“I didn’t even notice that,” Steve said. “I was too worried about getting shotgun pellets in my car or spending my weekend in the Rogers County Jail.” The two men shared a “thank god that didn’t happen” laugh and drove on.
The next stop on their investigative journey was the Walters’ house.
“Here we go,” Booger said. “Remember. Let’s put on our nice faces and see what we can get before we play the ace in the hole.”
CHAPTER 19
Walters and her family lived in the Fieldstone housing addition just east of Claremore Lake. Fieldstone was a nice upper-middleclass neighborhood with large houses on acre lots, and the addition was a fairly recent expansion to the Claremore realty market. Every house had a wooden swing set or a trampoline in the backyard; some had both. Now, just a few years after the neighborhood was originally developed, only a couple of empty lots remained, and sold signs were erected on both of those.
The Walters lived in a two-story beauty near the back of the addition. There was a six-foot-tall wooden privacy fence around the back half of the acre lot and several tall trees dispersed around the property. From the size of the trees, Steve determined that this was one of the older houses in the neighborhood.
As they walked to the front door, Steve noticed heat upon his arms from the sun now beaming down through a few clouds on this beautiful Oklahoma spring morning. Walters’ husband answered in sweats and a T-shirt that looked slept in, his hair still a mess. He scratched his round belly and asked, “How may I help you gentlemen?”
“I’m Steve Hanson, and this is my colleague, Harold Thomas.
We represent Scottie Pinkerton in his federal appeal.”
“Oh. I thought he was all done with appeals and off to death row.”
“Well,” Steve said, “after the appeals in state court, he gets an appeal at federal court. But yeah, it doesn’t look good for the fellow when it gets to this point. We’re just doing a standard investigation as part of our due diligence at this phase.”
“You can come in then, have a seat on the couch. Can I get you some coffee?” Mr. Walters turned toward the hallway. “Hey, honey, there are some men here about Scottie Pinkerton.”
Walters came around the corner dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a tight-fitting, peach-colored workout T-shirt. Her blonde hair was styled as if she had been to the salon, and her face was perfectly made up with eyeliner and lipstick. The outfit fully accentuated the curves of her athletic body; now in her thirties, she was still an attractive and fit woman.
Steve looked at his watch; it was 10:25 a.m. He wondered if this was common attire for her on a Saturday morning in March or if she was truly on her way to or from the gym.
Walters raised her arms in the air with a smile on her face and said, “Welcome to Walters Inc. I am president and CEO of this fine establishment! How can I help you today?”
Steve and Booger stood up, and Steve extended his hand. “Good morning, Mrs. Walters. Sorry to bother you on a weekend. I’m Steve Hanson, and this is my colleague, Harold Thomas. We represent Scottie Pinkerton in his federal appeal.”
Steve looked around the room and noticed everything was “in its place,” not a mess anywhere to be seen—not even on the kitchen counters in the adjoining room. He then said, “We are interviewing everyone that testified at his trial, as well as anyone
else we believe might have useful information.”
“Well, I don’t know what I can tell you that would be helpful, and to be honest, I still haven’t gotten over the fact he killed my best friend. I know he had a temper, but until that day, I never thought he was a murderer.” She said the last sentence with a look of disappointment and heartache.
“That’s interesting. As I recall from your testimony, you kind of thought he might be the killer,” Steve said.
“Well, that was seven years ago, and I just testified the way the prosecutor asked me to. It seemed clear from the evidence Scottie had done it. So, I did what I was told to help them get their conviction. I do remember Mr. Battel telling me that I had done an excellent job on my testimony.” She smiled proudly.
“Can you tell us what your exact relationship with Scottie and Ashley was?” Steve asked.
“Ashley was my best friend. We had known each other since we were little kids. We went to elementary school at Justus-Tiawah together. I’ll never forget the day we met. One day during recess, in the fall of fifth grade, some boys were making fun of my clothes. I lived in the trailer park just west of the Racino, although it was still just a horse racing track at that time. The people of Oklahoma hadn’t yet voted to allow slot machines in the racetracks. Anyway, those boys were making fun of my cheap clothes, and then up walks Ashley. She told them to shut up and even pushed one of them down. That girl had no fear. The boys ran off, and we were best friends from that day forward. I always looked up to her and appreciated her standing up for me that day. She was my hero.” Walters began tearing up as she told this story. Her husband brought her a tissue, sat down, and put one of his arms around her.
“What about Scottie?” asked Steve.
