Halloween, 1993
“Get up, boss,” Jed shouted, shaking Booger.
“Stop shaking me, damn it. My head hurts like hell, and shaking me doesn’t help.”
“What happened to you, boss? The back of your head is bleeding,” Jed said.
Booger was dazed and disoriented. His head was pounding. “Somebody hit me,” he said. That’s when he felt the heat and saw the flames. A trailer fifty feet in front of him was completely engulfed in flames.
“Shit, call the fire department.”
“Already done, boss. They should be here any time now.”
It doesn’t matter now, Booger thought. Trailers burn fast, and this one was completely engulfed in fire.
“Was anyone inside?” Booger asked.
“No, I don’t think so. I saw several people crowded around it when I first arrived. They said everyone got out.”
“Where’s Earl?”
“He ran around to the back of the trailer. There was a hose back there. I think he was trying to put the fire out.”
A few minutes later, a fire truck arrived. But all they could do was finish off the flames. The trailer was completely destroyed.
Bryan Fischer stood in the crowd of carnival workers gathered outside the trailer. When Booger spotted him, he approached to gather some information.
“Mr. Fischer, do you know if anyone was inside when the fire broke out?”
“No, Detective. I don’t. But I know everyone has been accounted for, so no one was hurt, thank God.”
“Whose trailer is this?” Booger asked.
“It’s the newbie’s trailer,” he said. “Those damn transients. One of them was probably smoking in their bed. I’ve warned them about that several times.”
“I don’t suppose one of those newbies clobbered me on the back of the head just before the fire started?” Booger said with a stern look on his face.
“What are you talking about, detective?”
“I found an exit underneath the floor of the haunted house. I followed it into a drainpipe, and someone struck me on the back of my head as I came out. I don’t suppose you know who that person was, do you?”
“No, I haven’t any idea. I didn’t know there was an exit underneath the floor,” Bryan Fischer said. “but I’m not surprised. The workers that put together the haunted house often build a drainage tunnel underneath so they can hose down the haunted house every so often and run the water off through the tunnel.”
“Yeah, and I think that’s how whoever took Abby Wilkinson got her out of the haunted house.”
“Now, wait a second, Detective. Are you accusing one of my carnival workers of abducting the little girl?”
“Damn, you’re smarter than you look, Mr. Fischer. Damn right, I think one of your workers abducted the girl, and I’m sure as hell going to find out who it was, and if you ever want to open this carnival up again, you better hope that I do.”
Booger was a tough son of a bitch. If she was alive, he would find Abby Wilkinson and bring her back to her family and bring her abductor(s) to justice. And, if she was dead, he would bring her remains back to her family for burial.
Every instinct he had told him that, more than likely, one of the transients that worked in the haunted house abducted the girl. He would start with them.
“Mr. Fischer, are all your employees that worked in the haunted house accounted for? You haven’t had any of your employees disappear, have you?
“No, Detective, no one has gone missing. Everyone is here.”
“Good. I want you to provide a list of every one of them to me. Also, I want to interview each of them right now. Can you gather all of them?”
“Yes, Detective. But your officers have already talked to each of them.”
“Yeah, well, I want to talk to all of them.”
“OK, we had ten people that worked at the haunted house tonight. I’ll get them for you.”
“Also, I want a list of the people that built the haunted house and put the tunnel in underneath,” Booger said.
“That’s going to be difficult, Detective.” Bryan Fischer said. “Willard Conroe is in charge of building and tearing down the haunted house, and he’s not here.”
“Where is he?”
“Willard is an ex-con. At the beginning of every month, he has to check in with his parole officer in St. Louis. He left yesterday. He’s not expected to come back for several days. He has family in St. Louis, so he normally stays with them for several days when he’s up there.”
“So, he wasn’t here when the Wilkinson girl disappeared?”
“No, Detective. Like I said, he left yesterday.”
“OK, then I’d like to talk to the people who helped him with construction.”
“We’ll two of them are available. Jim Latham and Barney Jacobs were part of his crew. They are also two of the ten people that worked the haunted house tonight. The others on Willard’s crew were newbies, temporary help he hired. I don’t know their names. I don’t even think any of them are working here anymore.”
“Mr. Fischer, don’t you keep track of the people that work here?”
“Just the ones that stay on, the ones that are permanent. The carnival needs a lot of extra help when we set and tear down. We hire just about everyone that comes looking for a job. We don’t have them fill out an application. Hell, most of the time, we don’t even know their name. We pay them cash for an honest day’s work. We don’t ask questions.”
Booger interviewed each of the ten people who worked the haunted house that night, taking notes of their jobs that night and their activities. He paid particular attention to the employees that worked in the general area where Abby Wilkinson was last seen. He took down their social security numbers and any information he could cross reference with the criminal database. He had Jed and Earl take fingerprints. Three workers refused to allow fingerprints. He noted those three individuals.
