“The day is looking up,” Mike said. “No Pat around and an interview with one of the big players in our case. And, someone else besides us thinks Pat is creepy.”
“That gives us an hour more to prepare,” Sheski said. “Is Paul here?”
“Yep. He doesn’t look too good, though,” Debbie said. “I told him he should get a checkup and like always, he just ignored me. I think there’s something seriously wrong with him. He’s always eating those antacids and holding his stomach. I feel bad about it. I like Paul. He’s overbearing, but he’s fair. Anyway, he wants you to go to his office now. Said to tell you so as soon as I saw you.” She smiled over her shoulder at them.
“Where you been?” greeted them as they entered Paul’s office. The room looked dingier today for some reason. The blinds weren’t open to let the natural light in. Instead, the desk lamp and an overhead light were on, casting shadows around the room.
“What do you mean where’ve we been?” Sheski said. “We’re in early.”
Paul didn’t answer. He’d already been at his office for hours himself and had lost track of the time. “Pat won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon. She’s still busy with other projects. I want to meet with the three of you tomorrow promptly at 2:00 PM. No excuses.” He coughed and dabbed at his moist lips with a tissue.
“Sure, we’ll be there,” Sheski said.
“What’s this about?” Mike asked. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Of course I’m okay. We’re going to get to the bottom of your complaints about Pat’s behavior. Get it out in the open and deal with it once and for all,” Paul said. “So we can move on.”
“I’m ready,” Mike said. “I’ve been ready.”
“Good. Now get out of here and get ready for Bill Davis, Jr. Oh yes, here are some suggestions I came up with for your interview with him.” Paul handed them a typewritten page of notes. He dropped his gaze to the desk. They took this as a dismissal.
“Paul,” Sheski said before turning to go.
“Yes.”
“Are you sure you’re alright? You look like you’re not feeling well.”
His boss was pale and looked thinner.
“You don’t look so hot yourself,” Paul said. He saw the concerned looks on the men’s faces and decided to get serious. He put his pencil down, moved his paperwork to the side, and said. “I’m okay. A little under the weather but it’ll pass.” He paused a minute, contemplating what to say next. “Thanks for asking. Now get out of here and get prepared for that interview. And don’t forget to look at my notes.”
The ride to Bill Davis, Jr.’s home in Danville took less than an hour.
“Will you be taking the exam next month?” Sheski asked Mike as they were en route.
“With all the excitement of Lillian’s pregnancy and the new baby, I haven’t given it any thought. What about you? Think you’d like to make the move from Lieutenant to Captain?”
“I don’t know. If I make Captain, my detective days will be over. I like what I do and I’m not sure I’d want to do anything else before I finally retire.”
“Let’s see,” Mike said. “By the time Gregory’s ready for college, I’ll be how old?” He did the math. “Jeez. I’ll be an old man and I still won’t be able to retire.”
Sheski started to laugh and said, “I told you. You play with fire, you’re gonna get burned.”
The troopers pulled up out front of Bill’s home on Ferry Street at 9:55AM. As was customary, they waited a few minutes, wanting to be right on time. Bill had contacted them saying he wanted to cooperate. They were hopeful. In their line of work, a willing witness could be a mother lode of information. They had to grab these opportunities when they came along and give it all they had.
They stepped onto the porch and rang the doorbell.
Bill Junior opened the door wide enough for the detectives to go in. After they entered the hall, he looked outside to see if any of his neighbors had noticed who his visitors were. Believing no one had seen them, he closed the door and locked it.
Bill was an imposing figure for a man his age. His size definitely had given him the edge in the classroom of high school students he’d once taught. He greeted his guests and asked them to call him Bill. By the time the introductions were done, they were all on a first name basis. Bill’s large form was less forceful today. A flat affect and stooped posture evidenced the depression gripping him since learning the investigation in the Teen Lovers murder case was reopened. He was someone with something to hide and could conceal it no longer.
