Chapter 2

Walmart, Milford, Delaware, June 13, 2017 In Salisbury, Maryland, the man had arrived and secured a room at the Sleep Inn the previous night. Rising early that fateful morning, he went to the lobby for a quick continental breakfast before preparing to check out. With his belongings in tow, he drove to the regional airport, where he located long-term parking for his car. After locking it securely, he boarded the shuttle that would transport him to the airport terminal.

Once at the airport, he went to the Avis rental counter and arranged for a white van. Without returning to his parked car, he proceeded to load two pieces of luggage into the truck, ensuring they were securely stowed. He then locked his car before settling into the van, ready to embark on the journey to Milford.

His first stop in Milford was the Legend Pizza and Grill, where he ordered an extra-cheese pepperoni pizza for takeout. After craving pizza, he went to Walmart, located at the Milford Airpark Plaza. He strategically parked the van in a position that provided a clear line of sight to the store’s grocery side entrance. This particular entrance drew the highest foot traffic, making it an ideal location for his plan.

With the van quietly idling, he savored his pizza and sipped water from a container he always kept. The pizza, as reviews had suggested, was indeed quite delicious.

With his meal finished, he moved to the van’s rear, where he prepared his weapon. Carefully, he added a scope and silencer to the rifle, ensuring it was concealed within the vehicle. He loaded the gun with five rounds and assembled a tripod to serve as a stable mount for the weapon. As he did all this, he gently cracked open the van’s side door, keeping his actions discreet.

His target was a white woman in her mid-30s with brown hair. She stood approximately one hundred sixty-eight centimeters tall and weighed around one hundred thirty-six kilograms. Observing her from his vantage point, he noticed that she paused to light a cigarette just as she exited the store, puffing away.

Carefully aligning his sights, he positioned himself to take the shot. As the woman took that fateful step off the concrete at the store’s front entrance, he pulled the trigger. The van’s interior masked any sound, and the world outside continued on, oblivious to the grim event that had just occurred.

After the fateful shot had been fired, he carefully placed the rifle down and closed the van door. Swiftly and efficiently, he disassembled all his equipment and stowed it back into his luggage. He meticulously cleaned up any spent brass, leaving no trace of his presence behind. Once everything was tidied up, he climbed into the driver’s seat and exited the parking lot to the north. Within moments, he had vanished from the scene, leaving no evidence of his grim act.

He took the next right onto the road and merged onto the southbound freeway, heading toward Salisbury. With a relaxed demeanor, he tuned into the news stations he had preselected the day before, and the voice of Rush Limbaugh filled the cabin of the van. He grabbed another slice of pizza and began munching as he continued his journey southward.

Approximately 30 minutes later, Rush Limbaugh’s broadcast was interrupted by a breaking news bulletin. The announcement informed listeners of an incident that had occurred at approximately 1:05 PM—a woman had been shot in front of the Walmart at the Milford Airpark Plaza. Details were scarce at that moment, leaving the public in suspense. With the promise of further information, the broadcast returned to its regular programming.

Undeterred by the news report, he returned to the airport. Upon arrival, he transferred all his luggage, ensuring no trace remained in the van, including any remnants of the pizza. The remaining slices would serve as sustenance for his road trip later in the day. With his mission complete, he returned the van to the rental agency.

He did not take the shuttle back to his car to avoid potential complications. Instead, he removed his gloves and climbed into his car. The engine roared to life as he exited the auto park, embarking on a westward journey along US-50, his mind shrouded in the secrecy of the dark act he had committed earlier in the day.

As the local police department sprang into action following the shooting at the Walmart, they implemented immediate measures to secure the scene. They sealed off the store, allowing no one to enter or exit, and commenced their investigation by interviewing anyone who had been outside at the time of the tragic incident. Unfortunately, time had not been on their side, as it took them 5 1/2 minutes to respond to the 911 call. By the time they arrived, many potential witnesses had dispersed, leaving little hope of gathering crucial eyewitness accounts.

The detailed process of locating the bullet further complicated matters. The projectile had penetrated the woman’s head, pierced the front glass of the store, and embedded itself in the wall on the opposite side of the premises. Rather than passing through the wall, the bullet had become lodged within a 2 x 4 support beam. Extracting it proved to be a challenging task, leaving behind a disarrayed scene.

