My Daddy Is a Hero

by Lena Derhally

  “Ok…well, the teachers will be sad not to see them…please keep us updated.”

  “Will do. Thanks,” Chris said, and hung up.

  He then called Ann Meadows, his real estate agent. Ann picked up, surprised to hear from him because she usually dealt only with Shanann. Years ago, she had helped the Watts family buy the house they were living in, and Shanann had contacted her recently about putting their current house up for sale and looking for something new.

  After she greeted him, Chris replied, “Hi Ann. Has Shanann called you yet?”

  “I talked to her through Facebook messenger and suggested you guys get preapproved for a loan,” Ann said.

  “Listen. No one knows this yet. Not even our family,” Chris said bluntly, “but Shanann and I are getting divorced. We haven’t been getting along in over a year.”

  Ann was silent for a moment, completely shocked. Shanann and Chris seemed like the happiest couple on earth to her. They appeared to be truly in love and fond of each other. Their affection didn’t feel fake or forced either. They genuinely seemed to enjoy each other’s company and were a great team in so many ways. Shanann was so lovely, sweet, and ambitious, and Chris was quiet and a great father to the girls.

  “Wow. I’m sorry,” Ann said, completely confused about how to respond to the news.

  Chris told her he would be in touch later and proceeded to call Shanann’s cell. There was no answer.

  • • •

  Melissa Parrish, another Anadarko employee, worked closely with Chris Watts, Troy McCoy, Chad McNeil, and Kodi Roberts. They were all planning to head to the Cervi 319 site to check on the leak that Chris had been working on. Parrish was new to Anadarko, and this was her first time at the site. At 8:25 am, she and McNeil arrived there. Chris would usually text the group when he was at a site, but he hadn’t that morning.

  Parrish liked Chris a lot. He was always quiet, yet calm and easy to be around. In her eyes, he was a true family man, and his daughters were his world. He gushed about them all the time. When Parrish saw Chris for the first time, she noticed a shovel and a hole in the ground next to where he was standing. The hole was about one foot wide and six- to eight-inches deep.

  Troy McCoy arrived at Cervi 319 next, at 8:51am. Troy’s gaze immediately landed on Chris’ work truck that was parked right next to the well head. It was odd, considering that spot was far away from the oil leak that he was supposed to be fixing. Instead of wearing his usual tight-fitting, fire-resistant clothing, Chris was wearing a baggy navy-blue shirt. He was also wearing his older pair of boots, and he’d tucked only one side of his pants into one of them.

  Chris greeted the group as they approached him.

  “What, are you slumming it today?” Troy asked, as he eyed Chris up and down.

  Chris laughed. “Been worried about snakes and legless lizards,” Chris retorted.

  The group began to make small talk about their weekends as they normally would. Chris told Parrish that he had gotten a babysitter Saturday night and gone to the Colorado Rockies game.

  Parrish noted while they were all chatting that Chris hadn’t cleaned up the oil spill as he usually did. He was meticulous with clean up, but this time, he wasn’t. Other than that, it was a totally normal Monday morning for the team.

  Shortly afterward, the group went in their separate vehicles to another site, Cervi 1029. Chris arrived at Cervi 1029 at 9:49 am.

  At 10:10 am, Chris searched the lyrics for the song, “Battery” by Metallica on his phone. A die-hard Metallica fan, he even had a Metallica tattoo on his back.

  The lyrics included lines about hypnotizing power, lunacy, and aggression. There was even a line about not killing the family.

  At 10:28 am, Sandi Rzucek, Shanann’s mother, texted Chris.

  “Is Shanann ok?”

  Chris picked up the phone and called Sandi immediately. After getting off the phone, he searched the internet for “hotels in Aspen” and then placed a short call to the Westin Snowmass Resort.

  Sandi called Chris again. He continued his web searching and looked up the contact information for “Groupon.” Shanann had made reservations through Groupon for them in Aspen for the upcoming weekend so they could work on their marriage, and he needed to call and cancel.

