MORNING AFTER

The alarm rang at five-forty A.M. in the bedroom of Judy Dykton; she was determined to get in some final licks for the neurology exam. She switched off the fan that had been working overtime against the summer heat and heard a noise that sounded like the whimpering of an animal, but paid no attention.

She walked to the basement of the town house, took some clothes that had been drying overnight, and returned upstairs. Again she heard a sound, and this time it was more distinct, like a little child crying or calling out. She opened a blind and looked out and saw a woman standing across the street, looking up at 2319, toward the crying voice. Opening the window, Judy could now clearly hear Cora’s cry:

“Oh, my God, they are all dead!”

Cover photos of the nurses are (top, from left) Mary Ann Jordan, Nina Schmale, Patricia Matusek, Valentina Pasion, and (bottom, from left) Gloria Jean Davy, Suzanne Farris, Merlita Gargullo, and Pamela Wilkening.

“Fast-paced detective work and high drama in the courtroom combine to make The Crime of the Century a first-rate thriller.”

—James R. Thompson, governor of Illinois 1977–1991