The Executioner's Song (37 page)

Nicole didn’t know whether she wanted to go up to him or She just stood there, watching them point those rifles. There nothing in her.

Back inside the house, however, she was shaking and

and crying. She took Gary’s photograph and threw it in the “That crazy son of a bitch,” she shouted, “I should have killed when I had the chance!”

Later that night, she went through all kinds of changes. there and words went through her mind like a broken record. they had said, over and over.

Toby Bath called Brenda. “We’ve got him,” he told her. okay?” asked Brenda. “Yes,” said Toby, “he’s fine.” “Anybody hurt?” asked Brenda. “Nope, nobody got hurt. Did a good clean

ARMED AND DANGEROUS [ 27I

“Thank God,” said Brenda. She had never been in a more shattered state. She couldn’t even cry. “Oh,” she said, “Gary’s going to hate me. He’s not too happy with me anyways. But now he’s going to hate me.” She was more worried about that than anything.

Chris Caffee couldn’t sleep at all and Debbie kept saying, “I can’t believe Ben’s dead. I can’t believe it.”

They were all feeling pretty paranoid. Chris got up once to take a shower but sfarted shaking when she realized there was a window in the bathroom and the killer could come through lit. While the water was running she wouldn’t hear a sound. It was like the movie Psycho.

Then she got back in the living room, and almost gave a yip. Some big person with a flashlight was walking in the front yard. But it was only a policeman. He had noticed their car door was open, and a cat had taken up abode in the back seat. They invited the man in, and that was how they learned a suspect had been caught. They didn’t know if it was really the killer, but at least the police had somebody.

Debbie kept saying things you couldn’t answer any more than you could talk back to your TV set. “When I was a kid,” she announ ced, “I used to play touch football with the boys. I liked to swing off the roof on ropes.” She said that, sitting in the rocking chair, holding Benjamin. “Yeah, that’s great,” said Chris from the studio bed.

“Ben took a lot of classes in bookkeeping and business adminis tration, but his main interest was working with people,” Debbie said, “and advising them.”

“That’s true,” said Chris.

Debbie said, “We never had any time to play tennis or water ski because there was no recreation time. We were working all the way.”

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Holding Benjamin and rocking in the chair, she looked straight ahead. She had dark green eyes but they looked flat and black now. “It was Ben,” she said, “who wanted to have the baby by natural childbirth. I went along because we always had the same idea about things.”

“Yes,” Debbie said, “Benjamin weighed seven pounds when he was born. The delivery presented no problem at all. Ben was with me at the hospital. He had a doctor’s white outfit on, I could feel,” she said, “his presence all the time. That was a nice time.” She paused. “I wonder if I am pregnant now. Yesterday, I told Ben I thought I was. think he’s happy about it.”

Debbie was in the rocking chair all night and Benjamin was in her arms. She kept trying to get the new thing together, but had been too many breaks. Seeing the strange man in the motel rice was a break in her understanding, Then the instant when saw Ben’s head bleeding. That was an awfully large break. She never went back to the motel.

Next afternoon, Debbie’s mom came, and people from the and the Bishop. Things never stopped moving. Debbie stayed Chris and David for three days before she went back to Pasadena. was the first time she traveled on an airplane in her life.

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After the arrest, on the drive to the hospital, Gary said to Gerald Nielsen, “When we get alone, I want to tell you about it.” Nielsen said okay.

It alerted him to look for a confession. Most of the time they were silent, but Gilmore did say again, “I want to talk to you about it, you know.”

At the hospital, Gerald Nielsen stayed close while they doctored him. The Provo police had already called to say they wanted a metal detection test on his hand, .but Gilmore refused. He said, “I want to talk to an attorney first.” Gerald said, “Well, we’ll get you an attorney, but he can’t help you there. That’s legal evidence.”

