Murder From the Start

By Gordon Long

Gordon Long, author and retired professor emeritus weaves for Harry O the unusual with the suspected outgrowth of agony from the death of his young wife and unborn children. His second wife has no knowledge of his life outside the University, either while an engineering student, or as a professor. Harry O's prolific writing and paper presentations seem to just magically appear whenever he has an "assignment" He has a high overhead and his charges for each 'visit' goes up to as much as a half million dollars. The different alias and roles of his fleet of helpers and the electronics make Harry a really invisible ethical provider of services. The entry into the "business" comes from his young wife's father who serves as a mentor and helps Harry develop his skills.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gordon Long
• Release date: Jun 24, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301344628

Gordon Long

Gordon Long, PO, BSAE, MBA, Ph.D., Certified Curmudgeon, SMB, Author, Raconteur, was born in Girard, Burke County, Georgia, January 20, 1933. He earned his first degree, PO during his first seventeen years in and around Girard. (PO is pronounced Poe, as in Edgar Allen.)Long's first book chronicled his move from being a few economic side-steps away from a share-cropper, into the academic world. LIVIN PO IN SANDBED HELL, and the second edition, LIVING PO IN SANDBED HELL-REDUX cover the recalls of his life from birth to age 17.Long's second book, "Murder from the Start" is a thriller with an murderous professor as the main character. The book explores the intricacies of the secret life of a mild-mannered hit man and his numerous aliases.Long's third book, "Escapee from Sandbed Hell" begins when he boards the NANCY HANKS for his first train ride and entry into to the United States Air Force. It recounts Long's coming of age as he shifts through various life stages, including soldier, student, engineer, and professor, and the correllary geographic shifts.Long threatens to finish writing "Old Capital Murders," another book featuring the murderous professor, who is again meting out his own personal justice on people of questionable ethics and morals.

Book preview

Chapter 1

The old man sat erectly in his chair, eyesight failing but still seeing much of his surroundings in what he called the old folks home. In reality it was a very exclusive, expensive and elaborate nursing home that only the very elite could afford. Harry Overskille and his wife Cathy had taken up residence there when they decided that they were really tired of traveling, and taking care of their estate. They wanted to be pampered a bit. At their ages, they felt they owed it to themselves. This 'old folks' home, as Harry put it, was built to look like all the other large estates in an area just north of Atlanta. It was equipped with everything that could possibly be needed in caring for the elderly, in this case, the very wealthy elderly, who needed anything from assisted living to full nursing care.

The Overskilles lived in a suite of three large rooms and a bath, which were furnished with their own very carefully chosen pieces of furniture that they brought with them. They had a bedroom, which they still shared, a large sitting room that had large windows to let in lots of light and gave them a scenic view of the landscape around the estate. The third room was a spare bedroom which was for visitors and was available should one of them become ill and need special nursing care. Cathy chose the wall colors which best suited their furnishings, and even did the window treatments. It was very homey in a rather elaborate sense, but it suited them very well. At age eighty six, Harry was still remarkably mobile, and his mind was as strong and quick as it was when he was a mere sixty years old. A couple of things were coming together for him business wise that made him somewhat pensive in his thought processes. This pensiveness made him rather slack in getting to some of his other everyday projects which he was constantly hearing about from his wife. God knows there were enough quick stepping, slow minded, young men around to do the bidding of the paying customers, and since cost was not a problem for him or his wife, you might wonder why they didn't just hire their own private step and fetch persons. Probably there was an element of determination in them that said, Do it yourself, dammit. Harry in particular was a stickler for doing things, and doing them right. What that really meant was, right according to his standards, and that meant one hell of a lot more when he said it, than when anyone else did. He had become disgusted with one of the attendants that he referred to as, Paul the stupid. One morning, when Harry repeatedly voiced his annoyance with him, Paul turned on him.

Old man, why in the hell do you think I am going to put up with your crap and anyway, what the hell are you going to do to me? Harry, who paid as much a month to live there as this smart-ass made in a year, just stared at the fool.

Finally, in a very deliberate manner he retorted, You sir, really don't have a clue as to just how precariously that stupid remark could make your entire future. Now before you cause me to really consider your remark, just get out the hell out of my sight.

