The Amateur

On Wednesday, I went for a drive.

If the shootings were random, the location of the shooter would be somewhat random as well. But the shooter had some constraints. He didn't want to be seen or heard. He wanted to be a certain distance from the victim, but close enough to guarantee a kill with one shot.

Murphy hadn't said bullets. He had said bullet. I was sure it had not escaped him that his adversary was an excellent shot. One bullet, one kill. Something to be proud of.

The area by the church where Petersen was shot had plenty of places that fit the bill, just like the area around Martha's church. I drove around, looking for ideal places for a sniper, looking for churches.

There were many possibilities. I started looking around for places with churches in noisy areas, areas with easy exits, and lots of parked cars.

There were lots of potential spots. I needed help from the Internet, but I was a long way from home. I had my laptop computer in the car, though, so I looked for a local McDonald's or Starbuck's where I could connect to the web.

Once connected, I looked up maps of the area, aerial photos, topographic maps, anything that would help narrow down the choices. Then I had a thought. I wanted to ask Murphy a question. He wouldn't be in; it was too late. I had his email address on my home computer. I used Goto My PC to connect my laptop to the home computer, and brought up my mail program.

I asked him: Did anyone hear a shot when Ralph Petersen was killed?