Roy Tussing was more traumatized by the Investor murders than the troopers could know. It was a secret sorrow he kept close to his vest. When he was six years old, Roy was at home watching television. His sister called from her baby-sitting job. Could Roy come help her carry her books home? Roy didn’t want to — he wanted to watch TV. Roy’s mom went instead. It became Roy’s deepest regret.
As Roy’s mother made her way up the street, she was attacked. A man tried to rape and rob her. He beat her savagely. Somehow she managed to make it to the shrubs behind their house. When Roy entered his bedroom and turned on the light, he scared her attacker away. But it was too late. His mother died the next day. Roy still half-blamed himself for her death.
And now, with the deaths — the murders — of the Investor crew, Roy Tussing found himself with another case of survivor’s guilt, the sorrow suddenly doubled.
When Roy left the boat, Chris Heyman took on more responsibility and committed to stay. His reward was a bigger crew share. He wasn’t the only one involved in a role shift. When LeRoy Flammang left the boat, he was replaced by Jerome Keown, one of Dean Moon’s best friends. It was a chance for Jerome to earn more money, after a disappointing fishing season up to that point.
Under the circumstances, it was difficult — impossible — for either man to avoid thinking that “it could have been me.”
UPDATE: Chris Heyman’s stint on the Investor overlapped with that of LeRoy Flammang and Roy Tussing. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Heyman came onto the vessel as Roy Tussing’s replacement. In fact, Heyman had been on the boat for over two months by the time Flammang left, and for at least nine weeks before Tussing left.
Excerpts from the unpublished original manuscript, “Sailor Take Warning,” by Leland E. Hale. That manuscript, started in 1992 and based on court records from the Alaska State Archive, served as the basis for “What Happened in Craig.”
Copyright Leland E. Hale (2019). All rights reserved.
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