Paul wondered just what he had triggered in the old man, but just smirked and muttered, to himself, what this place needs is just a few more funerals and fast. I know I need the work, but why do these chicken chokers get to have all this money, and I don't got none?

Harry Overskille had a lot of time to think now a-days and lately he was focusing on some very long distance negotiations he was making with the U. S. Department of Justice. He knew that by now the negotiations were in the hands of the Attorney General. He also was well aware that the stakes were high, and there was no way he would ever even begin to be identified. All the agreements he wanted had been etched in stone at the highest levels, and the stipulations were seemingly simple.

A full and total PARDON for any and all offenses which includes both civil and criminal charges is granted to Harry Overskille, as well as any charges which relate to any and all of his aliases. The Pardon is granted in exchange for his cooperation with law enforcement and the Justice Department of the United States and the various States' Attorney Generals. And, further, upon my death all assets, including both foreign and domestic accounts whether in stock, bonds, or property of any nature, will pass to my surviving spouse, children, and grandchildren without any penalties or any attempt to seize, or tax beyond the normal, and usual amounts without interest penalities. Further, the Attorneys General of all states and territories will likewise stipulate that any claims against the inheritances that my heirs may receive from proceeds, will be limited to normal and usual taxes, without penalties.

In exchange, Harry Overskille agreed to solve nearly two hundred and fifty unsolved adult sudden deaths experienced around the United States over the past sixty plus years. In true Harry fashion, he had carefully done his usual accomplished job of making it totally impossible for anyone to connect him directly with these negotiations. After all, he had spent his entire life, since the age of twenty four, perfecting and modifying his craft. His statement to the first of many dodgers in the stream of contact with the Attorney General was, It would be criminal to have my career end by making a mistake that doesn't even involve an assignment!

Chapter 2

The irony of the why and how Harry got his sideline business started, was most out of the ordinary. At age twenty two, his first wife of just over a year was brutally raped, and murdered, and raped again after her death by a worse than perverted sleeze bag, all in the most heinous fashion. Not only that, she had been pregnant with twin sons who would never have the opportunity to draw their first breath. The evidence was overwhelming against the perpetrator and a conviction appeared to be a lead pipe cinch. However, all the lead melted and ran out of the pipe. The cinch conviction became an acquittal. To make matters worse, the acquitted later admitted he had indeed raped and murdered Harry's wife, Jean. The shield of double jeopardy protected him from retrial, and he smugly made it clear he was not even slightly upset. Harry suffered a traumatic six months, trying to decide how to even the scales of justice which were badly unbalanced. With Ronnie, the admitted killer, still working at the air base where Harry was, there appeared to be no way to have anything happen to him without Harry automatically being the prime suspect. Harry was in the Air Force at Warner Robins, however, he was transferred to Chanute Air Force Base, in Illinois. This got him away from the burning anguish and torment he was feeling.

Big government does strange things and 'post Korea' was just like after any other major armed conflict. Because there were too many left in the military, each branch of the service started its own brand of release programs. The air force advised those who had less than a year to serve, prior to regular discharge, that they could get an early, honorable discharge called a convenience of the government discharge to attend college.

Harry went back to Georgia, applied to the University and was accepted as an engineering student. That was where he met the young lady who was to become his second wife. Cathy didn't know that Harry had been married before. He didn't think it was important to the situation since there had been no children, and Jean's parents had both been killed in a car accident only six months after her murder. Jean had been an only child and Harry had only met a couple of her other relatives, so there wasn't much of anything to tell Cathy anyway. The irony as far as Harry's future life was concerned was yet to come. Cathy plainly knew she was going to marry Harry, and, according to her plan, the sooner the better. Surprisingly enough, both her mother and father were happy with the idea and thought sooner was best also. In very short order, Harry, found himself in the north Buckhead mansion of Mr. Samuel Samuels, a regional vice president of Delphia, a mutual fund company. He couldn't believe he was getting married again. He had promised himself he wouldn't, but he couldn't help himself. Cathy was everything a man could want, and he wanted her. They were married in one end of the massive living room in front of a fern banked fireplace and more than enough candles to make it seem like the room was lit by spot lights. It was all a big party and although it lasted into the wee hours of the morning, Harry and Cathy slipped out much earlier and went into town to the Biltmore Hotel for their wedding night. The next day they went back to Cathy's parent's home, picked up Harry's car and took off on their wedding trip.

