Making Moves: Another Look At Victims And Choices In Ann Rule's True Crime Stories (2)
In the Name of Love and other True Cases “Book No 4" Murder and the Proper Housewife To me, Nancy is that busybody, gossipy, bored housewife who spends too much time over cups of coffee/tea either in her own kitchen with a friend or in her best friends' kitchens. It’s hard to believe she was an RN. This isn’t saying much for RNs, is it? Rose’s wrong move was that she couldn’t or wouldn’t keep her big mouth closed. Yak yak yak. Poor me and my wretched marriage. All that garbage. Was some one holding a gun to her head? The trust fund was Art’s, not hers. Either she should’ve accepted his plans for the money(to save it), or got out of the marriage. Those men or women who’ve been “divorcing" their mates for 25 to 30 years make me want to puke. Art was fortunate he got the courage later to rid himself of the tiring Rose. We bet he was relieved. Bennett and Nancy really represent evil in the story. Perhaps a degree of boredom drove them to act as they did. In any event, they nearly killed an innocent man. At least they went to prison. For a while. One hopes while there that they were able to avail themselves of intensive therapy of the proper sort. The Most Dangerous Game Maeve and Kari. Teenage girls who learned the hard way about evil abounding in this world. But as Rule points out, they also learned about the selfless love of 2 hippies and about appreciating more than ever the warmth and security that, to whatever degree, existed in their own homes. Over and over in life we must be reminded that no one thing or no one person is totally good or totally bad. How It Feels to Die The roommates ordeal. How can you blame women who are looking for 1 or 2 roommate replacements? The candidate who was chosen, Shelley, won out because she was the one the others liked the most. Screening took place, so, what more can a person want? The problem wasn’t Shelley, however. She was just fine. Her ex was the problem. The devil incarnate. Shelley had made a wrong move, though. She’d married her ex “after knowing him a short time(p 363)." Not only that, but “her family didn’t approve of him." Here we go again with this business of completely ignoring the concern of family and friends. Anyway, back to the rented house full of women(5 of them). Naturally, the ex arrives on the scene and half kills more than one of the occupants. This was 1979. Like in the movies, the phone’s usually the problem. Line cut, yanked out of the wall, or plain out-of-reach. Let’s think. Now that cell phones are so ubiquitous and popular, why can’t they have an emergency button which will alert the local police? Is this technology in existence already or on the verge of becoming a reality? Susan’s and Rebecca’s advice for others is good. Let’s add to it. In the story, Rebecca “opened the heavy front door, but she left the screen door locked." Okay. We all know screen doors are next-to-nothing for protection. All across the nation wrought-iron doors with locks should be installed. Screens can be attached to these doors. The main wooden door is open for allowing a breeze but the wrought-iron door is secured. Fronts and backs of houses must be included. Won’t taking such a step help at least some? The Killer Who Never Forgot nor Forgave Washington state was certainly free-spending and hugely generous with their convicted criminals(felons) in the 1970s. Has this changed, one wonders? Is Janice Niemi still a judge?(!) It is hard to believe a Norwegian king and queen would consent to being escorted by a convicted felon, local lodge president or not. Are they so liberal? And how could Kaarsten still have been a “popular race-car driver" in 1973/74 after he’d been convicted 2 years earlier—convicted of killing a wife and baby? Is this the way our society is? How could this good-looking charmer have a “coterie of supporters" during the 1971 trial? The crime was despicable and obviously money-based. Rule closes brilliantly by reminding us how old Jody and little Peri Lynn would be now after all the years that have gone by. One would like to tie Kaarsten’s necktie for him one of these days. With a smile, you’d better believe. In the Name of Love This is the long story of “Book 4." It is a tearjerker not too much unlike the Blankenbaker story in the previous book. Practically all readers will like Jerry. In many ways he is the quintessential all-American man. We agonize from the moment Jerry is missing to “closure." Although Jerry was too trusting—“he liked and trusted almost everyone he met”—he didn’t really make any wrong moves that we can put our finger on so positively. He seemed certainly to be working himself to death! Of course, this was either a choice or some necessity he had. Aren’t some people just born that way? Bonilla is not only an Italian last name, it’s a common Spanish one, too. Thank God poor Ella B has rested. What a heavy price she paid with this son, Steven, whose god, we see again, was money. Money money money money money! At least Susan and Jerry had something grand some people never have in a much longer lifetime together. That’s worth a lot and it has nothing to do with bank notes. Lastly, Rule is determined to force us easterners and/or southerners to get out our atlases and pore