Family of Spies: Inside the John Walker Spy Ring (31 page)

Chapter 47

By the summer of 1982, Laura Walker was desperate. She and Mark were fighting incessantly, she wanted out of the marriage, but couldn’t leave without Christopher. The problem was money. It always was. She didn’t know whom she could borrow money from. Her father was still furious at her for not reenlisting and her mother was surviving from paycheck to paycheck. Laura began thinking of people she knew with cash. Jerry Whitworth!

When John, Jerry, Brenda, and Laura had gone to dinner together in February, Jerry seemed to be flaunting as much money as John. Laura began to wonder. Could he be a spy? Laura didn’t know the old Jerry, only the new Jerry Whitworth, John’s creation.

“Jerry was very much like my father,” she told me later. “In fact, he was so much like my father I could not tell who was copying who that night at dinner.”

Laura telephoned Jerry and he sounded excited to hear from her. Within a few minutes, he had invited her to dinner. When they met, she noticed that he had come alone, without Brenda. Laura assumed this was because Jerry didn’t want Brenda to know he was meeting with her, and Laura took this as a good sign. But Jerry had another reason for not bringing along his wife. He knew that John had attempted to recruit Laura, and he didn’t want her bringing up espionage in front of Brenda.

Jerry and Laura had a good time that night. Jerry told great stories and was a good listener. He called her a short time after that dinner and they got together two more times, Laura told me later. It was during their last rendezvous that Laura asked Jerry to lend her $600. He wrote her a personal check.

“Jerry Whitworth flipped for me,” Laura Walker told me. “I knew it and understood it, but he didn’t make a pass until after I borrowed the money. That is when he made his overt sexual pass. He made his pass and when he found that he was going to be unsuccessful, he stopped.”

With Jerry’s money, Laura had a way out and she took it. She and Christopher moved into another apartment, leaving Mark behind. Before long, Laura began dating someone else-much to Mark’s irritation. He still hoped they could reconcile their problems.

About one month after Laura moved out, Mark went to her new apartment while she was at work and took Christopher. They left on a bus bound for Lanham, Maryland. After the Greyhound crossed into Nevada, Mark telephoned Laura and told her what he had done.

Up to this point, the marital strife between them had been limited to a husband-wife problem. But Mark’s decision to take Christopher made it into a Walker family problem. Laura Walker and Philip Mark Snyder both vehemently disagreed over what happened next. Both have testified under oath before a federal grand jury to exactly opposite stories.

“Mark reminded me during one of his phone calls,” Laura Walker told me, “that he knew my dad was a spy. I had told Mark about him earlier.... Mark told me, ‘I don’t want you to raise Chris anyway, especially with your family.’ Then he reminded me that he remembered what my dad was involved in. I understood completely what he was saying to me. He was blackmailing me, and I got on the phone and called my mom and said ‘You better call Dad and you better ten him that Mark knows!’ ”

Barbara Walker was furious when Laura told her what had happened. Why had Laura told Mark? She called Laura selfish and disloyal. But Barbara did as Laura had asked.

After talking with Barbara, John placed an angry call to Laura.

Laura later was questioned at Jerry Whitworth’s trial about that conversation. Under oath, she said her father had suggested that Mark might be killed.

LAURA:
He [John] asked me how much I cared about my husband and how I would feel if he suddenly no longer existed.

Q:
And what did you say?

A:
I said I didn’t care.

Later, under examination by Whitworth’s defense attorney, Laura Walker expounded on her answer:

Q:
What else did he [John] say to you?

A:
He said that he couldn’t believe that I would tell my junkie husband about his private life. And then he asked me if I still loved him, and I said, “No.” Obviously, I wasn’t feeling very much love for him at that time. He just took my two-year-old son. And then he asked me how I would feel if he was not around anymore, and it was very clear to me what he was saying.

Q:
What was he saying?

A:
I felt that he was asking me how I would feel if my husband was dead by unnatural causes.

Philip Mark Snyder denied to me and in testimony to the grand jury that he ever blackmailed Laura. “Laura never told me about her father,” Mark Snyder said. “I never knew John Walker was a spy. Never! I swear it. It was a total He on her part.”

