Sticks and Stones
Page 30
Something caught in Leah’s throat, and she had to cough quietly to clear it.
Abe stirred. His eyes opened half-mast.
Leah came over and knelt by his bed, gently rubbing the side of his face, his hair falling between her fingers. “You okay?” she asked. “How was your Fourth?”
“It was good,” he said.
Leah gave a sad smile. “Did you eat a lot?”
In a tired voice, he replied, “Yeah. Three whole burgers.”
“Three whole burgers? Holy cow.”
Abe gave her a small smile. “The fireworks were nice.”
She continued running her fingers through his blond hair. “That’s good, honey. I’m glad you had fun.”
He didn’t answer, just looked into her eyes, his lips forming a straight line.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
When he didn’t reply, she knew there was.
“What is it, my little soldier?” she asked.
“No, I’m not your little soldier,” he said. “That’s what Uncle Henry calls me.”
Leah smiled. “Okay, you’re my little man, then. What’s wrong?”
He brought his right hand out from under his cheek and rubbed his nose. “Where were you today?”
“I had an emergency at work.”
“What kind of emergency?”
She hesitated, again wondering how to explain something like today to a thirteen-year-old. She couldn’t. Instead she shook her head and said, “Just police stuff.”
“Stickman stuff?” Abe’s eyes were now fully open. He rubbed sleep from them.
“Shh,” Leah said. “It’s too late to talk. I just wanted to say good night.”
“Is Dan still here?”
Leah’s brow furrowed as she wondered where this question came from. “Yeah, he’s in the living room.”
“What’s he doin’?”
“I don’t know. Sleeping, probably. He sleeps on the sofa.” As she said this, it sounded like she was reinforcing that fact more for herself than him. “Sometimes he stays up late, working.”
“I know,” Abe said.
“You know what?”
“When he’s up. I hear him. He’s pretty loud. And he snores.”
A big smile came across Leah’s face. “He is loud, I agree.” Then, without giving it any thought, she asked, “Do you like him?”
Abe’s eyes searched hers for a heartbeat before answering. When he did, it wasn’t an answer she expected. “Do you?” he asked.
“Yeah . . . you know? I think I do.”
Abe gave her a small smile. “Then I do, too.” But Leah got the distinct impression there was something beneath his smile.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “Just because I do, doesn’t mean you have to.”
He thought this over. “No, he’s fine. He’s nice. Kind of dorky, but nice.”
Leah laughed. “He is. Both. Dorky and nice.”
Abe yawned.
“You should go back to sleep,” Leah told him. “It’s been a long day.”
Something seemed to be weighing on him. “Mom?” he asked.
“Yeah?”
He seemed to search his mind for how to form his next thought. “Some folk are sayin’ Grandpa Joe killed an innocent man. Did he?”
Leah sighed. This wasn’t the conversation she wanted to have tonight. “What folks are sayin’ that, honey?”
There was something in his eyes. Leah felt like he wasn’t being entirely truthful. “Some kids me and Dewey ride the bus with,” he answered. “We saw them today on Main Street and they said it. Is it true?”
Leah took a deep breath and tried to collect her thoughts. “Your grandpa killed a man who was threatening him with a gun.”
“So he’s not a murderer?”
These words echoed in Leah’s mind. “No, your grandpa is not a murderer.”
“Then why are folks sayin’ he is?”
“On account of they read too many damn newspapers.”
“But he thought he killed the Stickman, right?”
She took another big breath. “Yes, honey, he did.”
“And was it the Stickman?”
Her fingers slid down the side of his face to his neck. Something caught in her throat. “I don’t really know, to be perfectly honest. It’s what I’m tryin’ to find out.”
“Why would he shoot someone he wasn’t sure was the Stickman, though?”
She paused to think. “Because, honey, when you’re a police officer you have to make decisions. Sometimes those decisions have to be made fast and you don’t necessarily always make the right decisions.” And, she thought, there are some mistakes there’s just no fixing once they’re made. You can’t always come back.
“So Grandpa Joe made a mistake?”
