Yesterday’S Hippies - Today’S Yuppies: A Murder Mystery

By Gordon Leech

In 2005, Elizabeth Hayes Wexler contacts the
Cleveland, Ohio Police Department to ask for help
to get closure to the mysterious 1970 murder of
her brother, William Bill Hayes, who was shot to
death.


The cold case team, headed by Detective Jill
Patterson, accepts the challenge. After sifting
through potential suspects, along with some help
of mystifying dreams, she solves the case with a
surprise ending.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 7, 2012
• ISBN: 9781468575798

Gordon Leech

Gordon Leech is a seventy-one-year-old retiree who migrated to Arizona from Cleveland, Ohio in 2014. He is a Vietnam Veteran who loves sports, reading and regularly participates in his favorite sport-Bowling. In 1973, his mother was stricken with breast cancer and despite a long battle succumbed to the disease. At age fifty-one. His older sister suffered the same fate nineteen years later at the tender age of forty-two. After being invited to his niece’s soccer games, he came away with the realization that women’s sports, although maybe not as rough and tough as men’s sports, are still competitive, interesting and exciting. These events plus his religious beliefs planted the seed to write this novel. He has published another book “Yesterdays Hippies, Todays Yuppies,” in 2012.

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© 2012 by Gordon Leech. 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 03/29/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4685-7580-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-7579-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012905859

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

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Cast of Main Characters

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

About the Author

Dedication

I dedicate this book to:

26791.jpg A generation of men and women of the 1960s.

26793.jpg The Military veterans who served our country.

26795.jpg Those who served our country by opposing wars.

26797.jpg All of us who wanted to change the world.

26799.jpg All of us who still want to change the world.

Acknowledgements

My deep appreciation goes to family and friends who inspired me to pursue and publish this document.

Appreciation also goes to Patricia Palermo Hrdlicka and Anthony Palermo, Jr. for their direction, encouragement and expertise in guiding me through the intricacies of book publishing.

Cast of Main Characters

26801.jpg Elizabeth Hayes Wexler (main character)

26803.jpg Jill Patterson (lead detective)

26805.jpg Kevin Workman (detective)

26807.jpg Tom Brewster (detective)

26809.jpg Carl Washington (detective)

26811.jpg Jack Keller (detective)

26813.jpg Dean Fuller (prosecutor)

26815.jpg Gordon Lynch (one of The Three Musketeers/Athos)

26818.jpg Gary Roach (one of The Three Musketeers/Aramis)

26820.jpg Colonel William Hayes (father of the deceased)

26822.jpg Bill Hayes (victim & one of The Three Musketeers/ D’Artagnan)

26824.jpg William Hayes Wexler (Elizabeth’s son)

26826.jpg Larry—The Seeker (friend of Gary)

26828.jpg Mrs. Grey (rental home owner)

26830.jpg Dan Wexler (Elizabeth’s husband)

26833.jpg Lynn Farnsworth (Gary’s secretary)

Preface

Listed are some important historical facts generally referred to in the text.

26835.jpg Vietnam: The Vietnam War began in 1955 and did not end until 1975, when North Vietnamese forces finally conquered Saigon. All references to the Vietnam War relate to the fact that the newly-elected President Nixon in 1968 promised to end the war. After the election in 1969, American troops massacred hundreds of women and children in the My Lai Massacre leading to increased U.S.A. public opposition to the war.

26837.jpg Woodstock: The Woodstock Festival, a three day music event, was held from August 15-18, 1969, near the town of Woodstock, New York. 32 musical acts performed outdoors in partial rainy weather. 500,000 concert goers attended the pivotal moment of Rock and Roll History.

26842.jpg Kent State: The Kent State University massacre occurred on May 4, 1970, where hundreds of students protested against the invasion of Cambodia by American troops. Four students were shot to death by National Guardsman.

26844.jpg The Three Musketeers: The original manuscript published by French novelist, Alexandre Dumas, in 1844, was about D’Artagnan who was NOT one of The Three Musketeers, but he wanted to be one. The three swashbuckling Musketeers were Athos, Porthos and Aramis, inseparable friends, who lived by the motto, All For One and One For All. Ultimately, D’Artagnan became the fourth Musketeer.

Chapter 1

Murder—1970

The year is 1970—a fall November morning at approximately 4:00 a.m. in Ravenna, Ohio, a small rural town. Bill Hayes walks from a secluded wooden cabin toward the highway with a knapsack on his back. A rifle shot rings out. Bill Hayes is shot in the head.

