Falba F. Turner, my colleague, patiently listened to endless stories of virtually every person mentioned in this book. She never told me to just shut up. She read first and second drafts of every chapter as they were written and asked very good questions. I have selfishly exploited her considerable intellectual power.

The cooperation of the Austin Police Department has been superb. Specifically, Lieutenant David Parkinson, presently the head of APD's Robbery/Homicide Division, very patiently responded to my repeated telephone calls, requests and visits. Never once did he attempt to influence my work, yet he generously shared his considerable knowledge and training in response to my numerous questions. Lieutenant Parkinson also located and contacted Houston McCoy and Ramiro Martinez for me and made those interviews possible. My good friend, Detective J.W. Thompson, helped me locate the full names of many Austin Police officers on the force in 1966. He also greatly assisted my efforts to copy pictures in the Austin Police Department Files. Special Agent James Echols of the Austin Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation provided valuable insights and technical expertise. He also greatly assisted in my Freedom of Information Act application for FBI files. Mike Cox, Chief of Media Relations and Assistant Commander Enrique Garcia of the Texas Department of Public Safety made possible my review of the DPS files on the event. Coincidentally, Mike Cox was a 17-year-old reporter for the Austin American-Statesman in 1966 and was one of the first reporters to reach 906 Jewell Street after the sniping incident. He generously provided me a copy of his account of 1 August 1966.

I am indebted and deeply grateful to Houston McCoy of Menard, Texas. My interview of Houston took most of a day of detailed and sometimes painful recollections. We were honored to use the comfortable home of Hugh Bob Spiller for our work. Houston also made available his collection of pictures, clippings and other memorabilia on the Tower incident. Judge Ramiro Martinez, Justice of the Peace of precinct 2 of Comal County, Texas, very generously gave of his time for an interview. We drank a great deal of coffee at Luby's Cafeteria in New Braunfels, Texas and he refused to let me pay. Phillip Conner, now Sergeant-Investigator for the Travis County District Attorney very thoughtfully met with me on very short notice. Mr. Conner was also helpful in dealing with unexpected problems associated with the development of this work.

I did meet for a short time with Mr. C.A. Whitman of Lantana, Florida. He was a very gracious gentleman who welcomed me to his home. While we did not agree on terms for an indepth interview, our parting was amicable and I do wish to thank him for the time he did spend with me. Lawrence A. Fuess of L.A. Fuess Partners Engineers of Dallas very thoughtfully provided for lunch while I interviewed him in his office.

My former colleague, Dr. Charles Carrick, presently the Superintendent of Scotsboro City (Alabama) Public Schools and an attorney, and Joseph M. Bertrand, an attorney from New Orleans, also provided helpful guidance. Brother David Sinitiere, F.S.C., helped me focus and clarify my thoughts on the writings of St. Thomas Acquinas.

Dr. Albert Lalonde, a neuro-surgeon and former Chief of Staff of Brackenridge Hospital welcomed me to his home and reviewed autopsy and other medical reports associated with the Whitman Case.

Other friends and colleagues from the Austin area who provided valuable observations and advice included Norm Hood, who helped me understand the finer points of the arsenal Whitman used from the deck, Karen Pennell, Shannon McGuire, Will Brennan, and Bruce and Val Nordquist. My dear friend, Linda McDonald, often caught mistakes no one else noticed; her irreverence kept me from taking myself too seriously. Pam Lange of Dallas, Texas gave me much needed advice and help in navigating through the business of publishing. Dr. Richard Sawyer of Iowa City, Iowa helped me to construct the prediction model used in the discussion of problems associated with predicting who will become a mass murderer. Charles Sidney Stutes of Rayne, Louisiana reviewed early drafts of the first chapters and helped to determine the direction of the final manuscript.

The staffs of the Barker History Center of the University of Texas at Austin, and the Austin History Center of the Austin Public Library patiently hauled stacks of files and scrapbooks for my use. Especially helpful was Daniel Barrera of UT's Undergraduate Library. Dan has annotated the Whitman Papers and is an author of note. He made available much of his personal collection. My job takes me to dozens of university campuses throughout the United States and my use of their libraries, most often in the middle of the night, and the kindness of their staffs are appreciated, though they are too numerous to list. The staffs of the West Palm Beach Public Library in West Palm Beach, Florida and the George Memorial Library of Richmond, Texas were especially helpful in amassing information for the early chapters.

I was honored to have Dr. James Alan Fox, Dean of the College of Criminal Justice of Northeastern University, take time from a very busy schedule to read my manuscript and provide valuable advice. Mr. Neal Spelce, a well-known news anchorman and reporter for K-EYE News in Austin, kindly gave me a videotape of his broadcasts of 1 August 1991, the 25th anniversary of the Whitman murders. Additionally, Mr. Spelce reviewed the manuscript and contributed a brief review. Mr. Robert Heard, a former Associated Press reporter and presently the editor and publisher of Inside Texas, a newsletter about Texas sports, agreed to look over my manuscript and suggested minor changes, nearly all of which I accepted. Jessica Flynn, a journalism major at the University of Texas, made available news programs and videotapes I could not otherwise locate. William J. "Bill" Helmer, a former contributing editor of Playboy, provided much needed advice and encouragement. He also contributed directly by reviewing the manuscript and giving me a copy of his recording of live radio broadcasts of the sniping incident.

The staff of the Lake Worth Herald of Lake Worth, Florida very kindly made their back issues available to me. The old newspapers were bound and shelved in a storage area that was barely accessible. The volumes had to be dusted off for my use. For their trouble I am grateful.

David Reed, a Registered Pharmacist from Rayne, Louisiana and Jim Davies of Cedar Park Pharmacy in Cedar Park, Texas were kind enough to provide me with information on dexedrine and dexamyl.

The staffs of the Davis-Greenlawn Cemetery of Rosenberg, Texas, the Hillcrest Memorial Park of West Palm Beach, Florida, and the Crestview Memorial Park of Witchita Falls, Texas were helpful in locating the graves which provided the inspiration for the Prologue.

My agent, James D. Hornfischer of The Literary Group International, and Frances B. Vick, Director, and Charlotte Wright, Associate Director of the University of North Texas Press could not have been more patient and kind when it came to educating a dilettante of the publishing business.

Finally, I am truly blessed with four children who respect me enough to make our home an environment where this kind of project is possible. Charlie, Mark, Amy, and Anna are the treasures of my life. For the past three years they deserved more of my time. Charlie contributed directly through reviewing and annotating some of the Austin Police Department Files. He also helped to review portions of the manuscript as part of an Advanced Placement American History class project at Leander High School, Leander, Texas. Mark accompanied me on picture-taking trips to the Drag and the University of Texas.