On occasions, Harry would be somewhat morose, thinking about the bastard who had raped and killed Jean by beating her to death, and got away with a not guilty verdict. However, except for very rare instances no one, including Cathy would have guessed that the raging volcano boiling inside him was anything but a bit of heartburn. One burning question that kept hounding Harry in moments when he was alone was, Did that no good son of a bitch rape or kill other innocent young women before Jean and when and where would this totally deranged killer strike again?

Harry's eyes, a deep brown, would become pinpoints of blackness and there was almost no means of breaking through the intensity of his mental machinations, especially when he was thinking of Jean and the horror of her ordeal. Had Paul the stupid, his attendant at the nursing home, known just who he was dealing with when he smart assed Harry, he likely would never have muttered anything slightly negative to Harry Overskille.

Chapter 3

On a particularly remorseful day, the anniversary of Jean's murder, Sam was alone with Harry, in Harry's car, when he made an out loud observation. I think I am seeing a person with the intensity to kill. Harry jerked himself back from the depths, and denied anything was wrong You know how driving in downtown Atlanta can make a person tense. Anyway he continued, You Northern transplants think all Southerners are bushwhackers".

Sam, after several minutes replied, You are talking to a man who reads intensity better than you think. Harry remained quiet for a minute and then began a conversation on a few inconsequential topics. He decided to leave what Sam had said about intensity to kill for another day. Somehow or another, he felt sure, in time they would have more to talk about.

About two weeks later, Harry and Cathy were in Atlanta again, visiting Cathy's parents for a long week end. Harry and his father in law, Sam were again in Atlanta traffic. This time they were riding in Sam's Jaguar. Things went rolling along for Harry. However, sometime after the wedding trip, when things had settled down, his father-in-law, took him aside for a little chat. The problem was, Mr. Samuels felt he was too young for Harry to be his son, and call him 'Dad'. Harry was a bit older than Cathy, and to call him 'Dad' didn't work. Mr. Samuels sounded too formal to suit him, the result was Harry was to call him 'Sam', and with that settled, Harry decided to revisit what Sam had said about reading real intensity in his manner and asked, Sam, what would you do about a raping, murdering slug, ho had killed someone important to you, and was legally acquitted?.

Sam calmly threaded his way through a major intersection, then quietly, He would be dead, but on my schedule.

Harry's response was, Yeah Sam, that's pretty easy for you to say since you seem to have a job paying you more money than God. What makes you think you could kill anyone?

The topic appeared to have been dropped, and silence permeated the car for what seemed like twenty minutes, when Sam came zinging back from left field with, I make more money on 'contracts' than I do with Delphia Mutual. Harry thought what he was hearing was about some form of business contracts, but the more he thought about it, the more certain he was that Samuel Samuels was in no way referring to anything but exterminating people for money. Harry, thought about what Sam had said, particularly since he was convinced his take on the conversation was right.

I don't think I would need anybody to do my job for me, that is, if I decided that was the only way to get satisfaction. Sam gave Harry a quick look. Took a minute to think about what Harry had been saying and then said, I don't doubt that, even slightly, since you seem to fit the bill for that kind of work. Harry, there is a 'constant' that you need to recognize, and that constant is that you have to study and learn a massive amount about things you have never really thought important. That is, unless you only plan to do just one 'Off', and even then you'd need to develop a plan for that one which should take you as much as four months.

Harry, was staring out the window as they drove along, wondering if he might have learned more about his father in law than he needed to know, but he also knew he was going to get in the game for at least one take out.

Sam went on, Listen carefully, neither my wife nor anyone in the entire family, especially your new wife, have a clue about this side of my life. We both know for damned sure it is going to stay that way. The tone of Sam's voice made Harry instantly realize there would be no pillow talk about this conversation. It also didn't take a genius' to know that underlying the statement made by Sam, was the implicit statement that the moment Sam had any doubts about Harry, he was in deep shit, and would be about six feet under, if anyone could find enough of him to put in the hole. Somehow or another Harry wasn't even slightly frightened, and the only reason probably was the childhood lessons he had learned from his father and some of his 'cronies'.

Harry, when I agree to do something, I demand a great deal of information from the person who is paying the charges. However, in this case since I am just going to be consulting with you, I don't really want to know who, where, when or why. The only reason I will ask you anything about 'how' is that I don't want to see you make a serious mistake, in particular, he continued, mistakes that would make my daughter most unhappy.

