said no and had immediately fallen back to sleep. Then sheâd had her little chat with AngelaâBonnie had been thinking of going to the beach the next day, and they discussed bathing suits, and also a cassette tape of Angelaâs that Bonnie wanted to bring in her car.
Sheâd spent a few minutes reading in bedâa paperback Harlequin romance, she couldnât remember the title. But the music from Angelaâs tape player or radio was distracting, so sheâd gone to her daughterâs room and closed the door. Sheâd also closed her own bedroom door. Soon, she had fallen asleep. The next thing she heard was Lieth screaming.
During the attack, sheâd heard a âwhooshingâ and a âthumpingâ sound each time that Lieth was hit. She recalled that the attacker, upon leaving her room, had closed the door âsoftly,â he hadnât slammed it. Later, sheâd heard the same âwhooshingâ and âthumpingâ in the hallway, causing her to fear that Angela was being killed, too.
Young asked if she had any better impression of her assailant than sheâd had the day before. Bonnie said she thought heâd been a big man, strong, with broad shoulders that had âblendedâ into his head, âalmost as if he had no neck.â She also said she thought heâd been wearing a ski mask.
Young wanted to know more about Lieth. Bonnie said he was a gentle man who would not allow weapons in the house. She was not aware of his having any problems at work. She had no knowledge or suspicions of any extramarital affairs. Their marriage had been filled with happiness.
Lieth had been kind to her children, had wanted them to have good educations. A vocal man, he would let you know right away if something was bothering him, but he didnât carry a grudge. Heâd had no problems with Chris or Angela or with any of their friends. They really had been, she said, just one medium-sized happy family. Nothing out of the ordinary in any way, except that maybe, over the past couple of years, faced with the stress of his parentsâ illnesses and deathsâand the death, too, of an uncle who had been almost like a father to himâand the need, through all this time of sickness and death, to make the four-and-a-half-hour trip to Winston-Salem almost every weekend, Lieth had begun to drink more than she thought was good for him.
He showed her a picture of the green canvas knapsack that had been found on the floor of the hall that led from the back door to the kitchen. She said it did not belong to anyone in her family and that sheâd never seen it before.
Next, Young asked about the inheritance. She said Angela and Chris both knew Lieth had inherited a significant sum, but because theirs was not a family in which such matters were openly discussed, she doubted that either child had any idea just how much was involved. One thing the children
did
know was that in the event she and Lieth were both to die, whatever assets they left behindâand when Liethâs life insurance was added to what he had inherited, the total came to almost $2 millionâwould be held in a trust until Angela, the younger child, turned thirty-five.
When Young asked her if she had any new ideas about who might have committed the crime, she said he might want to consider the trust department of the North Carolina National Bank. Lieth had informed them of his decision to close out their $1.3 million account because he was dissatisfied with their performance and fees. Perhaps, she said, the bank had arranged Liethâs murder to prevent him from taking the money away from them.
This struck Lewis Young as the most ridiculous notion heâd heard yet concerning a motive for the murder. But looking again at Bonnieâs battered forehead, he was inclined to think that the combination of physical injury and emotional shock might be responsible for any sort of farfetched idea.
He
Sheâd spent a few minutes reading in bedâa paperback Harlequin romance, she couldnât remember the title. But the music from Angelaâs tape player or radio was distracting, so sheâd gone to her daughterâs room and closed the door. Sheâd also closed her own bedroom door. Soon, she had fallen asleep. The next thing she heard was Lieth screaming.
During the attack, sheâd heard a âwhooshingâ and a âthumpingâ sound each time that Lieth was hit. She recalled that the attacker, upon leaving her room, had closed the door âsoftly,â he hadnât slammed it. Later, sheâd heard the same âwhooshingâ and âthumpingâ in the hallway, causing her to fear that Angela was being killed, too.
Young asked if she had any better impression of her assailant than sheâd had the day before. Bonnie said she thought heâd been a big man, strong, with broad shoulders that had âblendedâ into his head, âalmost as if he had no neck.â She also said she thought heâd been wearing a ski mask.
Young wanted to know more about Lieth. Bonnie said he was a gentle man who would not allow weapons in the house. She was not aware of his having any problems at work. She had no knowledge or suspicions of any extramarital affairs. Their marriage had been filled with happiness.
Lieth had been kind to her children, had wanted them to have good educations. A vocal man, he would let you know right away if something was bothering him, but he didnât carry a grudge. Heâd had no problems with Chris or Angela or with any of their friends. They really had been, she said, just one medium-sized happy family. Nothing out of the ordinary in any way, except that maybe, over the past couple of years, faced with the stress of his parentsâ illnesses and deathsâand the death, too, of an uncle who had been almost like a father to himâand the need, through all this time of sickness and death, to make the four-and-a-half-hour trip to Winston-Salem almost every weekend, Lieth had begun to drink more than she thought was good for him.
He showed her a picture of the green canvas knapsack that had been found on the floor of the hall that led from the back door to the kitchen. She said it did not belong to anyone in her family and that sheâd never seen it before.
Next, Young asked about the inheritance. She said Angela and Chris both knew Lieth had inherited a significant sum, but because theirs was not a family in which such matters were openly discussed, she doubted that either child had any idea just how much was involved. One thing the children
did
know was that in the event she and Lieth were both to die, whatever assets they left behindâand when Liethâs life insurance was added to what he had inherited, the total came to almost $2 millionâwould be held in a trust until Angela, the younger child, turned thirty-five.
When Young asked her if she had any new ideas about who might have committed the crime, she said he might want to consider the trust department of the North Carolina National Bank. Lieth had informed them of his decision to close out their $1.3 million account because he was dissatisfied with their performance and fees. Perhaps, she said, the bank had arranged Liethâs murder to prevent him from taking the money away from them.
This struck Lewis Young as the most ridiculous notion heâd heard yet concerning a motive for the murder. But looking again at Bonnieâs battered forehead, he was inclined to think that the combination of physical injury and emotional shock might be responsible for any sort of farfetched idea.
He
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