Practice to Deceive

with their younger son ( between them ). Rhonda was baffled when she got an invitation to her half sister Peggy Sue’s wedding. “We hadn’t been in touch for a long time, and I had no idea who Mark Allen was. None of her half sisters did! We didn’t go to her wedding.” Rhonda Vogl

Peggy Sue, left, was very tall with long legs. She dances here at a reception. Vickie Boyer is on the far right, and another guest is in the middle. Vickie Boyer

Jimmie Stackhouse today—in his log home in Idaho. After a life full of tragedy and loss, he looks tranquil. But looks can be deceptive and the Stackhouse family has not seen the end of strife.

Although Jimmie Stackhouse’s marital record was spotty, he was always free with advice for his children and their spouses. At first, Mark didn’t complain. Vickie Boyer

Peggy Sue could always twist her father around her little finger. Vickie Boyer

Peggy Sue Thomas confers with her attorney in an early court appearance.

Gail O’Neal, the victim’s mother, gives her survivors’ statement and begs Peggy Sue Thomas to tell what really happened when her son was shot to death on December 26, 2003. For everyone involved, the big question was: What was the motivation to kill Russel Douglas? Peggy Sue did not respond. Leslie Rule

Peggy Sue walking into the courtroom at her sentencing. She passed Detective Mark Plumberg ( center ) without looking at him. She had never expected this to happen to her. Leslie Rule

Peggy Sue listens as Russ Douglas’s family begs her to give a motive for his violent death, but she said nothing. Leslie Rule

No longer free, Peggy Sue is led out of Judge Alan Hancock’s courtroom in handcuffs. Leslie Rule

On February 15, 2013, Peggy Sue Thomas talks to her attorney, Craig Platt, just before she is sentenced to prison for an extraordinarily short time in a murder case. Just behind her to the left is her daughter Mariah, and her ex-husband Kelvin Thomas. Leslie Rule

Peggy Sue Thomas stands between her attorneys as Judge Alan Hancock pronounces her sentence for criminal assistance after the murder of Russel Douglas. Leslie Rule

Superior Court Judge Alan Hancock was stern as he sentenced Peggy Sue Thomas, saying he regretted the Washington State statute that limited him to a shockingly short sentence. He urged her to tell the victim’s family the truth. Leslie Rule

Left to right: Island County Prosecuting Attorney Greg Banks, author Ann Rule, and Island County Sheriff’s Office Detective Mark Plumberg, minutes after Peggy Sue Thomas was sentenced to prison in Judge Alan Hancock’s courtroom. Leslie Rule

Author Ann Rule, left , with Mark Plumberg at his home on Whidbey Island. Plumberg spent almost a decade tracking Russel Douglas’s killer(s).

Peggy Sue Thomas in early 2013. She doesn’t know yet what her future holds for her. Like The Picture of Dorian Gray , none of her devious plots show on her pretty face.

A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
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    I MIGHT NEVER HAVE HEARD of this strange and complicated story were it not for my longtime friend Shirley Hickman. She happened to mention it over lunch a few years ago, and handed me a short newspaper clipping.
    “Have you heard about this?” she asked. “My husband went to school with this man, and now his friend has been charged with murder. You might want to look into it.”
    I get about four thousand suggestions every year—mostly from strangers—and the mass of them won’t work for me for one reason or another. Shirley and her husband, Lloyd Jackson, live on an island in Puget Sound, and I had been attending a trial in another part of the state. Indeed, I had never heard of the cases she mentioned. But I certainly looked into it.
    So, first and foremost, I thank Shirley Hickman. She kept me apprised of what was happening on her island, and often attended hearings and trials with me.
    Even though I try to do intense research for every book I write, there is no way I could unearth the stories beneath the stories without the help and cooperation of law enforcement officials, homicide detectives, prosecuting attorneys, and numerous witnesses who add to my files about what led up to astounding tragedies. This story turned out to be one of the most wide-ranging series of events that I have ever written.
    Some of the officials, detectives, and acquaintances of the principals I interviewed prefer not to be named, and others tell me it’s okay.
    And there are always my friends who boost me up when I think I