  After sorting out some of his business, Chris noticed sunflowers in the open prairie of the oil fields. He took out his cellphone and snapped a photo of them. He wanted to send the picture to someone special in his life.

  Chapter 2

  “Don’t call the police.”

  At 11:45 that morning, Nicki Atkinson still hadn’t received a response or any communication from Shanann. She looked at her phone and at the screen of texts she had been sending Shanann since early morning:

  “How are you?”

  “Just wanted to see if you’re okay. I know you were hurting a lot last night. I hope you’re okay.”

  “Let me know how your appointment goes.”

  Nicki started to feel panicked, so she asked her teenage son, Matt,1 if he would drive over to Shanann’s house. With no make-up, a T-shirt, black leggings. and her auburn hair shoved into a messy bun, she grabbed a pair of oversized white-rimmed sunglasses and made her way to her car with Matt. A spitting image of her except for the hair shaved on both sides of his head, he wore a T-shirt and shorts. Nicki would be returning exactly where she had safely dropped Shanann off just hours earlier.

  “I’m very worried about you. I’m coming to your house,” she texted Shanann before leaving.

  As Nicki and Matt made the drive over to Shanann’s, Nicki texted other mutual friends, telling them she was on her way to the house and would keep them updated. Worst-case scenario, she thought, maybe Shanann had just passed out, and Nicki would let herself in and get her the help she needed.

  Nicki had the door code to the Watts house because when they were away, she and Matt would watch over the family dachshund, Dieter, and take care of things around the house.

  When they pulled up to the Watts house, Nicki went straight to the front door and punched in the code. Her heart sank into her stomach. The chain was latched to the door from the inside. Normally, Shanann and Chris would do this so three-year-old CeCe, a known toddler escape artist, wouldn’t let herself out of the house. Now, there was no way they could get in the house to see if Shanann was okay. Nicki peered in through the glass into the front entry way of the home. Right by the door, she spotted the flip-flops that Shanann wore everywhere. Clearly this would indicate she was still home. She never went anywhere without them. Near the flip-flops, sat her suitcase from the trip to Arizona.

  Nicki’s next idea was to see if Shanann’s car was still there. If she had gone somewhere with the children, the car would be gone as well.

  “If we move the car up to the garage, you can stand on it and look in the window to see if her car is still there,” she told Matt.

  They moved the car adjacent to the garage, and Matt hoisted himself up on top of it, peering through the window into the garage. Shanann’s white Lexus SUV was still in the garage. The car seats were clearly visible, and Nicki knew her friend never would have left the house without the girls in car seats. Chris’ pickup truck was their only other vehicle, and he had taken it to work that day.

  Internally, Nicki started to panic. Cassie, another close friend of Shanann’s, had been in close communication with Nicki throughout the morning hours. Cassie and her husband Josh had a good relationship with Chris. While Nicki was at the Watts house, trying to get in, Cassie was contacting Chris and was stunned at how nonchalant he seemed. Nicki was getting really frustrated that Chris didn’t seem worried at all, and she conveyed her dismay to Cassie.

  Cassie, extremely concerned and baffled as well, decided to send Chris a series of text messages in hopes that he would take the situation more seriously if they ganged up on him.

  �
�Shanann is in a very bad way emotionally, and I’m worried about her. I know you are having issues, and I don’t know to what extent, but I do know I have never seen her so broken to an extent I am worried.”

  Chris replied, “She went to a friend’s house with the kids. She won’t tell me where though. When I get home, I will update you.”

  “Sweetie, nobody knows about you and her other than Nicki and me, so where would she go if not with Nicki and not to Arizona where I’m at? Her car and shoes and everything are at the house. What the heck is going on with you guys that she would totally shut out everything? It’s not like her.”

  “I told Nicki about it so she won’t freak out about it anymore at the house,” he texted back. “I think Cristina knows as well. We talked last night, and I told her I wanted to sell the house, get something smaller. Separation would be best right now if we can work thru the issues. I really don’t want you to think I’m a bad person Cassie.” Chris was oddly more concerned about how others were perceiving him than his missing pregnant wife and daughters.

