Sarah's Story: Target of a Serial Killer

By Sarah Lea Pisan

Sarahs Story offers an in-depth look at the mental anguish caused by a sick, twisted predator. It is rare to really be able to examine the torment serial killers and stalkers have on their prey. Unfortunately, there are not often survivors to tell their story.

The images and nightmares that were created by his disturbing, threatening phone calls are brought to the surface giving the reader some real insight into the games played by these psychopaths. Even when the threat is removed, the lasting effects linger.

The physical threat by a deranged monster is always evident. The emotional, mental torture is entirely different. Sarah is one of few people that can offer that firsthand account. She lived it for several months. Sarahs Story gives both the physical and mental aspects of being stalked by a serial killer capable of evils beyond imagination. To make matters worse, the police could not catch him!

Sarah Lea Pisan is a 52-year-old, mother of three, grandmother of five. She currently lives in Oregon, near the coast. She enjoys time spent with her family. She also likes to fish, clam and crab. Her hobbies include painting, reading, and various crafts. She is working in insurance presently.

Please feel free to e-mail me your comments or feedback at [e-mail]

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481729802

Sarah Lea Pisan

Sarah’s Story offers an in-depth look at the mental anguish caused by a sick, twisted predator. It is rare to really be able to examine the torment serial killers and stalkers have on their prey. Unfortunately, there are not often survivors to tell their story. The images and nightmares that were created by his disturbing, threatening phone calls are brought to the surface giving the reader some real insight into the games played by these psychopaths. Even when the threat is removed, the lasting effects linger. The physical threat by a deranged monster is always evident. The emotional, mental torture is entirely different. Sarah is one of few people that can offer that firsthand account. She lived it for several months. Sarah’s Story gives both the physical and mental aspects of being stalked by a serial killer capable of evils beyond imagination. To make matters worse, the police could not catch him! Sarah Lea Pisan is a 52-year-old, mother of three, grandmother of five. She currently lives in Oregon, near the coast. She enjoys time spent with her family. She also likes to fish, clam and crab. Her hobbies include painting, reading, and various crafts. She is working in insurance presently. Please feel free to e-mail me your comments or feedback at [e-mail]

Book preview

SARAH’S STORY

TARGET OF A SERIAL KILLER

SARAH LEA PISAN

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2013 by Sarah Lea Pisan. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 05/10/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-2979-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-2980-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013904886

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

IN THE BEGINNING

THE JOB BEGINS

THE DISAPPEARANCE

RECEIVING THE BEEPER

THE THREATS BEGIN

THE MOVE

FINDING THE BODY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Special Thanks

I would like to give special thanks to Sergeant Bob Hilyard and Detective Mike Brady of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Their diligence and concern for my safety helped me to remain one step ahead of this serial killer!

Detective Robert Bob Melton, who devoted a lot of his time both personally and professionally to protect me and teach me to defend myself. God bless you, rest in peace.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Mojave County Sheriff’s Office and all authorities involved in every aspect of this case from investigations to the execution of Stephen Peter Morin, thank you all!

To the great state of Texas, thank you for honoring the death penalty!

To my three daughters, your presence unknowingly kept me from unimaginable torture and inevitable death.

To my parents, thank you can never express my true feelings or my gratitude. No family should ever have to deal with what you both went through. I love you very much!

To my Uncle David Hardin and my Aunt Shirley Hardin-Brasher, who relocated us to Texas and opened up their home to me and my daughters.

To my friend Sabrina Sams, who helped proof-read my story.

To Matt, T. Matthew DeWaelsche, Archivist / Assistant Manager, San Antonio public library, for your time and effort involved researching and sending me old newspaper clippings.

To my daughter Carrie Frederickson, for all your help collecting information as well as the timely job of editing the book itself.

To my husband Larry, first and most importantly for the numerous hours you spent comforting me as I relived this story. For waking me from the many nightmares I couldn’t seem to escape and for holding me when all I could do was cry. Your encouragement helped me get through this. Without your help and support, both emotionally and financially, this book would have never become a reality. I love you and sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart!