She pulled his sheet up to his chin. “Your grandpa thought his life was in danger. He did what he had to do. I think that’s enough questions about this tonight, okay?”
He gave her a small smile. “Okay.”
Leah pushed his nose gently with her index finger. “Want to know something?”
“What?”
“I love you so much,” she said.
Abe smiled a sleepy little smile. “I love you, too, Mom. Good night.” He yawned again.
“Night, night, my little man,” she whispered and stood. She walked out of the room, pausing in the doorway to look back at him lying there in the glow of the starlight, his palms once again pressed together beneath his cheek. His eyes were closed and she could tell he’d already fallen back to sleep.
With another sad smile, she thought of Samantha Hughes and how, in just the course of a day and a half, her life and the life of her family had completely changed. There was no coming back from it. She thought about what it would be like if Abe lost her, or if she lost him, but she had to bat it away. They were crazy thoughts that only led to one place, a hellish and dark place.
From where Abe lay, Leah heard quiet snores. She took a mental snapshot of him lying there, partially lit by the light of the night outside, shadows falling softly from the edge of his face and hands. He looked so peaceful. So happy. She hoped nothing would ever take that away. But she knew that was impossible. The world constantly undermined happiness, as though it was its greatest mandate.
The broken body of Samantha Hughes materialized in her head like it had been doing all day since Leah found her. If she was honest with herself, the vision terrified her. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself much longer if she didn’t stop the Stickman. Too much blood was being spilled, blood that she thought fell on her own hands. It was her duty to stop all the madness, not Chris’s and certainly not Ethan’s.
So a war between responsibility and action raged inside of Leah. She felt powerless to stop it. It would continue as long as the Stickman kept taking lives, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Abe rolled over onto his back, still asleep, and she watched him, trying to remember back when she was young and the world felt safe and secure.
She couldn’t do it. Too many times, the world had come up against her, its wickedness and its wiliness. Trying to outsmart her. Trying to win.
For now, she’d managed to hold it off, but could she continue doing so? Sooner or later, the world had to win. And on that day, Leah knew she would lose all her faith.
Right now, though, she tried to replace these thoughts with the image of her little boy asleep in his bed with a puddle of drool on the pillow beside his head. She hoped, unlike her, that he would remember this time in his life, a time he felt completely secure and at peace.
He was her little man.
He’s not just my little man, she thought, he’s more than that.
He’s my little angel.
CHAPTER 38
The day after Samantha Hughes’s death, Leah managed to arrive early to the station. She kept glancing up at the framed article about her in the Examiner, thinking how misrepresented she’d been. The story made her out to be a gr
eat detective, but the reality was, she wasn’t great. If she was great, she would’ve already stopped the Stickman. If she was great, Samantha Hughes would still be alive.
If she was great, she wouldn’t have so much blood on her hands that, like the bloody hands of Lady Macbeth, would not come clean simply by submitting to a wash of soap and water.
She had slept poorly last night. Haunted by nightmares, flashes of which she remembered went way back to the time when she got that call from Bob Garner, showing up only to find the limp and lifeless body of Ruby Mae Vickers tossed in the soil around the base of that willow tree. That vision she knew all too well. It haunted her sleep often, only this time the dream had changed. It now incorporated the busted body of Samantha Hughes, naked from the waist up, spiked on the bank of the Anikawa in that horrible inverse-fetal position. Leah had heard those car doors literally moments too late to make it on time.
In her dream, she had chased after the vehicle squealing away in that cloud of dust. And, although she ran faster than she ever did before, she could never get close enough to see it. Always, that cloud of dust lingered before her. She breathed it in and began to choke. Then, involuntarily, she fell on her knees, gasping for air, her chest and throat screaming out to her as the vehicle tore away, never once giving her a glimpse of it. In the dream, she never got that close to the killer again.
What followed that was by far the worst part of the nightmare, when the spiked body of Samantha Hughes began shrieking with the voice of a demon, asking Leah why she had to die, asking Leah to loosen the rope binding her wrists and ankles, asking Leah to pull the stake from her chest.
