mechanical process with loud clicks. Calmly he raised the weapon towards her, and she fired. Her bullet caught him in his arm. He spun round and away from her, and the rifle clattered to the floor. Half crouching, he pulled an automatic from his belt and tried to aim it at her. Teresa moved swiftly behind him, her gun trained on his head.
'Drop the gun, and he flat!' she yelled, and within a few moments Howard Unruh did exactly that.
'Harriet? It's Teresa.'
'Hi! How you doing?'
'I got him! 1 got Unruh!'
'You did? 1 never could. 1 managed to wound him, but 1 was out of ammunition. The city police came in and
dragged him away. Dan Kazinsky flunked me, and moved me on. How did you do it?'
Later in the phone call, Teresa said, 'Harriet, have you ever been to Camden, New Jersey?'
'No, I haven't. Have you?'
'I feel as if I have. How the hell do they do that? All those cars and buildings! They're so real!'
'Have you ever been to Texas on a hot day?'
'No.'
'Then you haven't done Whitman yet. That right?'
'Yes.'
'Whitman's next. It's real tough. And it'll make you sick.'
lt was noon on August 1, 1966, Austin, Texas. A former boy scout and Marine called Charles Joseph Whitman was on the observation deck of the University of Texas Tower, overlooking Guadalupe Street, 'the Drag'. In his possession was a 6mm Remington Magnum rifle with fourpower Leupold telescopic sight. He also had with him a rented handcart and a green duffel bag. In the bag, and spread around him, were packets of Planters Peanuts, sandwiches, cans of Spam and fruit cocktail, a box of raisins, two jerrycans, one containing water and the other three gallons of gasoline, rope, binoculars, canteens, a plastic bottle of Mennen spray deodorant, toilet paper, a machete, a Bowie knife, a hatchet, a .35calibre Remington rifle, a
.30calibre carbine, a .357 Magnum Smith & Wesson pistol, a 9mm Luger automatic, a 12gauge shotgun with sawnoff barrel and stock, a Galesi-Brescia handgun, some thirtyshot magazines, and over seven hundred rounds of ammunition.
During the previous night Whitman had murdered first his mother, then his wife. On his way into the UT Tower a few minutes earlier he had shot and killed a receptionist and a family of visitors. Now he was leaning on the parapet,
peering through the telescopic sight at the crowds on the Drag below.
In the heat and humidity of the Texan midsummer, Teresa Simons, unaware of the sniper at the top of the tower, was looking at the handmade sandals on one of the craft stalls. The humid air smelt of cedarwood, hot roadtar and the incense that several stallholders were burning. On one of the other stalls the Beatles' new single 'Paperback Writer' was playing loudly. Teresa smiled and listened to the words; the song reminded her of a boy she'd known for a while, twenty years ago.
She moved on down, looking at the goods displayed on another stall: brightly coloured posters, tasselled leather shoulderbags, embroidered muslin shirts and equipment for growing cannabis. She was Whitman's first victim, and died from a shot through her back.
The Austin Tower ExEx was one of the toughest assignments on the course, and Teresa was involved with the challenge it presented for most of a winter. But she got her man in the end.
CHAPTER 16
At lunchtime Teresa went to the hotel bar, where she knew she could order some sandwiches.
Amy brought them to her, looking and sounding more friendly than at their last encounter, but after that she left Teresa alone in the bar. Teresa drank a glass of chilled mineral water, feeling virtuous, and a small cup of coffee afterwards. The bar remained solidly normal. Nick and Amy appeared at intervals, going about their business, serving the handful of other customers who appeared.
Back in her room she again consulted her streetmap of Bulverton. She located Welton Road: it was in a small grid of streets close to the Ridge, the ring road that followed the fine of hills to the north of the town, forming an effective boundary with the countryside.
She drove up to Welton Road and found that it was part of a recently built industrial estate. A number of large, undistinguished buildings, constructed of prefabricated concrete with brick facing, lined the streets. Most of the businesses appeared to be light industry: she saw signs for computer software companies, packaging suppliers, manufacturers of electronic components, package couriers. In this environment the extreme experience building blended effortlessly. She drove past it twice before she located it. All it had was a discreet white sign next to the door announcing: GUNHO ExEx. The place had few windows, and only one entrance area; in front of the building there was a wide parking lot. Teresa drove in, but could find no spaces left
and had to move to a place on the side of the road a couple of hundred yards away.
She was locking the car when she became aware that someone was leaving the building. She instantly recognized him: it was the man she had seen talking aggressively to Amy in the Old Town market. Teresa moved at once to the rear of the car and opened the hatch door. Using the raised door as cover she looked up the road through the tilted glass of the window. The man walked briskly from the main entrance, strode through the parking lot and went to a car parked not far from her own. He did not appear to notice her, nor should there be any reason why he would.
She waited until he had driven away, not fully understanding why she felt the need to stay out of his sight. She closed and locked her car, then walked across to the building. A pair of double glass doors led into a conventional reception area, where a young woman sat behind a large desk.
