Dumbbell

Employees were pressed into baby-sitting the kids in the office swing. At the Bechler home, the therapist with the broken leg soon realized she had become the new live-in baby sitter.

"Nothing from Peggy was ever free," she said. "She always wanted something back in return."

The employees in the guesthouse found that their non-treatment positions, with titles such as "task leader" and "clinical training coordinator," gave them more free time to perform errands for their boss. They were often paged to come into the office to baby-sit or sent to pick up the children or tutor employees for upcoming physical-therapy exams. Once, they spent the better part of a day searching for a specific rice cooker Pegye wanted for a party. When they returned with the item, she outfitted the men in tuxedos and told them they would be serving at the party that night.

With virtually no distinction between their home and office, things became increasingly tense between Pegye and Eric. More and more arguments could be heard behind closed doors, arguments about Pegye's attempts to dictate Eric's life, such as who he could have as friends and when he could play volleyball.

Employees at Geri Care began to notice that Eric had become "kind of lost in his role." Pegye enjoyed putting him in his place, telling others she had him "under her wing." Employees started referring to Eric as "the Mole."

"Frankly, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often."

In 1996, a company named American Retirement Villas (ARV) was looking to acquire a company to help expand its retirement services in the rehabilitation area. Impressed with the growth and strategy of Geri Care, it purchased the company in August. As part of the acquisition, Pegye and Eric were able to keep their titles and continued running the company.

The transaction was announced to the staff at a mandatory meeting in the Newport Beach office. Pegye, as usual, ran the meeting. She told her employees and her new ARV employers the Geri Care story and how her dream had developed to this day. Then, with what those at the meeting say was unmistakable condescension, she turned to Eric and asked, "Do you want to say anything?" Those present say it was embarrassing to watch a blushing Eric shake his head no.

But ARV had not acquired a healthy operation. During the summer of 1996, Pegye began having trouble meeting payroll. Even though the company was reported to have a net worth of $1.6 million, much of the company's money had been diverted into the Bechlers' personal accounts. Ten employees discovered their 401K retirement contributions were missing. They reported the couple's actions to the IRS, and the Bechlers were required to pay back the money.

With a $639,000 first and $79,000 second mortgage on their home, a new Porsche, recent trips—including one to Morocco—and a $12,000 monthly lease payment on the Newport Beach office, Pegye needed help.

She became more demanding about productivity. Whereas she had always been generous with wages, she now attempted to make cuts. When she decided to cut one employee's salary, Eric actually stepped in on behalf of the employee and said no.

"Pegye's jaw literally dropped," the employee said, who added that Pegye seemed to resent Eric for overstepping his authority in front of others.

ARV had already begun to investigate Pegye's billing and spending practices after several employees came forward with concerns. An accountant noticed inconsistencies in her financial work and several therapists followed with stories about misuse of company funds.

ARV fired the Bechlers in March 1997 for alleged misconduct and misuse of funds. The compensation package was rumored to be worth several million dollars in company stock. ARV, according to Pegye, had made "a promise to take care of them."

With their company gone and a Medicare investigation pending, Pegye faced the possibility of serving time in jail and losing her physical-therapy license. Since Eric held no license, he could not be held accountable.

This only served to make things even tenser between the two. Glenda Mason testified in court that Pegye was crying about her marriage virtually every time she saw her. Eric's friends were so tuned in to what was going on that one bought him the book Divorce for Dummies.

It was around this time that Eric asked his friend Kobi Laker, "What do you think about the possibility of killing my wife?" In court testimony, Laker said Eric went on to detail how he would kill Pegye and dump her body at sea.

Then, one day in 1997, Pegye and Eric Bechler went out on a boat. Only Eric came back. As to what happened, or why, only they know. For the rest of us, there's only talk.

I used to hang out with Eric in the late 1980s, before he met Pegye. He was a mellow guy. Do I think he was capable of killing his wife? Hey, look around here—would you think anyone here could kill someone?"

"Is that the guy who killed his wife? Yeah, I read about it. I mean, he's guilty, whatever, but he could have come up with a better story than that. Body boarding a mile out in the ocean? And then a wave comes and knocks the boat over, and his wife disappears? C'mon! You gotta do better than that! I mean, if I ever have to kill my wife, I think I could do a lot better than that."