But as much as Leah tried, the dream would not let her walk any closer to Samantha Hughes’s howling body. It was as though an invisible barricade lay between them. It seemed like she tried forever until, eventually, the body of Samantha Hughes wailed one last time before a white film formed over her eyes and her ribs and femurs tore through her skin. The skin on her face stretched and tore, revealing the hollow sockets of her eyes and the eternal grin of her skull.
Leah shivered. The life force of Samantha Hughes had been ripped away, taken to the place where the innocent prey of evil must go.
Forced to do nothing but watch, in her dream Leah screamed out helplessly. “I’m sorry,” she screamed repeatedly. “I’m so sorry.”
Then she had called out for her ma to come save her.
Sitting at her desk now, Leah took three deep breaths and tried to forget the nightmare. It wasn’t easy. It had been so terrible and vivid that, even as she woke up to the buzzing of her clock radio, it took her some time to calm down and realize it wasn’t real.
She needed to distract herself, so she decided that since she’d been through all the Stickman files by now, her next step was to create a timeline of events. She hoped that might reveal something she hadn’t yet seen.
Turning to a new page in her legal pad, she started going through the stack of files again, only this time only looking at what she thought might be relevant to her investigation.
She still wasn’t sure about the four starred jobs in Harry’s maintenance record. Because she was looking at a Xerox, the asterisks could’ve been in the original file, or they could’ve been added by her pa. They didn’t look exactly the same as the ones her pa had made in the hospital list, but Leah was by no means a handwriting analyst. She decided to include those particular jobs in her timeline and hope that their importance, if any, would come to light in the near future.
STICKMAN CASE TIMELINE
Feb 20, 1959—Harry Caught B&E: Gets One Year Probation May 20, 1959—Harry Breaks Probation (Another B&E)
• Sentenced to Mobile County Youth Correctional Institution for One Year
Aug 10, 1964—Harry Is Drafted
• Harry Stork, 21, drafted into service in Vietnam. Brother, Tommy, 4-F because of accident.
Nov 30, 1965—Tommy moves to Noah Stork’s house
• (From notes) Noah not exactly comfortable with situation.
Apr 3, 1966–Apr 24, 1966—Tommy Hospitalized
• (From medical) Admitted to Grell Memorial. Previously diagnosed schizophrenic.
Jan 15, 1967–Feb 7, 1967—Tommy Hospitalized (again)
• (From medical) Admitted to East Point Hospital in Daphne. Medication adjusted.
Jul 6, 1967—Harry Comes Home
• Honorable discharge due to mental conditions affecting ability to perform duties.
• Notes from interview with Noah Stork
• Noah claims Harry was fine until being drafted. Suspects PTSD.
Nov 1, 1967—Harry starts Stork Sanitation and Waste Removal
(SSWR)
• Company incorporated under Noah’s name.
Leah circled this last point and drew an arrow to it with the note: Why?
Nov 1967—SSWR signs contract with Springhill Memorial Hospital
Dec 1967—SSWR signs contract with Searcy Hospital in Mount Vernon
Sept 2, 1971–Sept 16, 1971—Tommy Hospitalized
• (From medical) Tommy hospitalized at East Point. Medication adjusted.
Feb 1972—SSWR signs contract with Providence Hospital in Mobile
Mar 1972—SSWR signs contract U of SAl Children’s and Women’s
Dec 30, 1972–Jan 13, 1973—Tommy Hospitalized
• Tommy hospitalized again at East Point.
Jan 16, 1973—Death of Sally-Anne Stork
• Sally-Anne suicide by barbiturates. Tommy Stork finds mother’s body.
Jan 30, 1973—Stickman Victim #1: Waylon Ferris
• Black male, unemployed, body found under Finley’s Crossing, Alvin
• Tire marks @ scene indicate vehicle w/ 132.9-inch wheelbase and 16.5-inch tires.
Mar 20, 1973 (Tuesday)—Victim #2: Veda Gamble
• White female, waitress, body found in Cherry Park Forest, Alvin.