Sheski had enough experience to know when someone was on the edge. He’d witnessed other suspects on the verge of having an anxiety attack or breakdown. The burden of guilt could do that. He’d need to proceed with caution or this one may get pushed too far. He didn’t want that. A broken witness was no witness. He needed Bill to be in control of himself and talk.
After they were seated in the family room, the investigators explained to Bill they were going to be taping the conversation and did so, with Mike first reciting the Miranda piece.
“I won’t need a lawyer with me and I don’t need you to read me my rights. I’m going to tell the truth about everything and answer any questions you may have. I’m not the same Bill Davis, Jr., who stood by in 1954 while a crime was being committed,” Bill said. “I’m a different man now.”
Sheski and Mike anticipated Bill’s testimony, believing this was the break needed for the case.
Sheski waited for Bill, one of the few remaining living witnesses to the crime, to unload.
“I knew sooner or later someone would be looking into the Teen Lovers case. I always knew it. As the years rolled by, I told myself I should be the one to talk to the police about that night, but I didn’t. It was easier not to do anything. But I never forgot it. Never.”
“Take your time, Bill, and tell us what you know. We can stay as long as it takes so there’s no need to rush,” Mike said.
“Dad never asked me anything about what happened that night. Neither of us once brought it up. Knowing I was involved in some way was enough for him. He said no one would ever find anything out. That he’d seen to it. But I knew better. When Dad died, he died thinking we’d gotten away with it. That his son would not be implicated in these murders. But I always new sooner or later, someone would come back to the Teen Lovers. It was inevitable.”
“Start at the beginning for us, Bill,” Sheski said. “What happened that Friday night when the bodies were found. We know you, John Deadly, and Cal Kelly were there at the football field. What happened when you discovered the dead teenagers? Or, were you there before the teens were murdered?”
Bill’s eyes misted over with sorrow. “I was a bad kid back then. I hung out with a bad crowd and I was just as low as they were. Even lower than some. But I’m not a murderer.” He looked over at the troopers for some acknowledgement they believed in his innocence of the killings.
They nodded.
“I was always a big kid, but big as I was, I wasn’t the one in charge. John Deadly easily took that role. Even though I was bigger than him, I was scared to death of him. He was capable of anything. He was smaller than most of us, but Deadly was in control. He was a lowlife. He fought anyone who got in his way. It didn’t matter if they were bigger than him and it didn’t matter to him he might get hurt. He took his chances and called their bluff. Sometimes he won and sometimes he took a beating. If he lost the fight, he found another way to get back at the winner. Deadly once confided to me he even thought about killing his adoptive parents so he would be free of them. They were really nice people and didn’t deserve a kid like that. They did they best they could with Deadly, but he was no good from the start. All he ever cared about was himself.”
Bill told the detectives some of the bad things he, Cal, and Deadly had done throughout their early years. “We stole beer off the back porches of the town drinkers and drank it or sold it. We stole whatever we wanted, firearms and money included, and we didn
’t care if our victims were rich or poor. Deadly always said if people are stupid enough to let themselves open to thievery, then they deserved what happened to them. Especially since he was convinced he was smarter than all of them.”
Bill shuddered at his recollections.
“When Deadly hung himself in jail, I rejoiced. Glad to be rid of him. The world is a better place for it. When we were kids he never would’ve done that. He valued himself above everything and everybody. I think the only reason he did it was because he knew your two had a solid case against him and he wasn’t getting out of it. He was trying to control everything. Right ’til the end.”
Sheski and Mike agreed with Bill. Their experiences with John Deadly were convincing enough for them. They had a long paper trail of the terrible crimes he’d done.
“I changed, though,” Bill said. “Turned my life around thanks to some good neighbors who saw I was taking a wrong road in life and tried to help me. That’s why I’ve spent my adult life volunteering with other people’s kids. I should’ve retired from teaching before I did, but I stayed working because I thought I could help some of my students. That’s why I still volunteer at the schools. Thank God, someone reached out to me. I owe them a lot.”