  Amid his text messages with Cassie, Chris resumed his text conversation with the real estate agent, Ann Meadows. Ann had been texting both Shanann and Chris that morning, completely oblivious to what was going on.

  “Hi. I’m working on your market analysis. I would like to bring my listing coordinator with me when I bring it. Did you finish the basement? Any other upgrades?” Ann asked.

  “Basement is still unfinished. No other upgrades,” Chris quickly typed back.

  He then went back to check his new messages from Cassie. His phone was blowing up with messages.

  “Right now, I don’t care about you or your relationship or what type of person you are or not or what I think of you and I’m not trying to be rude when I say that,” Cassie texted back, infuriated. “Right now, I’m worried about your damn wife and her well-being. Nicki is calling the police. (Shanann) is broken emotionally. Her blood sugar dropped due to not eating and it could cause her to pass out. So, unless you want the police to bust your damn door down, you get home and check on your family. I’m sorry if I’m being rude but I’m seriously concerned.”

  “I’m going home Cassie. On my way. Don’t call the police. I will be there in 45 minutes.”

  While Cassie was hammering Chris with questions, Nicki called 911 to do a wellness check on Shanann and the girls. Officer Coonrod, a man with a slender build and short dark hair, arrived at the Watts house and introduced himself to Nicki and Matt. He walked up to the front door and started pounding on it several times. Dieter, the dog, was inside, barking furiously. Other than that, the house seemed empty and silent.

  Officer Coonrod walked around the back exterior of the house, peering inside to see if he could find a way inside without breaking in. He loudly called Shanann’s name several times, but only echoes and silence filled the air. As he made his way back to the front of the house, Nicki was on the phone with Sandi, Shanann’s mother.

  “I don’t think Chris is coming,” Officer Coonrod told Nicki.

  At that exact moment, Chris pulled up to the house in his work truck. He jumped out and ran toward Officer Coonrod.

  Standing relatively tall at 5’10,” Chris was muscular and tan. That day, he was wearing a long-sleeved gray shirt, jeans, and tinted sunglasses. Even though he was only thirty-three-years-old, his hair was streaked all over with gray and buzzed in a close shave.

  Officer Coonrod made note of these details and then asked, “Chris?”

  He nodded.

  “Scott. How you doing?” Officer Coonrod said, introducing himself by first name and extending his hand to Chris. “This is the only vehicle that she would have? That she would drive?” he asked Chris, pointing toward the garage.

  “Yeah,” Chris said.

  Chris opened the garage and ducked in. Then, he quickly opened the front passenger door of Shanann’s car and appeared to pick something up from the floorboard before he closed the car door. He slipped something in his pocket before rushing into the house.

  A neighbor, Nate Trinastich, noticing the commotion, lumbered over to the Watts’ front yard. Trinastich was tall and husky, wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and a backward baseball cap. He told Nicki he had a security camera that had a view of the Watts’ driveway, and he was willing to share the footage if it would help.

  “The neighbor checked his camera and said he saw a white car drive away around one. That was me, though,” Nicki said out loud on her cellphone, talking to Sandi, Shanann’s mother.

  “That’s the only movement the whole day,” Nate replied.

  “Besides Chris leaving?” Nicki asked.

  “Yeah,” Nate said, nodding.

  “The girls’ car seats are in the car too, so if she left with a friend, she would’ve taken the girls’ car seats,” Nicki said to Sandi, still on the phone with her.

  “Can we go in the house?” Nicki asked, pulling the phone away from her face and looking at Coonrod.

  “I mean that’s up to him. It’s his house.” The officer gestured to Chris as he opened the front door to let them in.

  “You mind if I come in, Chris?” he asked.

  Chris nodded, opened the door, and let Coonrod, Nicki, and Matt inside the home.

  The house was eerily quiet except for the sounds of Dieter still frantically barking. It appeared neat and well kept. The ceilings were high. Black leather sofas and patterned chairs with blue pillows filled the family living area at the entrance of the home. A staircase in the front entry way led up to the bedroom area. Officer Coonrod walked through the first floor and into a bathroom with bright aqua walls. He pulled open a shower curtain covered in palm trees. There was nothing in the bathtub.