They were about to pull into the driveway of a friend of Sam's who had been a B-24 pilot in the air force during World War II. There was a cocktail party going on, so it was obvious the conversation had to be brought to an end. Harry thanked Sam, telling him, I've got to do some deep thinking about proceeding, but I'm about ninety eight percent sure, my choice is already made. Sam readily acceded to that statement. In his mind, Harry knew he had to give himself a thorough and complete analysis of his justification for going on with the project. At the same time, he wanted to weigh all the factors in his past, and how and why these factors could allow him to research all the details, do the deed, and never be discovered. What Sam had not mentioned was that doing one thoroughly professional snuff job on a person who completely deserves it is much like a coke head's taking his first snort of the dust.

Harry, the old man, in his expensive apartment in the 'old farts' home was in his lounge chair doing a bit of dozing and some thinking. Suddenly he found himself chuckling as he thought back over the years he had spent amorally and methodically planning a huge inventory of material for all imaginable aspects of anything that may be even slightly useful to him. This inventory of materials and methods had made him a master craftsman, and a thoroughly professional person in an unpopular means of banking huge amounts of money. He also wondered just how many of the people who had engaged his services were interested in 'Offing' someone who definitely deserved it, from the viewpoint of a thoroughly dispassionate observer of the human race. He was thoroughly bemused by the fact that this was only the second time he had ever really visited his mind set of 'doing' only those souls who had basically brutalized the sociological and psychological psyche of civilized mankind.

While Harry was first thinking about getting into 'the business', he was not looking for rationalization for what he was about to do. Indeed, he would likely have insisted his interests went only to taking out the ass hole who had murdered his first wife and unborn twin sons. As he evolved and was assimilated into the business he was certain that should he ever be found out, the psychiatric community would have a field day dissecting his personality. He would be considered narcissistic, a sociopath, a psychopath and a combination of all the preceding, along with bunches of really confusing psychiatric babble. All that really needed to be said, was that Harry felt some folks just wear out their invitation to keep on living. They end too many lives by rape, murder, and other heinous brutality without any thought or justification. Pay for those idiots to rot in jail? No way! The space they occupy on earth would much better be filled by those with at least a few redeeming virtues.

Chapter 4

Sam Vaknin, in A Primer on Narcissism, [n. singular] defines it as A pattern of traits and behaviors which signify infatuation and obsession with one's self to the exclusion of all others and the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition. In Greek Mythology, apparently Narcissus was a handsome youth who didn't want any part of Echo, the nymph. He was punished by being doomed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Since he couldn't successfully make love to himself, he 'pined away' and eventually became a flower known as the Narcissus. Both European and American definitions for narcissism have five or more behaviors that must be met for a person to be considered narcissistic. Harry carefully regarded the list of nine separate categories, and diagnosed himself as not being afflicted with Narcissistic Personality Disorder [NPD]. The only aspect of the entire list of characteristics and manifestations and their many sub topics that applied to Harry was being devoid of empathy. Hell, he was happy to admit he had no empathy whatsoever for some people, and he surely had no sympathy for those same people. That didn't make him narcissistic, just capable of being mean as hell, with the ability to make him fearsome at times. That is, if anyone had known just what he was capable of doing, and had done.

When he reviewed the literature concerning the profile of a sociopath, it gave a list of fifteen major heading and their break down. Harry decided he couldn't really qualify as that either. Particularly since the 'qualifiers' covered three and a half pages and seemed too circular to make any sense at all. A series of thirteen 'Related Qualities' completed the fourth page, and he was very relieved to self-diagnose that he didn't qualify in that section either. He just couldn't see that anything was wrong with him. Just 'offing' some scum bag, didn't prove anything. Yes, he was secretive. Hell, if he hadn't been, how long would he have lasted as one of the five premier persons in the world in his line of business? The only way he could say five was that he did know of four people who did the same things he did. Harry was totally willing to accept there were some others who were equally as Below the radar as he had stayed. Yes, his appearance was conventional, he could pass anywhere. He was unable to be remorseful or have any guilt because he really believed his victims deserved their end. Harry really didn't give a damn whether or not his victim's would have 'affirmed' his actions against them. There was no need, nor had there ever been any psychological need to justify his crimes to anyone, including himself as that had been handled so long in the past that it would have been idiocy.

