Confession by Gary Whitmore - HTML preview

Chapter 20

Later that evening, Sam sat at his computer while conducting some research. His computer made gunfire sounds, indicating an email arrived.

He quickly opened his program and saw an email from Charles. His eyes lit up, and he opened the email quickly.

“I hope this information on Allan Stein helps. Please don’t return to your old ways if nothing becomes of your investigation,” Charles said.

Sam quickly opened the attachment titled “Allan Stein” and saw that it contained scanned information on Allan’s history, covering both military and family.

“Thanks, son. And I won’t return to my old ways. Promise!” Sam typed his reply.

He started to review the information Charles provided.

“Allan was born in Curtis, Mississippi, in 1936. His father was Alvin, and his mother was Sadie. His brother was Billy Stein, born in 1941. Allan attended Curtis High School in Curtis, Mississippi, and graduated in 1954,” Sam read from the email attachment.

He grabbed his coffee cup and took a drink.

“Allan enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1954. He was stationed in Fort Gillem, Georgia, from 1955 to 1960. Stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia from 1960 – 1970. Stationed in Vietnam from 1970 – 1971. Stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia from 1972 – 1985,” Sam read from the email attachment.

Sam got curious and searched for websites where people could look up old high school friends. He decided to see what information would reveal about Allan, then found a popular site and opened it up.

Sam clicked on Mississippi, then clicked on Curtis, Mississippi.

Sam clicked on the “Curtis High School” link and clicked on the “1954” year.

A listing of students appeared, and Sam noticed Allan Stein was not in the listing.

He saw a link for “Annette Brown Watson” and curiously looked at it. Sam clicked on her link, as her name sounded familiar for some strange reason.

Her bio appeared. “Annette married John Watson on July 6, 1958, after John graduated from Mississippi State University. John joined the United States Marine Corps immediately after graduating. Annette died in 1966,” Annette’s bio read.

His eyes lit up when it dawned on him why Annette Brown Watson was suddenly a familiar

name. His cell phone rang, and he opened it up. Sam smiled, seeing the caller ID from the viewfinder. “Hey, Peter,” he answered.

“Sam, I traced Joel Nelson to Memphis. He’s retired from the bureau. His phone number is five, five, five, one, zero, nine, five,” Peter said from the cell phone.

“Thanks, Peter. And guess what?” Sam said excitedly while he jotted down Joel’s phone number.

“What’s that?”

“The author and the last girl murdered went to the same high school in Mississippi. There’s a connection, so the author must have discovered who the October Slayer was and didn’t have the guts to tell the authorities. Maybe it was a close friend from his hometown.”

“Maybe he wanted to protect this person but gave you clues in his book. You know, one last chance to solve the crime,” Peter replied.

“That sounds plausible,” Sam said.

“Well, the offer to visit me still stands if you find some good evidence,” Peter said, then disconnected his end of the call.

Sam jumped up, excited, and rushed out of his den and into the living room, where Cindy and James Gardner were watching The Notebook.

“The author of A Killer’s Tale and the last girl murdered by the October Slayer went to the same high school in Mississippi. I’m on to something!” Sam said excitedly.

“That’s nice, dear,” Cindy replied, not paying attention to Sam’s words because her eyes were glued to a romantic scene in the movie.

Sam rushed out of the living room.

Sam rushed back into the den and over to his desk. He picked up his cell phone and made a call, but he got the recording to leave a message.

“Hey Joel, it’s a memory from your past. It’s me, Sam Woods, from the Atlanta office in the sixties. Please call me. It’s imperative,” Sam said into his cell phone.

Sam disconnected the call and then looked at his computer monitor.

Sam looked at the list of students, found John Watson’s name, and clicked his link.

“John retired from the United States Marine Corps and now lives in Phoenix, Arizona,” his bio stated.

Sam saw the “Send John Watson an Email” link and clicked on it. An email message box appeared.

“John. I am Sam Woods, a retired FBI agent living in Daytona Beach, Florida. I must get the chance to talk with you about Allan Stein. I believe you went to Curtis High School with Allan. Please call me at five, five, five, eighteen, or four, or email me. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Sam Woods,” he typed in his email message, then hit the “Send” button.

Sam moved away from his desk, looked anxiously at John’s reply, grabbed his coffee cup, and left the room.

He entered the kitchen and poured a fresh cup of coffee.

Sam walked out of the kitchen.

