Bitter Blood (79 page)

On their summer visit in 1984, Tom took John and Jim to a ranch in Wagon Mound, New Mexico, where they rode horses and heard ghost tales around a campfire.

John, Jim, and Kathy on a visit to Delores in 1984.

LEFT. In November 1984, Tom visited the boys in North Carolina, but the main purpose of his visit was to court Susie’s family in the hope of winning support for more visitation. RIGHT: Tom and Kathy took John and Jim to Disneyland in the spring of 1985. John cried and pleaded not to have to go back home to his mother.

The O. Henry shopping center in Greensboro, where Ian Perkins twice secretly taped conversations with Fritz, trying to trap him into an admission of murder. (
Photo by John Page, courtesy of
Greensboro News & Record.)

LEFT: Rear view of Susie’s apartment, second from right, top floor, being roped off by police after shoot-out with Fritz. (
Photo by Joseph Rodriguez, courtesy of Grensboro News & Record
.) RIGHT: SBI agent Ed Hunt commanded the operation to trap and arrest Fritz. (
Courtesy of Greensboro News & Record.
)

Fritz’s Blazer after the explosion. Lieutenant Dan Davidson took one look inside, saw what he feared he would see, and turned away. (
Photo by Duane Hall, courtesy of Greensboro News & Record.
)

Bomb-disposal truck pulling up to Susie’s apartment after explosion. (
Photo by Joseph Rodriguez, courtesy of
Greensboro News & Record.
)

LEFT: Site of final pursuit and explosion. RIGHT: Ian Perkins, left, surrendering to authorities with his lawyer, Jim Medford. (
Photo by Joseph Rodriguez, courtesy of Greensboro News & Record.
)

Acknowledgments

This book evolved from a series of articles that appeared in the
Greensboro News & Record
in August 1985. Cole Campbell and Van King conceived that series and assigned me to report and write it and I am indebted to them. Campbell is due additional credit for editing it so ably. Ben Bowers and Ned Cline allowed that series to be published at extraordinary length and I admire them for it. I also thank the
News & Record,
a newspaper that I love, for allowing me to use material from the series in this book and for granting me time to work on it.

Special thanks are due Annie Henry, who had faith in this book, and me, from the beginning. Joyce Engelson, my editor, has my lasting gratitude. All of her suggestions were sound. My copy editor, Ravin Korothy, should receive a medal for catching my multitude of mistakes.

I long ago lost track of the number of people—in the hundreds—who gave me their time and supplied me with helpful information, but I am grateful to all. I am most grateful to those who opened their lives to me so that this book could be written. Their names will be obvious in the text. I have changed a few names to protect privacy, but the names of all the major characters in this tragic story are their own.

For friendship and encouragement in time of need, I offer thanks to Sarah Avery, David Boul, Hubert Breeze, Mutt Burton, Penny Craver, Pat Gubbins, Nick Hancock, Karl Hill, Dot Jackson, Jim Jenkins, Maria Johnson, Bill and Harriet Lee, Phil Link, Sara Looman, Susan Luce, Mark McDonald, June Milby, Don Patterson, Buck Paysour, Chip Rabon, Jim Schlosser, Kay and Stan Swofford, Nat Walker, Terri Wackelin, and Ernie Wyatt. I can never repay Bernard Dekle, who first told me that I could write, then tried to teach me how; Tom Wingate, who first gave me a chance to report and write; Irwin Smallwood, who had faith in me when few others did, and whose support has continued, unflagging, into a third decade; and Greta Tilley, who prodded, pushed and cheered me throughout these long months of work. I love you all.

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