Gilmore said, “Do I have a legal right to refuse it? …. Yeah,” Gerald said, “you can. And we always have the legal right to do it by force.” “Well,” said Gilmore, “you’re going to have to force me.” He swore a couple of times and cussed and hollered and said he wasn’t going to do it, and a couple of times Nielsen thought it might end up in a brawl, but finally he consented. The tests revealed he had held metal in his hand. Gilmore replied, “Yes, I had to do some filing today at work.” It must have been four in the morning before they got to the Provo City Jail.

While the doctors were setting plaster of paris on Gilmore’s hand, Nielsen decided to take a gamble and said, “Put a ring in it,

2

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will you, so we can get the handcuffs on.” Gary said, “God, you have a polluted sense of humor.” Nielsen felt it got them started.

Noall Wootton, the prosecutor for Utah County, was a small guy light hair, a high forehead, and a large nose that looked like it been flattened. He was usually a bundle of energy. When he stoked up, he was like a tugboat chug-chug-chugging at any big assigned to him.

In Noall Wooton’s opinion the best lawyer he ever met was father. Maybe for that reason he could never go into a without a stomach tied in knots. He won cases and still felt because they hadn’t been up to what they should have been. For reason he was more than careful to observe all the legal amenities the night they brought Gilmore to the Pmvo City Police Station.

Just so soon as Wootton learned that the only man Gilmore would talk to was Gerald Nielsen, he took the Lieutenant aside and told him what strategy to use: calm Gilmore down; get him into a befriending type of thing; be sure to advise him of all his rights. Also make sure he was not under the influence of alcohol, knew where he was, what he was doing. Most important, don’t put pressure on him.

Wootton was taking care not to get into a dialogue with Gilmore. Such a conversation could easily become evidence, and then he might have to get up on the stand• Since he was going to prosecute the case, he didn’t wish to be in Court wearing a second hat. So he listened through a speaker to the conversation Nielsen conducted in another room.

Tuesday night, or, rather, Wednesday i:oo n.M. when the came in to Wootton’s home that the police had a man in custody the motel murder in Pmvo, Noall sent a deputy to the hospital, himself proceeded to the murder scene at the City Center where he spent an hour and a haft directing the search for a Having talked to Martin Ontiveros, and learned that Gilmore come in bleeding, he backtracked up the street from the gas following the trail of blood to its source near a bush on the They looked into the twigs and found a Browning Automatic .22.

Wootton was sitting on the desk in the detectives’ room at Pmvo Police Station, wearing his boots and Levi’s, and not very official, When Gilmore was brought in. The prisoner pretty messed up. His left arm was bandaged in a cast and his was unruly. His Vandyke goatee looked wild. He was Seemed pissed off about the whole deal•

Gilmore acted particularly angry that he had chains on his It made Wootton glad there were a number of cops around. and all, he would not have’ wanted to be alone in that room with

more.

July i, 1976 5:oo a.m.

GILMORE What am I being held for?

NIELSEN I don’t know except I suspect armed robbery. I’m almost sure that’s what it is. GILMORE What robbery?

mELSEN ” The one here in Provo tonight at the motel, and the one last night in Orem at the service station.

CILMORE YOU know, I can account for last night real well, and I can account for tonight …

NIELSEN Not too well, Gary.

GLMORE Yes I can I went and had some work done on my

truck down at Penney’s. You’ll see the receipts in the glove box, and I did some drinking. The truck kept stopping so I took it down here

• • and told them; “Listen, I’ll leave my truck here and I’ll pick it up in the morning and go to work and go down here and rent a room.” I walked in and this guy had a gun on this guy. I grabbed it and he tried to shoot me in the head, and I pushed the gun up, and it got me h the hand. By that time, we was about outside, so I just went back down and got my truck and went out to Pleasant Grove …

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NIELSEN That’s your story?

GILMORE That’s the truth.

NIELSEN I don’t believe it, Gary, I really don’t believe that, and I

know that you know that I don’t …

GILMORE I’m just telling you what happened …

NIELSEN You know that story doesn’t convince me, okay? I understand why those people got shot. Why did you shoot

Gary? That’s what I’m wondering.

I didn’t shoot anybody.