An article, titled Psychopathic Personality, it probably came nearer to being a definition of Harry's persona than either of the preceding ones. It states that, a psychopath is a person who appears normal on the surface, until he/she performs some outrageous criminal act. It has been customary to label that behavior as temporary insanity. While that is not a medical term, it seems to work in the criminal justice system. When the psychopath is caught and put in a medical environment, he seems to become cured rather quickly. He then is released only to revisit his old haunts and revert to his former behaviors. Harry was convinced, all he had to do was be sure that his newly chosen second occupation was satisfying him (which it was), and avoid ever being caught. That way, the definition had no meaning, as it pertained to him, except as the subject of a bunch of books, and years of dissertations that related to his aberrant and deviate business of so many years [if and when it ever became known].

Harry's major goal was, do no assignment on someone who doesn't absolutely deserve it, and especially if they absolutely believe they are never going to be punished for committing some horrible act on defenseless people. Harry felt good, now that he had ruminated through all the intellectual crap, He did not believe he was a really bad guy. He had dearly loved his first wife, and equally loved and admired his current wife. She and their children would be his protected people as long as he had a breath in his body.

After that weekend, with Cathy's folks, Harry revisited his growing up years. Remembering how he and his father had hunted and fished together, and how they had brought home enough deer, squirrel and birds to provide year round smoked meats for the family. How squirrels were killed, as they were needed, and fishing was done whenever somebody had a need for a change of the main course that week. That was not to say that they didn't also kill, and cure hogs and go on 'beef quarters' occasionally. Going quarters meant that four families would split the meat from a cow that had just been killed. Beef just didn't cure out and keep as well as pork did, so it was eaten quickly.

Having been the oldest of ten children put an extra burden on Harry, or at least it seemed that way to him. He was assigned the actual job of hog killing, including his own special hog. This meant that he was gutting and cutting up hogs when he was no more than eleven years old. You had to know more about animal anatomy then anyone would think necessary, unless you were a veterinarian. Killing the animals was never a problem, nor was cutting them up. Nobody ever thought of killing time as any form of a statement about the human race, it was just a job to be done. Harry had spent considerable time trying to understand animal rights activists, and he just couldn't get it, no matter how much he tried. He had never been involved in animal abuse from the standpoint of cock fighting, dog fighting, throwing cats from bridges, or setting them on fire. His approach to a cat or dog that was not trainable, or vicious, was to take it to the woods, and using a shotgun, end its life quickly.

There were a couple of times later in life, when Cathy was too closely involved. for him to take care of a situation that way. One of those times was when Harry, paid a fee to have a dog put down. To have taken care of the problem himself, would have shown Cathy that he could and would use a gun on an animal she held dear. This could have planted the seed of plausibility that he could and would use a gun on a human. Damned dog was a two hundred dollar Schnauzer, runt of the litter, a rock solid dumb, quivering mass of jelly, and of absolutely no value to himself or the family. Further, he was absolutely not trainable. True, he had learned something, like crapping on the carpet would bring him grief. That was when his pea sized brain went into overdrive and he decided to avoid that problem by jumping into the middle of the bed and making his deposit there. Harry could have easily strangled the dog on the spot and thought nothing of it, but both Cathy and his two year old daughter were watching intently, so Doggy took a trip to the vet to go to sleep. Cathy wondered for years if Harry had really paid to have that dog put down.

Harry's memory of his father, Raiford, was still vivid. He was a hot tempered 'Wool hatter', that's what supporter of Governor Eugene Talmadge was called in the thirties. Raiford carried a long barreled thirty eight stuffed in his right hand back pocket much of the time. Harry had been to a short meeting with his father where he had to stay in the car. So he knew what most of the community didn't know. His daddy was a member of the Klu Klux Klan. Everybody, black and white, made it a point not to get Mr. Raiford red eyed, red faced, or raunchy. Daddy Raiford was a row crop, sandbed Georgia farmer. He didn't have enough money to do anything except buy seed, and make enough to feed the animals and the family. One thing he did have in abundance was integrity, and honesty. Maybe some in the community didn't particularly like him, but they did respect him. Harry Overskille as a very young man, decided not to ever get involved with the Klan. However, he seemed to fit some aspects of the description of what some of their intentions were. Harry kept telling himself, he just didn't think he was, nor ever had been, that different from everybody else. He had always just been much more careful not to get caught.

