opened a restaurant he called the Shack, serving beer, wine, and sandwiches. Scott's father characterized the Shack as a "sports bar." It seemed to be a success and was voted one of the best happy-hour restaurants in the area.
Laci and Scott ran the business for about two years. Over time, however, they grew increasingly frustrated. It was difficult to find good help. The employees constantly interrupted their days off. Two years after the Shack opened its doors, Scott and Laci opted to sell. Their relatives didn't know how much they received for it; indeed, no one could say for sure whether the new owner ever fully paid Scott. Still, he seemed relieved to be out of the business.
The young couple didn't stay in San Luis Obispo much longer.
After her grandmother died in 1999, Laci wanted to move closer to her parents. The couple lived with Sharon and Ron for about two weeks before moving to temporary quarters on Mesquite Road. In October 2000, with a $30,000 gift from Scott's parents, they purchased the house on Covena Avenue.
The pair often complained that there was little to do in Modesto. Still, they had many friends, and they kept their social calendar full entertaining friends and family. Scott soon began making improvements to their home, adding a swimming pool and brickwork in the backyard in early 2002. He also built a brick barbecue and retiled a bathroom, which he would later claim explained his considerable use of concrete late that year.
By summertime, Scott had joined the West Coast division of Tradecorp, for whom he sold fertilizers, plant nutrients, and other agricultural products. Traveling to serve his customers kept Scott away from home at least one day each week. After Laci's disappearance, he told investigators that his business had lost roughly one hundred thousand dollars over the past year. Documents retrieved from his office confirmed that the new division was far from profitable.
Around this time, Laci Peterson began talking more seriously about having a baby. She had been trying to get pregnant for two years with no luck and was beginning to wonder if it was possible. As a child, she had an eight-pound tumor removed from her lower abdomen. During the surgery doctors had to remove one of her Fallopian tubes as well. At the time, doctors told her she should have no trouble becoming pregnant. Now she was losing hope.
She and Scott discussed fertility tests, but before they could pursue the idea, Laci got the news she'd been waiting for: She was pregnant at last. She was overjoyed, and Scott seemed to share her feelings. Laci's mother recalled watching Scott hurry over to feel Laci's stomach when she said the baby was kicking. He seemed as excited as she was.
"I assume if he didn't want to have a child, he wouldn't have allowed it to happen," Sharon told investigators.
Not everyone had the same impression. Laci's sister-in-law, Rosemarie Rocha, told police about a conversation in the summer of 2001 regarding children and pregnancy. "I was kind of hoping for infertility," Scott told her. Although he seemed "uncomfortable" and "hesitant" around children, Rocha was heartened by the fact that Scott attended some of Laci's medical appointments after the pregnancy was announced.
Around the time Laci discovered her pregnancy, Scott commented to Sharon that he had just turned thirty, and here he was becoming a father the same year. He thought he was having "a midlife crisis." Sharon took it as a joke. Maybe it wasn't.
Police subpoenaed Laci's medical records as part of the investigation. Laci's first visit to the HERA obstetrics group in Modesto was for an annual exam in June 2001. Medical records show that she had stopped using oral contraceptives in December 2000. "At this time, she is planning to get pregnant at the end of this year," the office report noted. At the time of her initial appointment, the report noted Laci's height and weight as 5' 1" and 125 pounds.
According to records I obtained in
Laci and Scott ran the business for about two years. Over time, however, they grew increasingly frustrated. It was difficult to find good help. The employees constantly interrupted their days off. Two years after the Shack opened its doors, Scott and Laci opted to sell. Their relatives didn't know how much they received for it; indeed, no one could say for sure whether the new owner ever fully paid Scott. Still, he seemed relieved to be out of the business.
The young couple didn't stay in San Luis Obispo much longer.
After her grandmother died in 1999, Laci wanted to move closer to her parents. The couple lived with Sharon and Ron for about two weeks before moving to temporary quarters on Mesquite Road. In October 2000, with a $30,000 gift from Scott's parents, they purchased the house on Covena Avenue.
The pair often complained that there was little to do in Modesto. Still, they had many friends, and they kept their social calendar full entertaining friends and family. Scott soon began making improvements to their home, adding a swimming pool and brickwork in the backyard in early 2002. He also built a brick barbecue and retiled a bathroom, which he would later claim explained his considerable use of concrete late that year.
By summertime, Scott had joined the West Coast division of Tradecorp, for whom he sold fertilizers, plant nutrients, and other agricultural products. Traveling to serve his customers kept Scott away from home at least one day each week. After Laci's disappearance, he told investigators that his business had lost roughly one hundred thousand dollars over the past year. Documents retrieved from his office confirmed that the new division was far from profitable.
Around this time, Laci Peterson began talking more seriously about having a baby. She had been trying to get pregnant for two years with no luck and was beginning to wonder if it was possible. As a child, she had an eight-pound tumor removed from her lower abdomen. During the surgery doctors had to remove one of her Fallopian tubes as well. At the time, doctors told her she should have no trouble becoming pregnant. Now she was losing hope.
She and Scott discussed fertility tests, but before they could pursue the idea, Laci got the news she'd been waiting for: She was pregnant at last. She was overjoyed, and Scott seemed to share her feelings. Laci's mother recalled watching Scott hurry over to feel Laci's stomach when she said the baby was kicking. He seemed as excited as she was.
"I assume if he didn't want to have a child, he wouldn't have allowed it to happen," Sharon told investigators.
Not everyone had the same impression. Laci's sister-in-law, Rosemarie Rocha, told police about a conversation in the summer of 2001 regarding children and pregnancy. "I was kind of hoping for infertility," Scott told her. Although he seemed "uncomfortable" and "hesitant" around children, Rocha was heartened by the fact that Scott attended some of Laci's medical appointments after the pregnancy was announced.
Around the time Laci discovered her pregnancy, Scott commented to Sharon that he had just turned thirty, and here he was becoming a father the same year. He thought he was having "a midlife crisis." Sharon took it as a joke. Maybe it wasn't.
Police subpoenaed Laci's medical records as part of the investigation. Laci's first visit to the HERA obstetrics group in Modesto was for an annual exam in June 2001. Medical records show that she had stopped using oral contraceptives in December 2000. "At this time, she is planning to get pregnant at the end of this year," the office report noted. At the time of her initial appointment, the report noted Laci's height and weight as 5' 1" and 125 pounds.
According to records I obtained in
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