A.P. Greenwood - Writer, Author & Story Teller

Rhett and Toni Sanders, private investigators in Houston, take on a new case that is unlike any they’ve had before. It quickly evolves into a true whodunnit and challenging mystery. Was it murder or suicide? Initially, to solve the case they focus their investigation on the three most likely suspects, each one clearly capable of murder. As they travel around Houston and other parts of Texas, Rhett and Toni place themselves in life or death situations. For them that’s nothing new. But this case is different. This time it’s personal.

Saturday, September 10, late afternoon. Houston. Home of Rhett and Toni Sanders

Tell the truth. Who doesn’t like surprises?

Sometimes a surprise can put a smile on your face.

But not always.

Rhett and Toni Sanders have had smiles on their faces most of the time since they first met each other ten years ago. And it wasn’t only because of the number of surprises in their lives. There were a lot of reasons.

They met when they both had recently passed the age of forty. Both were single. At the time, they both were managing their own businesses: Rhett’s was a successful marketing research and consulting firm. Toni’s was an upscale private fitness club with the name, Somebody. The name was a play on words originating when Toni had heard some man comment on a woman with a nice figure. “Wow, that’s some body.”

They’d both worked hard and had paid their dues professionally and personally.

Rhett began his working career after serving in the U.S. Navy and then earning an MBA. His first job was as a marketing researcher for a local bank, and he’d worked his way up to Senior Vice President and director of marketing, before involuntarily participating in a downsizing effort by the bank. A day after that happened, he did what he’d been considering for a few years and opened his marketing firm which, very quickly, became quite successful and had grown to over fifty employees.

Toni began her working career as secretary for a local asbestos workers union and after several years of hard work, she became the executive administrative assistant for the CEO of an enormous international public corporation before launching her fitness enterprise.

Rhett and Toni were both previously married, and endured the pain that everyone experiences when marriages end, regardless of the circumstances. They now shared a twenty-two-year-old daughter who lived with a roommate in Houston in the Woodland Heights. Her name is Grace and she’s gainfully employed. So, they were empty nesters, living in a home they recently purchased in the Hunters Creek Village of Memorial on a street with a name they both liked, Lakota Way. Toni and Rhett shared a fondness, and sympathy for Native Americans, especially the Sioux and Cheyenne.

They met on a blind date. A woman named Rebecca, who had been dating Chris Beck, Rhett’s best friend, was a member of Toni’s fitness club and was responsible for arranging that date. That date was a double date with Rebecca and Chris and entailed dinner for the four of them at Carrabba’s, a popular local Italian restaurant. Rhett and Toni connected immediately and began dating exclusively. In addition to their interest in Native Americans, they shared political and religious views, liked the same kinds of music, believed that honesty, loyalty, and kindness were critical personality traits. They loved their hometown of Houston, but enjoyed occasional road trips...