Confession by Gary Whitmore - HTML preview

Chapter 27

Sam raced his car down the street, heading to the elementary school. He whipped his car into the parking lot, then stopped and noticed it was deserted. “Shit!” Sam cursed when realizing Kristen’s play was over.

He drove out of the parking lot and headed back down the street.

Later that night, Sam entered his house and kitchen. He walked over to his phone and saw its message light blinking.

“Sam, how could you? You promised to attend Kristen’s play and never showed up! She was hurt! It’s either me or that stupid case, which you’ll never solve!” she yelled from her recorded message.

Sam quickly punched in Cindy’s phone number from his kitchen phone.

Billy wore his black ski mask and gloves inside Cindy’s kitchen. He opened her refrigerator, looking for something to drink.

Her kitchen phone rang.

Billy looked at the phone on the counter.

Her phone rang a few more times. The answering machine beeped after Cindy’s message.

“Cindy, I’m so, so sorry. I was on track to make it to Kristen’s school, but an accident on I-four stopped traffic. Then my cell phone battery went dead. Please don’t hate me,” Sam’s message said.

“Cindy, I’m so, so sorry,” Billy mimicked Sam’s voice in a teasing tone while he grabbed a Coke out of her refrigerator.

Billy walked over to the answering machine and deleted Sam’s message.

He walked into the dining room.

Cindy sat naked and scared to death, sitting on the living room sofa with Duct tape over her mouth. Her hands were bound with Duct tape behind her back. Her ankles were also bound with Duct tape.

Rope tied her torso to the chair. Billy also smeared the number six on her wrinkled stomach.

Cindy’s torn clothes were on the floor beside the dining room table. Billy enjoyed them ripping off her body.

Billy walked up to Cindy and slapped her across her face several times.

Billy chuckled and then left the dining room while sipping the Coke.

Her front door opened and closed when he left her house, leaving that door unlocked.

She was relieved he was gone, and then her eyes welled up.

Cindy sat on her chair for an hour. She was scared to make any movement, afraid her prowler would return.

Twenty minutes passed. Cindy felt safe, so she got up from the sofa and got on her feet.

She hopped through the living room, down the hallway, and through the utility room to her alarm pad on the wall near the door for entering the garage.

Cindy was able to press her nose into the “P” button.

She hopped out of the room, down the hallway, and through the living room.

Then, Cindy lost her footing and slammed onto the floor. She was on the floor near the front door and cried.

Thirty minutes later, someone pounded on the door. Cindy strained to get up.

“Help!” she cried out from behind her Duct tape, and it was a low, muffled sound. There was more knocking on her door.

“Help!” she cried out again from behind her Duct tape. But it was a low, muffled sound. Then she scooted across the floor and headed closer to the front door.

She positioned herself and pounded on the door with the souls of her feet.

Then the doorknob turned, and the door cracked open. But Cindy’s stopped it.

“Daytona Beach police. We got a call from your alarm company that your alarm sent an indication you needed help,” the officer called out through the crack in the door.

“Help!” she cried out again from behind her Duct tape. It was a low, muffled sound.

The officer pushed hard on the door. It slid Cindy away from the door.

The officer Sean Phillips was able to step inside. His eyes widened when he saw Cindy tied naked to the chair.

“Get a blanket,” Sean said while turning around and calling outside to his female partner Dayna Kelley. He kept his eyes off Cindy while stepping outside.

A few seconds later, Dayna entered and immediately covered Cindy with a blanket to preserve her dignity.

Sean stepped inside, and they assisted Cindy upright.

Sean removed a knife and carefully cut away all the Duct tape. Then, she carefully peeled away the tape from her mouth.

Cindy’s eyes welled, relieved help arrived. “Someone entered my garage when I drove home. He threatened to kill me if I screamed. Then he forced me into my house. He ripped off my clothes and tied me up, leaving me on the sofa,” Cindy told them with a shaky voice.

“Do you get a good glimpse of the man’s face?” Dayna asked.

“No. He wore a black ski mask and gloves.” “Did he steal anything?” Sean asked.

“Not that I’m aware of,” Cindy replied.

“Did he touch you inappropriately?” Dayna asked.

“No,” Cindy replied. “He marked my stomach with something,” Cindy added, then opened the blanket for the officers.

They saw the number six marking on her stomach. “That’s strange,” Sean said.

“I better get her dressed,” Dayna said, then walked Cindy down the hallway.

“Please call my boyfriend, Sam Woods. He’s a retired FBI agent and working on his own little investigation. This might be related to that. His home phone number is five, five, five, eight, seven, two, nine,” Cindy said while the female officer walked her down the hallway.

Sean opened up his cell phone and called Sam.

Sam was sound asleep in his house when his kitchen phone rang. He shot up out of bed.

Sam ran out of his bedroom, down his hallway, into his kitchen, over to his phone, and picked it up.

“Cindy. I’m so sorry,” he quickly answered.

“Is this Mister Woods?” Sean asked from Sam’s phone.

Sam thought it was the same caller he had a while back. “Listen, asshole, leave me the fuck alone!” Sam yelled into his phone.

“Sir, this is Officer Sean Phillips from the Daytona Beach police department. Someone broke into Cindy Leinbach’s house,” he said from the phone.

“I’m on my way!” Sam said, then quickly hung up his phone and ran out of his kitchen.

Sam ran out of his house and rushed into his car. He started it up and immediately screeched down the driveway.

Sam’s car screeched off, raced down the street, and raced through the Daytona Beach streets.

He ran a red light where two cars screeched to a stop and blew their horns.

Sam’s car raced down Cindy’s street, screeched to a stop along the curb by her house, and rushed out of his car, noticing the police car in her driveway.

He knocked on her door.

Officer Phillips opened the door.

“Are you Sam Woods?” Sean asked.

“Yes, sir,” Sam replied.

Sean let Sam inside.

They walked into the living room, where Sam looked around and saw Cindy and Dayna on the sofa.

Dayna had a small notepad, jotting down what happened for her report.

“Cindy!” Sam cried out and ran up to her.

Cindy got up from the sofa, and they hugged.

“What happened?” Sam asked while he sat Cindy back down on the sofa.

“When I parked my car in the garage from coming home from the play, some man snuck inside. He forced me in the house, ripped off my clothes, and tied me to one of my dining room chairs,” she said while her hands trembled.

Sam sat down and put an arm around her for comfort.

“He then used some grease and smeared the number six on my stomach,” Cindy added.

“We can’t figure that one out,” Dayna said.

“Shit!” Sam cried out, then stood up.

“What’s wrong?” Sean asked while he watched Sam paced.

Sam was furious. “I believe the man who did this is named Billy Stein from Curtis, Mississippi. He owns a dealership called Stein Chevrolet. His brother wrote the book called A Killer’s Tale,” Sam told Dayna and Sean while he paced.

“Why would he drive down from Mississippi to break into her house? Tie her up naked. Then smear grease on her stomach,” Sean inquired.

“His brother’s A Killer’s Tale book is based on an old case from the nineteen sixties called the October Slayer,” Sam told them.

“I read that book,” Dayna said, then jotted down that information on her pad.

“I believe the book had evidence that will identify the October Slayer,” Sam said while he stopped

pacing. He walked over and sat down next to Cindy. He held her hand.

“I also read that book,” Sean said, and then something about this seemed familiar. “Wait, are you that FBI agent investigating that October Slayer case?”

“I am,” Sam replied. “I think Billy Stein could be the October Slayer, and he desperately wants to stop me from finding evidence that could put him away.”

“What about his brother, who wrote the book? Did you talk to him?” Dayna asked.

“He died of cancer before the book came out,” Sam replied.

“This is one of the most bizarre break-in calls I’ve ever been on,” Sean said.

Dayna nodded in agreement.

“Well, call me if you have any more problems with this Billy Stein. I’ll get the word out to dispatch to look out for a car with Mississippi tags in the area,” Sean told Sam.

“He’s probably in a Chevy,” Sam added.

“Right, a Chevy,” Sean replied.

Dayna jotted down that information.

Sean handed Sam his card. “Here’s my number.”

“Do you have a place to stay?” Dayna asked Cindy.

“She can stay at my house,” Sam replied.

Sean considered Sam’s offer. “You know something? We better drive over to your house and make sure Billy Stein’s not hiding inside,” he said.

“That sounds good,” Sam said.

Dayna, Sam, and Cindy got off the sofa and headed to the front door.

Sam and Cindy got in his car while Sean and Dayna got in their cruiser.

They didn’t see Billy’s Malibu parked down the street while they drove away. He was smart enough to figure the police would show up, so he stole Florida tags off another Malibu and placed them in his car.

