I don't think they were separated just because he claimed to have "dropped off the truck." I think that's just cya in case someone saw him returning to the house at 7 am. My guess is that he left around 5-5:30 am. I'm interested in the family property someone mentioned that's about an hour away.....
There's more than just the drop off that leads me to suspect separation:
- Inconsistent timelines: mom didn't seem to know about WH's encounter with AJ.
- Dropping the truck off: why wouldn't it have been at the house if he still lived there?
- Never went inside the house: puts key(s) in mailbox instead, which is kind of risky if someone were to see him do it.
- WH mentions a different residence during the interview, which suggests he lives elsewhere (at least part time). Why on earth would they buy/rent a second property just so he wouldn't have to drive an hour to work once in awhile? I drive 1.5 hours one way every day. Plumbers aren't wealthy unless they are the owners, so I just can't see them justifying owning a second property just an hour away for this reason, especially with one kid in college and 3 more living at home... I guess he could have been referring to a hotel room, but still - is that really necessary for an hour trip?
- Their meet-up at the gas station seemed awkward: just stared at one another for most of the time. WH asked about her school, which sounds like he hadn't talked to her in quite awhile.
- He must not have been working out of town the day he loaned her money because it only took him 15-20 minutes to get to her when she called him. So where was he coming from that morning when he dropped the truck off for her to use the following day? If he was planning on coming home that day, he could have just given her the keys that night or just left them in the house.
I'm willing to bet his boss, or whoever he worked along side (plumbers usually always have helpers - I used to work at a plumbing company so I'm familiar with the inner workings...), followed him to the house that morning and that's how he got to work. He wouldn't have needed his own personal vehicle while working because plumbers have company issued trucks. This is how he met up with her around noon - he used the company truck. MOOOOOO