Chapter 5

The Air Force had contributed to Harry's decision to go ahead with his different sideline occupation. Korea brought about some unusual assignments, one of which was the selection of young airmen who were from farm and woods backgrounds. In particular, they were interested in someone who had learned to become 'one with the trees, the woods, the grass, or whatever, and even more importantly had the ability to read maps quickly and accurately, day or night and call in the coordinates for close up air support. Each man operated entirely on his own. With the latest radio technology of the time, and supported by a thoroughly sighted in M1C, M1D, or the 1903 A4 rifle with a Ten X fixed scope. Two separate barrels were issued with each rifle, and after each field trip, the bore of each was checked to be sure they had not been damaged. One barrel was for a M1C or M1D bore, the other was for a 30-06 bore. It was safe to say none of the barrels were for bush shooting. Harry also had a seventeen caliber and the flat trajectory of the seventeen caliber bullet at something over 2500 feet per second made it a hot weapon. The bullet shattered when it hit the target at such high velocity. It also exploded if it hit anything before it got to the target. The others could get seriously off course when they hit much more than a blade of grass, but the bullets didn't just vaporize the way the seventeen caliber did when it hit something that was not visible in the scope.. Range finders were good, but not as precise as the Leupold Fixed 10 X with the milidot reticle. Still, the only way to have improved on the range was to have it measured with a steel tape. Windage was just a factor the shooter had to learn. Adjustments were fairly easy after practicing every day and expending many thousands of rounds of ammo. The best idea was not to depend too much on the electronic range devices however. What would you do if your batteries were dead. Making shots of a thousand yards with these weapons, was rather ordinary.

Harry later got all the latest rifles, first the 7.62mm [308 caliber] using the 173 grain M118 special ballistics bullet. Later came the Remington 40X, even though the Marines called it the Remington 40. At the longer ranges, the target was dead before the sound of the rifle arrived. Harry had played with the latest fifty caliber weapons, but he felt that was more range and more cumbersome than he would ever need.

The Forward Field Reconnaissance Operator's main objective was to radio in where air strikes were needed, and keep in contact with the Forward Air Control Officers, who were really nuts. They were the guys who flew the damned little Piper Cub pieces of canvas at about eighty miles per hour, at about two hundred feet off the ground looking for North Korean and Chinese troop concentrations. Because the North Koreans and the Chinese were so skilled at disguising and camouflaging, there was a need to have a ground man who could really disrupt things.

The background for becoming a non specialized sniper became important to Harry. Weaponry was only one of the important aspects and one that actually did take a significant amount of time honing the skills and the Air Force provided the training. One of the best things was that in Korea there was no Air Force speciality code so it was not unusual that Harry carried an Administrative 70270 AFSC. His best typewriter was a carefully set up rifle with a target anywhere from three hundred to a thousand yards away.

Chapter 6

Harry started volunteering to take Cathy to Atlanta, particularly on the week ends that Sam was going to be there. There was never any way he could tell whether or not Sam was working for Delphia Mutual, or on one of his extracurricular ventures on those weekends he didn't make it home. Every trip Harry and Cathy made, when Sam was there, resulted in at least two to three hours of intense schooling for Harry, on facets Sam had learned over the years. It occurred to Harry that there was no way in the world that very many people could be as well trained, by any governmental agency, no matter whether they were KGB, CIA, the East German Secret Police, or whatever, wherever. by any other government in any country. Most specifically, Harry knew it was true for his training when the 'Offing'" was to be done in the U.S.A.

The use of absolutely the best and most up to date equipment made, from the simplest devices, to the most complex, was the constant message from Sam. In addition, cost must never to be a concern. Every piece of equipment was considered expendable and must be destroyed after each use. Generally it was melted down, or disassembled down to basic metals with a precise manner of spreading the inert materials so far apart there could be no connection. What did it matter that a thousand dollar Sig was thrown into an electric furnace because it had been the weapon used for a nine hundred thousand dollar assignment? The furnace was where it went. Could you actually justify dismantling an entire automobile, Harley Hog, pickup, or trailer? Sam thought so, and the more he taught Harry, the more Harry's own brain clicked into that same default gear and he started asking Sam what he thought about certain potential aspects of trail covering. The sessions they had, were mentally stimulating for both the men. Had anyone in law enforcement ever overheard even half of any 'training' session, both Harry and Sam would have been put in some underground dungeon and never heard from again.

