Chapter Thirty-Nine

The Circus Begins

Dani

After Clay Jackson was booked and put into his cell, Sean, Joel, Dad, and Mr. Cunningham returned to our house. Sean gave us an account of the take down.

“Jackson was completely surprised when we arrived at his house. He had been reading the newspaper in the kitchen with his wife. His housekeeper directed us into the living room while she informed Jackson of our presence. We waited about ten minutes before Jackson walked into the room. Still holding his coffee, he looked at us with irritation, like we had no business in his house. His reaction showed he was totally unaware of why we were there.”

“Gentlemen, what’s this all about? You’re interruptin’ my private time with my lovely wife. Git this done with and be on your way.”

Without hesitation, Sean ordered, “Claude Jordan, you are under arrest for the murders of the Cunningham family: Mary, Elizabeth Ann, Cletus, Daisy, Travis, Lily, and Silas, and the murder of Daniel Reynolds. You are also under arrest for the rape, sodomizing, and murder of Ida Mae Cunningham. Oh, yes, and the murder of Unborn Baby Cunningham.

“We surprised him, all right. He dropped his cup filled with coffee right on the ivory carpet. His eyes opened so wide they looked like they were coming out of his skull. His body stiffened and started to shake.

“Then at the doorway of the dining room, his wife screamed and covered her open mouth with her hands.

“After I read the allegations, Jackson was silent. His wife, however, kept sobbing, saying in broken English, ‘No! No! Claude, what do they talk about? There must be mistake. Tell them this is mistake.’

“Jackson looked at her in defeat. I read him his Miranda rights as Joel handcuffed him. And now, at last he’s in the Orange County Jail.”

****

I knew the publicity would be inevitable, but I never expected its enormity or how it would disrupt our lives. The murders had been committed so long ago I didn’t think people would remember or care anymore. We were bombarded with reporters, cameras, and microphones. If we turned on the radio or television, the case was constantly in the news, local and national. They knew our names but not how or why we were involved. One station dug up our relationship to my grandfather. They referred to him as the “alleged” killer of the Cunningham family, assuming Claude Jordan was my grandfather. That was revolting. I wanted to scream at them, but as instructed, I said nothing.

What did we know about the case? How were we involved? Who was the elderly gentleman seen at our house? Was Daniel Reynolds being held in the county jail? Captain Graham told us he’d take care of any statements made to the press. Easy for him to say. He wasn’t accosted every day. They even camped out on our street. Police patrolled the end of our block to maintain crowd control. The press followed Frankie to school and had pictures of him going in and out of the building. Luckily, the school officials didn’t allow them inside. They followed me to campus too. When they started confronting me at work, Dad told me to take a leave of absence. He also heavily relied on Carl at the body shop to handle most of his managerial duties.

To relieve some of Mr. Cunningham’s stress, Dad drove him back and forth to Orlando to harass Clay Jackson in the county jail. I would’ve loved to be a fly on the wall and watch Jackson’s face while Mr. Cunningham stared at him for an hour.

My first day back to criminology class after Jackson’s arrest was a fiasco. Somehow, the class was aware my project was the Cunningham case. Probably because my face was plastered all over the television. Talk about being noticed. I’d walk down the halls getting stares and fingers pointed at me. When I got to class, everyone waylaid me with questions, especially on how I was personally involved. I told them the police ordered me not to discuss the case. I also told Dr. Belinsky that Captain Graham said I was no longer to report to him on any more developments. Since the actual trial would be public knowledge, I could then report on the court proceedings. However, I was to refrain from mentioning anything I might learn outside of the courtroom. Dr. Belinsky and the class were elated they’d be getting firsthand information on such a high-profile case. I’m sure my name was mentioned at many dinner table conversations.