He watched the body language of each of the people he interviewed. There were four workers that seemed nervous. Their body language was suspicious. Three of them were the ones that refused to be fingerprinted. All three had worked the area near the exit, closest to where Abby was last seen. The fourth was a slow-witted, elderly man with long, shaggy, gray hair. His name was Charlie Baker. He didn’t have a social security card, a driver’s license or any formal identification. Charlie Baker worked at the entrance to the haunted house, taking tickets and letting people in. He carried a walkie-talkie communicating with an employee at the exit that would tell him when people left the haunted house so Charlie could allow a new group to enter.
Charlie’s hands shook in the interview. He seemed to take longer than normal to answer questions, as if he needed to think about how he was going to answer first. He was an old man of seventy-eight, he told Booger. He had lived on the streets for many years, taking odd jobs when he could and living in shelters when they were available. He had worked for the Fischer Brothers carnival for about six months. He was unemployed, living on the streets of Junction City, Kansas, when the carnival came to town. Someone from the carnival approached the only shelter in town and asked for anyone interested in temporary work. That’s how Charlie got hired to work for the carnival. He didn’t remember who approached him about the job. Charlie Baker was an occupant of the newbie’s trailer, the one that had just gone up in flames.
The three other employees that refused to be fingerprinted became high on Booger’s suspect list. The first was Barney Jacobs.
Barney was a young man. He gave his age as twenty-one, but Booger pegged him as closer to eighteen. He had no identification on him and said he’d been working for the carnival for only two weeks. He, like Charlie, was living on the streets when someone came to the Cape Girardeau shelter he was staying in and asked him if he wanted to work. Like Charlie, he said he didn’t remember who that person was and hadn’t seen him since.
“Barney?” Booger asked. “I understand you worked on the construction of the tunnel underneath the haunted house. Is that right?”
“Yeah, I remember. It took us two days to dig. There were about a dozen of us that worked on it. It was built for water drainage, I believe.”
“Did you know there was a door built into the floor of the haunted house that went down to it.?”
“No, I didn’t know that, but I guess it makes sense. The newbies hose down the haunted house a couple of times a week. They probably use it to drain off the water, dirt and debris from the floors.”
“Have you ever been down there since it was constructed?”
“No, Detective.”
Booger made a note that he thought Barney was lying. He avoided directly looking at Booger when he gave his answer. In all his years in law enforcement, there was one thing that was always certain. When someone doesn’t look you in the eyes, there is a good chance they are lying to you.
Barney Jacobs was a thin, handsome young man with dark blue eyes and thick, wavy brown hair. He was also a man that seemed overly confident, almost cocky. Booger could tell he thought he was smarter than some hick sheriff from a small town. He talked a lot and seemed smug with his answers. He had something he was hiding. Booger was certain of it.
Barney said he was one of the zombies that came out of the fog near the exit. He said that Charlie Baker sent people into the haunted house in groups of between six and twelve people at a time. Each group was about two to three minutes behind the group ahead of them. That way, the zombies and every other worker in costume would have time to scare one group before re-setting up to scare the next group. He confirmed, like Charlie had stated, that he was alerted by walkie-talkie when to send the next group in.
“Did you see the little girl?” Booger asked, giving a description of her. “She is only seven years old. She would have stood out.”
“No, I didn’t see anyone like that. But it was dark. We came out of the fog. I really couldn’t see anyone until I came right up to them, and I didn’t come up to anyone like her,” he said.
Again, Booger noted that the suspect’s eyes did not make direct contact with his. He was certain that Charlie Baker was either lying or not telling the complete truth.
The next interview was with Jim Latham. Booger had interviewed him earlier that day and had noted that his mannerisms indicated that he may have been lying. Now that he refused to be fingerprinted, Booger was convinced he was hiding something.
“Mr. Latham, how long have you worked at the carnival?”
“Three years, maybe a little longer. I forget.”
“How did you get hired?”
“I was unemployed, living in Conway, Arkansas. The carnival came through town, and they hired me.”
“Who hired you?”
“Damn, that’s been a long time. I forget now who it was.”
“So, you’ve been working in the haunted house the entire time?”
“No. Fact is, I just started working there two weeks ago.”
“What were you doing before that, Mr. Latham?”
“A little bit of this and that,” he said with a belligerent tone.
“Listen, you can answer my questions now, or we can take you down to the police station, lock you up for a couple of days and then ask you again.”
“OK, chief. We’ll do it your way. Like most carnies, I had a lot of jobs. I went wherever the bosses told me to go. I didn’t really have any particular job. They’d assign me somewhere, and I’d do that job.”
“Who assigned you?”