A Note from the Author

Please accept my most sincere apologies for the language used in the writing of this book. There was no way I would have been able to tell this story without it, as you cannot powder coat the things a serial killer says or does. This was one of the many reasons it took so long to write. This story gets graphic in a few places as the killer describes in detail how he plans to kill me; however, most of the extremely graphic details were simply left out.

Although this story is true, I have changed the names of some of the characters for privacy reasons. This includes the names of the sergeant and primary detective working this case. I would also like to point out that I tried to block this tragic and stressful time out of my mind for several years, so some of the dates may be slightly off.

While reading, please keep in mind that at the time technology was not nearly as advanced as it is today. We didn’t have the convenience of cell phones. Our alternative option was to carry a beeper. We had only two kinds: on one you could only receive a callback number, on the other you would actually receive a voice message. I carried the one where you heard the message itself. These were our only options at the time. We didn’t have the technology for the public to just go out and buy a small camera to spy on or watch someone with, either. A spy cam was simply unheard of. This made it hard to determine how this serial killer was actually able to watch me so closely. All I can do is speculate at this point.

Please also keep in mind that I do not claim to be a writer, I am simply trying to tell my story. I believe women need to know how real this is and how easily these types of things can happen! People are not always as they seem!

May God bless you and keep you safe!

A Note from Mom…

Imagine relaxing after a long day of work. You’re just sitting down to eat dinner with your husband and watch some mindless television.

Suddenly, the ringing phone disrupts the quiet evening you had planned and your world is tossed into chaos. On the other end of the phone is a detective from Las Vegas Metropolitan Police. He has called to inform you that your youngest daughter has been linked to a homicide—your youngest daughter, who lives by herself with young children 95 miles away.

Before hanging up, he tells you that if you care to see your daughter alive again, you better get her out of Las Vegas immediately!

Your heart starts pounding. You are still trying to figure out if it’s real when your husband yells, What happened? You didn’t hear him the first few times he had asked, but seeing your ghost-white complexion, he knows something is horribly wrong… .

—Lura Carter

IN THE BEGINNING

It was a warm, sunny day that 26th day of January, 1980. I was nineteen years old and had just recently become a single mother with three young daughters. My husband and I had split up just a few months previously. Unfortunately, it did not end on the friendliest of terms. We had a really bad argument one night and he tried to commit suicide. Feeling somewhat responsible, this only added to the stress I was under. I didn’t feel like I could handle much more.

My mind kept replaying everything over and over again. Then I started questioning myself: what could I have done differently in my marriage? Was I really responsible for my husband’s suicide attempt? Should I give him another chance? Did I ruin my life and make the right choice for my children’s future? Would things actually work out for us in Las Vegas where I was now heading to start a new life with them?

I knew firsthand Las Vegas was a busy place with a lot of people, so I figured that there would surely be several jobs. My concern was whether I could make it there financially being that I was under 21 years of age? There were so many questions going through my mind; some excitement and a lot of fear. I knew I had to make a decision and do what I thought would be best for myself, as well as for my children.

Las Vegas seemed the logical choice, as I was spending a lot of my time there anyway. I was a volunteer Firefighter\Emergency Medical Technician with the Clark County Fire Department. The main station was based in Las Vegas, so this is where my medical and fire science training classes were taken. Clark County paid for all of this training and I wanted to keep all of my certifications and training up to date.

I had been working out of the station based in Laughlin for a little over a year. Laughlin, Nevada is a small town across the Colorado River from Bullhead City, Arizona, where the kids and I had been living and were now leaving. It was still a small town, so we didn’t get a lot of residential calls. Most of our calls were from the Casinos or they were bad traffic accidents. I was very eager to get more experience than I was getting at that location, so I started working out of our bigger stations in Las Vegas. When I worked there, I was able to get a lot more experience. We ran as many as 27 calls in a 24-hour period of time. These stations always seemed to be busy. It would have taken me about four or five months to get the same kind of experience in Laughlin.