However, the investigators did catch a fortunate break with the presence of surveillance cameras. Two cameras were positioned atop the entrance, with one focused on the doorway and capturing the tragic moment when the bullet struck the woman. The other camera provided a broader view of the parking lot. Unfortunately, the latter had low resolution and displayed only a vague, indistinct white dot when examining the distant van parked on the outskirts of the lot. Its make and model remained undetermined.

The case now fell into the hands of a junior detective, recently promoted and eager to make a mark in his new role. He gathered all available evidence, including statements, photographs, and videos, documenting everything from the crime scene. Frustratingly, none of the clues seemed to point definitively to the identity of the shooter. The detective’s next grim task was to notify the next of kin of the woman who had tragically lost her life in the incident.

The victim was identified as Hazel Shepard, a resident of a low-cost apartment complex living alone. However, the references she had provided to the apartment manager appeared fictitious. Hazel’s relationship with her neighbors was far from harmonious, as they had little positive to say about her. Tragically, she had been declared dead on arrival at the scene, her life cut short by a gunshot wound to the head that had left half of her brain missing.

The detective diligently reported these findings to his chief, who encouraged him to continue working on the case until a more promising one arose. It would be a whole week before such an opportunity presented itself.

The police chief contemplated involving the FBI in the investigation, but the director of detectives expressed reservations, believing that their involvement might complicate matters without yielding any significant breakthroughs. In the chief’s view, this appeared to be one of those elusive, unsolved murders that could consume substantial staffing and resources while remaining frustratingly unresolved.

Returning home after two days of fishing, he reflected on the uneventful trip. His fishing excursion had yielded no noteworthy catches, and the shocking shooting he had orchestrated remained largely unnoticed, failing to make national headlines. He had to rely on local newspapers to gather all the details, and even then, the information was relatively scant.

With his notes, maps, and collected news articles, he diligently organized them into a folder, carefully labeling them “Milford, Delaware, June 2017.” This folder joined the ranks of others in a file cabinet, approximately half-filled with similar folders. The cabinet was discreetly concealed within a secure safe in a hidden room tucked away in the basement of his house. Until his next fishing trip, the room and its contents would remain undisturbed, shrouded in secrecy.

Bentonville, Arkansas, June 14, 2017 The Walmart marketing director was immersed in a hectic workday, overwhelmed by the many reports on his desk. He recognized the need to delegate these tasks to his capable team, so he glanced over at the dedicated employees working outside his office.

With a thoughtful approach, he began listing the reports on one side of a piece of paper and jotted down the names of the office staff who could assist with these tasks on the other side. Carefully matching each report to a capable team member, he successfully relieved himself of the burden of reading and analyzing them all, albeit he would still require a meeting to review the results.

The director proceeded to have one-on-one discussions with each team member, calling them into his office to provide a detailed overview of the reports and outline the necessary analysis and data he required. This personalized approach ensured that everyone was on the same page. For the first week, he had each of them come in every morning to present the reports and discuss any additional insights they had uncovered. These discussions allowed the team to fine-tune the information and improve their collective understanding of the reports, ultimately contributing to the success of their marketing efforts.

The marketing director of Walmart began holding daily status meetings in the mornings, designed as quick stand-up meetings where he sought a brief overview of any pressing matters requiring his attention. During one of these meetings, the person responsible for security presented a rather grim statistic: the number of murders that had occurred on Walmart properties. This disturbing revelation also included the gruesome details of a recent incident that had transpired.

Given the gravity of these murders, the director understood the need for a swift and calculated response. He decided to dispatch marketing personnel to the affected stores to assist with managing the media during the crisis and facilitating the reopening of the stores.

As the daily meetings continued, the director received word of yet another tragedy, this time in Milford, Delaware, where a woman had been fatally shot in the head as she left a store. Although the director initially perceived this as a coincidence, his instincts led him to investigate further. Determined to address the situation, he reached out to the director of security, picked up the phone, and made contact. Initially connecting with the assistant, he requested to speak directly with the director and was advised to wait. The assistant promptly informed the security director about the marketing director’s desire to discuss a pressing matter with him.