Practice to Deceive

rapidly reduced to a tenth of that. Even though her original bail was slashed, very few prisoners have five hundred thousand dollars to put up.
    Peggy Sue’s attorney, Craig Platt, argued that she was not an escape risk, and convinced Superior Court Judge Alan Hancock to accept a property bond in lieu of keeping her in jail. Her mother, Doris Matz, put up her home in Langley, with a market value of $231,924, and Peggy put up one of her houses—her Las Vegas home—worth $331,320.
    She was released on bail in early September 2011 with the stipulation that she would live with her mother and wear a GPS device on her ankle that would allow law enforcement to track her movements so they would know where she was at all times.
    That living situation didn’t last long.

C HAPTER T HIRTY
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    T HE NEWS OF PEGGY SUE’S and Jim Huden’s arrests on first-degree murder charges galvanized the residents of Whidbey Island. The South Whidbey Record had headline stories every week on the shocking case, and the Everett Herald and the Seattle Weekly weren’t far behind. The eight-year-old murder investigation drew national attention, too, and docudrama shows such as Dateline and 48 Hours sent first scouts out to see what the case of the beauty queen, Buck Naked and the X-hibitionists, and the unlikely murder victim was all about.
    Russel Douglas’s name was hardly mentioned in headlines about his murder; Peggy Sue was still the star, as it was usually referred to as “the Drop-Dead Gorgeous” case.
    Two trials seemed imminent and they promised, quite literally, sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
    After each article in the Whidbey Island papers, there were dozens of comments and opinions.
    The first six children fathered by Jimmie Stackhouse had been through the rumors and fallout of violent murder before. Tom and Mike were living far away, Robby was long dead, Lana and Rhonda were living in Idaho, but Brenda was living in her daughter’s home in Marysville, Washington, just north of Everett, a short drive and ferry ride to Whidbey Island. She could not avoid the gossip and the media blitz and all of it disturbed her a great deal.
    Of all the trio of sisters, Brenda Stackhouse Gard could be the most fun and the most outrageous. She was smart and pretty, and loyal to a fault. It was sometimes hard to picture that Brenda as the woman who cried out in fear as she slept.
    Ever since June 1963, when Mary Ellen Stackhouse was murdered in San Jose, Brenda was the child, teenager, and then the woman who suffered the most post-traumatic stress. She had seemed to do a lot better after she and her two sisters went back to San Jose and confronted Gilbert Thompson, but even so, Brenda continued to suffer from nightmares.
    Brenda had stayed in touch with Rhonda, but she hadn’t spoken with her older sister, Lana, in years. When she saw a message on Twitter from Lana—who was writing a book about their mother and seeking information about Gilbert Thompson—Brenda wrote back within a few hours.
    “Lana, where are you?” she responded. “This is your sister Brenda. I haven’t heard from you in years. I was looking up Gilbert Thompson online and found this. E-mail me. Love, Brenda.”
    With Peggy Sue’s arrest and the media publicity, Brenda became angry and depressed. She responded to the numerous posts that appeared in the South Whidbey Record, asking readers not to lump her whole family into her half sister’s alleged crimes. In her posts, Brenda alternately sounded combative or crushed by the hoopla surrounding Peggy’s coming trial.
    Peggy Sue Thomas was originally scheduled to go to trial before Jim Huden, and the date set first was September 24, 2011.
    Jean Huden would be a strong witness for the prosecution, and so would Bill Hill. Jim had reportedly confessed to both these Florida witnesses that he had shot Russ Douglas after Peggy Sue had lured him to Wahl Road on the pretense of giving him a present for his wife, Brenna.
    What few knew was that Brenda, Peggy’s own half sister, was the rumored secret witness who would testify for the prosecution.
    Her testimony might be the most damning to Peggy.
    Sometime in 2003, when Brenda was considering a divorce from her second husband, Flint Gard, she had an odd and disquieting phone call from Peggy Sue and Jim Huden. Peggy Sue had offered to help Brenda get rid of Flint, and then she put Jim on the phone.
    Jim had offered to “take Flint out,” and, with dawning horror, Brenda had