This move would also eliminate the 200-mile roundtrip drive that I was making back and forth from Bullhead City for every class. I would save a lot of time, as well as the gas money. To make things even better, I had met a nice Christian family at a local church who offered the kids and I a place to stay until I found a job and got myself settled.

I could work a regular job, continue volunteering for the Fire Department, get my necessary training and start life over again all at the same time. I even had a place to stay. Everything just seemed to fit and I was definitely ready for a fresh start! I somehow knew this year would change my life, and it did forever!

My oldest daughter, Stephanie Faye was five. The second, Julie Marie, was to turn four March 14, and we had just celebrated Carrie Lea’s third birthday two days ago. I wanted to be able to celebrate her birthday with her grandparents and sister before we made our move. Stephanie would not be moving with us for the first few months.

My mother and stepfather figured it would be much easier for me to start out with two of the girls instead of all three. My mother kept telling me, Think of the babysitting alone that you would save money on, not to mention the groceries! She had wanted to adopt Stephanie when she was born as I was such a young mother. She was very close to her. I knew that she would be well-loved and taken care of. It would also be easier on me living in someone else’s house. John and Sally had two out of three children at home and this would be four kids in their home now. Plus, mine would be the youngest and most likely the noisiest.

I knew my housing situation would only be temporary. This way I would not need to worry about changing Stephanie’s school again once I found my own home. I (with added help) convinced myself this was a good idea and would work for me and the kids.

With my income tax return in my pocket, we loaded up my brown 1972 Chevy Monte Carlo with our clothes, personal items and lots of toys. Then we were on our way! We said our tearful goodbyes and began the drive to our new home in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas is only 95 miles away from Bullhead City, but I knew within twenty minutes to an hour the kids would most likely be asleep. Riding in a vehicle seemed to always put them out. This was the method I used to get them to sleep as infants when nothing else would work. The long drive never seemed to fail. This would be another long drive.

Our first stop was the gas station where I filled the gas tank. My stepfather Rick had already checked all of my fluid and water levels before we left, so I knew those were fine. We would just need to go into the store and get our drinks and snacks. With our drinks picked out, our next stop was the dreaded candy aisle. Julie had gum in her hand before I could tell her I didn’t want it in the car. Julie, no gum, okay honey? Okay, mama she replied, as she continued her search. Julie had to check everything out for herself. She was a very curious child, who also wanted to know how everything worked. Carrie, on the other hand, made her choice quickly.

With the final selections made and paid for, we headed back out to the car. I settled the kids in so they could easily sleep in comfort for the drive. Or, if they for some reason actually stayed awake, they would have a few toys to play with. I was hoping the kids would stay awake for this trip. I would have music ready in case; whatever it took to keep my mind occupied.

We had just barely gotten around Davis dam when I felt the wind gusts start coming up real strong. I had to keep a firm grip on the wheel to avoid going into the other lane or off the road completely. Well, I thought, this is going to be a real fun trip. Oh well, it was still more welcome then my own personal thoughts that only seemed to stop for brief periods of time but, always reverted back to one tragic memory or another. My mind was definitely my worst enemy right then.

We had gotten a later start than I wanted to, but we really didn’t have a schedule either. As long as we got there in time for dinner, I would still be able to put things away little by little and settle in for a good night’s sleep. This would be okay and we wouldn’t be getting there too late.

The traffic was heavy that afternoon. I was wondering if they were having some kind of convention in Las Vegas. There was always something happening in Vegas! I think the kids only lasted about 20 minutes before they were both fast asleep, as I had expected.

After messing with the radio for about five minutes, I gave up trying to find a station and put a cassette tape in. Trying to find a radio station in such a remote area was not an easy task, as we had very few to choose from. A few minutes of the tape was all I could handle, it was more of an annoyance than relaxing to me for some reason. So, I turned the music off. The road noise was going to have to be it. I didn’t understand it because music is usually my way to unwind when I’m stressed out. I was trying not to think about the negative, but my mind was replaying memories from my past.

