4
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T H E A N N I V E R S A R Y
it from her mind. Now she forced herself to take it out of the desk 1
drawer where she’d stowed it.
2
Happy Anniversary, Rosamund. I haven’t forgotten you.
3
Callie picked up a spiral notebook and turned to an empty 4
page. Licking her lips, she stared at its blankness, thinking where 5
to begin.
6
Who could have left the note?
7
That was the obvious question.
8
It had to be someone who knew where she was, someone de-9
termined to find her.
10
Through the window over her desk, Callie stared into the 11
night at the delicate black-lace tree limbs arced against the sky.
12
Across the street, a single light burned in a second-floor window, 13
while Bernie Creighton’s black Mercedes loomed in the shad-14
owed driveway. She’d already checked the doors and windows.
15
Set the household alarm. And yet, when the wind rustled 16
through the leaves, she imagined she saw someone.
17
Impulsively, Callie got up and reached toward the window to 18
yank down the bamboo shade. It fell with an explosive clatter, 19
blocking out the night. She took a deep breath and sat back 20
down, willing herself to calm. Again, she turned to the blank 21
white page with its pale blue lines. It wasn’t just a question of 22
who, it was also a question of why. Why would someone have 23
done this, left this note in her door? What would be the purpose?
24
What would they hope to gain?
25
Money, maybe. Blackmail.
26
Or possibly revenge.
27
For an instant, the thought danced through her mind, sharp 28
and bright with danger. Then, firmly, she told herself that it 29
wasn’t, couldn’t be, true. Steven Gage was dead.
30
Unless . . .
31
A new thought pushed through her brain, horrifying in its logic.
32
He could have planned it before. He could have set it up.
33
The idea was like an electric charge, surging through her body.
34
The moment it occurred to her, she knew that it was true. At S 35
first, she felt as if she’d lost her breath. Her thoughts flew in all di-R 36
4 5
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A M Y G U T M A N
1
rections. Then, slowly her mind began to clear, leaving her with 2
questions.
3
Who would he have recruited?
4
Who would have agreed?
5
The response was almost immediate: She thought of Lester 6
Crain.
7
What had happened with Steven Gage and Lester Crain had 8
been the ultimate outrage, a final insult to the grieving families 9
left behind by both of their victims. Crain, a rapist and murderer, 10
was a scrawny, tough-talking punk. He was just seventeen when 11
he committed the murder for which he was sentenced to die, the 12
gruesome torture-killing of a runaway teenage girl. After repeat-13
edly raping his victim, Crain strung her from the ceiling, tore off 14
her nipples with a pair of pliers, and injected her vagina with 15
bleach. By the time he finished with her, what was left was barely 16
human. But the source of Crain’s notoriety wasn’t just his crime.
17
It stemmed from the cassette tape he’d kept of his victim’s ago-18
nized screams.
19
Gage and Crain met on Tennessee’s death row and quickly 20
forged an alliance. Gage was already a living legend; Crain be-21
came his disciple. The incredible course of events that followed 22
began in the prison library, where Gage had honed his legal skills 23
as a practicing jailhouse lawyer. With Gage’s help Crain won a 24
new trial, convincing a judge that the torture tape heard by the 25
jury had been obtained in an unconstitutional search. Later, at a 26
press conference, Crain gleefully announced that he owed this 27
second chance to Steven Gage. He’d do his best, he promised, to 28
repay the favor someday.
29
That part was bad enough, but it wasn’t close to the end.
30
While awaiting his second trial, Lester Crain escaped from
2nd PASS PAGES
13713_01_i-vi_001-344_r4jn.qxd 4/21/03 8:03 AM Page 45
T H E A N N I V E R S A R Y
it from her mind. Now she forced herself to take it out of the desk 1
drawer where she’d stowed it.
2
Happy Anniversary, Rosamund. I haven’t forgotten you.
3
Callie picked up a spiral notebook and turned to an empty 4
page. Licking her lips, she stared at its blankness, thinking where 5
to begin.
6
Who could have left the note?
7
That was the obvious question.
8
It had to be someone who knew where she was, someone de-9
termined to find her.
10
Through the window over her desk, Callie stared into the 11
night at the delicate black-lace tree limbs arced against the sky.
12
Across the street, a single light burned in a second-floor window, 13
while Bernie Creighton’s black Mercedes loomed in the shad-14
owed driveway. She’d already checked the doors and windows.
15
Set the household alarm. And yet, when the wind rustled 16
through the leaves, she imagined she saw someone.
17
Impulsively, Callie got up and reached toward the window to 18
yank down the bamboo shade. It fell with an explosive clatter, 19
blocking out the night. She took a deep breath and sat back 20
down, willing herself to calm. Again, she turned to the blank 21
white page with its pale blue lines. It wasn’t just a question of 22
who, it was also a question of why. Why would someone have 23
done this, left this note in her door? What would be the purpose?
24
What would they hope to gain?
25
Money, maybe. Blackmail.
26
Or possibly revenge.
27
For an instant, the thought danced through her mind, sharp 28
and bright with danger. Then, firmly, she told herself that it 29
wasn’t, couldn’t be, true. Steven Gage was dead.
30
Unless . . .
31
A new thought pushed through her brain, horrifying in its logic.
32
He could have planned it before. He could have set it up.
33
The idea was like an electric charge, surging through her body.
34
The moment it occurred to her, she knew that it was true. At S 35
first, she felt as if she’d lost her breath. Her thoughts flew in all di-R 36
4 5
2nd PASS PAGES
13713_01_i-vi_001-344_r4jn.qxd 4/21/03 8:03 AM Page 46
A M Y G U T M A N
1
rections. Then, slowly her mind began to clear, leaving her with 2
questions.
3
Who would he have recruited?
4
Who would have agreed?
5
The response was almost immediate: She thought of Lester 6
Crain.
7
What had happened with Steven Gage and Lester Crain had 8
been the ultimate outrage, a final insult to the grieving families 9
left behind by both of their victims. Crain, a rapist and murderer, 10
was a scrawny, tough-talking punk. He was just seventeen when 11
he committed the murder for which he was sentenced to die, the 12
gruesome torture-killing of a runaway teenage girl. After repeat-13
edly raping his victim, Crain strung her from the ceiling, tore off 14
her nipples with a pair of pliers, and injected her vagina with 15
bleach. By the time he finished with her, what was left was barely 16
human. But the source of Crain’s notoriety wasn’t just his crime.
17
It stemmed from the cassette tape he’d kept of his victim’s ago-18
nized screams.
19
Gage and Crain met on Tennessee’s death row and quickly 20
forged an alliance. Gage was already a living legend; Crain be-21
came his disciple. The incredible course of events that followed 22
began in the prison library, where Gage had honed his legal skills 23
as a practicing jailhouse lawyer. With Gage’s help Crain won a 24
new trial, convincing a judge that the torture tape heard by the 25
jury had been obtained in an unconstitutional search. Later, at a 26
press conference, Crain gleefully announced that he owed this 27
second chance to Steven Gage. He’d do his best, he promised, to 28
repay the favor someday.
29
That part was bad enough, but it wasn’t close to the end.
30
While awaiting his second trial, Lester Crain escaped from
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