His kitchen phone rang while walking back into the kitchen. “Sam Woods,” he answered the call. All Sam heard

was someone breathing very heavily. “Hello. Is there anybody there?” Sam asked. He heard more heavy breathing from the phone.

“Sam Woods, you better leave well enough alone! If you catch my drift!” the caller said, then disconnected his call.

Sam slammed the phone down just as Cindy entered the kitchen and saw he was upset.

She yawned. “Who was on the phone?”

“Wrong number,” Sam said but looked pissed and wondered if that was John Watson.

“A wrong number pissed you off? Why?”

“I was busy researching and didn’t want to be bothered,” he said, then sipped his coffee and wondered if Joel had made the call.

“That’s too bad. Listen, it’s getting late, and I better be getting home,” Cindy said and yawned again.

“Okay,” Sam replied and kissed her on her cheek.

Sam set his coffee cup on the counter and walked her out of the kitchen.

Outside, Billy sat in his Corvette down the street and staked out Sam’s house. Billy watched while Sam and Cindy walked out of his house, and Sam escorted her to her Ford Focus. Sam gave her a quick kiss and opened her car door.

“Sammy has a girlfriend,” Billy teased while watching Cindy get inside her car and while Sam closed her door.

Cindy backed her Focus out of the driveway.

Sam waved at her while she drove away and returned to his house.

Billy started his Corvette and followed Cindy’s car.

Sam went inside his house and went to his den to do some research.

He sat down at his computer desk and noticed an email message had arrived. Sam opened his email program, and his eyes lit up, seeing it was from John Watson.

“Mister Woods, I can’t help you with Allan Stein. I haven’t seen him in over fifty years,” John’s email stated.

Sam quickly replied. “Mister Watson. I would still like to talk to you. I was the FBI agent in charge of the October Slayer case in the sixties,” Sam typed out, then sent the message.

Sam got up and walked out of the den. He started to doubt that Joel was the harassing caller. But who? he wondered while he freshened his coffee cup from the kitchen.

Sam walked back inside his den with his coffee cup and sat down. He sipped his coffee while waiting, hoping John would respond quickly.

Sam’s computer rang the gunfire sound when the new email arrived. He saw it was from John, so he quickly opened the message.

“I live in Phoenix. My cell phone number is five, five, five, nine, zero, five, five. When would you like to meet?” John’s message stated.

“As soon as possible,” Sam typed and sent his response.

Sam waited a few seconds, and then John’s message appeared. Sam opened it.

“How about tomorrow?” John’s message stated. “Perfect,” Sam typed and sent his response.

” Send me your flight information, and I’ll meet you at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. We can meet at a restaurant in the terminal,” John’s message stated.

“You got it. Thank you very much,” Sam typed out his response and sent the message.

Sam added John’s number to the contact list on his cell phone.

Sam spent thirty minutes on the computer, searching for a flight from Daytona to Phoenix. He found one, but it was an eight-hour Delta flight with a layover in Atlanta. He made his reservations and then emailed the information to John.

Sam also made airport reservations with the Holiday Inn Express for tomorrow night.

Five minutes later, he had another email message from John, and he quickly opened it up.

“I’ll meet you at the airport,” John’s message stated.

Sam looked at his cell phone. “Here’s the hard part,” he said while he punched in a phone number.

“Sam, why are you calling so late? Are you okay?” Cindy answered the call and sounded concerned.

“I got in touch with the husband of the last girl murdered. He agreed to meet with me in Phoenix,” Sam said.

“Phoenix? When are you leaving?” Cindy replied, a little upset.

“I’ll return the next day at seven in the morning.”

“We have Kristen’s birthday party that night. She’ll be hurt if you don’t show up.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”

“Sam, please be careful. After all, you don’t carry a gun like you did in the FBI days,” Cindy said with an air of concern.

“I’ll be fine. We’re meeting in a restaurant in the airport terminal,” Sam replied to make her feel at ease.

“Okay. I hope you get some more leads.”

“Me too. I’ll call you tomorrow,” Sam said, then disconnected his call.

Sam went back to his den, sitting at his computer. He thought about his next move and then had an idea. After conducting numerous searches, he found a promising “Find Your Old Military Buddies” website.

He clicked on Georgia on the map of the United States, then clicked on Fort Benning.

Sam clicked on the CID Battalion. A lengthy listing of the names of men stationed in this Battalion at Fort Benning appeared, sorted by years. He found eight names of men listed during the years 1960 – 1970 and six names of men listed during the years 1970 - 1980.