Mark Snyder accused Laura of “concocting” the blackmail story in an unsuccessful effort to get John to go after Christopher. “Laura is a very manipulative person,” Mark Snyder said. “I think she was trying to get her father to harm me. I think Laura was so angry that she wanted me dead.”

Whatever the truth, in the summer of 1982, John Walker believed Mark Snyder posed a threat to him and his ring. John was angry, but not enough to kill.

Instead, John figured that Mark would keep his mouth shut as long as he had Christopher.

“I couldn’t believe that cunt daughter of mine would do what she did,” John told me later. “And then when I talked to her she wants me to go get her son for her. I said. ‘Laura, you are a bitch, a cunt bitch. If you want your son, then go to Maryland and get him yourself. I am not going to get involved.’

“I didn’t think Laura was making any sense,” John continued. “I mean, she said Mark was going to turn me in if she went after Christopher. But then she wanted me to go after Christopher. Why would that make a difference? I mean, if I went after Christopher, what would keep Mark from turning me in? She was acting crazy.”

The message to Laura was clear. She became convinced that neither John nor Barbara was going to help her regain custody of her son if it meant putting the spy ring in jeopardy.

PART V

michael

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

–
Proverbs 22:4

Few fathers care much for their sons, or at least, most of them care more for their money.

–
Lord Chesterfield
,
Letters (May 21,1752)

Chapter 48

Michael Walker loved to surf and John gave him plenty of money to spend on gear. Surfing was more than a hobby to Michael. It signified a way of life.

“Riding waves was almost orgasmic,” Michael told me after his arrest. “You could put the most beautiful woman in the world naked on the beach and have an eight-foot perfect wave coming in, and a true male surfer would have to think twice about which he would choose.”

Surfing was carefree, exciting, sexy.

“It was what I wanted to do.”

Just before his high school graduation, Michael enlisted in the Navy. His surfer friends were stunned, and his closest surfing pal felt betrayed. Joining the Navy was for nerds, not carefree surfers. Michael didn’t care. He had done this for his father as he had promised, a reverse graduation present of sorts. Michael hadn’t told John what he was doing. He just did it, and at first, he wasn’t certain that the Navy would take him. When the recruiter asked if Michael had ever used any narcotics or had smoked marijuana, Michael answered truthfully. As a result, he was sent to the district recruitment command in Richmond, where he was issued a special drug waiver. At that time, the Navy told Michael that he probably wouldn’t be allowed to handle classified documents because of his self-acknowledged use of drugs. But apparently no one made such a notation in his Navy personnel file.

John beamed when Michael announced that he had enlisted. “You’ve really made your old man proud,” he said.

Because Michael was still a senior in high school, his entry date was delayed until December 1982, eight months away. Michael planned to surf as much as possible that summer and fall, but John had other ideas. He insisted that Michael enroll in typing and math courses at Tidewater Community College.

“These are skills you’ll need to get a job with access to classified information,” John explained. “Those are the best types of jobs.”

Michael wasn’t thrilled, but he did as he was told. The classes weren’t difficult, and he still could surf in the mornings.

One spring night, Michael stopped by The Lone Pine, a Virginia Beach restaurant, to talk to his dad.

“P.K. and I started going over to The Lone Pine every night,” John recalled later, “because a lot of lawyers and insurance agents used to hang out there.”

It was important for John to mingle with potential clients because his business partner, Phil Prince, had pulled out. After nearly two years together, the two men couldn’t get along anymore, so Prince had signed over his share of the company to John.

Michael found his father, P.K., and Uncle Arthur all drunk. Someone was celebrating a birthday and John had ordered a special cake shaped like a nude woman. When the guest of honor went to the bathroom, one of the men at the party unzipped his pants and stuck his penis in the absent person’s drink.

“When the guy got back from the bathroom and took a drink, everyone cracked up,” Michael told me later. “My dad knew how to throw some great parties.”

Michael, soon as drunk as his father, accidentally crashed into the front desk where a young cashier, Rachel Sara Allen, worked. Neither of them paid any attention to the other.

A few days later, John asked Rachel if she would like to spend Father’s Day with him, P.K., and Michael on the houseboat. Rachel politely declined, but John persisted. Rachel was suspicious. She thought John might be attempting to get her alone on the boat.

John wouldn’t give up. He called her that weekend. “Michael is really excited about you coming over,” John said. “You can’t let him down.”

