The Mad Chopper by Fred Rosen

Author:Fred Rosen
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781504022705
Publisher: Open Road Media

Celia Johnson had read of her ex-husband’s plight in paper after paper. It seemed you couldn’t turn on a local newscast without seeing something about it.

She felt sorry for Larry. After all, they had shared a life together and remained friends afterward. She wondered if there was some way she could help him. Celia released a public statement that said she was willing to take him in. Singleton could live with her.

“I’m not afraid of him, and he has to live somewhere,” said the compassionate nurse.

She felt that Larry deserved a chance to rehabilitate himself. Her only worry was whether her humble motor home would be the right place to start this, the latest phase in their relationship.

“It’s not my right to upset this community,” she said. “We’d have to find someplace else.” She lived in Lake County, ninety miles north of San Francisco. “It wouldn’t be safe for him here,” she added.

Celia’s generosity notwithstanding, the problem was not whom he’d live with, but where he’d live. Also, there might be a problem just keeping Singleton alive.

There had been anonymous threats on Singleton’s life, which, given the depth of feeling against him, the state had to take seriously. Armed parole guards were brought in to shuttle Singleton to a secret location in northern California while his future residence was being sorted out.

“He’s somewhere north of Bakersfield. That’s all we can say,” State Department of Corrections spokesman Robert Gore told the press. “We expect a very quiet weekend,” he added. “We are charged with supervising a successful parole. We want a minimum of publicity.”

Four days passed of what should have been his newfound freedom, but instead Singleton found himself a prisoner of his own notoriety. He was moved to a motel on Fifth Avenue in San Mateo’s North Fair Oaks area. Meanwhile, the Department of Corrections was working hard to find him a home, but with little success. As soon as a community found out who it was the department wanted to place in their midst, they threatened legal action. Like San Mateo.

At first, things had been fine in San Mateo. Sheriff Arthur Baca knew Singleton was coming, that he would be temporarily paroled into his county. Baca had decided to keep the news quiet, lest a media circus be churned up by the knowledge of Singleton’s whereabouts.

“This was a very temporary thing,” Baca said later. “I was satisfied that there were appropriate security and supervisory measures taken by state parole,” the lawman continued. “Sure, he’s the type of individual that should have remained in custody. He’s going to be a problem for any political jurisdiction he’s released in.”

That was an understatement, but there was little time to contemplate it when word leaked out of Singleton’s presence. Mindful of his safety, corrections guards whisked Singleton out of town. Officials in bordering counties denied that Singleton had been foisted on them.

Back in San Mateo, Bodie Lane, president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, was outraged that the state had sent Singleton to his county, even for one night.

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