"She was very still," Barb said later. "I could not tell at that moment what had happened to her, if she had fainted or-I couldn't tell because she was lying on the ground."

Barb knelt down beside Gail. "Honey? Gail? Talk to me!"

No response.

Cathy stood beside Barb. Then she knelt down near Gail's head.

Barb reached for Gail's wrist to check for a pulse.

"I'm going to call 911," Cathy said, standing up, turning, taking off for the library.

"Gail?" Barb said with her fingers applied gingerly to the back side of Gail's wrist. (Later recalling the moment, Barb remarked: "Her eyes were just staring. . . .") Cathy had the phone in her hand, the door to the library open, yelling to Barb, who could not find a pulse. "Is Gail diabetic, Barb?"

Obviously, Cathy was speaking to a 911 operator on the other end of the line, who was instructing her on which questions to ask.

Barb knew this was no diabetic coma or fainting spell; she could see what she thought was blood coming from the top of Gail's head. As Cathy continued to yell questions, Barb then noticed a large pool of "liquid" surrounding the back of Gail's head, tacky to the touch, seemingly growing in size as she focused on it. The fluid was dark, thick, and spreading in a halo pattern around Gail's head.

"Oh my . . . ," Barb said to herself.

"Is she breathing?" Cathy yelled.

Barb thought about it. That growing pool of fluid had to be blood-lots of it, in fact, pouring out from the back of Gail's head.

"She's been hurt bad," Barb yelled back at Cathy. "Someone hurt her very bad."

Cathy hung up with 911 and grabbed a blanket. Barb met her at the door, took the blanket, ran back to Gail, and then placed it over Gail's body.

"Gail, honey . . . can you hear me?" Barb asked as she consoled her friend, trying to keep her warm and alert.

Cathy walked up. She had a towel, which she applied with hard pressure to the back of Gail's head, where the injury seemed to be located. The tears came when Barbara Butkis realized Gail Fulton had been shot in the head, maybe in a few other areas of her body, too. There could be no other explanation.

Gail was still alive, though: breathing laboriously, her pulse weakening by the second, but the woman had a heartbeat. She was fighting.

Sirens pierced the night as Barb and Kathy did their best to let Gail know she was not alone. They would not let her die out here by herself in the dark.

This murder of a local housewife and librarian would send the Oakland County Sheriff's Department to call on OakForce, a multiagency crime-fighting organization, a team of lawmen that had been formed, as luck would have it, that very same week. Comprised of local FBI, members of the Michigan State Police and Oakland County Sheriff's Department (who were there at the scene tending to Gail), on top of police officers from the nearby towns of Pontiac, Southfield, and Troy, the agency was put together to investigate major crimes. And it was clear immediately, from the way in which this woman, a harmless librarian's assistant, whose father, Noe Garza, and her uncle, Margarito Garza, were former federal judges, had been found, that she had been targeted. Gail's mother, Dora Garza, was a well-known community and church leader. Gail and her family were people, some might say, whom others had held grudges against.

Had Gail Fulton been the object of a paid hit?

A patrol officer, who happened to be nearby when the call came in, arrived. He walked around the scene, surveying what he had. Barb mentioned something she thought might be of some help.

"Cameras," she told him. "We record what goes on out in the parking lot and around the building."

"You do?"

"Yes," Barb said. Then she pointed to a camera on the building facing Gail as she lay in a pool of her own blood, fighting for her life.

Gail Fulton's murder had no doubt been caught on tape.

This suburban home in Clear Lake City, Texas, was the scene of a brutal quadruple murder during the late afternoon hours of July 18, 2003. (Photos courtesy of the Houston Police Department) Shell casings from two weapons were found in the living room foyer, directly in front of the door, suggesting that the killer started firing immediately after entering. (Photos courtesy of the Houston Police) Spent bullets were found outside the house after exiting through back windows. (Photo courtesy of the Houston Police Department).

One victim was identified by her driver's license-which had a bullet hole through the center of it. (Photo courtesy of the Houston Police Department).

This arched bullet pattern on the living room wall shows how the killer fired at some of the victims as they ran for cover. (Photo courtesy of the Houston Police Department) This blood spatter pattern near the ceiling told police that at least one of the victims had been pistol-whipped. (Photo courtesy of the Houston Police Department) A spent bullet found inside a section of fence proved to be an important piece of the homicide puzzle-but not until three years after the murders. (Photo courtesy of the Houston Police Department) These two phones gave police plenty of problems as they began investigating. Bloody fingerprints on the numbers 9-1-1 on one of the phones showed a victim tried to call for help. (Photos courtesy of the Houston Police Department) Two victims were found on this couch, both shot in the head and in multiple places throughout their bodies. (Photo courtesy of the Houston Police Department) Rachael Koloroutis was an outgoing youngster. (Photo courtesy of George Koloroutis).