As she drove to John’s house that afternoon, Rachel reviewed what she knew about her host. He had been one of the first regular customers she had met working that spring at The Lone Pine. With his “plastic hair,” girlfriend half his age, and his endless supply of cash, John stuck out.

She and John became friends by accident when she chastised him one night for playing the bar’s video game.

“You waste too much money on that,” she told him. The nineteen-year-old’s impertinence surprised John.

“From now on,” Rachel continued, “every time you bring me a dollar, I’m going to give you seventy-five cents and I’ll keep a quarter up here so you’ll have some money when you go home.”

John liked that.

Soon, Rachel had met all of John’s crew: Uncle Art, P.K., and the other investigators from Confidential Reports. Now she was about to meet Michael.

Rachel wasn’t eager to fall in love. The five-foot two-inch blonde was on the rebound from her first serious love affair, and she didn’t have a very good impression of men.

Rachel had had a difficult childhood. Her parents divorced when she was five, years old, and she had hated her stepfather. As a child, she developed into a bookworm and spent much of her days alone. Her only date during high school was to the junior prom, which she attended with her chemistry lab partner, a boy who, like her, hadn’t dated before.

“We never even kissed good night when he brought me home,” she told a friend afterward. There was only one man whom Rachel was close to as a child. Her father, a veteran Navy officer, showered her with attention and affection, but was away much of the time.

After high school, Rachel enrolled at Old Dominion University, where she took a full schedule of science courses. She also worked at a Hallmark card shop to help pay her tuition. During her first semester, Rachel had a 3.7 grade point average, but she had paid a price. Her weight had dropped from its normal 128 pounds to eighty pounds. She was fatigued, lonely, and depressed.

During her second semester Rachel fell in love with a sailor eight years her senior. His name was David and he treated her as if she were the “most beautiful person in the world.” In truth, Rachel had blossomed into a beauty, but she didn’t realize it. Then, after a whirlwind romance, Rachel discovered that David was seeing other women. She was crushed and vowed not to be so trusting of men.

When she pulled up to John’s houseboat on Father’s Day, Rachel made up her mind: if John was there without P.K., she would turn around and leave immediately. She was walking toward the boat when John appeared with P.K. at his side.

“You’ve got to meet Michael,” John said. “C’mon.”

Michael was already on the boat. When he saw her, he was tongue-tied.

“I could barely talk,” recalled Michael. “I thought, ‘Oh shit! My dad’s hit the jackpot for once!’ “

Rachel and Michael sat on the deck as John steered the houseboat out into the bay. Both were uncomfortable, not knowing what to say to each other. Then Rachel asked Michael the name of the high school he had attended.

“You’ve never heard of it,” he replied. “It’s a small private school.”

“Try me,” responded Rachel. “I’ve lived here all my life.”

“Ryan,” answered Michael.

“You got to be kidding,” beamed Rachel, “My stepsister goes there. Do you know ...” For the next hour, the two compared notes.

Rachel couldn’t stand Michael’s best friend, but she approved of some of his other pals. By the time the foursome returned to the pier, Rachel was no longer in a hurry to go home. John fixed lasagna for dinner and at a quarter to ten, P.K. announced she was going to bed.

“You know, John, you don’t get any if you’re not in bed by ten,” P.K. proclaimed.

John jumped to his feet like a schoolboy. “Good seeing you Rachel. Glad you could make it out today,” he said, racing upstairs.

Michael and Rachel both laughed. A few minutes later, Michael began getting romantic with Rachel. She didn’t mind a few kisses, but when he made it clear that he was interested in more, she stopped him.

“I’m a biology major,” Rachel said, “and I know you are probably getting uncomfortable. I don’t want you to have any problems getting to sleep tonight, so I’m going to leave now.”

Michael couldn’t believe it. She was serious. She got up and left.

When Rachel got home that night, she woke up her stepsister. “Tell me everything you know about Michael Walker,” Rachel demanded. “He’s such a nice guy!”

The next night, Michael stopped at The Lone Pine to say hello. When Rachel left work that night, there was a note under the wiper on her car. “Let’s go to the beach tomorrow. Please!!!! Love, Michael.” Rachel put the note in her purse, and when she got home she tucked it into a scrapbook. She was confident that Michael Walker was going to be someone special.

