Confession (31 page)

He looked at the drawers and opened one.

In the kitchen, Bo still talked on the phone.  “He’s thinking you’re the killer,” Bo quietly said while he kept an eye on the entrance to the kitchen.

“Shit!” Billy yelled from the phone.

In the living room, Sam found a photo album in one of the drawers.  He opened it up and flipped through the pages.  He found some pages of old pictures of Bo and Billy fishing in a lake from a boat.

Sam quickly placed the album back and walked out of the kitchen.

“What do you want me to do?” Bo quietly asked.

“Where's the bathroom?” Sam asked from the kitchen doorway.  Bo got startled and he jumped a little with a little scream.

“There's one down the hall to the left,” Bo replied while he looked nervous.

“Where is he now?” Billy asked while Bo saw Sam standing in his kitchen doorway. 

“Answer me dumbass,” Billy yelled from the phone.

Bo stared at Sam who stared back.  It was a nervous moment for Bo and he didn’t know what to do.  “Thanks,” Sam finally spoke and walked away.

“Dip shit, are you there?” Billy yelled from the phone.

“Yes, he was in the kitchen,” Bo quietly responded.

“That bastard.  He came to my dealership earlier and pretended to be that FBI character in Allan’s book,” Billy replied from the phone.

“I struck a deal with Sam.”

“What the hell do you mean you struck a deal with him?” Billy yelled out.

“I offered to work with him.”

“You what?” Billy screamed.

“Cool down.  This could work in your favor.”

“How the fuck can this work in my favor?” Billy yelled.

“I’ll be on the inside and can manipulate his investigation to throw him off you.  You know, send him on a wild goose chase that will lead nowhere.  Plus if he finds any evidence, I’ll give it to you.”

There was a moment of silence.  “I do need to get my hands on that wooden chest that Allan hid somewhere.  So, how much will this cost me?”

Bo thought for a few seconds.  “Well, I think fifty thousand dollars would be fair.  After all, he could accidently discover some other information about our past business arrangement,” Bo said with a smirk knowing he had Billy just where he wanted him for once in his life.

There was a moment of silence, and then Bo heard the toilet flush down the hall.  “Okay, we’ll meet tonight and I’ll have the money,” Billy said then there was a few seconds of silence.  “But if you fuck me over, I’ll make sure it’s known that you love fucking underage boys,” Billy threatened.

“Have I fucked you over for the past forty-three years?”

“No.”

“Good, I want my money tonight,” Bo demanded.

There was a few seconds of silence.  “Okay, we’ll meet at Hoo Hoo Park that’s north of Jackson at two in the morning.  You should be familiar with that place,” Billy said.

“Fucking funny,” Bo snapped back.

“It’s that place or the deal is off.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you at two,” Bo said then hung up the phone.

Bo left the kitchen and headed to the living room.

He got nervous when he didn’t see Sam.  He turned around just as he entered the room.

“Well, it’s getting late and I better get to my hotel room.”

Bo walked Sam to the front door.

“So, are we going to start first thing in the morning?” Bo asked and looked excited.

“Sure.  Meet me at eight in the morning at the Waffle House in front of my hotel.  It’s the Quality Inn off Moore’s Avenue.”

“Great.  But why don’t you quickly fill me in on the information you’ve uncovered so far.”

Sam thought for a few seconds.  “No, I’ll update you tomorrow morning.  You better be there by eight, as I have a long drive home and want to be on the road before nine.”

“Okay, eight in the morning,” Bo said then opened up the door for Sam.

He watched while Sam walked to his car in the driveway then he closed his door.

“I’ll squeeze more money out of Billy as things progress,” Bo sang while he did a victory dance around the living room.

Sam arrived at his hotel room, and got ready for bed.  He just got under the covers when his cell phone rang.

“Sam Woods,” he answered.

“Mister Woods, I’m Wendy Graham.  An old friend of mine Pam Woods called me.  She told me about your interest with Billy my ex-husband.   Well, if you want to talk, I live in Los Angeles,” Wendy responded from Sam’s cell phone.

“Wendy.  I’m so glad you called.  I would love to talk with you about Billy.  I can come to Los Angeles whenever you like.  The sooner the better.”

“How about the day after tomorrow?  I’m going to
New York with my husband after that day
for a week.”

“Perfect,” Sam said.

“Call me with your flight information and I’ll arrange for someone to pick you up.  Then we’ll meet,” Wendy said.

“I will and thanks Wendy,” Sam replied.

“We’ll talk later,” Wendy said then disconnected her end of the call.

Sam did a little victory dance then remembered his deal with Bo.  Sam thought for a few seconds.  Sam decided to tell Bo that they’ll start together in a few days.

Sam closed his eyes.  His eyes opened in a panic when he forgot something.   He quickly made another phone call on his cell phone.

“It’s late Sam, why are you calling?” Cindy answered a little groggy as he woke her up.

“Listen honey, I have to fly out to Los Angeles,” Sam said.

“Where are you now?”

“I’m in Jackson, Mississippi.”

“When are you going out there?”

“I’ll drive down to Daytona, get a change of clothes then head to the Orlando airport.  So the day after tomorrow.”

“Kristen’s play is in a few days.”

“I know, I’ll make it there in time.”

“I think you’ll be cutting it too close.”

“Don’t worry.  I’ll make it, I promise.”

“You better,” Cindy replied
irritated
.  She disconnected her end of the call.

