The Baulches were not relieved when they read the letter. While the address on the envelope was in Billy's handwriting, the note itself was either made to look like Billy's handwriting or Billy had written it under duress. But, more sinister than that was that Mr. Baulch, who drove a truck for a living, realized that there was no job like what was described in the note.

Johnny's family also received a similar letter which they believed was in Johnny's handwriting, but the spelling was so perfect that they knew he had not composed it unassisted.

The police were no help, so the Baulches tried to run down clues on their own. As they trawled through suspicious incidents in their son's past, they remembered David Brooks had given Billy some dope, which they reported to the police. They also recalled Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire, Brooks' companion, who used to have Billy and other neighborhood kids in his home on a continuous basis.

When Mrs. Baulch asked Billy what he and the other boys do for hours at the home of Dean Corll, Billy told her: