Confession

by Gary Whitmore

  “Where the hell is he going?” Billy asked himself he turned down the exit out of the airport. He headed east down the Beachline.

  While Sam checked in for his flight, Billy headed back to Daytona Beach.

  Seven hours later, Sam arrived at the Los Angeles airport. After he walked out of the terminal with his overnight bag in hand.

  He saw a man, in a suit that held a “Sam Wood” sign amongst other people who waited for friends and family.

  Sam walked up to him. “I’m Sam Woods.”

  “I need to see some identification, especially since you’re claiming you’re retired FBI,” the man said with a serious look.

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

  The man looked satisfied. “Do you have any luggage, sir?”

  “No, just this bag.”

  “Very well. Please follow me,” the man said while walked away.

  Sam followed the man.

  Meanwhile, up in Jackson Mississippi, Andy Berry the Chief of Police for the Jackson police department, was hard at work at his desk. He reviewed some budget reports.

  His administrative assistant walked into his office with a letter in hand.

  “This arrived earlier. You might want to read it,” she said then handed Andy the letter.

  She walked out of Andy’s office.

  Andy read the letter.

  “To Whom It May Concern. I can’t reveal my identity because I was at Hoo Hoo Park. But it was early in the morning and I saw two cars in the park. Two old men having sex in a car with Mississippi tags. The passenger was an old man. He got out and walked over to his car. It had Florida tags. He walked up to the Mississippi car with a pistol in his hand. The Mississippi man cried out “Don’t kill me Sam.” Then the Florida man shot the Mississippi man. I was scared of being killed. I can’t come forward because I was in the park having sex with another man. I’m married,” the letter stated.

  Andy got up from his desk and walked out of his office.

  Andy walked through the Detective office area. He walked up to Detective Blaine Salt who worked at his desk. A copy of A Killer’s Tale was next to a stack of case files.

  “Blaine, this letter arrived. Looks like the killer of that retired FBI agent might be from Florida. His name is Sam,” Andy told him then handed Blaine the letter.

  Andy walked back to his office while Blaine read the letter.

  “Great, there’s probably fifty thousand Sam’s in Florida,” Blaine said while he placed the letter in the file folder for Bo’s murder.

  Blaine got up and with his coffee cup and headed to the break room.

  Meanwhile, back in Daytona Beach, Billy went to the Daytona Beach International Speedway. This was finding ways to kill some time until it got dark.

  Later that day, he drove out to the beach to check out the girls.

  Back in Los Angeles, Wendy and Sam sat in her back yard. She lived in an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Hollywood Hills. Sam just finished telling her about Allan’s book and the October Slayer case. He had his note pad in hand and was ready to jot down any new information she provided.

  “I didn’t read any of Allan’s books. I’ve disassociated myself from that family a long time ago,” Wendy said while she sipped on some tea. “So, I haven't thought about Billy in decades. Thank God! When Sarah called, I was hesitant at first. But she said Gertie wanted me to talk with you. So here you are.”

  “What was your marriage to Billy like?”

  Wendy paused then sighed. “Billy was extremely popular in high school and I was madly in love with him, as were most of the girls in my class. But I won and we got married after we graduated.”

  “Was he the Sheriff at the time?” Sam asked.

  “He was deputy at first. Then when the Sheriff retired, Billy’s father pushed to have Billy run for office. He won but I believe his father had a lot of influence.”

  “Allan’s book had the Sheriff raping a young black girl.”

  She looked disgusted after hearing that. “It was about a year after he became Sheriff, I walked in on him molesting a young black girl in our house. Then months later, I heard rumors he was doing it quite often.”

  “I can imagine it was difficult to say anything back then.”

  “You bet. His father, Alvin, was heavenly involved with the Klan and they would have killed me. After he raped those two black girls and arrested Jerome for it, I couldn't take it anymore. So I started to planning my escape from the hell I married into,” she said and looked so happy to be free of him.

  “When did that occur?”

  “Let’s see. His father passed away in sixty-nine from a heart attack. Then Allan went to Vietnam in seventy, giving me a year’s lead-time. Plus I was praying he would be killed over there. So I left in seventy-one.”

  “What was Allan like?”

  “I couldn't stand him. But he sure loved Billy and they were both protective of each other. I remember Allan visiting from the Army to help frame Jerome. Their conservations sickened me.”

  Sam found that interesting while he jotted that down on his pad.

  “Did you know Bo Smithson? He went to your high school.”

  “Yeah, I remember Bo. He wasn’t very bright. His Uncle got him a job with the FBI. I also remember Bo and Billy would sit the house around and discuss FBI cases.”

  “The October Slayer case?”

  “Oh yeah. Bo shared information about the FBI agent on the case.”

  “That would be me,” Sam said and looked pissed.

  “I’m sorry,” Wendy replied and felt bad for Sam.

  “No wonder the killer knew so much about me.”

  “If I was a betting woman. I'd say Billy was the killer. And Allan helped him cover his tracks with Bo helping,” Wendy said feeling confident.

  “It’s starting to sound like Allan confessed his brother's sins with his book,” Sam replied.

  Wendy nodded in agreement then Sam looked curious. “Did Billy by chance have a tattoo? A skull tattoo by chance?”

  Wendy thought for a second. “The jerk had a tattoo of a naked lady on each of his shins,” she replied then looked disgusted with remembering that awful sight.”

  Sam jotted down that information.

  An hour later, Wendy had her man drive Sam to a hotel at the Los Angeles airport.

  Sam got a room then found a restaurant and ate dinner.

  Afterwards he went to his room. While he relaxed he looked over all the information he gathered so far. His cell phone rang.

  “Hey Peter,” he answered.

  “Hey Sam. I just heard Bo Smithson was found shot in his car in a park in Jackson, Mississippi. This park was also known as a place where guys go to meet with other guys in the dark,” Peter said.

  Sam looked shocked. “I spoke with him the other day at his house. He offered to help me and didn’t show up that morning, so I left Jackson.”

  “It appears to be a robbery since his wallet was missing,” Peter said.

  “I learned that back in the sixties, Bo would pass on information to the author’s brother, Billy Stein. He would tell Billy what was going on with the October Slayer case. Maybe Billy Stein found out I talked with Bo and killed him. He did get a phone call from someone when I was at his house,” Sam said.

  “If that’s the case, I want you to stop your investigation before someone else gets killed. Like you.”

  Sam thought about Peter’s suggestion for a few seconds.

  “I can’t Peter. This guy needs to spend a few minutes in the electric chair and I’m going to make sure he gets his juice.”

  “I know how stubborn you can be, so call me if you find some good evidence,” Peter replied then disconnected his end of the call.

  Sam remembered another important phone call. He quickly punched in the number.

  “Hey baby, I’m in my hotel room in LA,” Sam said the instant Cindy answered his call.
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br />   “When’s your flight?” she asked from his cell phone.

  “Seven in the morning, so I should be home around three tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Kristen’s play starts at eight.”

  “I’ll have plenty of time.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Cindy responded then disconnected her end of the call. Sam got an idea. He got up off the bed then rushed out of his room.

  Sam rushed down to the lobby where he used the hotel’s free computer. He went to Yahoo and looked up an address. He printed it out and rushed back to his room.

  Meanwhile, back in Daytona Beach, it was quiet in Sam’s neighborhood.

  A shadowy figure crept into Sam’s backyard. It was Billy. He wore gloves and a black ski mask while he tried a couple of keys into the lock of the back door. One of the keys unlocked the door.

  He went inside Sam’s house.

  Billy entered Sam’s kitchen and found the trash. He dumped the other keys into the trash. He pocketed the key that unlocked the door.

  He left the kitchen and when down the hallway.

  He entered Sam’s den and immediately walked up his computer desk. He turned on Sam’s computer. While the computer was booting up, Billy rummaged through the desk drawers. He found the five case files for the October Slayer. He set them on top of the desk and sat down. He flipped through each folder and enjoyed the photos. He put the folders back in the drawer.

  He walked out of Sam’s den and went into the garage.

  In the garage, he searched and found some Duct tape. He left the garage and went back inside Sam’s house.

  Billy walked into Sam’s living room and went over to the couch. He turned the couch over on its back. He removed Bo’s wallet from his pants pocket. He taped the wallet under the couch. He removed the Glock from his pants pocket. He taped it under the couch. He placed the couch up right.

  He walked out of the living room.

  He walked into the den. He headed straight to the computer.

  He started searching through Sam’s computer files.

  Billy spent the next thirty minutes going through Allan’s computer. He didn’t find anything beneficial, except for Sam’s flight information to Los Angeles. “Who the hell did he see in Los Angeles?”

  He opened up a White Pages website and typed in Bo’s name and Jackson, Mississippi. Bo’s address appeared. He made a pdf copy of that search and placed it on the desktop of the computer.

  Billy typed in an URL for an illegal website on naked underage women. He went go through the site and downloaded some sample pics and video clips. He closed it. He typed another URL for naked underage women. He went through the site and downloaded some sample pics and video clips. He closed that website and did the same thing for numerous other types of sites.

  Billy left the den and walked into the kitchen.

  He opened up Sam’s refrigerator and found a microwave fried chicken dinner. He put it in the microwave. While it cooked, Billy drank one of Sam’s beers.

  A little while later, he sat down at the kitchen table and ate his meal.

  He went inside the bathroom and stripped naked. He went into Sam’s bathroom and took a shower.

  After his shower, he went naked into Sam’s bedroom. He walked over to the bedside table. He reset Sam’s alarm for four that morning, so he would leave when it was dark.

  He got naked under Sam’s covers and fell asleep.

  Sam rose up early the next morning and took the hotel shuttle bus to the airport.

  Back in Daytona Beach, Billy was long gone from Sam’s house. He made sure he didn’t leave any trace he was inside.

  He stopped off at a CVS store and parked by the pay phone.

  He made a phone call.

  “Jackson police department, how may I direct your call,” a female officer answered.

  “Ah yes, I want to remain anonymous, but I saw on the Internet news were you found a retired FBI agent that was murdered in your city,” Billy replied and tried to disguise is voice.