“Mr. Fischer, I guess. They’d post the work assignments every day, and I’d do whatever the work assignment for me was. Most of the time, it was maintenance. I’m pretty handy with my hands. If one of the rides broke down or there was something that needed fixing, I was one of the guys they’d come to. When they didn’t have enough work for me, I’d be assigned to work one of the rides usually.”
“So, what changed two weeks ago?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you said you started working the haunted house about two weeks ago. What changed that made Mr. Fischer decide to assign you to the haunted house?”
“I really don’t know.”
“Take a guess, Mr. Latham.”
“Well, I think they’ve had some turnover. A lot of guys don’t want to work the haunted house. They get scared and quit or run off.”
“Why do you think that is, Mr. Latham?”
“I really don’t know. Some think it’s a spooky place to work. Some think it’s haunted. Imagine that, a haunted house actually being haunted. Go figure,” he said with a laugh.
“What about you, Mr. Latham? Do you think it is haunted?”
“Hell, no. I don’t think it’s haunted. That’s probably why they assigned me to it. They knew that I wouldn’t get scared off. It’s all pretty stupid, really. A few rumors go around, and all of a sudden, everyone begins seeing and hearing stuff.”
“What kind of rumors?”
“I don’t know—crap about seeing ghosts and hearing strange noises. I never believed any of that garbage, and I tell you that in the two weeks I’ve been assigned to work there, I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary, and I sure as hell haven’t heard strange noises. It’s just a frick’n attraction. It’s supposed to scare people, but there’s nothing going on that isn’t supposed to happen.”
“What about the tunnel underneath the floor of the haunted house?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about, Detective.”
“Oh, come on, Mr. Latham. I know you helped build the tunnel.”
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. We built it for drainage, I believe. What about it?”
“Did you know there is a door in the floor of the haunted house near where the Wilkinson girl disappeared? The door leads directly into the tunnel.”
“No, I didn’t know about the door. All that I did was help build the tunnel. Mr. Conroe said it was necessary to drain the water when the haunted house was hosed down.”
“OK, Mr. Latham, suppose you tell me everything that you did tonight right up until now.”
“You and the other officers already asked me that earlier.”
“Well, I’m asking again. Tell me everything you remember from tonight.”
Jim Latham went over everything. For the most part, his story and the timeline of events matched with what he had told Booger earlier that night. However, two details were different from his original story. He had said earlier that day that there were four zombies assigned to that area. But that evening, he said three zombies were assigned to work that area. Booger asked for the names of the other men working as zombies that night.
“I don’t know,” he said. “We were dressed in costume. It was dark. I can’t be sure who they were. But you can check the work schedule. Everyone’s work assignment is posted just outside Mr. Fischer’s office each morning.”
The other detail that was different in Jim Latham’s second recollection of that night’s events concerned the first time he was made aware that someone was missing.
“I heard the music go off. Everything went quiet, and a few seconds later, Mr. Fischer got on the loud-speaker and asked everyone to exit. A few seconds later, the lights went on, and everyone began leaving.”
It was a small detail, but Booger noted that in his first story, Jim Latham said that the lights came on first, and then Mr. Fischer got on the loud-speaker.
After Jim Latham, Booger interviewed Kerry Johnson. He was the third person that refused to be fingerprinted. Kerry had worked the fog machine that night. He was the worker nearest the exit. He was a last-minute replacement, not normally assigned to work the haunted house, and, in addition, Booger had noted in his earlier interview that he appeared nervous. He was sweating profusely and had trouble making eye contact during the interview.
Kerry Johnson was an older man in his late sixties, a rather heavy set with a large pot belly, bald head with a distinct limp, a result of a bullet wound sustained when he was in Viet Nam.
“Mr. Johnson, I understand you were a last-minute substitute. What is your normal job in the carnival?”
“I do anything the bosses tell me to do as long as I can sit down to do it. I can’t walk much with this bum leg. So usually I’ll work the ticket booth, or one of the sideshows or maybe take tickets for one of the rides, wherever they need me when there’s a chair to sit to do the job.”
“How long have you been employed at the carnival?”
“Twenty-five years next Spring.”
“Damn, you’ve got to be one of their longest-term employees, Mr. Johnson.”
“No, not really. It’s a family carnival. Several of the family members have been here longer. But I must say that I’m certain that I’ve been here longer than anyone that’s not related to the Fischer boys, except maybe Mr. Brown.”
“Who is Mr. Brown?”
“Dudley Brown is a part owner. He’s the man that saved the carnival when it was having tough times years ago. You really don’t know who he is, Detective?”
“No, I’m afraid not.”
Kerry was more talkative than the others Booger had interviewed. He seemed more forthcoming.
Still, he seemed nervous. Booger noticed he was sweating. His shirt in the area of his armpits was wet. Also, it bothered Booger that he refused to be fingerprinted. He was hiding something. Booger was certain of it.
After interviewing Kerry Johnson, Booger met with Bryan Fischer. “Mr. Fischer, I have a few questions for you. I’d like to talk to your brother also. Could you get him for me?”