Michael had a single rose with him when he arrived in the morning to take Rachel to the beach. He had bought it from a street vendor at the corner. From that day on, Michael always brought Rachel a rose when they had a date.

Michael and Rachel drove to the beach and tossed a Frisbee around. Later that night, he stopped at The Lone Pine and left another note on her car. They went to the beach each morning that week, and Michael stopped by every night when Rachel was at work.

On Saturday, Rachel invited Michael to go scuba diving and that night, Michael once again attempted to have sex with Rachel. As soon as he tried to slip his hand up into the top of her bikini, she stopped him. Michael got angry this time and the next day, he didn’t call Rachel or stop by The Lone Pine. She telephoned him the next morning.

“What’s the problem?” she asked.

“What’s your problem?” Michael responded.

Rachel didn’t understand, so Michael spelled it out. “This isn’t my style,” he said, “to go out and just play around. I want to get serious.” They talked for nearly an hour, and Rachel agreed to go with Michael on the Fourth of July to Cape Hatteras, even though it meant lying to her father about the overnight trip. The combination of the beach, sunset, fireworks, campfire, and Michael proved to be too much for Rachel to resist. They made love that night in the back of Michael’s truck under a sky filled with fireworks. Afterward, Rachel told Michael about David and how much she had loved him and how he had hurt her.

“You aren’t going to do that to me, are you?” she asked. “You’re different, aren’t you?”

Michael assured her that he was.

After that weekend, Michael and Rachel were together constantly. Rachel desperately wanted Michael to love her, and she was willing to do just about anything to please him. When they went to a nightclub favored by punk rockers, Michael paraded Rachel through the crowd.

“Rachel, everyone thinks you are one hot chick,” he told her proudly.

They found a table and ordered a pitcher of beer. The waitress asked if they wanted glasses, and Michael quickly said no. Rachel didn’t understand, but when the pitcher arrived, Michael took a big drink from it and passed it to her. “This is how we do it here.”

Rachel loved it!

When her college classes started, Rachel had a difficult time studying, and her grades began to fall. One night, after she got off work, Michael told her that he had something serious to tell her. They parked near the beach.

“Rachel, I’m going into the Navy. I have to report in December.”

“How long have you known?” she asked.

“Since March.”

“That’s before we started dating!” Rachel said, starting to cry. “Why didn’t you tell me? Have you just been taking me for a ride? Is this some little game you were playing? Get a good screw or two in before you get sent off?”

“No, it’s not like that, I love you,” he said. “You’ve got to believe me. I love you more than anything.”

Michael had bought Rachel a scuba-diving air regulator on her birthday. It was the most expensive present she had ever received. When his birthday arrived, Rachel gave Michael an expensive diver’s watch. It was much more than she could afford, but she had gotten a line of credit from the jewelers and planned to pay it off each month.

“The watch was just a token,” she said, handing him a card. “Here’s my real present.”

Michael didn’t pay much attention to what it said on the outside. It was the note that Rachel had scribbled inside that mattered.

Your birthday present is ME! No matter where you are sent in the Navy, I will go with you. I love you and will stand by you.

They hugged and that night Michael told Rachel that if he could find a way out of his obligation to the Navy, he would. He planned to talk to his dad about it. Surely an old seadog like John would know a way.

After Rachel left that night, Michael told John that he’d made a mistake by enlisting. John listened intently and then went to work. He told Michael that going to boot camp would be good for him and Rachel. They could have some time apart to put their relationship in perspective. If Michael really loved Rachel, then joining the Navy was exactly what he should do. After all, it was a job and Michael would need a job if he wanted to marry Rachel someday. They spoke a long time and when John finished, Michael was confident that his father was correct. The next day, Rachel noticed a change in John. From that day on, he was never very friendly toward her.

The night before Michael left for boot camp, Rachel spent the night with him at John’s house. She couldn’t sleep, so she got up and went downstairs. Michael found her sitting in a chair, crying softly. Michael had promised her that he would find a way out, but he hadn’t. He began repeating all the reasons that John had cited to him. But in those early morning hours, those reasons didn’t make as much sense to Michael as they had before.

He suddenly found himself repeating to Rachel, again and again: “I don’t want to let my dad down. I can’t let my dad down.”