  “Yes we did. Do you have any information pertaining to the case?”

  “All I know is, I was in a bar last night in Daytona Beach, Florida. And this old man was drunk. He said his name was Sam Woods. He bragged how he shot some homo up in a park in Jackson, Mississippi the other day,” Billy replied in his disguised voice then hung up the phone.

  He walked back to his car with a smirk.

  Back in the detectives area of the Jackson police department. Detective Salt worked at his desk. A female officer brought him the information Billy provided.

  Two hours later, Sam’s flight took off from Los Angeles and headed back to Orlando.

  Chapter 26

  Sam’s flight landed at the Orlando International airport without any delays. In fact, they had a bit of a tail wind and landed a little sooner.

  Later, Sam drove his car out of the airport. He glanced down at his watch while he headed west on the Beachline. “I have plenty of time.”

  Thirty minutes later in Kissimmee, Becky was in the kitchen and started dinner. Marty was out with Michael and Nancy and was expected to be home in about twenty minutes.

  The doorbell rang.

  “Coming,” Becky yelled from the kitchen.

  She walked through the living room to the front door. She opened it and looked upset when she saw Sam outside.

  “How did you find my house?” she asked.

  “A little detective work. I used the white pages on the Internet,” he said while he held up her address he printed out from the hotel printer.

  “What do you want? I’m busy,” Becky said irriated.

  “I visited your Uncle Billy and his ex-wife.”

  Becky looked a little pissed. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Investigating and to be honest, with the things I uncovered so far, Billy very well could be the October Slayer. Therefore, I really need to know what you can tell me about him.”

  Becky thought about Sam’s offer really hard. All she wanted to do was to forget about her Uncle. “Please come inside,” Becky said with a pleasant tone.

  Sam entered and she closed the door.

  Becky walked Sam to the couch and they sat down.

  “What can you tell me about your Uncle?”

  Becky stared at Sam, as this was something she didn’t want to talk about. It haunted her as a child. Her hands trembled while part of that memory resurfaced.

  Sam sensed something bad happened in the past by the sign of her trembling hands.

  Becky hesitated on telling Sam, but after a few seconds, she decided to get it out. “My Uncle Billy molested me when I was younger. It's not something I've talked about for years, but given the case you're building,” Becky said while her eyes welled up.

  “I’m so sorry to hear about that,” Sam replied with a comforting tone feeling sorry for her.

  “It happened one night at our house in Columbus, Georgia when I was fourteen years old. Uncle Billy came down from Mississippi and spent the weekend. He was going somewhere with father and I believe it was another one of their fishing trips. So late one night, Uncle Billy entered my room when everyone was asleep in the room,” she said while her eyes welled up. “I woke up when I felt his hand sliding down my stomach and crept into my panties. He played with my private part,” she said and wiped away some tears.

  “Oh my God!” Sam said and his hatred for Billy increased ten fold.

  “I screamed then punched him in his nose. Then I quickly jumped up and kicked him in his mouth,” Becky replied with a smile, as that memory was satisfying.

  “If my brother did that to my daughter, I would have kicked his ass for a week.”

  “Well my dad didn’t to that. He just yelled at Uncle Billy and told him to never touch me again.”

  “What? Why?” Sam said, as he couldn’t understand why a father would be so easy. Then he thought about the information he heard about the two brothers. “I understand. I heard those two were extremely tight and pr
otective of each other.”

  “Well my mom was at least a little tougher on Uncle Billy. She demanded he never see me again or come within one mile from me or she was going to the police. It took a while, but Dad reluctantly agreed.”

  “The bastard got away easy that time. Just like he did those other times.”

  Becky looked curious with his comment.

  “I found out he raped two black girls back in sixty-one and framed someone to take the rap. You’re father’s book told that story.”

  “Oh my God! He’s scum or lower than scum,” Becky replied with a disgusted look.

  “I talked to one of the family that refused to allow their daughter to lie in court to frame the man. And I also talked with the man who was sent to jail. He’s now out and his life was ruined by Billy.”

  “He needs to sit in jail for the rest of his life,” Becky said.

  “That’s what I’m trying to do, but I need more concrete evidence that would identify him as the killer”.

  “I haven’t seen Uncle Billy for years until just before dad died. He started bugging me to search his house.”

  “Do you know what he’s looking for?” Sam asked as this really peaked his interest.

  “I don’t have a clue,” Becky said.

  Marty entered the living room with Nancy and Michael.

  Sam stood up when he saw Marty.

  “We have a guest,” Marty said while he walked over.

  “I’m Marty,” he said while he stuck out his hand.

  “Sam Woods,” he replied then shook Marty’s hand.

  Marty sat down on the lazy boy chair.

  “Sam’s that retired FBI agent that came over to dad’s house. He wanted to talk with dad and go through his computer,” she told Marty.

  “Ah, yes, about his A Killer’s Tale book,” Marty said.

  Becky looked at Nancy and Michael and didn’t want them to hear their discussions. “Why don’t you two go play some video games?”