“My name is Sam Woods, and I’m a retired FBI agent. I must talk with anyone stationed with Allan Stein at Fort Benning. I was the FBI agent in charge of the October Slayer case during the nineteen sixties. Please email me if interested in meeting or call my cell phone at five, five, five, eighteen, or four. Thank you for your consideration, Sam Woods,” he typed the email message and saved it.

Then, one by one, Sam sent that email to all of the fourteen names of men who could have been stationed with Allan.

He turned off his computer, left the den, went to his bedroom, and packed some overnight clothes for his trip.

Meanwhile, Billy raced his Corvette north on I-95 and was getting near Jacksonville.

The next day’s flight to Phoenix was long, with a three-hour layover in Atlanta. During the trip, Sam had plenty of time to determine what questions he could ask John.

The jet landed at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Sam left the security area with his overnight bag in hand. He soon saw a man in a gray crew cut and a red golf shirt with the Marine Corps emblem on it. The man held up a homemade “Sam Woods” sign.

Sam walked up to him. “I’m Sam Woods. Are you John Watson?”

“Yes, I am, and it’s a pleasure to meet you. Now, can I see some identification?” John said with a serious tone.

Sam removed his wallet and showed John his retired FBI identification card and a Florida driver’s license.

John looked at them, satisfied; Sam was not some crackpot.

“If you want, we can talk to one of the restaurants here at the airport?” John said while they walked away.

“That would be nice,” said Sam, looking around the terminal. “I retired from the FBI here in Phoenix ten years ago,” Sam said while they walked through the terminal.

“Interesting, I moved here ten years ago. I was living in Virginia to be close to my sister after I got tired of the snow and cold weather.”

John walked Sam over to a restaurant, where they were soon seated.

A waitress walked over with two menus. John ordered a beer, and Sam ordered some iced tea. After the drinks arrived, they ordered their meals.

“What’s so important that you needed to see me about Allan Stein?” John asked, then sipped his beer.

“Like I stated in my email, I was the FBI agent in charge of the October Slayer case,” he said while he removed his notepad from his overnight bag.

“I haven’t thought about that case in years,” John said, looking sad. “A day doesn’t go by without me thinking of Annette.”

Sam felt sorry for him. “I was extremely frustrated with that case. The girl that was murdered before Annette was the sister of my best friend in college. That caused me to do some heavy drinking. So I was taken off the case and reassigned to Phoenix,” Sam said while he looked sad.

John felt sorry for Sam. “I’m sorry.”

“Anyway, then this book called A Killer’s Tale is written by Allan Stein.”

“I never heard of it,” John added.

“So I read it and learned it’s about the October Slayer case. But he rearranged the names a little. I then discovered that Allan wrote about some events that only the killer and myself knew,” Sam said, then he took a drink of his tea.

The waitress brought their meals and then left. They ate while they talked.

“What kind of events?” John curiously asked.

“The killer sent me taunting letters word for word as what was in Allan’s book. Then, one night, when I was drunk at a bar, the killer came up to me and chatted. He dropped two Army Warrant officer’s bars in my suit pocket. But his book stated they were sergeant stripes.”

“That’s interesting. But I don’t know how I can help you since I haven’t seen Allan since I graduated from high school. Annette and I left Curtis right after we graduated.”

“What can you tell me about him?”

“I remember him having a crush on Annette. So, I didn’t get along with him at all. In fact, I hated him.”

“His book started out in nineteen forty-eight where the killer, Jimmy Nalla, beat a redneck to death because he was going to kill Jimmy’s brother, Ricky. The story had Ricky seeing the redneck killing a young black girl he just raped”.

John thought for a few seconds, then his eyes lit up when he remembered. “I recall a story when I was around twelve years old. There was a black man hung for killing a white man in retaliation for raping a young black girl.”

“The book states Jimmy blamed it on the father of a young boy who saw him run out of the woods with a bloody baseball bat. The KKK hung the man,” Sam said.

John sipped his beer while he tried to recall those days. “That’s possible. I believe that the man killed was a member of a KKK chapter in a neighboring county. Allan’s father was a devoted KKK member, and many people feared him,” John said when he took a sip of beer. “Mississippi was heavily involved with the KKK back then, and they were extremely violent.”

“I know. I remember what happened in Philadelphia, Mississippi,” Sam replied, then sipped his tea.

John nodded in agreement, then sipped his beer.

