True Crime Page #2

My wife will take them.

And your remains?

That go for your remains too?

If she can't afford the funeral...

Our church raised some money.

It's all right.

So your wife will be claiming

your remains?

Yes, sir, that's right.

I want to give you some idea

of what's going to happen tonight.

We'll have to ask your visitors

to leave at 7 p.m.

You'll be given your dinner

and a fresh set of clothes.

We'll come for you about a half-hour

before the procedure.

You'll be taken

into the procedure room.

They'll hook an EKG up to you

and the intravenous lines.

But nothing's going to happen

early or anything.

Right up until 12:01,

we'll be monitoring the phones.

We got lines to the attorney

general and the governor.

And those we check to make sure

they're working.

You have any questions?

No.

Just one more thing,

and then I'll leave you in peace.

- It's about the sedative.

- I don't want one.

Sedative's completely optional, Frank.

It can make things a lot easier.

I don't want it.

I appreciate it, Mr. Plunkitt...

...but I want to be clear in my mind.

When I see my wife,

I want to be clear for that.

Fair enough.

You change your mind,

let the officer know.

I just had to give you my sales talk.

Badges will be at the gate.

Got the witness list.

What else?

Roadblocks are up.

Demonstrators are light so far.

- Visitors squared away?

- Wife and kid.

Your girl from the Trib,

Michelle Ziegler, will be here at 4.

Mea culpa.

- She was pretty persuasive.

- Let her persuade me next time.

Arnie, what do you think of Beechum?

Sometimes I think about the girl

he shot dead over $96.

Mostly I think about doing my job.

Warden! Sir!

I repent!

Jesus, Atkins!

Give me some of that p*ssy, baby.

Give me some p*ssy on toast!

I need some of that p*ssy on toast!

Go ahead, baby, shake that thing.

Excuse me.

Can I have some p*ssy on toast?

I just need some p*ssy on toast.

Give me some p*ssy on toast!

- Is that you, newspaperman?

- Back off.

You got money.

Give me some on toast.

Come on, I need it.

Promise me you will not

spend this on food.

Five dollars?

You can give me more than that.

Give me five, give me 10.

Come on, give me 20, Steve.

Give me $ 100,

you got so much money!

You got money on toast, baby!

I know you do.

- Hey, sister!

- Get away from me.

- I know you got some sweet p*ssy!

- Get away from me.

You nasty motherf***er!

Shut your nasty ass up.

I want something on the toast.

Nothing wrong with that.

Put some on the toast for me.

I know she likes me.

I know I'm going to give her

my phone number.

Hello, everyone.

You got my message?

Apparently, you and I

have a little problem.

Do we?

Yes, we do.

Look, Bob...

Michelle Ziegler was killed

in a car wreck last night.

What?

Michelle?

That couldn't be.

I was with her last night.

Oh, no!

She was only 23 or something.

Dead Man's Curve.

My God!

The poor kid!

Just out of school

and 23 or something.

I should have driven her home.

She had an interview set up

with Frank Beechum this afternoon.

The poor...

Beechum.

Yeah, I heard they were going

to juice him today.

In fact, she said she had a seat

for the show.

Four o'clock in the deathwatch cell.

Alan wants you to cover for her.

Is he the one who killed

that pregnant girl?

College student, Amy Wilson.

Working the summer in Richmond.

Place called Pocum's Grocery.

Owed Beechum 96 bucks.

Repairs he did on her car

or something. Shot her dead.

Anything else I should know?

Tough, black mechanic

at the Amoco station in Clayton.

But I warn you, do not pull

a Dick Tracy on this.

I don't want a big investigation.

You can depend on that.

Don't worry.

Says here, Beechum's

one of those born-agains.

Yeah, aren't they all on death row?

Biggest birthrate in the country.

Cynical.

He came from Michigan.

Broken home, alcoholic mother.

He's been in and out of jails,

violent assaults, drugs.

He did two years for beating a cop

who tried to give him a ticket.

Sounds like a reasonable fella.

Then another three for breaking

into a store.

Then he got out, met his wife.

Nice girl, born-again.

Led him to Jesus.

They had a daughter,

bought a house in Richmond.

Yeah, now he's Mr. Nice Guy.

I guess not. Six years ago,

he walks into Pocum's...

... Amy Wilson 's on the register.

Let me guess.

He asks Amy for his $96

and she says she doesn 't have it.

And old Frank,

he gets his wicked temper up.

I don't suppose he's expressed

any heartfelt remorse?

Nope. Get this.

He still says that he just went

to the store for some A-1 Steak Sauce.

Steak sauce?

Well, that's a nice touch.

Nussbaum had two strong witnesses.

Black or white?

Let's see. Both white.

A woman in the parking lot

saw him run away...

...and this poor guy, an accountant...

...goes in to use the phone

because his car overheated.

Beechum is there,

gun in hand, blood all over him.

All I'm looking for

is the human-interest angle.

Final days, what it's like.

- Got it?

- Yeah, I got it.

Anything else you need from me?

Nope.

Good. Okey-dokey.

Get right on it.

Something else on your mind, Steve?

The witness...

...the one who found Beechum

with the body...

...must have heard the shots.

The shots.

You know, he comes in...

...his car's overheated,

he's got the hood up.

Must be working on it.

Meanwhile, a robbery's going on.

He had to have heard shots.

So he heard the shots.

But this is a white accountant

in Richmond.

You're telling me he's going to walk

into a store when he heard shots?

You know what? I don't know

if he heard the shots.

Maybe he did. I don't care.

What I'd like you to do is interview

Beechum about his feelings today.

Turn it into a human-interest sidebar.

Can you do that?

Yeah, I'll get right on it.

No problem.

Bye-bye.

F***!

Close one!

I don't know what you did,

but he's after you.

We're about two seconds away

from a full Bob Findley explosion.

What are you, crazy?

You're lighting up after

Bob's "no smoking" speech?

I missed that.

Yeah. That was smart too.

Try to be a good boy, okay?

Beechum case.

Victim:
Amy Wilson, married,

20 years old, shot in the chest...

... with a.38 as she stood behind

the counter at Pocum 's Grocery.

Six months pregnant at the time.

Both she and the baby died.

Two witnesses.

First witness:

Nancy Larson, housewife...

... mother of three.

Drives into Pocum 's parking lot.

Larson couldn 't see

whether he had a gun or not.

No weapon was found.

Later she picked Beechum out

of a police lineup...

... the same lineup

where he was picked out...

... by Dale Porterhouse, CPA.

He was in the area.

His car overheated,

so he drove into Pocum 's.

Porterhouse picks Beechum

from the lineup that same day.

Records show Amy Wilson

owed Beechum $96...

... for carburetor work.

Note for future essay:

Why so few female car mechanics?

Want coffee, Ev?

It's back in fashion

as a late-morning pick-me-up.

Make it a big one.

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