Bill excused himself for a minute saying he had to get something. He went into a back room and returned with a cigar box. He placed it on a table next to his chair. “I’ll never forget that night in November, 1954. About 11:00 PM. Three prowling punks is what we were. We were young and thought we knew it all. It was foggy that night, and damp and cold. Most of the kids had gone out to Buckley’s soda shop to hang out after a school dance. Deadly, Cal, and I went to the football field. We didn’t want to be with other kids our age. And they didn’t want us around them, either.”
“To look for money on the grounds?” Mike asked, remembering Cal’s testimony.
“Yes. And to smoke and just hang out. We were scavenging under the Home Team bleachers, but mostly we were just smoking and fooling around. Deadly told Cal and me to go to the other side to see if there was anything of value over there. When we were walking away I looked back at him and could see his flashlight shining on something under the goalposts.”
Bill looked troubled. He was sweating and rocking back and forth. He picked up the cigar box in his damp hands.
“At that time, I was a different kid and didn’t care about those dead classmates. Once I grew up and had a child of my own, that all changed. I sometimes look at my daughter and think of Shirley. It was horrible. Someone could’ve done to my child what had happened to her. The crime became personal when I matured and became a parent. I was sorry for my part in what happened that night. Sorry I didn’t behave better.” He looked at the policemen. “I have no excuse to offer except the truth which is this. I just didn’t care then. I do now, and have for a long time.”
“What happened when Cal went for help?” Mike asked. “The newspapers reported the crime scene was tampered with. The bodies were moved and things were tossed around. What did you and John Deadly do there?”
“Deadly said we ought to mess with everything a little bit. Make it hard for the cops to figure out what actually went on. I thought it was funny. Especially since my dad was the Chief. We’d be the only ones to know what really happened. He said we’d see just how good the cops really were. Then Deadly got to fooling around with Shirley. Right there, boyfriend by her side, he started messing around with her. He had no morals. He didn’t care about the dead girl. I walked away when he started. As bad a kid as I was, that was too much for me. It was turning my stomach.”
“Can I get you anything, Bill?” Mike said. “A drink of water?”
“Thanks, no. I’m okay.” Bill opened the cigar box he’d retrieved and looked inside at items he’d saved from his childhood. There was a plastic decoder ring he’d sent away for in the mail and a junior policeman’s badge he got from a cereal box. On the bottom of the cigar box were some baseball cards and other bits and trinkets he’d collected decades ago. Tucked amongst the childhood items were some photos and pieces of jewelry. Bill reached in and lifted out a gold earring.
“What’s that?” Sheski asked.
“I’d forgotten about this,” Bill said. “When we were in high school, sometimes Deadly, Cal and I’d hang outside some dance halls, drinking and watching people. We were outside a dance club in Turbotville one night when a motorcycle gang member approached Deadly and started to yell at him. Deadly sold this guy firearms he’d stolen from some hunters. The guy’s name was Roberto and he pushed Deadly against the the building. He was yelling he’d been cheated when he bought the guns and he wanted his money back. I don’t think Roberto knew Deadly very well or he wouldn’t have done that. Deadly pulled this earring from the guy’s ear so fast, he couldn’t stop him. When Roberto grabbed at his bleeding ear, Deadly attacked him and knocked him to the ground. The guy was out cold. Deadly proceeded to kick Roberto in the head until we made him stop. He made us help him put the guy in his car and he drove off. Cal and I had to find our own way back home. We never saw Roberto again.”
Sheski and Mike weren’t surprised to hear more of John Deadly’s brutality.
“Did you ever ask Deadly what he did with Roberto?” Mike asked.
“We knew better than to question him about anything,” Bill said. He went to put the gold earring back into the box, but Sheski asked if he could see it.
“Sure,” Bill said.