“His book also mentioned a joke played on the killer when he was a teenager. A joke where the girl, Fran, tricked Jimmy into thinking they would make out at a lake. She talked him into getting naked, and then some other boys came out of the woods laughing. They took his clothes and left him stranded naked in the woods. He was able to get home, but his father beat him for letting a girl get the best of him,” Sam said.

John recalled his high school days. “I remember that day. But it was under the bleachers after a football game. It was my idea, and Annette and some other football players agreed to the joke. Then Allan charged at me, and I quickly reacted by kicking him in his balls,” John said, then took a drink of his beer. “But looking back now, we were just a bunch of stupid kids, and I now feel bad for playing such a mean trick,” John said with sincerity in his eyes.

“I guess we were all young and dumb once,” Sam said.

Then John looked sad. “I was stationed in Hawaii from nineteen sixty-one to nineteen sixty-six. We came to stay with her mother in Garrison, Arkansas, since my next duty was Vietnam. I was in Vietnam for a month when I got the news Annette was killed. I heard she was taken from the parking lot of a grocery store. Then, while I was home on emergency leave, someone broke into my house at night and kidnapped my baby girl. I was drinking heavily to cope with Annette’s death, so I didn’t hear that happen,” John said while his eyes welled up.

Sam jotted down some notes. Then, his ears perked up curiously when he realized what John said.

“Kidnapped? Who was kidnapped?” Sam said while he sat on the edge of his seat.

“My daughter Rachael. The FBI was informed at the time. She was only eight months old,” John said.

“I’m so sorry to hear about that. I got reassigned to Phoenix because the killer set me up to arrest an innocent man. I beat the crap out of the poor soul, thinking he was the October Slayer,” Sam said and looked ashamed.

“Anyway, Rachael was never found, and I was hoping that that’s why you wanted to see me. I hoped you had some good information about my missing daughter,” John said disappointedly.

“I’m sorry. But I don’t have any good news for you.”

“That’s okay. It happened so long ago that I accepted the fact that I may never see Rachael again,” John said while his eyes welled up some more.

John reached into his back pocket and removed his wallet. He opened it and removed an old, faded black-and-white picture of Rachael when she was five months old.

Sam really felt terrible for John while looking at Rachael’s photo. He noticed part of a stork bite birthmark on the back of her neck and jotted down that information.

“So after that, I continued to drink and was on the verge of getting kicked out of the Marines,” John said and looked ashamed.

“I know the feeling,” Sam said, feeling ashamed.

“Then I met Laura, and she straightened my ass out. We got married in sixty-nine. Our son Jason was born in seventy, and our daughter Suzie was born in seventy-two. I stayed with the Marines for a thirty-year career. I retired as a full bird Colonel,” John said.

“I had a forty-year career with the FBI. My drinking caused a divorce, and I never remarried.”

John’s eyes lit up when he remembered something. “Wait, I don’t know if this is important, but there was something strange that happened back in, oh, around seventy,” John said.

“What’s that?”

“Someone planted a bunch of flowers all around Annette’s headstone.”

“Flowers? Do you know who?” Sam curiously asked.

“I never found out. But they died shortly after that, and nobody replaced them,” John said.

Sam found that interesting while writing it down.

They finished their meal, and the waitress brought over two checks. “I got the meal since you’ve been so kind to meet with me,” Sam said while he grabbed John’s check off the table.

“Thank you, Sam,” John said. Then he looked curious. “Do you think Allan might be the October Slayer?”

Sam thought for a few seconds. “No, but I think he knew who the killer was and protected him until he wrote his book.”

“Have you talked to him?”

“He died just before his book got published,” Sam said.

John thought about his comment for a second. “Sounds like he wrote a confession for someone.”

Sam thought about his statement. “It sure does.” Fifteen minutes later, they shook hands outside the restaurant. “Email me if you can think of more questions,” John said.

“I will, and thank you for your time,” Sam said, then left the car walking to the hotel.

Sam walked off in the direction of ground transportation.

John walked off in the direction of the parking garage.

Sam spent a quiet evening in his hotel room. While watching the Another Thin Man movie on the Turner Classic Movie channel, his thoughts concentrated on the meeting with John.

“John can’t be the killer since he was in Hawaii, or maybe that’s what he wants me to believe,” Sam said while looking at his notes. “He could have killed those girls. Maybe Annette found out, and he killed her to save his ass,” Sam said to himself as a possible scenario. But he had a good hunch about John. But still decided to do his trust but verify belief.

His eyelids got heavy, and he soon drifted off to sleep.