I was not really surprised when my mind went back to my childhood. In this memory, I was four years old and my mother was shot. My sister and I were in the room next to hers when it happened. First I see the image of her lying on the sidewalk in a pool of blood then I see the clothes that she was wearing and remember kissing her goodbye. I then replay the events in my mind, as I remember hearing it happen.

It was late at night when my sister and I were woken up by arguing coming from our mother and new stepfather’s room. We knew it was serious even as children. We weren’t used to hearing the fighting and yelling we heard that night. I remember the first gunshot going off. Then our mother screamed and hit the floor. We knew she had been hit. We heard another gunshot and then the third gunshot rang out followed by another loud crash. My sister and I were screaming like crazy. We both thought that our mother was dead! Where we next?

As we later found out, my mother had drug herself over to the neighbor’s house to call for help. She asked her to get us out of the house and to call the police. I remember being led out of the house with this woman’s hand trying to cover me and my sister eyes. Her technique didn’t work out very well and we later found out she had been drunk at the time. It does explain why she didn’t respond to the initial fighting or the gunshots though.

My sister and I saw almost everything; from the trail of blood leading outside to and from our mother, to the now dead stepfather with a bullet lodged in his head somewhere. There was blood all over. It’s amazing how much detail I can still remember, even with so much time gone by. Then we were taken to our grandparents’ house by the police.

We were then informed that our mother had been shot in the leg. Her husband thought he had killed her when she fell. So, he then turned the gun on himself. The bullet hit him somewhere in the head and it killed him instantly. It remains a gruesome memory. I was sure glad my marriage hadn’t come to anything like that.

I then go to the time when my mother walked into our house and found her husband choking me over the dining room table. Walking into that made her realize he was actually abusing us and she needed to do something about it. I was literally turning blue from the lack of oxygen. It was hard to get my breath back even after he had released the grip on my neck. I remember choking violently for several minutes. All the while, he was telling my mother I was faking it.

Our abuse from this relationship lasted for about eight years. It started soon after they were married and continued on an almost daily basis for the remainder of the eight-year marriage until she found out what was actually happening. He had given his own son up by signing adoption papers on him. He thought that my mother should do the same thing. Then it would be just the two of them. When she told him that she would never do that, he revolted and started taking it out on us.

I recall being hit, choked, slapped, kicked, pushed around and grounded for months at a time, to name a few things. He even used to come into our room at night and put pillows over our heads, trying to suffocate us. He would hold our pillows tightly over our mouths until we would actually go limp and quit fighting him. At this point, he would let go and leave the room, usually with mocking laughter.

We knew he hated us! We just didn’t know whether he would actually kill us or not. He always threatened that he would and he was certainly mean enough! We were constantly being warned about telling anyone about it, especially my mother or our family.

I remember him closing me up in a dark closet at night because I was afraid of the dark. I believe I was about five years old at that time. I recall one night being particularly scary because I had caught a glimpse of a big black spider in the corner before he closed the door on me.

Living in the Arizona desert, this was most likely a black widow spider. I wouldn’t quit screaming and crying, even though he threatened to kill me if I didn’t shut up. He finally had to kill the spider to get me to stop crying. He realized I would be waking my mother if I kept screaming and then he would have to explain himself. My mother went to bed earlier than he did, as she was the only one working. He had been laid off from his job.

He used to make us bend over so he could kick us in the tailbone when he wore his steel-toed boots. There were so many things he did to us, it was unreal the cruelty that this man showed towards children. It seemed as though we were always bruised, sore or limping. To this day on an x-ray my tailbone looks like a broken dog’s tail. My children had never been abused like this and I would do my best to see to it that they never would be.

Finally, we were nearing Searchlight, Nevada. This seemed to calm my mind’s racing thoughts. It was time for a needed bathroom break and a new soda. I was looking forward to waking the children up and telling them that we were halfway there. I needed the excitement that they would convey. I had to stop thinking about this stuff; it was mentally draining to me. I would wake the kids up with excitement in my voice, no matter what my true mental state was. They surely did not need to feel my stress.

