Teasers from The Kidnapping and
Murder of Little Skeegie Cash: J. Edgar Hoover and Florida's
Lindbergh Case by Robert A. Waters and Zack C. Waters
I spent years researching the
Skeegie Cash case. It was a labor of love. Fortunately, I was able
to drag Zack, my award-winning co-author and brother, away from his
beloved Civil War genre to assist me with the writing of the book.
Here are a few passages that show our writing style. Hope you enjoy.
“At about nine o'clock in the
evening, Vera Cash gave five-year-old Skeegie a bath, then dressed
him in white and rose-colored one-piece pajamas. Placing her child
in his crib, she read to him from the Miami Herald. Stories
about Adolph Hitler's occupation of Austria and Josef Stalin's latest
Five-year Plan might portray human suffering on a grand scale, but
Skeegie normally went to sleep quickly when his mother began
reading.”
“In 1938, the Depression still
festered, like a sore that wouldn't heal.”
“By now, Hoover was seething. He'd
come to this one-horse town to make a statement to his detractors,
and now his best leads had dried up.”
“After stalling for a long as
possible, [Sheriff Coleman] slammed the lever down. A loud bang
sounded, followed by the crackle of electric static. Twenty-four
hundred volts roared through McCall's body. The smell of burning
flesh flooded the room and a smoky haze drifted toward the ceiling.
No sound came from the prisoner, but the audience gasped as they
watched him straining against the straps.”
