Wesley Earnest called Bob Kerns the following morning, a Saturday, and invited him to breakfast in Lynchburg. Though obviously both well aware of what had gone down the night before, after ordering their meals the men caught up on everything that had happened since they’d last seen each other several months earlier without touching on the events of the previous night. Then Wesley shared his concerns regarding the financial difficulties he and Jocelyn were experiencing.
Wesley admitted that he had taken things out of Jocelyn’s home on Pine Bluff, but explained that it was because, between the mortgage on the lake house and other financial obligations, he was financially strapped and needed to sell those items to be able to make ends meet.
Bob played the role of supportive friend and asked questions in hopes of being able to give him some advice that might defuse the situation. Wesley said that he was very concerned that his credit rating was being trashed. “Would you talk to Jocelyn about the selling of the lake house? If we have to sell it quickly, we stand to lose quite a bit of money. If we’re smart about this, and wait until the market improves, we could both come out a lot better off financially.”
When Bob asked why he was talking to him instead of Jocelyn, Wesley said, “I’m not really able to speak to her about these matters.”
The conversation did not ease the anxiety Bob had had since the events of the night before. He returned home still concerned about the personal safety of both Jocelyn and his wife.
• • •
Jocelyn and her sister, Laura Rogers, traveled to Little Rock, Arkansas, to surprise their father for his sixtieth birthday on April 1, 2007. They stayed for a week and had a wonderful time together. They took a day trip down to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, where they scoured a plowed field hunting for diamonds in all colors of the rainbow. Then they went to Mount Ida, the “Quartz Crystal Capital of the World,” and dug for them, too.
• • •
In June 2007, Wesley met Realtor Johnny Maddox with Country & Mountain Realty. Wesley wanted land, a big chunk of it that was valued higher than the lake house. Johnny told him about a 362-acre tract and Wesley was interested. He wanted to trade the lake house for it. The owner, however, was not interested. On June 15, Wesley signed a document granting a six-month authorization to Johnny to sell the lake house for $2,150,000.
• • •
In late August, Jocelyn arrived at her therapist Susan Roehrich’s office in a state of anger and fear. She pulled out the timeline written on oversized butcher-block paper and pointed out a few entries she was certain had been added to the document by Wesley. She didn’t know when he’d entered her home and written on her timeline, but the fact that he’d done so made her very frightened. As she and the therapist went through it, they bracketed the questionable lines.
In 1995: “kept telling Wes, to sleep with someone else and come home to me.” Two years later: “kept telling Wes, I don’t want to be with you ‘sexually.’” In 2001: “very understanding husband with me spending late hours at work.” In 2005: “Wes kept trying to talk to me, but I just shut him out.” The next year: “Wes wants another opportunity to make a great marriage, but thinks it’s highly unlikely because Jocelyn’s family has too much influence on her and they never truly embraced Wes.” The final entry: “Wes’s mother was left out of the loop.”
• • •
Throughout the fall, Jocelyn played volleyball with Jennifer every Friday night and had dinners at the Kernses’ home now and then. She was looking forward to moving on with her life and leaving Wesley behind.
In October 2007, Laura and Jocelyn went to the Virginia Wine and Garlic Festival at Rebec Vineyards and Winery in Amherst. While they were gone, Jocelyn’s co-worker Maysa Munsey got busy baking ziti and other goodies for a surprise “In Two Years She’ll Be Forty” birthday party. Jocelyn’s dad, Bill, had wanted to visit her around her birthday, but his plans had to be scrapped, and he looked forward to seeing both of his daughters at Christmastime.
That November, Jennifer’s five-year-old son, Joseph, had a sleepover at Jocelyn’s for the first time. They ate popcorn, watched movies, and played video games in the basement rec room.
As usual when Thanksgiving rolled around, Jocelyn traveled to West Virginia for the family feast and Black Friday shopping blowout with her sister and mother. But on Thanksgiving night, November 22, Jocelyn received a phone call from her security company—her alarm had signaled. She called Jennifer Kerns, who went over to Jocelyn’s home and walked through the entire house but saw nothing amiss. All was well, but the peace of the holiday had been shattered for both women.
Two weeks later, on December 7, Jennifer rode with Jocelyn to their weekly volleyball game. Jocelyn was jazzed about the terrific gifts she’d found in West Virginia for Jennifer’s kids. They made plans to have their Christmas celebration together after Jocelyn returned from her yearly family visit.
The next weekend, Jocelyn and Maysa drove three and a half hours up to West Virginia to deliver Jocelyn’s mother Joyce’s Christmas gift, a bedroom suite. Joyce said Jocelyn was really excited about giving her the gift. “We were always into the holidays and shopping,” Joyce recalled. “She was upbeat and happy. So when I told her about the ice storm coming to West Virginia, she said, ‘Well, that’s okay, Mom, because I’ve got a few more things I need to do.’”
Jocelyn and Maysa left midday Saturday, planning to do some more Christmas shopping along the way, keeping an eye on the weather as they did.
That Sunday, Jocelyn went shopping again, this time with Marcy Shepherd. They went to Sam’s Club, where Jocelyn picked up Christmas presents for her team at Genworth and more gifts for Jennifer’s kids, and made plans to get together again on the following Wednesday.
That Monday, December 17, 2007, Jocelyn called her mother to ask if she really did like her Christmas gift. Jocelyn was bubbly, laughing, and very upbeat. She was looking forward to having time off work to relax. They talked about plans to make cookies, play cards together, and enjoy the time with family. Jocelyn was doing some cooking to bring to the celebration and planned to bring her gifts and everything she needed to wrap them to her mother’s house.
After talking to Joyce, Jocelyn called Jennifer to discuss getting together to make cookies before she left for West Virginia.
But it was not to be. Someone was determined that Jocelyn would not see another Christmas.