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Saturday, October 24, 2009 - 2:32 PM
On my way to Bill's house, I got lost for about an hour, but
finally found the street and soon rolled up his driveway, pulling into
a parking spot near a set of horse barns. The house was quite
beautiful, nicely built, rustic, country. A blend of aromas hit me as
soon as I opened my car door: pine trees and horseshit. As
I stood for a moment, collecting my coat and brief case, I couldn't
help but recall a trip I had taken for the same book a few months
before this. It had been a bit longer of a ride, but in the same
general region of the state. A woman had called me after receiving a
letter I had written her asking for an interview. She was the wife of
one of Gary Evans's victims. As we spoke on the phone, she cried. I
felt bad. Talking to victims' family members is rough business. You're
pillaging their memories, asking them to open up a portion of their
lives they may not have thought about for years—and may not want to. Anyway,
this woman, through tears, agreed to speak to me. But again, "I will
only do it in person. I have photos of 'my Timmy,' " she said (the
victim's name was Timothy), and she wanted to share them with me.
"Please come up here." Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Knocking at her door after a
long, tiring trip, this old man, very frail, with wrinkled, leathery
skin, like a baked potato, greeted me. Honestly speaking, the movie Cocoon
came to mind while I was looking at this man. He was wearing black
slacks, a button-up dress shirt, and, strangely enough, tan socks, no
shoes. I thought, He belongs in Florida in line at some early bird special. This is strange.
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