Hey kiddos! It’s time to wake up. We’re halfway there. Carrie woke up fairly easily, but Julie slept like a rock. Seeing this, Carrie decided to help me wake her by whacking her in the head with her bear. She didn’t hit her hard enough to really hurt since it was a stuffed bear, but Julie did wake up. It was actually kind of funny to see and I had to fight back the urge to laugh. It was what I needed, the look on Julie’s face let me know she knew something had happened to her but not exactly what. I just smiled at her and we started the task of finding shoes.

Do you want a drink, honey? I asked. She was still somewhat sleepy, but managed to nod yes. Julie could put her own shoes on, but Carrie would put them on the wrong feet if she didn’t want to walk. She knew how to get her way most of the time. They all did.

We went inside the Searchlight Nugget Casino, which was really the only stop at that time for travelers when the gas station next door had closed up for the day. The small casino had a restaurant, so we would all be allowed to go inside in spite of being under 21.

With two children in tow, they weren’t really too worried about me stopping to play the machines unnoticed. After using the restroom, we went into the dining area to sit down at the counter. There were three waitresses on duty, a couple of bus people, and only about a handful of customers. This left several empty tables, but the employees were staying busy cleaning and stocking.

The menu showed a wide selection with burgers, sandwiches, steaks and several other dinner items along with specials. The food smelled good too! I could smell it before entering the casino. It had to be a steak. It sure made my mouth water. I decided that I would just get us some fries though because the kids loved them and that would be enough until we got to Vegas, where we would have dinner that night at our new home with the McQueen family.

While waiting for the french fries, the kids were enjoying the noises that were coming from the slot machines. They both wanted to go watch and, of course, play with them. I held on to Carrie. I knew if I didn’t she would be gone. There was way too much temptation there.

Julie set in the chair next to us looking at everything wide-eyed. She didn’t ask her usual twenty questions, she must have still been too sleepy. Maybe the whack on her head from her sister dazed her more than I thought! I knew it didn’t really hurt her but I had to laugh at the thought. I would have actually been freaking out had she actually hurt her. I was trying to keep my sense of humor!

Our waitress brought our fries to us in a bag, as I had asked. She included plenty of salt and ketchup. I figured it would be less of a mess being as we were in the car. The ketchup would probably be a step left out though. I could imagine the mess that would bring. She also commented on how cute and well-behaved the girls were and then she said goodbye to them. They were a bit shy at first, but they finally started warming up to her.

I thanked her, left her a tip and went toward the register. The cashier also commented on how cute the kids looked in their little outfits, wrinkles and all. After paying for the fries and exchanging pleasantries, we headed for the door. The kids waved goodbye to the waitress from the time we got to the register all the way to the front door, which was even after losing sight of her.

The door opened with a swift gust of wind that chilled us instantly. It felt like the temperature had dropped about 20° while we were inside. Julie looked up at me and said I’m cold mama! Come on honey, we’ll hurry! I told her as I grabbed her hand a little tighter while picking up the pace to a slow jog. I was careful so I wouldn’t make her fall. Carrie was huddled tightly against me as I carried her. I could tell that she was as cold too even though she said nothing.

We got to the car and I got the door open for the girls as quickly as I could. Julie jumped in. With all the padding and blankets I had back there, she managed to bounce on the seat pretty good. Seeing this, I thought about how much Carrie loves to bounce too, so I slightly bounced her on her feet before sitting her down. Whoa! I said with excitement in my voice looking at her very wide-eyed. I thought you blowed away! I smiled at her and looked at Julie who was also smiling and now beginning to laugh. Mama, you’re silly Julie replied. Carrie then started chuckling with her cute little laugh. Seeing the kids smile and hearing them laugh like this warmed my heart. I began to laugh myself. I was beginning to feel much better.

With the kids settled in, drinks and fresh french fries in place for their easy access, I locked the back door and started the car. I now needed the heater because of the temperature change. I put the heater on high and kicked the fan up.

I was thankful the car was warm from the previous fifty miles. Girls, are you warming up yet? I turned to them and received yes nods from both girls. I figured we were good for the time being. I strapped my seat belt on and, when the traffic permitted, I pulled back out onto the highway. Now that the kids were eating and laughing, they would most likely stay awake for the remainder of the trip. I would try to keep them talking and excited.