  Upstairs, Chris was wandering around when Officer Coonrod made his way up to the second floor. Coonrod noticed a common area on the second-floor landing with another black leather couch and a television. He went into the girls’ bedrooms first. Bella’s room was a lilac purple with black accents, and CeCe’s was bright blue like the bathroom on the first floor. Chris commented to Coonrod that the girls’ blankets seemed to be missing, and that they wouldn’t go anywhere without them. Was this implying that Shanann took them somewhere?

  In an interesting and important development, Matt told the group he just found Shanann’s iPhone buried in the cushions of the couch in the upstairs common area.

  “Her phone’s here?” Nicki shrieked in a panicky voice, nervously shaking her hand. She knew Shanann never went anywhere without her phone.

  “Can we unlock the phone?” Officer Coonrod asked Chris.

  “I don’t know the code,” he said, shrugging.

  “It’s the baby’s due date!” Nicki muttered, exasperated.

  Chris seemed calm to Coonrod as he explained that Shanann’s flight was supposed to land at eleven the night before but was delayed. She got home at two in the morning instead. Chris said he left the house around 5:15 to 5:30 am.

  “You told me she went on a playdate with the girls,” Nicki said.

  “That’s what she told me. She left go to a friend’s house with the kids,” he told her. “That’s why they weren’t at school.”

  “You guys having any marital issues?” Officer Coonrod asked.

  “We’re going through a separation,” he replied, as Nicki stood by silently.

  “You guys filed yet or anything?” Officer Coonrod inquired.

  “No, we’re going to sell the house,” Chris said.

  “And how’s that going? Civil, for the most part?”

  “Yeah, civil,” Chris said with a nervous laugh.

  He then walked into the master bedroom, and after a few minutes, emerged holding Shanann’s wedding ring gingerly on the tip of his index finger. He told them he found the ring Shanann never took off on the bedside table.

  Officer Coonrod walked into the master bedro
om, noticing a four-poster mahogany bed, stripped of its sheets. A wedding photo of Shanann and Chris was on the dressing table.

  “And there was no note or anything by the wedding ring?” Coonrod asked Chris.

  “Nope.”

  “Any clothes, anything like that missing?” Coonrod asked. “She tell you anything about leaving, moving out?”

  “Not moving out...I mean, last time I talked to her was this morning. She said she was gonna take the kids to a friend’s house, and that’s where she was gonna be. I’ve texted her today and never heard anything…but the car is here. Unless somebody came and picked her up, but the people that I know...nobody’s seen her.”

  Chris and Coonrod walked through a large master bathroom with bright orange towels that led to a walk-in closet. Shanann’s closet was purple with the letters “GORGEOUS” spelled out in black on the top of one wall. Clothes were hung on racks throughout the entire closet, and Chris mentioned it would be hard to know if she took anything because of the amount of clothing she owned.

  “Definitely an odd one...” Coonrod said out loud as he walked back through the master bathroom to the main area.

  Shanann’s mother, Sandi, called Officer Coonrod directly while he was at the house and adamantly pleaded with him to check the GPS on Chris’s truck. Up until this point, Sandi would never have imagined that Chris could be capable of harming her daughter or granddaughters, but she had an overwhelming feeling that Chris had something to do with whatever was going on.

  Officer Coonrod observed that the only thing that seemed slightly amiss at the house was that the sheets, comforter, and pillows had been removed from the master bed. There was no top sheet to be found. Other than that, there was no suggestion of foul play, an altercation, or robbery in the home. However, Shanann’s purse, medications, ID, credit cards, wallet, phone, keys, and the girls’ medications, including CeCe’s Epi-pen for a life-threatening nut allergy, were all still in the house. Anyone who knew Shanann knew that she was incredibly responsible and organized and never would have left the house without any of these things. Officer Coonrod felt he needed back up and called Detective Baumhover of the Frederick Police Department to come to the house.