He got ready for bed and was asleep in ten minutes.

Meanwhile, in Kissimmee, Florida, Becky fell asleep watching old home videos with Allan.  Marty was halfway through reading Allan’s book for the second time.

I
t was
two in the morning
and dark in Hoo
Hoo
Park.  The parking lot was empty except for Bo.  He waited in his Impala for Billy to show up with his money.

Car headlights shone inside from his rear window.  Bo smiled knowing it was Billy.

Billy parked his brown Malibu next to Bo’s Impala.  He got out and rushed over to Bo’s car.  He sat in the passenger seat.

“Why can't that jerk leave things alone?”  Billy immediately blurted out when he sat down.  “Are you sure you didn't tell Woods anything?”

“I didn’t.  You can trust me.  He doesn't have a clue of our connection.  Like I said earlier, with me helping, he’ll never learn the truth.  I’ll have him chasing his tail to where he’ll get tired and quit,” Bo said with a tone of confidence.

“Okay, let me get your money out of my car,” Billy said then opened the door and got out.

Bo looked excited while he watched Billy rush over to the passenger door of his car.

Billy hid both his hands behind his back while he rushed back to Bo’s car.   He stood by Bo’s driver’s door.  He motioned him to roll down his window.

Bo rolled down his window and was really looking forward to all that cash. 
I’ll get a really nice escort.
  Bo thought to himself while he licked his lips in anticipation of a hot brunette with jumbo jiggly breasts.

Billy tossed a gay nudie magazine into Bo’s lap with his left hand in a latex glove. 

Bo picked up the magazine and looked at the cover.  He looked confused for a second.

“Here’s your payment,” Billy said the second his right hand in a latex glove appeared with a Glock with silencer.   This pistol was never registered to Billy.  He bought it from an old KKK member, ten years ago, who was in dire need of some cash.

Bo looked expecting an envelope full of cash.  By the time Bo realized Billy had a pistol aimed at his head, it was too late.  The bullet penetrated his forehead.  Blood and brains splattered the inside of his car.  Bo’s dead body slumped over the console.

Billy removed his hanky from his pocket and carefully opened up the driver’s door.  “Sorry Bo, I can’t take any chances with a dumb ass helping Woods,” he said.  He unbuckled Bo’s belt, unzipped his pants then lowered
them down to his ankles. 

H
e removed Bo’s wallet, and he rushed back to his Malibu. 

He got inside his car and drove away.

While Billy drove out of the Park, he didn’t notice the two individuals hidden in the shadows of the dark woods.  They saw the whole episode.

He drove off and headed north back to Curtis.

Later that night, Billy got home.  He hid the Glock and Bo’s wallet under his spare tire. 

He rushed inside his house.

Billy rushed to his computer in his den, and he powered it up.  When it was ready, he immediately opened up a Word file and started typing.

Sam rose up at seven that morning
and checked out of his hotel. 

He had breakfast at the Waffle House at 8:00 and waited for Bo. 

Nine that morning
rolled around and Bo never showed up.  Sam left.  He was disappointed but was kind of glad, since he wanted to work alone.

He hit the road and headed south down Interstate I-55 with his usual five miles over the speed limit.

Meanwhile, Billy also rose up early after getting a few hours of sleep.  He packed some clothes in a suitcase.  After that, he called his office.  He told them he was staying home for a few days and didn’t want to be disturbed.

He left his house with his suitcase.

On his way south, Billy stopped off and dropped a letter in a mailbox in Jackson.

He got back in his car and headed south.

Later that day, Billy headed south on I-95.  He normally speeds, but this time he was a poster child for safe driving and kept it five miles over the speed limit.

Later that afternoon, Sam drove south down I-95.  He didn’t realize that Billy was a few miles behind him in the Malibu.

“I’m at greater risk with being killed on America’s Interstate than chasing killers,” Sam said while numerous cars whizzed past him twenty miles over the speed limit.

Sam didn’t realize that Billy was only a few car lengths behind his car.  Billy was on the hunt and Sam was his prey.

Later that evening, Sam pulled into the driveway of his house.  The garage door opened.  Sam pulled into the garage then the door closed.

Billy pulled his Malibu across and street.  He saw the lights turn on inside Sam’s house. 

He drove away happy.

Inside Sam’s house, he immediately got on his computer and made reservations for a direct flight from Orlando to Los Angeles.  He was lucky with reserving a seat for a flight first thing in the morning.  He then called Wendy and gave her the information.

Sam got ready for bed and was soon fast asleep.

Elsewhere in Daytona, Billy parked his car in a Wal-Mart parking lot.  He crawled in the backseat with a blanket and went to sleep.

Sam rose up early in the morning and packed an overnight bag for this short trip to Los Angeles. 

Billy also rose up early and was waiting in his Malibu down the street from Sam’s house.

Sam drove south on Interstate I-95. 

An hour later, he headed west on 528, the Beachline, to get to the Orlando International airport.  While Sam drove down the Beachline, he made a call to Cindy to let her know he was heading to the airport.  It was a short call since Cindy wasn’t interested in talking.   Sam knew he would ha
ve to make it up to her somehow and it would have to be the trip to North Carolina.

Billy trailed Sam’s car down the Beachline.

Sam drove down the airport roads and headed to the parking lot.  Billy trailed Sam’s car.

A little while later, Billy drove back out of the airport when he realized Sam was flying off to somewhere. 

“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 Alla
n 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.