Billy drove away and slowly followed the cars.

When they arrived at Sam’s house, he parked along the street while Sean parked in Sam’s driveway.

Sam got out and followed Sean and Dayna to his front door. He unlocked it and rushed back to his car.

Dayna and Sean cautiously went inside Sam’s house with their revolvers drawn.

Sam and Cindy waited by his car.

They didn’t see Billy in his Malibu parked way down the street watching them.

Twenty minutes passed, and Dayna and Sean left Sam’s house with their revolvers back in their holsters.

They walked over to Sam and Cindy.

“Your house is clear,” Sean said.

“I highly recommend you get an alarm system,” Dayna added.

Cindy looked at Sam. “I’ve been telling him to get one for a while.”

“I’ll get that at work tomorrow,” Sam replied.

“Okay. Call us if you have any more encounters with this guy,” Sean said.

“We will, but I think he might not come here tonight since he knows the police were probably called,” Sam said.

“Let’s hope not,” Dayna replied.

Sean and Dayna walked to their cruiser.

Sam and Cindy walked to his front door.

Sean drove his police car away while Sam and Cindy went

inside his house.

Billy drove his Malibu down the street and eyed Sam’s house.

Sam went into his bedroom closet and reached up on the top shelf, removed a box, and opened it, removing a 38 Special revolver, then loaded it with bullets. Sam shoved the loaded revolver into his pants pocket.

Cindy crawled under the covers in Sam’s bed.

Sam went into his living room and stood guard while he watched TV. He looked at his watch. “Too late to call Becky. I’ll call her in the morning,” he said quietly.

An hour later, in St. Cloud, it was a quiet and dark night in Allan’s neighborhood.

A shadowy figure dressed in a black ski mask and gloves walked into Allan’s backyard. It was Billy, and he walked up to a bedroom window. He had a tire iron in his hand and smacked the window glass. It shattered and then smashed out all the glass in the window.

In the house right behind Allan’s, Meredith Grayson heard the sound of glass breaking while she was on her back porch with her dog. She was alarmed when she saw a light inside Allan’s house.

She rushed back inside her home.

Inside Allan’s bedroom, Billy saw it was cleaned out of all of Allan’s personal items.

Billy checked all of the rooms, and they were also cleaned out of Allan’s personal items.

Billy ran into the kitchen and opened the door to the garage.

Inside the garage, he quickly grabbed a step ladder and placed it under the access panel to the attic. He pounded the access panel open with his fist, then removed a small flashlight from his pants pocket.

He went up into the attic and illuminated the inside. It was bare except for the spider webs.

Billy climbed down out of the attic, disappointed.

“Okay, dumbass, where did you hide that chest?” he said while he looked around the garage.

He rushed out of the garage and went back into the kitchen.

Billy walked down the hallway.

He went into the living room, noticing numerous packed boxes.

Billy grabbed one of the boxes, ripped it

open, and dumped the contents on the floor.

With his boot, he swished the contents around the floor, and there was nothing of interest.

Billy ripped open another box and dumped the contents on the floor. There was nothing but Allan’s clothes inside that box.

He repeated this process until all the boxes were emptied on the floor.

The living room floor looked like a tornado had come through.

Billy was pissed looking at the mess and realized the wooden chest was not in Allan’s house.

“Shit!” Billy yelled and walked to the front door.

Billy left Allan’s house and didn’t close the front door.

Outside, Billy walked down the street from Allan’s house.

He walked up to his Malibu parked a safe distance from the house. He got inside.

Billy started up his car and pondered his next move. “I don’t have a choice,” he said with a stare that showed no emotions while driving away.

Ten minutes later, a St. Cloud police car pulled into Allan’s driveway. Two officers got out and removed their revolvers.

They cautiously walked to Allan’s front door.

They saw the front door cracked open. One officer slowly opened the door while the other one provided cover. They cautiously entered Allan’s house.

The officers saw the living room, and it looked like a tornado came through with Allan’s belongings all over the floor.

They spent the next twenty minutes and went from room to room searching for a burglar.

The two officers walked out of Allan’s front

door. Since Meredith told them she didn’t know where the daughter lived, one of the officers left a business card and wrote on the back to call them. He stuck it in the door.

They got in their car and called their dispatcher, who informed them they couldn’t find anybody in the house.

They drove off down the street.