“I want to hang on to this for awhile,” Sheski said.
Bill nodded it was okay. He reached back into the box and picked out a couple photos.
“I bet I know what they are,” Sheski said.
“Deadly made me take them,” Bill said. “I didn’t want to do it, but he insisted. Shirley was heartsick to be in bed with that scum Deadly and was horrified I was watching and took that picture. Deadly thought it was great.”
Bill handed a photo to Sheski.
Sheski recognized the picture to be the same one which Deadly has used to blackmail Kenneth Adams.
“I suppose the other picture you have there is Mr. Adams and Mrs. Temple, together at her home,” Mike said.
“Yes. I was with Deadly when that one was taken, too. I made copies for myself and kept them.”
Mike bagged both photos.
“There’s something else here I want you to see,” Bill said. He reached into the box and pulled out a silver “S” pin. He held the tarnished item out for the policemen to see.
“Here’s another of Deadly’s souvenirs. I’ve had this all these years. I couldn’t part with it,” he said, wiping tears from his cheek. “Even though it was probably a piece of evidence tying me to the murder scene, I hung onto it.” Bill rubbed the pin on the front of his shirt, causing it to shine. He held it out for them to see.
Bill was holding Shirley’s pin, the one Deadly had removed from her sweater and thrown to Bill that night. There it was. Shining out for Shirley Adams, after all these years.
“Shirley’s initial pin,” Sheski said. “You have it. Cal told us Deadly gave it to you.”
“I put it in this box and it’s been here the whole time,” Bill said. “You can take it with you, if you want to.”
“Thank you,” Sheski said. “You know, they called this case the Teen Lover’s murder because of the condition of Shirley’s body. The police thought it was Shirley and Joey who’d been fooling around when the murderer interrupted them. I don’t think anyone ever suspected any of you boys doing something like that.”
“I swear I never touched her,” Bill said. “It wasn’t me. I’ve done some terrible things in my life, but that wasn’t one of them. It was sickening what Deadly did to her.”
The lieutenants believed him.
Bill handed the pin to Sheski who bagged it before putting it in his briefcase.
“I didn’t kill them,” Bill said. “And I still don’t know who did. I thought a lot about it over the years, but was never sure.” He looked to the policemen for
answers. “Do you know who did it?”
“We’re not positive, but we have some ideas,” Mike said. “We still have a few loose ends to tie up before we say for sure. We appreciate your honesty Bill, and we’ll want to talk to you again. I’m sorry, but I don’t know how this is going to come out for you. We’ll just have to wait and see. I know the DA and the judge will look favorably on your cooperating with our investigation.”
“I have no one to blame but myself and I know it. If you wouldn’t have opened this case up, I’d like to think I would’ve eventually stepped forward and told the truth. Thank God, Cal found the courage to do it. I always felt I was being prodded by someone or something to make it right but I never did. This has been a heavy burden for me.”
Tuesday afternoon
Debbie leaned over her desk and smiled at Mike and Sheski. Occasionally, she’d wave her engagement ring at them.
The detectives had been waiting in the lobby of the barracks, sipping coffee from Debbie’s supply and talking quietly between themselves about the upcoming meeting with Paul and Pat Riley.
Paul had called the meeting to discuss Mike’s sexual harassment complaint against Pat.
Both Mike and Sheski were unsure of where this was going to go and who would be believed.
After all, Sheski reasoned, it was Mike’s word against Pat’s and she was the one with all the contacts in high places, not him. She could have her people put some heavy pressure on Paul to make Mike back off. He wondered who was going to believe Mike.
Sheski and Mike never knew what was going to happen with Paul, either. He was a straight shooter and liked to have his nose in everything, but he had some years ahead of him to work. Sometimes, it was hard for them to predict how office issues were going to turn out.
It was a scary situation and Mike was aware the odds were against him.
TEEN LOVERS: Murder Along the River Page 15
