Too Late to Say Goodbye: A True Story of Murder and Betrayal Read Free

thirty-three, was tall and pretty, a big-boned blond who usually had a smile on her face, no matter what worries might lie behind it. Bart was also tall, taller than Jenn by two or three inches, but beyond that he was her opposite. His hair was almost black, his eyes even darker, his pale skin surprisingly dotted with freckles. He was a “gym rat” whose muscular physique showed the results of his predawn workouts. When Bart was dealing with a problem, however, or worrying over his finances, he lost weight rapidly and became angular and bony. Then his cheekbones protruded and his profile turned sharp as an ax, almost Lincolnesque.
    Many of his female patients found Bart strikingly handsome; some others were a little put off by his intensity. But most of Bart Corbin’s patients seemed to like him. He often traded dental care with his personal friends for some service he needed, using an old-fashioned barter system.
    To an outsider, the Corbins’ marriage appeared solid—her sunniness balancing his sometimes dark moods. In truth, tiny threadlike fissures had crept silently through the perceived foundation of their marriage, weakening its structure from the inside out until a single blow could send it crumbling.
    Most people who knew the Corbins weren’t aware that Jenn had fled their home shortly after Thanksgiving of 2004, and that a divorce might be forthcoming. Those who did know were shaken that “Bart” and “Jenn” might be splitting up. To the world, they were a team, their very names strung together like one word when their friends talked about them. Bart-n-Jenn.
    Jenn Corbin was responsible for that. She had struggled to maintain the façade that kept the foundering state of her marriage virtually invisible to the outside world. For at least eight years she continued to hope that she and Bart could somehow work out their problems and build a happy relationship. If they did accomplish that, there was no reason for anyone to know. If their union was irretrievably broken, people would know soon enough.
    And know they would because, by the fall of 2004, Jenn had given up. Her parents, Narda and Max Barber, and her sisters, Heather and Rajel, knew that, although even they were reluctant to accept it. Jenn had tried to understand her husband and to make allowances for behavior she didn’t understand. She had forgiven Bart for betrayals most other women would not put up with. It was he who had laid down the ground rules in their marriage, and she had accepted them. She hadn’t gotten married with the idea that if it didn’t work out, they could always get divorced. She and her sisters were born to parents who had married only once—and who had just happily celebrated their fortieth anniversary.
    Jenn Corbin was one of those people whom almost everybody liked, probably because she liked everybody. She thought of others before she took care of herself and she protected her small sons like a lioness would, doing everything she could to be sure they were serene and happy. She was the same way with the youngsters she taught in preschool at the church. She had a warm lap and sheltering arms when their tears came.
    Jenn was a Barber before she became a Corbin, raised in a loving and a very close family. When she and Bart married, her family had opened up the circle and welcomed him in. Except for his occasional flashes of temper, Bart was a lot of fun and he happily participated in holiday celebrations, outings on the Corbins’ and Barbers’ adjoining houseboats, or on picnics and trips. They all shared the kind of extended family loyalty that isn’t seen very often.
    Although Bart’s mother, Connie, and his brothers—Brad, Bart’s twin, and Bobby—didn’t spend much time with the Barbers, their connection was amiable enough, if a bit distant. Bart’s father, Gene Corbin, had remarried and wasn’t often in touch.
    The Corbins’ marital difficulties didn’t stem from in-law problems. Rather, Bart’s new