Sam got up and walked to his gate. He waited there for his flight.
The flight back to Daytona Beach was smooth and Sam drove to Cindy’s house.
He knocked on her front door. Cindy opened it up and smiled when she saw Sam. “You made it. How was your trip?” she asked while Sam stepped inside.
“It was good. I learned that after the last girl was murdered, some other creep kidnapped her baby daughter,” Sam told her while they walked through the living room.
“Oh my God. I can't imagine the horror her family went through,” she replied while they walked to the dining room.
“It's a crazy sick world.”
Cindy nodded in agreement.
Sam looked around and nobody else was in her house.
“Where’s Kristen?” he said while he saw the birthday decorations in the dining room.
“They should be here any minute.”
Sam cringed when he remembered his layover in Atlanta. “Ah, please don't kill me, but I need to drive to Birmingham, Alabama first thing in the morning. I found an Army buddy of that author and I need to talk to him before he goes to Europe for vacation.”
“Can't you do that over the phone?”
“I work better in person. You know, look for body signs to see if they’re lying.”
Cindy looked upset but decided to let it go. “I won’t kill you but I’m starting to worry about you gallivanting around the country and possibility meeting face to face with this killer.” She looked worried.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be alright and I’ll probably spend the night up there so I won’t be driving back exhausted,” Sam said with a comforting tone while they walked back into the living room.
Her doorbell rang. She opened up the door and Kristen stood outside with Kathy, Cindy’s daughter and Kevin, her husband.
“Happy eighth birthday,” Cindy said with opened arms.
Kristen ran into the house and gave Cindy a hug. Kristen saw Sam and her eyes lit up with joy. “Hi Mister Woods,” she cried out. She ran over and gave him a hug.
“Happy birthday, Kristen,” Sam said then gave her a kiss on her forehead.
She looked up at Sam with a gleam in her eyes. “Are you coming to my play? I want you to come to my play.”
“Of course I’ll be at your play. I promise!” Sam said then kissed her forehead.
Kristen had a huge grin.
Kathy and Kevin walked into the house where there were more greetings of hugs and handshakes.
Kristen’s birthday party began a few minutes later.
Sam got up at four thirty in the morning.
It took him thirty minutes to get ready for his trip to Alabama.
He sat down at his computer and went to the map quest website. He got directions from Daytona Beach to Birmingham. He printed them out, grabbed his small overnight bag, and stuffed with some change in clothes.
He headed out the door.
Nine hours later, Sam arrived at the outskirts of Birmingham. He pulled into a gas station just off Interstate I-65. He filled up his car with gas.
After that he pulled over to the side of the building and made a cell phone call.
“Hello,” Joe answered the call.
“It’s me, Sam Woods. I’m at a Chevron station off exit two fifty-eight just off Interstate sixty-five,” Sam said into his cell phone.
“I know where it’s located. Wait for me there. It should take me about twenty minutes,” Joe said then disconnected his phone call.
Sam waited inside his car.
Twenty minutes later a silver Cadillac Seville SLS pulled into the service station.
Sam watched the Cadillac and saw Joe Vaughn, a bald and overweight man driving. Like many military veterans they were once fit and trim while on active duty. But when they retired the flab spread like wild fire.
Joe parked his car by Sam’s car. He got out and walked to Sam’s window.
“Are you Sam Woods?” Joe asked after Sam rolled down his window.
“I am, are you Joe Vaughan?
Joe nodded in agreement then they shook’s hands. “Follow me,” Joe said then got back inside his car.
Sam followed Joe to a restaurant a half-a-mile down the road. They parked, walked into the restaurant and were seated right away.
As soon as the waitress walked away with their drink order, Sam and Joe got down to business. Sam had his note pad ready. He told Joe about Allan passing away. Then he mentioned the items that only the killer and Sam knew about.
“I’ve read Allan’s books and loved them all. But A Killer’s Tale was by far the best. It’s his only book where the killer got away,” Joe said then he looked sad. “I’m sorry to hear he passed away. I liked Allan, as did everybody in our office at the time.”
They got quiet while the waitress brought some ice water and sweet tea. She took their meal orders and left.
“And it’s very interesting about those items,” Joe said then sipped his water. “But I do remember he was fascinated with the October Slayer case back then,” he said then paused. “His story also mentioned that the killer got a new Ford from his brother every October. I remember Allan would go on these camping trips with his brother Billy. Then in, oh, around,” Joe said while he tried to remember. “Ah yes, around October sixty-two, Allan returned to Fort Benning with a brand new sixty-three Chevy Impala. He said his father decreed that he would get a new Chevy each year,” Joe said then took another sip of water. “But you know the story mentioned something to that effect.”
“Yes with Ford’s instead of Chevy’s,” Sam said while he jotted down that information on his pad.
“And his book also mentioned the killer having a tattoo on his bicep. I never saw any tattoos on Allan so he must have made that part up. I thought I would throw that out there.”
Sam jotted that information down on his note pad. “What about his brother Billy?”
