Executioner's Song, The - Norman Mailer [124]
GILMORE I'm hungry, and I'm in pain.
By the time Wootton got home on Wednesday morning, he had about decided to charge Gilmore with First-Degree Murder on the motel case. While the only print on the gun was too smudged to check out, they had the paraffin test and a witness, Peter Arroyo. He had seen Gilmore in the motel with the gun and the cash box. It looked promising to Wootton.
4
Around three-thirty that morning, Val Conlin received a phone call. A voice said, "This is the police. We have impounded a car of yours."
Val was so drowsy, he said, "Well, okay, fine."
"We want to let you know we have the car. There's been a homicide." "That's fine," said Val and hung up and his wife said, "What was that all about?" He said, "They've impounded a car. There's been a homicide. I don't know why, I don't know why, gee, you know." He went back to sleep. In the morning he'd forgotten about it.
When he came into the office next morning, Marie McGrath was there waiting to tell him.
"You got to be kidding," said Val "Did he kill that guy the other night?"
Marie said, "What do you mean, the other night? Last night."
"Last night?" said Val. He was bringing up the rear in every heat.
"Yes," said Marie, "they caught him on the one he killed last night." That was when Val heard about the motel murder. The call at 3:30 A.M. came back to him.
A little later, the police were out examining the Mustang. Started taking out clothing and looking for blood. Val was asked, "Did he ever trade any guns with you?"
"Not to me," said Val, "I don't like guns. I don't like guns." "Well," said the cop, "he stole a bunch of guns. We're looking for them." "Hey," said Val, "not me."
The police were there an hour. After they left, Rusty took some trash out to the back. She came in saying, "Look what I got."
The wind had been blowing everything around. She had discovered a sack stuffed under an old soft-drink chest. Opening it, she found several pistols wrapped in newspaper.
When Val saw them, he shouted, "Hold it, wait a minute. DON'T TOUCH THAT STUFF! Get on the phone. Call a detective!"
When the police came out, they again asked whether Gilmore offered any guns. Val said, "No. If he had, I would have shit. I don't like guns."
5
At 9 A.M., Gary was on the phone. "Where are you?" Brenda asked. He kind of snickered. "It's all right," he said, "I'm in custody. I can't get to you."
She said, "Oooh, God, thank goodness." Her voice sounded awful in her ear. She was as strung out from lack of sleep as she'd ever been. "Hey, really," Brenda said, "you okay?"
"Why," asked Gary, "didn't you come?"
"I was scared," said Brenda.
"What about John?" Gary asked.
"They wouldn't let him come, Gary."
"You betrayed me," he said.
"I didn't want to see you smeared all over Highway 89. I didn't want to see policemen I knew getting sent out and their wives left as widows. They're my neighbors." She added, "You're alive, aren't you?"
"It would have been a lot simpler if they'd wasted me out there."
"I really didn't want you to get blown away like some common criminal," she said. "To me, you're very uncommon. You're crooked, but you're not common."
"You could have taken me," he said, "to the state line."
"Gary, that's good dreaming, but it isn't real."
"I'd have done it for you," he said.
"I believe that," she said, and added, "Gary, I love you very much, but I couldn't've done that for you."
"You betrayed me."
"I didn't know any other way to round you up," Brenda said. "I love you."
There was a long pause, and then he said, "Well, I need some clothes."
"Why did they take yours?" she asked.
"Evidence."
"I'll bring some."
"I gotta have them by ten o'clock."
"I'll be there," she said.
"Okay, coz," he said, and hung up.
She went down to the Provo City Center where they had the new modern jail with the dark brown stone. It looked a lot like the modern Orem City Center with the dark brown stone that also had a jail. She took some of John's old work clothes. Since she couldn't get them back, no reason to give away