A Murder in Polk County

You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you. ~Frederick Buechner

"All good things must come to an end" (author unknown)

Honeymoon: The first month after marriage, when there is nothing but tenderness and pleasure; originally having no reference to the period of a month, but comparing the mutual affection of newly-married persons to the changing moon which is no sooner full than it begins to wane; now, usually, the holiday spent together by a newly-married couple, before settling down at home.

If there was ever a time in our relationship that we could honestly call a "honeymoon period", it was just 6 short weeks that began in May of 2007 and ended on the following Father's Day. No trials, no interviews with the media, no cellmate confessions, no altercations with killers. Just a time for us to adjust to our new roles as man and wife. For us, that also meant adjusting to the fact that we would not lay eyes on each other again for another 16 months.

"I will not knowingly misstate, distort, or improperly exaggerate any fact or opinion and will not improperly permit my silence or inaction to mislead anyone."

The courthouse looks a little out of place in the small historical town of Bartow, Florida. Three stories spanning 50,000 square feet, it houses the entire court system as well as the several county offices. A sort of one stop shopping experience for someone like myself, who was searching for answers

"Don't worry, the bus station is right next to the Lakeland Police Department, you'll be safe there."

Those were the words of the Special Agent with the FDLE when I told him of my plans to return to Polk County to pick up my car that was being held in an undisclosed location by the State Attorney's Office. I thought to myself how ironic those words were. After everything I had been told about this police department, and the fact that the car I was going to retrieve had a trunk full of damaging documents against them, being right next to the Lakeland Police Department might be the one place in Polk County I wouldn't be safe.

Service, Integrity, Respect and Quality.

Four fundamental values of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as listed on their website. Every police department has their own set of values I'm sure. But there is one Special Agent with the FDLE who exemplifies the meanings of those four words. I would come to know this Agent very well when I found his business card inside a box of personal effects, secretly hidden inside the toe of my husband's boot.