over the states of Oregon and Washington. We do so glady and curiously. Jerry ran all over the place in one or the other of his neat vehicles! The End of the Dream The Golden Boy Who Never Grew Up and Other True Cases “Book No 5" Peeping Tom It is possible, of course, that gorgeous Kay Owens would still have been killed some day or night had the bamboo blinds in her bedroom not been defective or ill-fitted. However, it is not so probable. And she’d had eerie sensations, a premonition, but only when she was at home. Yes, Ivan Miller was a 17-year-old uncontrolled monster, but there are many others of them “out there" just as there are many beautiful women living alone. Whether or not they SHOULD live alone is another story. Nevertheless, Kay and Ivan did not have to have their paths cross and these should not have crossed. Ivan himself said he’d been peeping in windows elsewhere. Both Kay and Dan, her fiance should have paid more attention to the bamboo blinds in the bedroom. Ivan had once watched them make love! What seemed to be a slight defect in those blinds turned out to have enormous consequences. Additionally, any reader is heartbroken to read Kay and Dan’s tragedy. This incident reminds us of “How It Feels to Die," a previous story. Tenants and even homeowners in condos, for example, should either insist on the installation of or themselves install wrought-iron grilles on first-storey windows and any other window they surmise to be vulnerable to forced entry. Some say then it would look like scores of others they’ve seen in other countries, especially developing countries. You can also see lots of them in Miami. So what? We’re talking about trying to save lives—crime prevention. A police force is limited in what it can guarantee its citizens in any city or country. Like it or not. Actually, after a few more looks, you’ll begin to see the decorative side of those grilles. Last note: Install some of those grilles with key locks so that, in case of fire, you can get out! The Girl Who Fell in Love with Her Killer This story is about one of the most pitiful and pitiable teenage girls we'll ever be able to read about. To think that a creature is so starved for love, a kind word, a few minutes' attention, etc. to the point that she'd marry her would-be killer no less than astounds us. At 15, Barbie was far from being a total, sane being. The wrong move, of course, was to go out hitchhiking; then, wrong place, wrong time or wrong person. You know. Then again, who of us gets through a whole life without hitchhiking at least once or twice? It really is frightening, for male or female, to have it truly dawn on you that there are many Brandon Oakleys "out there" running round loose. Cruel souls who would kill a lamb just for kicks in an instant. An Unlikely Suspect Who made the big wrong move in the Milt English family? It seems no one did in spite of their odd lifestyle(for some). Young John was definitely a path living there, but which path—socio or psycho? Combination? Vera certainly did not deserve what she got. Young John is the villain in the tale and we want him to rot and rot. Over and over we learn again, there are no guarantees. Yes, there are bad seeds, bad apples, what have you. Call it law of nature. Will it ever be any different? After all, Cain killed his brother Abel and we PRESUME the incident occurred sans the type of sexual stimulation to which John was exposed in the English household. The End of the Dream This is the long story of this book. Wow! What a story replete with complications and ramifications! Also, tragic. Growing up in the Bible Belt, I realize how nearly squeaky-clean we were(I won't say are.). Speaking of Bibles, Scott's sad story is the closest we've gotten thus far to someone who could lay any claim to having been a part of the Sunday-school crowd. Okay, let's face it. We really want to blame not Scott, but Bill Scurlock, the Reverend, because, as Rule puts it, "we all secretly admire the rascal adventurer." But can we really? Did his "do what you think is best" attitude toward Scott truly cause all the heartbreak later? Are we going to hold one of mommy's or daddy's hands as we stand before God to face judgement? We've all seen parents like Bill, who sort of live through a favorite offspring, parents who somehow subconsciously encourage the exploits/adventures in their offspring they themselves never had a chance to experience, or, either were too chicken to. Usually, these kind live off of listening to the stories or similar stimulations to their imaginations. I ran into a new father a couple of years ago and he told me how thrilled he was and how the offspring was going to do exactly as it pleased, no restraints, etc. Free as a bird. But see, our society isn't like that. We do have myriad restraints, responsibilities, obligations, etc. like it or not. Somewhere among these we try to have a bit of fun here and there, but ultimately, self-control is the name of the game. Hence, Rule's "Golden Boy Who Never Grew Up" moniker. Daddy said occasionally that one would control her/himself and, if not, there were prisons that would do so. It's not a very uplifting statement, but it is reality. In the end, the reader bleeds more for Steve and Mark than for Scott, whom we could say crashed the fastest of the 