Apr 24, 1973 (Tuesday)—Victim #3: Lafayette Eagan
• White male, notary public, body found in a field out on First Road
• Tire marks @ scene match those found @ scene of vic 1. In report, Fowler writes note: Harry Stork?
May 6, 1973–May 27, 1973—Stanley Bishop @ Grell: Claims to have met Stickman
Oct 11, 1973—Harry does work for Providence Hospital, Mobile, AL
Oct 17, 1973—Victim #4: Maggie Ledbetter
• White female, RN @ Providence Hospital in Mobile, body found beside Old Mill River, Alvin
Oct 18, 1973—Thomas Kennedy Bradshaw (TKB) claims to be Stickman
• Alvin Police determine it’s a false claim. TKB is sent home.
Oct 22, 1973—Fowler Organizes Task Force
• Consists of 6 officers and detectives.
Dec 6, 1973—Harry does work for Providence Hospital,
Mobile, AL
Dec 10, 1973—Victim #5: Travis Moyer
• Black male, Anesthetist @ Providence, body found in field of Shearer’s Cotton Farm, Alvin
• Shoe marks @ scene indicative of a men’s size seven Nike Blazer
• Front tire marks indicate vehicle with 117-inch wheelbase and 14-inch tires
• ME finds bullet in victim’s skull. Probable weapon: .38 cal. S&W Victory
Dec 10, 1973—Witness: Gerard Buchowitz
• Claims to have seen yellow car, possibly AMC Rambler @ scene of vic 5. Forensics state wheelbase and tire evidence does not match Rambler.
Dec 11, 1973—Fowler’s Task Force grows to 9
Jan 16, 1974—Victim #6: Geneva Wade
• Black woman, technician @ Grell, body found in Beemer’s Bog. Evidence indicates she was staked on edge of bog before wild animals pulled her in.
Jan 17, 1974—Fowler’s Task Force grows to 12
Jan 17, 1974—TKB again comes forward claiming to be Stickman
• Again, police determine claim is false. Sent to Grell for examination.
Jan 19, 1974—Someone on task force leaks stake and stickman drawings to media
Apr 6, 1974—Victim #7: Forrest Ingram
• White male, RN @ Grell, body found behind Full Gospel, Alvin
Apr 7, 1974—Witnesses: Tara-Lee Norton & John Donner
• Both report seeing yellow car on road in front of Full Gospel. Donner gives partial plate. DMV search indicates potential match to vehicle registered to Stanley Bishop. Vehicle congruent with wheelbase and tire marks found @ scene of vic 5. Bishop interviewed, but witnesses support his alibi.
May 1974—SSWR signs contract with Mercy Medical in Daphne, AL
May 27, 1974—Harry works for Searcy Hospital, Mount Vernon, AL
May 29, 1974—Victim #8: Warrick Quackenbush
• Black male, ultrasound technician @ Searcy Hospital, body found in Willet Park
• 14-inch tire mark on roadside congruent with those found @ scene of vic 5. Fowler made note: Bishop?
May 30, 1974—Witness: Bodie Applewhite
• Claims he saw Tommy Stork @ scene. Vague when asked how he knew T.S. Claims he saw Stork 8 days earlier & Stork was acting “weird.”
June 2, 1974—T.S. Interview
• Strident brings Stork in. Stork denies involvement, but nobody to back up alibi. Stork claims he and Applewhite have long-standing contention from way back to bar fight.
• Fowler circles Stork’s name on statement & writes: Doesn’t fit the profile.
June 12, 1974—Harry works for Mercy Medical, Daphne, AL
June 16, 1974—Victim #9: Lola Reid
• White female, student nurse @ Mercy Medical in Daphne, body found in woods beside Tucker Mountain Pass, just outside of Alvin
• ME finds round in skull matching one removed from vic 5. Same gun.
June 18, 1974—Break-in at Alvin Police Station. All Stickman case files stolen.
• Blood found at scene different type than the Storks.