“I never met him but Allan talked highly about his little brother all the time. He even mentioned he was the deputy sheriff in his hometown for a while in the early sixties. I got the impression Allan and Billy were very tight.”
Sam looked interested with that information. “The book had the killer as a sheriff and in the Army Reserves,” Sam said.
“I think Allan mentioned his little brother was in the Army reserves for a brief period,” Joe replied.
They got quiet when the waitress brought their meals. She left and they resumed and talked while they ate.
“Just like in his book, I remember, oh around sixty-one, I heard Billy arrested some black man and sent him to jail for rape. Allan commented how proud he was of helping Billy send the bastard to prison. Then he bragged he found a new career direction.”
“What kind of new direction?” Sam curiously asked.
“I remembered he started reading tons of detective magazines and murder books in sixty-two. Then talked about writing his own murder mystery books when he retired from the Army.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
Joe thought for a few seconds. “Sixty-three. That’s when I went to Germany for five years then spent the rest of my career at Fort Brag. I heard through the CID mill that Allan went to Vietnam in seventy,” Joe said then sipped his tea. “So, do you have any prime suspects?”
“Not yet. I believe the killer hid evidence in a wooden chest and hopefully that will identify the killer.”
“Just like his book. Allan probably made up that part. You know, his theory to the killer’s behavior,” Joe said cutting off Sam’s sentence.
“Everybody seems to believe that,” Sam said while he jotted down some more information about Joe. “So, did you retire from the Army?”
“After twenty four years. I retired as a Warrant officer five.”
They had some small talk while they finished their meals then left the restaurant.
After they ate, they stood outside the restaurant by their cars in the parking lot.
“If I can help you
with anything, please feel free to call me,” Joe said while he shook Sam’s hand.
“I will,” Sam replied then got inside his car.
They left the restaurant and headed off in different directions.
Sam drove into the parking lot of a hotel.
He parked and got a room for the night.
Later that night, Sam relaxed in his room while he reviewed his notes.
He opened up his cell phone and made a call.
“General Woods,” Charles answered the call.
“Hey son.”
“Dad, two phone calls within a month. Do you need some more help?”
“Ah, yes.”
“I’m all ears,” Charles replied with a chuckle.
“Can you verify some service time for three men?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“First one is a John Watson, Marine Corps stationed in Hawaii from sixty-one to sixty-six. Then he went to Vietnam around sixty-six. He was from Curtis, Mississippi and retired as a Colonel. And the other guy is Joe Vaughn. Army stationed in Fort Benning from sixty-one until sixty-three. He was CID. And the third one is Billy Stein in the Army Reserves probably in the early sixties. He was from Curtis, Mississippi.”
“I’ll see what I can come up with.” Then there was a few seconds of silence from the cell phone. “How’s your investigation going?” Charles asked concerned.
“I’m making good progress and don’t worry, I’m not hitting the bottle.”
“That’s good. Do you have any suspects yet?”
“Well, the brother of the author is looking a little suspicious, but I’ll have to do some more digging.”
“Well, I hope you find this person and put this behind you forever.”
“Me too, son and thanks for all your help,” Sam said.
“Love you, dad,” Charles responded.
“Love you too, son,” Sam replied and disconnected their call.
Sam looked at his notes and his eyes lit up with an idea. “Here comes the hard part,” he said while he opened up his cell phone and made a call.
“Hey honey, how did your talk go up in Birmingham?” Cindy answered the call.
“Good. I got some more good information.”
“Figure out who the killer is yet?”
“I’m leaning on the brother of the author.”
“That’s interesting.”
Sam hesitated, as he did not want to tell her this, but knew he had to proceed. “Speaking of which, I’m going to make a trip to Mississippi tomorrow and see what I can dig up on this brother,” Sam said then cringed while he waited for her response.
There was a long pause of silence. “Sam, I really don’t think that’s a good idea. I mean, if he is in fact the killer, you might not make it home alive,” she said and sounded really worried.
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure I’m always in a public place.”
There was another long pause of silence. “Why don’t you just forget this whole investigation? Please!” she pleaded.
Sam thought about her request. “I can’t honey. I still have the vision of Gary’s eyes ingrained in my head when I promised him that I would find the killer. It still haunts me,” he said while his eyes welled up.
There was another long pause of silence. “Okay,” she replied then disconnected their call.
Sam knew he was in trouble with Cindy and thought she’ll cool off in a couple of days.
Sam looked at his notes again and thought about his next move. He walked out of the room.
Sam walked to the front desk and asked the clerk for some directions to the nearest Wal-Mart.
After the clerk provided assistance, Sam left the hotel and got in his car.
He drove to Wal-Mart, which was three miles away.
Sam returned from Wal-Mart where he bought a Garman GPS. He read the instructions and plugged in some cities he wanted to visit.
An hour later, he was sound asleep and tossed and turned. He had another nightmare.
Sam’s nightmare…
Sam slept in his hotel room. There was a loud knock on his hotel room door.
Sam got out of bed and slowly staggered to the door. He opened it and nobody was there. He closed it and slowly staggered back to his bed.