Julie was obviously bored with small talk because she started singing between bites. It was a combination of songs from what I could make out. Carrie tried to join in with her a couple of times, but gave up trying to follow her when she kept switching songs. I enjoyed listening to them sing. Their voices so sweet, even the missed words and tones were cute.

Julie soon got tired of being the entertainment and asked Mama, would you turn on the radio please? Sure honey" I replied. We were getting closer to Vegas and the good radio stations should be coming in now.

After tuning in several different radio stations, I finally found one playing the music that we would all like. Will this work? I asked the girls. Yeah Julie said while Carrie just nodded with a yes. As usual, I had to glance in the rearview mirror for Carrie’s response. The children all listened to music quite often with me. When the songs they knew came on, they would join in singing. Just what the doctor ordered, I thought to myself. I was more focused now on the positive and I was actually excited!

The last half of the trip seemed to fly by. Before I knew it we were approaching Railroad Pass, which is only a few miles before you can actually see the lights of Las Vegas. We would still have to go through Henderson before actually getting into Las Vegas. Then Henderson would connect us straight into town.

We were now only about 25 miles from our new home and you could see the lights of Las Vegas really well. The Strip and Fremont Streets are where most of the bigger and more famous casinos are located and the lights are really wonderful. The casinos are brightly lit up with scrolling marquees and most of the bigger casinos have their own themes. For example, the Tropicana has a tropical island theme while the Sahara has a desert theme and Circus-Circus has actual live circus acts on the midway in the casino, complete with carnival games and prizes, etc.

The kids have always loved going to Circus-Circus. They enjoyed all the games, the colored lights and all the different noises. We frequently visited Circus-Circus whenever I needed to be in Las Vegas if they were with me. I think they had about forty or fifty stuffed animals that we had won on the games there.

We all liked Vegas a lot, which was another good reason to move there. At that thought, my mind started racing again with excitement. I had Sally give me the detailed directions and with my previous ambulance experience here, I was real sure I knew where I was going. We didn’t stop anywhere on the way through Vegas, we went directly to John and Sally McQueen’s house, our new home.

We found the house with no problems. The biggest problem I was having was trying to answer all the questions the kids were asking me. Excitement somehow switched to curiosity. It seemed like they questioned me about everything from why the sky was blue to what the house we would be living in is like.

Julie had just opened her mouth to ask are we there yet? when we turned the last corner. I spoke up before she could finish. Kids, this is the street we will be living on. We’re almost there! They got excited then. They both set up and tried harder to see out the window. With all the pillows and padding in there, it was a real task.

I rechecked the address as we approached. I’ve never been to John and Sally’s home before and certainly didn’t want to go to the wrong house. With the correct house now in sight, I could see that the house was very modern and beautiful. I could also tell driving into this neighborhood, that it was in one of the newer suburbs of Las Vegas.

It was a single story house beautifully landscaped, with a built-in two-car garage. The roof was a light tan, brown and peach colored Spanish tile. You could see the brick chimney. There was obviously a fireplace somewhere inside. I pointed out the actual house and I could hear Julie say, Oooouuu. It made me chuckle.

When we pulled into the driveway, all of the McQueen family came out to greet us. Welcome home! they all yelled out. It felt like we were long lost relatives. It made me feel good and very welcome. With the sun going down and the wind still blowing hard, it was only getting colder. We saved most of our greetings for inside.

Sally took Julie’s hand and asked her Are you cold, Sweetie? Julie looked up at her with big wide eyes and replied with a Yeah, burr as she stood there shivering. I laughed and pulled Carrie closer to me to shield her from the cold and wind.

John yelled and asked me to leave my keys so that he, Jeff, and Jenny could unload our belongings from the trunk while we got familiar with things inside. I tossed him the keys and then hurried inside with the children.

Sally showed us where we’d be staying. She had everything so well set up for us, that we really only needed our clothes. We would be staying in our own large room with our own phone and TV. The bed was a California king bed, so there would be plenty of room for all of us. We would have all the privacy we needed and a place to give John and Sally’s family a break from us as well. It was perfect.

