THE SANCTUARY by Cassandra R. Siddons

sleep, so I slept like the dead. No pun intended. According to the doctor, there’s nothing that can be done about simple heart failure. No procedure like a bypass or a stint,” Lydia said.
    “Whatever happened to those experiments a few years ago using pig hearts to replace human hearts?” Julia asked. “Wasn’t that supposed to be the biggest medical breakthrough of this era?”
    “I don’t know. I didn’t ask anything. Seriously, I could not think. If breathing didn’t come naturally, I’d have been in real trouble. It was all so surreal,” she confided.
    “That’s shock, and it’s a good thing. It protects you until you’re ready to handle the next part of the process,” Sonya said.
    “I wish I could have stayed in shock forever. It’s a dull, painless feeling. Now I’m a mess. I’m angry. No, make that furious. I’m depressed. I’m miserable. I just feel like I’ll never be happy again,” Lydia said bitterly.
    “Of course you will,” Julia said brightly. “It’s going to take some time. Like Sonya said, you just have to go through the grieving process and take it one day at a time. And we’ll help. We’ll be here for you.”
    “It’s more than that. I can’t sleep…” she began.
    “Perfectly natural and only temporary, I’m sure,” Julia said.
    “No, that’s not what I meant. My lawyer dropped a bombshell on me,” Lydia took a deep breath before continuing.
    “A couple of months ago, David loaned a substantial amount of money to someone I’ve never heard of. He wired the money to a Wells Fargo in Rapid City, South Dakota. We made queries to everyone and every place we could think of and have gone through all of David’s papers, but couldn’t find one clue as to who Chris Miller is or what David’s motives were. It’s all legal, my attorney assured me, which means that there’s no hope of getting the money back. Also, it seems that we were living beyond our means. David’s earnings have been a lot less the last two or three years because of the bad economy. Most of his salary is based on commissions, so he cashed out his retirement fund and used all our savings to stay afloat. That means I’m broke. Busted. Bankrupt.”
    “Why would he give someone a loan when it sounds like you needed one yourselves?” Sonya asked.
    “My attorney hinted that David may have been up to something illegal or illicit, and that’s why he never told me. I find that hard to believe, but then again I have to wonder. Obviously, there’s a lot about my husband that I didn’t know, that he didn’t want me to know. The only thing I know for sure is that I intend to find out,” Lydia said.
    “What on earth do you suppose David was up to or into that he had to hide from you?” Sonya asked.
    “I have no idea. I found credit card receipts for flights to Rapid City that coincide with dates that he told me he was in California and Washington. I pulled out old calendars to confirm the dates and destinations marked. So, I know he lied about where he said he was going. Furthermore, he said they were business trips, but I can’t find any reservations or charges for hotel rooms or rental cars or restaurants for Rapid City or anywhere else during those corresponding dates. So what was he up to?” Lydia cried.
    Julia jumped up and hugged her. “We’ll find out. Tell us how we can help.”
    “I’m going to find out what’s going on, but I don’t think I can do this alone. I could hire a private investigator, but that will be expensive, and I don’t want to go that route, at least not yet. I don’t think I can just sit around for days or weeks waiting to hear something. I’m not sure about anything except that I have to go to Rapid City, South Dakota. If you’re able to get away, we could fly there in the next few days,” Lydia said quietly.
    Seeing Julia’s terrified expression, she quickly continued. “But I was thinking it might be better if we took a road trip.”
    Julia hugged her best