Lori Monroe was becoming worried. Her husband of eight years had left the house early on Friday morning for a business trip and was expected home on Sunday evening. Now it was Monday morning and he had not come home or even had contacted her while gone which was also very odd.
Monte Monroe, her husband, was a kind and gentle man. He was the epitome of the modern urban male. He seldom went out and drank with the boys, he helped with the household tasks as well as keeping the landscaping up to par, he always remembered to put the seat down on the toilet, he brought home flowers and small gifts for her and always, I mean always, contacted her at least once a day while traveling for business.
This weekend trip was supposed to be a routine one. He had to travel about four hours across the state to a meeting with a client. He usually stayed at a
Holiday Inn Express
and would even call or text her his room and phone number in case his cell phone went dead or lost signal for some reason. He had been upbeat and happy when he left on Friday but then nothing, absolutely nothing by way of text, email or telephone contact since leaving.
He would usually return home around six or seven o'clock on Sunday evening and they would then go out and have a meal and get caught up on the weekend. They would usually come home and then have a nice welcome home bout of sex before retiring for the night.
Lori spent the evening Sunday night worrying about Monte. He was a great IT guy but sometimes lacked the skills to figure out car problems. Hell, even though he had made this trip many times before he always used his GPS and even his cell phone GPS to make sure he didn't take a wrong turn and end up in a whole different state.
When she tried to call him his phone went straight to message. There were no responses to multiple texts and even e-mails. She then broke down and called his parents, Lester and Millie Monroe, but they had not heard anything from Monte for about a week. This was not unusual. He usually called them on Monday nights and caught up with them.
Lori even called the state police but they had no record of any kind of accident or incident involving Monte. Since it was Sunday night she could not call his place of employment either. She finally fell asleep on the couch sometime after one a.m.
Lori woke early in the morning with a stiff and sore back and neck but Monte had not come home while she slept. She took her morning shower and ate a quick breakfast before going to work. At her job she clocked in and then tried Monte's work phone number. His group had a receptionist that handled all work requests and fielded phone calls so the technicians could keep working undisturbed.
Hanna Billings was the group receptionist and was always pleasant and friendly on the phone. Lori identified herself and Hanna's on phone demeanor changed abruptly. "Hanna, can you tell me if there is something happening with Monte? He didn't call home at all this weekend and didn't come home last night. Was there an accident or something that kept him from coming back to town?"
Hanna was abrupt. "Mrs. Monroe, I have to inform you that the company has very strict rules concerning estranged significant others. According to policy this is your only allowed phone call. I have to inform you that if you attempt to call here again or if you personally come to this office, the police will be summoned and you will be hit with a restraining order and/or arrested for trespassing."
Lori was now anxious and extremely concerned. "Hanna, you know me. You have always called me by my first name. We have sat and visited at each and every Holiday party. What is going on?"
Hanna tried to be a little friendly. "All I can tell you is that Monte called here early today and spoke to Mr. Jennings, the CEO. He informed us that you and he were separated pending a divorce and that he was taking today off to take care of some personal matters. Mr. Jennings then called me and told me to follow the standard policy. That is all I know right now and all I will comment on. Have a nice day, Mrs. Monroe." Hanna then broke the connection.
Lori was totally confused. Separated? Divorce? What was going on? She had to find Monte and find out what was making him decide to do this. They had made love Thursday night and Monte had seemed normal when he left on Friday morning. There was nothing new or different in his demeanor. Was he having an affair?
Lori sat in her office and tried to think. Had Monte acted any different lately? She thought back on the time since his last weekend business meeting and the passing time between. If he had a lover in that other city would he have tried to contact her between meetings? She went online and looked up their cell phone bill. No, there was no strange or unusual phone numbers with that area code. As a matter of fact, except for calling Lori at least once a day, Monte didn't seem to use his personal phone for anything else. Did he have a business phone? She didn't think so. At least Monte had never spoken about it or had an extra phone where she would see it.
Lori was a mid-level supervisor in a business that sold and delivered office products. She had reports that needed to be completed and inventory that had to be reconciled. She tried to throw herself into her work but thoughts of Monte and a separation or divorce kept intruding all day. Her normal workday ended at six. Monte didn't know it but Lori worked an extra hour each day so she could come in late on Fridays. This had been going on for about six months. Lori reveled in the luxury of being able to sleep in on Fridays and get those errands done that had to be done during the normal work week.
