The Man Who Killed Boys Read Online Free PDF Page B

as a Marine, and of his experiences driving an ambulance in Las Vegas. They would have been especially dubious of his claims to having been a professional driver if they had known of his local driving record. He never had a reputation for patience behind the wheel, and picked up a handful of citations in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area for speeding and other traffic violations.
    A look at his powerful five-foot eight-inch, 210-pound frame helped make his claims to having been a Marine somewhat more believable. He was strong, full of energy, and a man who was fascinated with the paramilitary trappings of police work. The flashing red lights and siren on his station wagon were instruments that helped satisfy that fascination, and they also helped him to stand out among his peers. They demanded notice.
    Some of his Jaycee acquaintances were repelled at the policeman playacting, however, and remembered that he always became extremely upset whenever one of his fried-chicken outlets was robbed. Gacy considered it to be a personal insult that a bandit would be crass and reckless enough to rob a business he was involved in.
    When the Jaycees weren't busy on projects, Gacy and one or two of his other club brothers frequently dropped in after work at the Clayton House Motel where Charlie Hill was manager; there they could relax and smoke a good cigar and share a few drinks. For Gacy, that meant a couple of shots of J&B Scotch, on the rocks or with a splash of water. He rarely had more than three or four.
    These were good times for Gacy, and the only indication of unpleasantness in his life surfaced with occasional grousing about his father-in-law making him work too hard. He was also treated at a local hospital a few times, once for the flu, and twice after being involved in auto accidents—one seven-day period with whiplash and as an outpatient for bruised ribs.
    Sometimes when Gacy dropped in early enough to see his friend at the motel, he brought his children with him. He was an attentive father and never stayed too long if the preschoolers were along. At other times, when Gacy parked his station wagon or later his new Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser in the motel lot, Hill noticed that a teenage boy was waiting inside the car. That wasn't surprising because the fried-chicken outlets employed many teenage boys and girls, and it seemed natural that Gacy would occasionally give one of the youngsters a ride home.
    Some of the young employees were beginning to find it unusual, however. The best-looking boys most often got the offers of rides. And not all the boys would accept.
    Fast-food outlets are traditionally planned to make the most efficient use of the smallest amount of space possible, and those that Gacy was helping to manage in Waterloo and nearby Cedar Falls were no exception. It was unavoidable that while working around stoves and hot grease employees would occasionally suffer a minor burn.
    Employees soon began to notice that boys who turned down rides with Gacy walked especially careful around him when he was cooking chicken or fries. Somehow they, more than other employees, were likely to be splattered with hot grease.
    Other, uglier rumors eventually began reaching adults in the community, including some of the Jaycees. A few of the club members, mostly those who were already repelled by his boastfulness, began to make even greater efforts to avoid him.
    Others, like his friend Hill, who had become club president, either didn't hear the rumors or didn't believe them. There was nothing about Gacy's behavior around the Jaycees to indicate that his sexual habits were any different than anyone else's. He was an entertaining companion who enjoyed the company of other men, but if the subject of homosexuals ever came up he was among the first to sneer and belittle them.
    There were enough Jaycees who believed in Gacy to name him both chaplain of the Waterloo chapter and chairman of the group's first city-wide prayer breakfast. He capped