in short order, chris and cristi got married. she was 17. he, 20. and as the girls grew up, they said they never doubted for a single moment the powerful bond of love. their parents with them, and with each other. they were probably closer with their parents than most children. they re the parents i hope to one day be. cristi, the vivacious glue of the family. chris, her perfect mirror. my dad is a little more kicked back, quiet, relaxed. they re the perfect balance. chris was a police officer in san bernardino until he was shot in the line of duty. then he went off to become police chief in two small towns in idaho. then in 2005, anticipating an empty nest and eventually retirement, the halls bought this place back in calimesa. life seemed to have hit a sweet spot.
here is where chris and cristi hall had come to live out their golden years, though they were far from old when it happened. just experienced, with life and each other. as far back as i can remember, it s always been chris and cristi. they were never thought of as separate. they were a unit. these are the three daughters. courtney, the eldest, is a teacher. brianna, a personal trainer. and ashton, the youngest, just returned from playing professional volleyball in europe. all of them of course have heard scores of times the story of how their parents met. it was 1978. cristi had gone to see a relative at the air force base in nearby san bernardino. quite by chance, while she was there she encountered a security guard who, to her at least, looked just like elvis. it was blair christopher hall. chris to his friends. apparently she was a little flirty at the gate. [ laughter ]
it was courtney who eventually broke the news to ashton and brianna. their mother, their father s wife of close to 30 years, was dead. but neither courtney nor chris waited at the house to tell the sisters what happened or to comfort them. more did they linger ore the body at the hospital. they couldn t. because father and daughter were escorted to separate squad cars and driven to the police station to talk about the accident. what was that ride like? quiet. i remember crying the whole time. i couldn t comfort my father. he couldn t comfort me. we got to the station and they said that my dad would be a few more minutes. chris, so frenzied at the scene, had calmed down by then. he was a cop among cops, after all, and he under, he said, what was necessary to sort out what happened. i can t even start to imagine what you re going through, okay? just, you know, it s a death investigation and we have to do this, okay?
back at the house, courtney dozed through her first wake-up. while chris and cristi made their way outside to the spa. just after 6:30, chris looked in on courtney again. second call. then headed back to the spa. life s last normal moments. 6:37 a.m. i got up out of bed. i was putting on my robe. i heard this panicked, panicked scream from my dad yelling for me. i ran down the hallway to the back porch and i saw him just trying to pull out my mom out of the spa. emergency. it was she who dialled 911 as she and her father struggled to lift her mother out of the spa. it was the first moments of the worst day of our lives. is it possible for people to understand what it s like to be in that situation? i don t think so. to see just both your parents in the worst times that you ve ever seen them.
that s the only thing i can think of. but chris apparently hadn t noticed the nasty three-inch laceration on cristi s head. and here suddenly, the point of the police interview is revealed. she s got a huge gash on her head, okay? something like that is not consistent with just falling down. not consistent with just falling down? why would the police think that? i mean, you ve been around for a while. i know where you re going. and no. there s nothing why in fact was this ex-police-chief being questioned at all about the apparently disastrous accident that killed the love of his life? and the answer was right next door. when chris and cristi hall took their outdoor bath that morning in june, someone was watching. her. i got up at 6:00. got my coffee.