“I’m afraid Justin is under the weather, the flu, I believe. He took some medication earlier tonight, and he’s out cold.”
“We’ll I’ll still need to talk to him, Mr. Fischer. I will come back in the morning.”
“That’s fine, Detective, but I don’t think he’ll be of any help to you. He wasn’t working tonight. He was in his trailer all night. Like I said, he was under the weather.”
“Still, I’ll need to interview him. Mr. Fischer, I was wondering if you could clear up a few things for me?”
“I’ll try, Detective.”
“How did you first find out that a girl had disappeared from the haunted house?”
“Well, it was nearly closing time. I was making my rounds. I usually do that during the last hour the carnival is open just to see how things are going. I heard someone shout my name. I believe it was Charlie Baker, but I can’t be sure. The girl’s brother was outside. He was screaming. He was the one that said his sister was missing. That’s when I shut down the attraction, and we started looking for her.”
“Do you remember how you shut down the haunted house, Mr. Fischer?”
“I grabbed a blow horn from the emergency box at the exit of the attraction. Then I turned on the lights and announced that everyone needed to exit the attraction.”
“Are you sure that you turned on the lights before you made the announcement?”
“Yes, I’m sure. You don’t want to cause panic in the dark. It’s standard procedure to turn on the lights first and get everyone outside if any type of emergency occurs. Detective, why are you curious about the way we alerted people to exit the attraction?”
“Well, Mr. Fischer. There seems to be some discrepancy in the timeline of events. One of your workers that were present seemed to think the lights in the haunted house were still off when you made the announcement.”
“Whoever said that is mistaken, Detective. I assure you.”
“Also, Mr. Fischer, could you tell me how many zombies were working tonight?”
“I believe there were three. Sometimes we have four, but we were a person short tonight. Actually, we were two short, but Kerry Johnson filled in at the last minute.”
“Could you provide me a list of the two others that performed as zombies tonight?”
“Yes, I’ll try, Detective. I don’t have tonight’s work assignments, and the role of the zombies are usually played by newbies. I’ll see if I can get you that information.”
“Try hard, Mr. Fischer. I’ll need to interview everyone that was in that area tonight. One last question, Mr. Fischer. Can you tell me about Dudley Brown and his position in the business?”
“Detective, Mr. Brown is a silent partner. He invested in the business years earlier when we needed an influx of money to keep going. I assure you, though, he has nothing to do with the day-to-day activities of the carnival.”
“Where can I find Dudley Brown, Mr. Fischer? I would like to talk to him.”
“You’d be wasting your time, detective. Mr. Brown doesn’t have anything to do with the carnival except for assisting us with bookkeeping and future bookings. He rarely even comes out of his office.”
“Mr. Fischer, are you trying to dissuade me from talking to Mr. Brown?”
“No, Detective. I just think you would be wasting your time.”
“Let me be the judge of that. Can you please take me to wherever he is right now?”
“At this hour, I’m sure he’s sound asleep. Can’t it wait until morning?”
“I tell you what, Mr. Fischer. I want Mr. Brown and your brother to be at the police station at 10am sharp. I’ll interview them there. Also, I’m going to get a court order to take fingerprints from Barney Jacobs, Kerry Johnson and Jim Latham. I’ll send one of my officers out here tomorrow with the court order. Please make all three of your employees available.”
“Yes, Detective.”
Booger had called the State police earlier that evening to alert them to the fire. He requested an arson investigator to examine the remains of the trailer.
About 2am that morning, the arson investigator arrived. The embers had cooled just enough for him to begin his investigation. For nearly two hours, Horace Adler, a fifty-five year old career firefighter turned arson investigator, combed through what remained of the trailer. He examined every inch. He studied the area to determine the cause of the fire. He took notes, gathered evidence and then met with Booger.
“Detective McClain, I believe the fire began at one side of the trailer in the kitchen area. From first glance, it appeared to be started by a ruptured propane tank hooked up to the stove.”
“So, you think it was an accident?” Booger asked.
“No, Detective. I said the fire appeared to have been caused by a ruptured propane tank. I didn’t say it was. Detective, if a propane tank had been the cause, there would have been an explosion. The side of the trailer would have likely been blown out. The bulk of the damage would have been contained to the area of impact, the kitchen area. The remainder of the trailer may have been engulfed in flames, but the type of incineration that was consistent throughout the trailer would have been much worse in the area of the blast. It wasn’t.”
“So, what was the cause of the fire?” Booger asked.
“I’ve gathered some evidence, and I’ll take it back to the lab for detailed examination. It will take a few days for me to release a report.”
“OK, Mr. Adler. But just tell me what you think caused the fire.”
“An accelerant was used to start the fire, maybe gasoline, probably gasoline. I’ll know more when I get the lab results back.”