Harry decided he wanted to use abilities he had developed in mental blocking and compartmentalization as opposed to trying to create one massive set of things to be worked on. In essence, he decided to become three different people. These personas of Harry were Tom, the Negotiator, and job specification specialist, Dick, the Job Master, and Harry the Job Planner. These three personalities were designed to be cooperative, and non competitive. Each functional personality was expected to have a minimum of five different aliases, and appearances, along with all the appropriate documentation. Using this approach, Harry is real but has five aliases, of which Tom and Dick are two. Tom and Dick each have themselves plus five alias each which makes an additional ten, therefore in a chase mode, it would break down as going after fifteen apparent 'perps', including Harry.

A tedious part of the establishment of these different identities was getting the social security cards that related to each of the aliases. Aside from that, there was also the question of getting drivers licenses in various states. Harry had licenses in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, Tom had licenses issued in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Florida. Dick's licenses were issued in Arkansas, Delaware, South Carolina, Kentucky, and West Virginia. All the licenses were issued to addresses that were basically bogus, or to 'drops' where forwarding was done to other 'drops'. Harry, Tom and Dick wore glasses for some license photos and contacts of various colors for others. The various contact lenses were in different colors for each license and the names were done for each of the fourteen other aliases so that which ever of the three major members were using their aliases, every detail was easy to remember. Harry had to have all the vital statistics ready for everybody.

Full documentation for bank accounts, purchase histories, and all the usual credit histories was accomplished, with banking set up for each alias in a different bank. Harry, Tom and Dick kept the major accounts, however, all the foreign numbered accounts were vaguely tied to Harry, who was the only real person in the entire operation. Insurance on vehicles was a major problem, however getting the insurance was not the major difficulty. It was keeping current on each vehicle, and having each vehicle appear to be used by an alias, or one of the three major characters. That required a set of files that was mind boggling. Vehicles were often reported 'stolen'. Funny thing though, was none of them had ever been recovered or found in any form. No accident report existed on any vehicle, however when one happened significant cash changed hands no matter who caused the accident.

What also took a good deal of time and effort, was getting the various numbered foreign bank accounts set up. Huge sums of money were going to be spent and transferred and the only way to do it without questions was to use foreign accounts. Harry, Tom and Dick also dealt with different brokers, and each brokerage house had to be large enough to have foreign offices in countries where Harry, et al, could establish foreign identities so they could move cash from one bank to another, and from one investment option to another. With a series of rapid moves, and investments in foreign companies, the ultimate money laundering was complete, and could then be part of Harry's portfolio, which was invested in primarily American companies.

One of the best aspects of Harry's clients, that is the people who hired him, was that they were all able to use cash, cashiers checks, or rare metals to deal in foreign countries. How they were able to get funds (cash) out of the countries was not Harry's concern. Once the money was in those countries, a set of random numbers determined which laundering institutions were to be used and how the cash, or what ever, was used as the agreed medium of transfer, was to be split. All the transfers were made with varying levels of speed, with the initial movement being the most critical and rapid. As time went on, the money transfers slowed down and after about a year, went into Harry's portfolio. Along the way, Harry developed a large number of foreign relatives and business 'partners', and as they 'died', they always seemed to remember Harry in their will. It was always done in such a fashion that there was no way for Uncle Sam to get a really big tax bite. Over the years, Harry amassed, in cleaned and repatriated funds, between twenty and thirty million dollars, not counting the dividends, interest, and other income which came from totally legitimate work. The money in foreign accounts, which still could not be brought directly into his U.S. personal wealth, was also worth close to another twenty million dollars. That one fact was the reason Harry was attempting to negotiate an immunity for his children and grandchildren. Irrespective of what he did, he was still a serious family man in the intense sense of the word.

How could so much money be paid? Simple really, you perform a service the truly rich can, and will afford, and be sure you keep it to a restricted clientele. Except for the first service, which he performed for his own 'account', the lowest price he was ever paid was three hundred thousand dollars. It all averaged out to five hundred thousand dollars