After Milligan left, Wymer handed his secretary the application and W-2 form to file. He did not notice that on both, Milligan had entered the day and the year—“15-77” and “18-77”—but had left off the month of August.

John Wymer had hired him, but Sharon Roth—a young woman with pale skin and long black hair—was Milligans supervisor.

She found the new employee an intelligent, handsome fellow. She introduced him to the other “rental girls” and explained the procedure to him. Each day he would come to the office in Williamsburg Square and pick up the work orders filled out by her, Carol or Cathy. When the job was finished, Milligan was to sign the order and return it to Sharon.

Milligan worked well the first week, putting up shutters, repairing fences and walks, and doing lawn work. Everyone agreed that he was an eager, ambitious worker. He slept at the Williamsburg Square apartment of Ned Adkins, one of the other young maintenance men.

One morning during the second week, Milligan dropped by the personnel office to see John Wymer about renting an apartment. Wymer thought about it, and recalling Milligans description of his strong background and qualifications in electrical, plumbing, and appliance repair, he decided to try him as an inside maintenance man on twenty-four-hour call. He would have to live on the premises to be available for night and emergency calls. A rent-free apartment came with the job.

“You can pick up a set of master keys from Sharon or Carol,” Wymer said.

His new apartment was beautiful. It had a fireplace in the living room, a bedroom, dinette and kitchen, and it faced a patio. Tommy took one of the walk-in closets for his electronic equipment, keeping it locked to prevent the children from getting into it. Allen set up a studio in the small dinette area feeing the rear. Adalana kept the place clean and did the cooking. Ragen jogged around the neighborhood to keep fit. Life at the apartment and on the job was well-organized.

Arthur approved of the situation, pleased that they were finally settled. Now he could turn his attention to his medical books and research.

Through an oversight on someone’s part, the police check was never completed on Billy Milligan.

(4)

Two weeks after the move to Channingway, Ragen was jogging through the nearby poor neighborhood when he saw two black children without shoes playing on the sidewalk. He noticed a sharply dressed white man walking from one of the houses to a white Cadillac. He decided the man had to be a pimp.

Moving quickly, he threw the man against the car.

“What’s the matter with you? You crazy?”

Ragen reached into his belt and pulled out a gun. “Give your vallet.”

The man handed him his wallet. Ragen emptied it and threw it back at him. “Now drive.”

When the car pulled away, Ragen handed the black children more than two hundred dollars. “Here. Buy shoes and food for families.”

He smiled as he watched the children run off with the money.