He crawled into bed and tried to go back to sleep.
“Why haven’t you found my killer?” Angie’s voice echoed in his hotel room.
Sam shot up in bed in a panic. “I tried! I promise!” Sam cried out.
Sam looked at the other side of the bed. Angie’s dead body shot up from under the covers. “He really hurt me!” Angie’s clammy face said to Sam.
“I’m so sorry Angie!” Sam cried out. “Please forgive me!”
“Find my killer! Please!” Angie pleaded with Sam.
Her body slowly disappeared.
Back to reality…
“I’ll find your killer!” Sam screamed while he shot up in bed. He looked around and saw it was 3:41 a.m. He realized it was another nightmare. He lay back down and stared at the ceiling afraid to fall asleep.
Chapter 22
Sam rolled out of bed at six that morning. He didn’t sleep a wink after his nightmare.
Sam got ready for his travels in search for a good lead. After eating the hotel’s continental breakfast, he hit the road.
When he got down the road from his hotel, he made a change in plans. He just had to go this one place.
Hours later, Sam finally arrived at the outskirts of Downing, Tennessee, which was fifteen miles into Tennessee from the Alabama border.
Sam drove through the small town of four thousand, six hundred and ninety-eight people and it looked so peaceful.
While Sam drove, he couldn’t stop thinking about Angie. His hands trembled while he drove down the main street as it brought back bad memories.
He saw a stand-alone liquor store down the street. He couldn’t resist.
He pulled into the parking lot and parked his car. He looked at Angie’s folder while he glanced at the liquor store. He got out of his car.
Sam walked to the store and went inside.
Five minutes later, he came out of the store with a bottle of Jack Daniels in a brown paper bag.
He got in his car and drove out of the parking lot.
He drove down the main street.
Fifteen minutes later, Sam drove down a two-lane country road.
He slowed down while the area started to look familiar. He saw an old farmhouse, with a front porch to his left. “That wasn’t there backing sixty-five,” he said then looked for a dirt road.
He saw the sign for “Lake Downing” which pointed at a small paved road. Sam wasn’t sure this was the right road since the one in sixty-five was dirt. But he figured they probably paved it years ago.
Sam drove down the road while he looked to his left. Then his eyes lit up when he remembered this spot.
He pulled his car off the road and parked in the dirt. He hesitated when he had second thoughts. He looked at the picture of Angie at the crime scene. He got out with the booze bottle and one of the photos of Angie in hand.
Sam saw the big boulder near the tree where Angie was tied naked.
He walked over to the boulder and sat on top of it. He looked at the photo of Angie tied naked to the tree. He looked at the actual tree. It was a little larger since forty years had passed.
“Ahhhh!” Angie’s scream played in Sam’s mind while he imagined what the woods sounded like that horrible night.
He opened up the bottle of Jack Daniels and stared at the bottle opening.
“Come on, let’s party and make those nightmares go away,” the whiskey bottle said in Sam’s mind.
He looked back at that tree. He imagined the whacking sounds of a blunt beating Angie’s naked body.
He brought the whisky bottle to his lips. As soon as the booze touched his lips, he swiftly threw the whiskey bottle at the tree. It shattered and whiskey drenched the bark.
&nbs
p; “What the hell are you doing? Don't litter my woods! You jerk!” the voice of an old man was heard. That startled Sam and he jumped off the boulder.
“I’m so sorry,” Sam replied when he saw Elmer Johnson, an old thin-framed man with a fishing pole in his hand and a fishing basket around his waist.
“Why would you want to trash up our beautiful woods?” Elmer scolded Sam.
“I didn’t intend to throw that bottle. I had a friend who was killed here a long time ago,” Sam replied while he looked ashamed of himself.
“Oh yeah, the October Slayer killing. Poor girl. I remember that night,” Elmer said while he looked sad.
Sam’s ears perked up when he heard that. “Do you live nearby?”
“Across the street,” Elmer said.
“Listen, my name is Sam Woods and I’m a retired FBI agent and was on that October Slayer case,” Sam said while he removed his wallet and showed his FBI retired identification card and Florida driver’s license. “Can we talk?” Sam asked and silently prayed Elmer would accept.
Elmer walked over and looked at his ID card and license. “I’m Elmer Johnson and I don’t see why not. I live alone since Edith died ten years ago. So a little company would be nice,” Elmer said then he opened up his basket. “And I caught more bass than what I can eat, if you’re hungry,” Elmer offered. “They were really biting today and I couldn’t resist.”
“Actually, I am a little hungry.”
Elmer saw Sam’s car. “How about a lift to my house? I’m a little exhausted from walking to and from the lake.”
“My pleasure.”
“But first, you’ll clean up that broken glass,” Elmer told Sam like he was a child.
Sam looked at the pieces of broken glass in the dirt. “Yes sir,” he said then walked over to his car and got the paper bag.
Elmer watched while Sam picked up all the pieces of broken glass and put them inside the bag. He walked over and placed the bag in his trunk.
Confession Page 25
