A Life Wasted

A Little Rest

November 9th, the day after the second wave of threat letters hit, I rented a cabin in a remote area of southern Missouri. It was a good spot to lay low, which is what I intended to so. I bought a $12 cigar and a $90 bottle of wine and the fixings for a fine meal. I took the time to cook for myself and enjoyed doing it. (I've always liked to cook, but as Mary says I'm not so good at cleaning up afterwards). After the meal I drank the wine and smoked the cigar, choking only a little on it. It felt good to relax. Good to unwind and feel good about my success. I'm glad no one was there to see me because I was one arrogant man.

I had planned to spend a few weeks in that cabin but on the second day I got antsy about being in the same place more than one day. So even though I wanted to stay there and relax, I couldn't force myself to sleep in the same bed two nights in a row, so once again I was on the road.

Once back in civilization, I checked the news and learned that Attorney General John Ashcroft was hot over the fake anthrax attacks against abortion clinics. The FBI's response was to roust known anti-abortion extremist. Having no evidence as to who had sent the fake anthrax letters they started stirring the pot.

I wasn't aware of any evidence that I had left behind from either of the fake anthrax threats, but I was careful afterwards none-the-less. I read some interesting stuff about it. In one article an FBI official was asked if I (Clay Waagner) might have sent the anthrax. The FBI official said not likely. He opined that I was too busy running to do something so sophisticated. Plus, they were sure the mailings had been done by a team of activist, and I was known to be a lone wolf. Interesting comments.

At the time the FBI didn't comment on the lack of evidence, but I learned at my trial that there was absolutely no physical evidence. I'd not left so much as a DNA sample on anything. Nor were there any witnesses nor had a single surveillance camera caught me. You often hear it said that there is no such thing as a perfect crime, but this one was pretty close.

The only thing that pointed at me was the threat letter I'd written in the first wave of letters. Between the way it was written and signed, FBI profilers thought it might be me. I signed the letter "Virginia Dare Cell of the Army of God." Virginia Dare was the first baby known to have been born in North America that was not a native. That baby, along with her entire settlement on Norfolk Island (on what is now North Carolina) disappeared in what was this country's first great mystery. This is a little known historic fact, and one that made the FBI think I might have written the letter. My love of history tripped me up. Not the kind of evidence that could be used in court, and it wouldn't have pointed them at me had I not already been on their short list. But point them at me it did.

This caused the FBI to mess with my family.