The inside of the house was even more beautiful than the outside. It had four bedrooms, two bathrooms and was all custom woodwork with a fireplace that was usable from two different rooms. The kids loved the house just as much as I did. Sally obviously had an eye for decorating. It was all very classy looking. It could have easily been used as a bed and breakfast type house from the decor.

John McQueen was a very nice, handsome man in his early forties with very strong features. He was slightly over six feet tall and kept himself obviously fit. He worked as a craps dealer at the Frontier Hotel and Casino on the Strip.

Sally, on the other hand, was small-framed and petite. She was very pretty with short, dark hair. She was also somewhere in her early forties. Sally had real sharp features and was probably one of the sweetest people you could ever meet.

Jenny, the only daughter, was fourteen years old and had Sally’s small frame and features. But, she had blond hair. She was very friendly and well-mannered as was Jeff, the younger of their two sons. Jeff was only twelve years old. He was a nice looking young man and, according to Sally, was starting to go through a growth spurt. He shared the same blond hair color as his sister Jenny.

John, the oldest son, was twenty-two years old and living on his own somewhere across town. John was also a dealer and he worked at the Union Plaza Casino downtown. We didn’t really see that much of him. He, like the rest of the family, was nice-looking with Sally’s dark hair color.

I got the kids interested in a cartoon so I could go help finish unloading and get everything from the inside of the car brought in. I was already in the right parking spot. I had straightened that out with Sally prior to my arrival.

John and the kids got everything from the trunk taken inside and then started helping me with the inside stuff. When Jeff saw all the pillows and padding, he laughed and asked how the kids enjoyed the ride. Did they bounce around the car on the way or what? he asked. I laughed and told him Yeah, they love to bounce and swing on things! They’re like little monkeys. At that reply, he laughed again.

When I looked up, John was coming back out for another load so I informed him that they had gotten all they could and I would have to take care of the last few things myself. The kids should be no problem. I assured them as they walked away. John waved me off as if to tell me they wouldn’t be any trouble anyway!

I knew they would be no problem they were very well-behaved and I constantly received compliments at places about how good they were. I could literally take them into a glass shop and they would never touch anything. They were rewarded very well for being good kids.

I was still hurrying, but it was more from the excitement. When I got inside and put everything down, I went to check on the kids. To my surprise, Jenny was in there with them. I was very touched at how she was playing and responding to them. I was afraid at first that she may not be fond of having little kids around but, as it seemed, she might enjoy it instead.

Jenny, I interrupted her if they start driving you crazy let me know okay? I will send them to their room or outside! She laughed and said I don’t think that will happen. You worry too much. Then I laughed and told her, I know. I’ve always been a worrier. I just don’t want us being here to stress you guys out!

I babysit the kids next door, so I know how bratty kids can be and there is, no way that these two could compare to them. Besides, I’m looking forward to it she concluded. Then she jumped up suddenly and said Oh no, I was supposed to get the pizza ordered for dinner! Then she ran out of the room.

Well, are you guys having fun? I asked the girls to which they both gave me a yes reply. Carrie’s nod yes had so much emphasis that she actually scooted across the carpet a bit. Julie answered with It’s really nice here, Mama! I smiled and told them to keep watching cartoons and soon we would be having pizza for dinner. They both squealed at the mention of pizza.

The room we were in had one of the six televisions that were within the house. If we all wanted to watch something different, we could. Sally let us know that this was the playroom. The kids were welcome to come in here and play with anything, any time they wanted to, or watch TV as loud as they wanted. John had added this particular room onto the house and he had soundproofed it. He worked the graveyard shift at the casino, so he needed a room people could go into during the day and not keep him awake with noise. This was it.

Sally assured me that if I left the door open I could hear the kids, or I could just hit the intercom system to listen to them at any time. The intercom and Security System were together and went throughout the entire house. John sent me the house keys and the security code fearing I might show up while they were gone. I was already familiar with the security part of the system. The intercom should be easy.

When