I have many deep and difficult issues when dealing with death, especially when it is the death of a loved one. I shut down, say very little, and focus on maintaining my ability to carry on. Kristy was there for me to keep me going, to keep life in perspective, she was there for me as she had been during the loss of my Mother. I am so indebted to my angel wife.

The days that followed were filled with many difficult tasks but some how we made it through. I learned a lot about my family and about myself. I realized one very important fact, I had stayed away from my roots and my siblings for way too long. This is a mistake I do not intend to repeat.

My hope is that through the following entries I can convey what my heart is feeling since it would be entirely too painful to verbally discuss these things.