3 to the base of his pedestal. Makes you think twice about long associations with "truly great" friends. At least Kevin and Bobby had better brakeshoes. A Rage to Kill and Other True Cases “Book No 6" A Bus to Nowhere In this story, 33 bus passengers were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Rule is great now and builds the story ever so slowly and methodically, giving us valuable and interesting background information of the territory—here it’s Seattle. No wrong moves were really made. In the relief efforts, scores of right moves were made, that’s for sure. What can be done with a misfit like Silas Cool? His parents had to love him for they brought him into this world, and they DID love him, proving it materially over such a long period of time. That moment of breakdown simply arrived for Silas. One wonders what would have happened if the Cools had cut Silas off financially in his early days in Seattle. Would he have made more sincere attempts to get along with others? One also asks, “Why didn’t he seek a job in a porno shop or some such enterprise if that was what he liked? But it is too late, and, if a neighbor likes keeping to her/himself almost totally, is there a lot we can do about it? The story is quite different, that’s for sure, and, as are all of the stories, quite sad. The Killer Who Planted His Own Clues Old Buddy Longnecker—asshole par excellence for his killing of the ultra-decent Sharon Mason. For his causing her aged parents such searing and intolerable pain from wounds that would never heal. The reader only wishes Sharon had gone to fetch some kind police officer who would agree to accompany her to the apartment while she grabbed the ready overnight bag. Fetching that bag, of course, wasn’t so much a wrong move as an unwise one, considering the state of anxiety she’d been in. Also, two murders could have occurred instead of one had Sharon been accompanied. Still, one murder could also have occurred and, with a little luck, it could’ve been Buddy Boy’s. Let’s hope he won’t even get out in 2031. That he’ll never see or hear of such a year. Sorry, Buddy, but our pity for you is rather like a saltless sea—nonexistent! However, a life of prayer just might get you a break or two with the Almighty. Yes, it just might, knowing how He is. Born to Kill? Poor Michael Olds. Really. It seems all his troubles started just by being born. We really develop a lot of empathy for Olds, unlike Buddy in the previous story. Olds makes me think of the guys who committed the Donalsonville, Georgia murders. The story of those murders was one of my first true crime reader cases. I was disbelieving and shocked upon reading how badly-treated and pitiful those guys' childhoods were. That’s when I realized how fortunate I’d been as a child, although not entirely free of suffering. Is anyone? Of course, childhood suffering gives no license to kill, but it does contribute to the chaos that is in the mind, I think we all would agree. Let’s hope Olds has found some kind of peace in his life of “stability" behind bars. If so, he certainly deserves it. And of the four victims in the story, which includes Olds, no one is truly less pitiful than the other. I don’t agree with Rule on the “bad seed" theory. She doesn’t agree with it because, as she says in her preface to this story, “there are too many variables." I agree there are many variables, but I think evil can be housed in a person at the onset. Maybe Michael Olds wasn’t born evil, but Buddy Longnecker probably was. As Close as a Brother Talk about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, this is a sad story that reminds us of another: The non-Rule written story of the woman who helped and befriended a mixed-up sort of handyman who, when the woman’s daughter returned home to live, murdered this daughter out of the resentment of being “displaced." These criminals go far beyond “biting the hand." If Mr Knope had only been more watchful or Marjorie herself more trained to grab that .44 and really use if effectively. Ifs, however, abound in the world, but sometimes others can take note and learn from them. Profile of a Spree Killer We can’t be too hard on Wilder’s victims, who were all female. Even the likes of Gandhi, Kennedy, and Julius Caesar fell victims to enraged killers. What was it that made Wilder finally snap on a large scale? Who will ever know? Even though years have passed, readers would like to know how Wilder emigrated/immigrated with nothing of his previous police run-in detected by INS(not that they are so brilliant). And this from the great nation of Australia. Was some one paid to “lose" his rap sheet or whatever it’s called? What kind of RESPONSIBLE parents would post a bail of 376 thousand dollars? We suppose they certainly loved Chris, but, even saying they were wealthy, they were also uncaring as regards what future damage he might do, given the nature of the crime for which they’d posted bail. Maybe they’d had no daughter to make them conscientious. The reader is only very happy for Jill Lennox and Carrie McDonald and Toni Lee Simms. Lastly, a little prayer for loving parents: Thank you, God, for the innumerable times my dear daughter has come home safely at night—nights in which I never thanked you. The Lost Lady
Copyright © 2002 Randall Barfield |