Walters’s attitude quickly changed to one of disdain. “He was her high school love and was never much more than that to me. I mean, I was around him a lot, but never without Ashley. So, I can’t really tell you a lot about him.” Steve noticed she subtly glanced toward her husband with apprehension as she said this. “The two of them started dating our sophomore year,” Walters continued. “Other than a brief time when they split up in our junior year, they were together ever since. She got pregnant when we were all eighteen. It was right after we graduated from Claremore High School in 2004. He proposed as soon as they found out about the baby, and they got married shortly thereafter. Sadly, she ended up miscarrying that child. As far as I knew, they were going to wait awhile before trying to have a baby again after that happened, but she ended up pregnant three years later. That is when Gabriel was born.”
“When was the last time you saw Ashley alive?” asked Steve.
“It was the morning of her murder.”
Steve and Booger glanced briefly at one another.
“I started my morning at the gym like I do every Saturday.”
Steve thought Every Saturday, she said, the same as Scottie’s weekly round of golf. That part of his story lined up, then.
“When I was done there, I went by Ashley’s house to see how she was doing. She had confided in me the day before that she thought Scottie was cheating on her. I went by to see what she knew and console her if she had found any real proof. When I got there, she told me it was just a hunch based on the way he had been acting. She didn’t have any concrete proof. She was going to confront him when he got home from his golf game. I left and wished her good luck. About an hour or so later, I got a phone call from her brother, Brent; he told me the news.”
“Is there anything else you think we should know?” asked Steve.
“No,” Walters said with a shake of her blonde head. “That is pretty much all I know.”
As he began to stand up, Steve thanked Walters and her husband for their time. Booger stood as well, and they all exchanged pleasantries. Just as they reached the doorway, Booger turned and said, “We were just out at the Whitmore Ranch visiting Whitmore. Deputy Blackburn pulled in while we were leaving. It looked like he was there on his day off. Are the two of them friends?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say they are friends. Of course, we have all known each other for years and went to high school together, but Andy was probably out there to visit Gabriel. Ever since the day Ashley was killed, Andy has kind of been like a big brother to him. Andy says he feels some responsibility to take care of Gabriel since he is the one who carried him out of the house that day. He goes out there almost every Saturday, I think, and takes Gabriel places. I think Brent and Julie honestly appreciate the break with one less child in the house.”
“Do you know what they do?” Booger asked.
“I think they just go to the park at the lake most days, or just whatever. I’m honestly not sure about all the details.”
“Okay,” Booger said. “Thanks.”
After the two men got into the car and began to pull away, Steve looked over at Booger. “What do you think?”
“Well, she was definitely hiding something. I could tell that clear as day. The only question is, was she just hiding her affair, or did she kill her hero to take her place on the mantel? I’ve seen it several times over the years. You have two best friends, one with a strong personality and the other a follower. Over time, the idolization turns to something else, and the follower wants not only to start having a say in the relationship but to also take over the other person’s life. It definitely explains why she started sleeping with Scottie, but I’m not sure if it makes her a murderer.” Booger turned and smiled at Steve, “One thing I do know; this sure is going to be an interesting journey, my friend. I’m glad you got me involved. Let’s go to that park.”
Steve turned right on Blue Starr Drive and drove toward the park. As they neared the parking lot adjacent to the playground, they saw the sheriff’s patrol car. Steve pulled his car up next to it. Both men got out. Booger took a few pictures of Deputy Blackburn pushing Gabriel on the swing before they approached.
As they got within earshot, Deputy Blackburn left his position behind the swing and headed toward them. By the time they met up, all three men were a considerable distance from Gabriel.
Deputy Blackburn calmly said, “Hello, gentlemen. I know why you are here. Brent told me who you are and what you are up to. I would be happy to meet with you sometime when the little man is not around.” He turned and gave a nod toward Gabriel still on the swing. “I don’t like to talk shop around him, especially not this case. I’m sure you understand.”
Steve spoke first, “Yes, of course, there’s no reason for him to hear about it. Is there a time next week you’d be available?”
“My on-duty hours are Monday through Thursday from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every week, but I would be happy to meet with you anytime that Gabe is not around. Brent told me about your theory, and I would love to find out what you have uncovered. As a lawman and the first officer on the scene, I would hate it if we got the wrong person. However, I must tell you that I find it highly unlikely we made a mistake. Considering all the evidence that pointed to your guy, there is no doubt in my mind the right man is in prison. That said, I’m extremely curious to see what you
think my department missed in the investigation.”
Steve looked at Booger and said, “I have a court hearing on Monday. Can you do Tuesday?”
Booger nodded. “I’m fairly open at the body shop this week and I got a text earlier the Javelin I expected on Monday won’t be coming in. I can be wherever whenever, young man.”
Steve turned back to Deputy Whitmore. “How about Tuesday morning around nine thirty?”
“Can you do 4:00 p.m.? That way, I don’t have to worry about being called away if something comes up, since I will be officially off-duty.”