Chapter 2

Finding the Body—2005

The year is 2005—a rainy October afternoon in Ravenna, Ohio where two hunters tramp through the woods and discover bone matter. After digging a little, the hunters discover what turns out to be the remains of Bill Hayes.

Chapter 3

Investigation Begins—2005

Elizabeth Hayes Wexler is a 54-year-old mother of two, brown hair turning gray, slightly overweight, but otherwise is a fairly well-kept woman for her age.

On a cool October day in 2005, she enters the offices of the Cleveland Police Department. As she passes by the front desk, she hears on TV details of the war in Iraq.

Elizabeth carries a small box of items to present to the cold case investigators. She has an interview and plans to ask for help to bring closure to the mysterious murder of her older brother, William Bill Hayes.

The cold case team questions her about why the local police were not handling this. Elizabeth states, They have, but as she had been told by the local police, it’s a 35-year-old murder case and they cannot spare manpower. The team asks her when she last saw her brother. She tells them she saw him on a Friday night just before the big 1970 Ohio State-Michigan game. She produces an envelope with a letter written by her brother to her and their parents. He handed the letter to her on the evening just prior to the game.

She explains that Bill told her that only she, and no one else, could read the letter until after Sunday morning. This included her mother and father, The Colonel. She promised.

The team opens the envelope and reads the letter in which Bill explains he finally has made up his mind to leave for Canada after the big game because he is convinced that the U.S. government is in the wrong about the Vietnam War.

When the team asks why Bill told her not to share this letter with her parents, Liz explains that her father, a retired colonel, whom everyone refers to as The Colonel, including his children, is an active member in the VFW, and that he would never accept Bill’s decision to leave the country. Bill was afraid that The Colonel would try to stop him.

The team asks Liz where her parents are. She states that The Colonel lives in an assisted living community about 45 minutes from her home. He is doing well, but occasionally needs care. Her mother passed away in 1989, probably of a broken heart.

Elizabeth says that her mom was never right after Bill left, and placed ads in Toronto newspapers every year on the anniversary of his disappearance.

Every ad was the same: Bill, please come back, we miss you.

Mom never did receive a response, Elizabeth sighs and looks skyward, I guess now we know why.

The team asks Elizabeth, Who were the last people to see Bill alive? She says that it was Gordon Lynch and Gary Roach. They were all going to the family’s cabin to make amends over a political disagreement regarding the government’s involvement in the war. The Colonel gave them the keys to the cabin so they could watch the big game as they did many times before.

Elizabeth explains that Gordon and Gary were her brother’s two best friends—they were inseparable as youths and nicknamed The Three Musketeers. They would meet at the Hayes’ house and go to the basement after playing pick-up football or basketball.

Elizabeth flashes back to the 1960s. The music of Janis Joplin is playing on the record player and teens are wearing ’60s clothing. The basement is decorated with beaded curtains, lava lamps, colored light bulbs and couches. A pool table is in the middle of the room.

Elizabeth snaps out of her trance and continues speaking to the detectives. I would bring my girlfriends over and they would flirt with the guys while they played pool. One of the guys was my brother and the other two were his friends, Gary and Gordon. Bill was nineteen, 6' 1, black haired and blue eyed. Gary was also nineteen, rather thin, 5' 8, red haired and prematurely bald. Gordon was 5' 9, about 165 pounds, good-looking with very Italian looks. Gordon would usually talk to me, while the others played pool and flirted with each other."

Elizabeth continued that she had a girlhood crush on Gordon. Although Gary had always pursued her, she was more attracted to Gordon. Gary was far more the scholar than the others, came from a wealthy family and always let people know it.

Elizabeth’s mind flashes back momentarily as she hears the song, The Rain, The Park and Other Things by the Cowsills, dancing in her mind.

I remember one summer night my friends and I got together. Bill, Gordon and Gary were there. The night was going on as usual in our basement—the guys playing pool and the girls flirting. I remember going outside for some fresh air, Gordon followed me and we talked for hours. He told me of his life’s dreams and I told him of mine. Gordon was planning to be the first in his family to receive a college degree. We had many of those talks that summer, but Gordon and I never dated. Gary, on the other hand, constantly asked me out and I always refused. I once told my brother, Bill, about this and he said that he was glad because he thought Gary was no good for me.

The cold case team continues to question Elizabeth. You spoke earlier about a problem or disagreement the guys had.

Liz replies, "Yes, sometime in the summer of 1969, Bill, Gordon and Gary were in the