I think you did, Gary. That’s the only thing I can’t

GILMORE

NIELSEN

stand.

GILMORE NIELSEN GILMORE

NIELSEN

with her?

GILMORE

Listen, last night I was with that gLrl all night•

What girl?

April Baker.

April Baker? Where’s she from, how can I get in

She lives in Pleasant Grove• She was with me every ute. Her mother will tell you that I went over there and picked her t pretty early in my truck. See, I was going with her big sister, know, who used to live out in Spanish Fork and we busted up, went over to show them my truck and April said, “Take me here to get something for my brother,” and I said, “Do you want drive around and drink some beer?” and she said, “Yeah.” She get along with her mother She said, “Okay,” so we drove around drank some beer, smoked some weed, and I said, “Let’s get have to work in the morning.” She said, “Go out here to Fork.” Well, I couldn’t find one, so I ended up coming back to

NIELSEN Which place?

GILMORE Holiday.

NIELSEN At the Holiday? Did you sign in on your own name?

GILMORE Yeah, we stayed there until about seven. I took

NIELSEN Seven this morning?

GILMORE Yeah, then I went to work.

NIELSEN What time did you pick her up?

GILMORE Seven. Five• Seven, I don’t know• I don’t have a

don’t like to wea watches.

NIELSEN

out there?

GILMORE NIELSEN GILMORE NIELSEN GILMORE NIELSEN GILMORE NIELSEN GILMORE NIELSEN GILMORE

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Was she with you when you stopped at the service station

I didn’t stop at any service station.

Gary, I really think you did.

I didn’t.

You saw that .22 Automatic out there on the way in?

I seen a gun laying out there•

Have you ever seen it before?

No.

Well, if it’s registered to you, you’re sunk.

It ain’t.

Okay• I don’t know, Gary. I can’t …

Hey, that’s what happened. I know you don’t believe it.

NIELSEN I really don’t, Gary. I really don’t, I really don’t. I think you did ‘er, and I can’t understand why you ended up shooting the peo ple. That’s what I can’t understand.

GILMORE Listen …

NIELSEN GAIT, that’s really the way I feel.

GILMORE DO you think I’d shoot a person with that girl?

NIELSEN I don’t know. If you left her in the car down at the corner

or she didn’t know, that’s another matter•

GILMORE You can talk to her …

NIELSEN How do we get ahold of her? …

GILMORE She lives with her mother …

NIELSEN Can you tell me how to get there? …

GILMORE I can give you a phone number• She might be kind of hot

that I had her daughter out all night …

NIELSEN GILMORE NIELSON GILMORE NIELSEN

• Can

GILMORE

jacket, you

April Baker.

She was with me all the time.

How old is she?

Eighteen.

She’s of age then. I don’t know, it just looks bad,’ Gary. you describe the robber?

He had long hair, dressed, you know, in Levi’s, a brighter know, a Levi’s jacket.

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NIELSEN I’ll check that, I’ll check it, but I don’t believe that. as it stands, especially with your past record, I think they have a case of robbery against you. I still can’t understand why they killed, I can’t understand that.

GILMORE Can’t understand what?

NIELSEN Why they were killed. I can’t understand that. Gary, were they killed?

GILMORE Who?

NIELSEN The guy in the motel and the guy out there …

GILMORE I didn’t kill anybody.

NIELSEN I don’t know, I think so.

ClLMORE Like I told you, I knew just where I was at every

NIELSEN What if I go check with these people and they say,

feeding you B.S.”?

GILMORE They won’t.

NIELSEN You sure? Everybody will say that?

GILMORE They might tell you a little different times or

NIELSEN What will April say if I ask her about Io:3o last night

GILMORE I don’t know; she’s a little spacey. When she was

some guys took her out and gave her some acid without

it and raped her. I don’t know what she’ll tell you. April was every minute last night …. I got lonely for Nicole, so I just and got her little sister. April wanted a ride. We got to laughing and giggling, and I kept her all night. Well, look, NIELSEN I’ll check it, I’ll check her.