Rachael graduated from Clear Lake High School weeks before she was shot and beaten to death. (Photo courtesy of George Koloroutis) Rachael's father, George Koloroutis, was instrumental in keeping the case in the media and a top priority for the Houston Police Department's Homicide Division. (Photo courtesy of George Koloroutis) A middle child, Rachael (left) was adored by her siblings for her restless, gentle spirit and cheerful, positive demeanor. (Photo courtesy of George Koloroutis) Rachael Koloroutis and Tiffany Rowell (right), victims of a calculating and cold murder plot, were best friends. (Photo courtesy of George Koloroutis) Adelbert "D" Sanchez (left) and Marcus Precella (right), who died on that same July 18, 2003, afternoon, were cousins and best friends. (Photo courtesy of Nichole Sanchez) Adelbert was an aspiring rap artist with dreams of going to college and a future in the music business. (Photo courtesy of Nichole Sanchez) This is one of the Sanchez family's favorite photos of Adelbert Sanchez. (Photo courtesy of Nichole Sanchez) Without the tenacity of HPD Detective Brian Harris, the Clear Lake murders may have gone completely cold and unsolved. (Photo courtesy of the Houston Police Department) Detective Tom Ladd was adamant about catching the people responsible for killing the four youths, but retired before the case was solved. (Photo courtesy of the Houston Police Department) Detective Brian Harris questions 20-year-old suspect Christine Paolilla three years after the Clear Lake murders. (Photos courtesy of the Houston Police Department) Even when these sketches of potential suspects in the Clear Lake City murders were released a year after the crime, it took two additional years before the case was solved. (Web page courtesy of George Koloroutis) This poster design was used to create billboards, which were placed around the Clear Lake region. (Photo courtesy of George Koloroutis) Justin Rott told police he suspected his wife, Christine Paolilla, was involved in the Clear Lake murders. (Photos courtesy of the Houston Police Department) Murder suspect Christine Paolilla, shown here without eyebrows, suffered from alopecia. (Photo courtesy of the Houston Police Department) Christopher Snider would ultimately escape legal justice as Christine Paolilla's partner in the murders. (Photo courtesy of the Houston Police Department) At home in Texas, Chris Snider smiles just after getting his eyebrow pierced. (Photo courtesy of Brandee Snider) Snider loved his dog, Paco. (Photo courtesy of Brandee Snider) Christine Paolilla was often mocked in school, called a clown, and ridiculed for the wigs she wore and the abundance of makeup she layered on. (Photos courtesy of Clear Lake High School yearbook) While police questioned Christine Paolilla, the case came together on the forensic side, as a safe containing several pieces of evidence was discovered. (Photos courtesy of the Houston Police Department) These guns-one found in the safe, the other in a dresser drawer-proved to be the murder weapons. (Photos courtesy of the Houston Police Department) This photo shows how deeply involved with drugs Christine Paolilla became. Dozens of needles of heroin-some ready to be "booted"-were found inside the hotel room where she was holed up, numbing the memories of killing four people. (Photo courtesy of the Houston Police Department) With help from Rachael and Tiffany, Christine Paolilla was able to make herself beautiful. Yet she murdered the girls she called her best friends.

Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals connected to this story.

ISBN: 978-0-7860-3055-2.

Notes.

1.

This statistic is from Dr. Jonathan H. Pincus's Base Instincts: What Makes Killers Kill? (p. 115). Pincus's book, expertly written, I should note, makes the point that killers kill for reasons, and yet some of the reasons they commit these acts that we view as heinous might not be what we assume. Pincus argues that class, social status, and race all play a role in the reasoning behind some murders. After all, some people are evil, willing (and able) to do things we may never understand: and we may never uncover the why we are continually searching for when studying these cases.

Also By M. William Phelps.

Perfect Poison.

Lethal Guardian

Every Move You Make.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Murder in the Heartland.

Because You Loved Me

If Looks Could Kill.

I'll Be Watching You.

Deadly Secrets

Cruel Death

Death Trap

Kill For Me.

Failures of the Presidents (coauthor).

Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America's First Spy

The Devil's Rooming House: The True Story of

America's Deadliest Female Serial Killer.

Love Her to Death.

Too Young to Kill.