Lowell McCaffrey interview

Wednesday, May 27, 1998 – 4:15 p.m.

After hearing Beatrice Carmichael's comments about Howard Hadley, Detective Nelson tried to determine Hadley's movements after the Bowlan Glove Factory layoffs.

He spoke by phone to Lowell McCaffrey, the store manager for Yoknapatawpha Farm Supply Co., where Howard Hadley worked for a few months after layoffs.

Participants:

• Detective Terry Nelson
• Lowell McCaffrey

Detective Nelson: Hey, Lowell. How you doin' today?

Lowell McCaffrey: 'Zat you, Detective Nelson?

Detective Nelson: Sure is.

Lowell McCaffrey: I'm doing fine. A little busy around the store today, but I can't complain. How about yourself?

Detective Nelson: Not bad, not bad. They've got me running a lot today too. As a matter of fact, I'm doing some legwork on this old case we've had in the papers. The Izard case?

Lowell McCaffrey: Ooh, yeah. I've been reading about that. It's real interesting this coming up again after all these years. Do y'all have some new leads?

Detective Nelson: Hard to say at this point, but we're still scratching around, seeing what turns up. Can you do me a favor?

Lowell McCaffrey: I'll sure try.

Detective Nelson: I appreciate that. Can you check your personnel files—the old ones, I mean—if you've got them handy? We're trying to tie up some loose ends on all those Bowlan employees who got laid off right before the Izard murders, and I understand one of them worked for your store briefly.

Lowell McCaffrey: Sure. It's before my time, of course, but it should be in the old files. They're right here in our storage room, I think. What's the name?

Detective Nelson: Hadley. Howard Hadley.

Lowell McCaffrey: Hang on.

[DETECTIVE'S NOTATION: There is a 10-minute pause while McCaffrey apparently rings up a customer's purchase and gets the files.]

Lowell McCaffrey: All right, I'm back. Sorry about the wait.

Detective Nelson: That's all right. Whatcha got?

Lowell McCaffrey: Mm, looks like he worked here in the back, loading and unloading, sometimes doing a few deliveries. You need the dates?

Detective Nelson: Yep. That'll help me a lot.

Lowell McCaffrey: He was interviewed on April 17, 1958, and looks like he started work on … lessee here … April 21st, and he worked until July 2nd.

Detective Nelson: Anything else?

Lowell McCaffrey: Not really. The rest is pretty slim pickings. He wasn't here very long. Wait, hold on a minute. I don't know if this is what you mean, but it looks like he was on light duty that first week if that's important.

Detective Nelson: Might be. Does it say why?

Lowell McCaffrey: Yeah, it says here, "Hadley applied for the job with some previous minor injuries from a roofing accident at his home."

Detective Nelson: Injuries? Does it say anything more specific about that?

Lowell McCaffrey: Let me look on the back. There's an employee health record on the flip side. Yeah, it says he had bandages on one hand—doesn't say which one—and a bandaged eye. Something about cracked knuckles and … it's hard to read the rest, the handwriting is so bad. Corn-something? Hm. That's got to be "corneal abrasions." Doesn't that mean eye something-or-other?

Detective Nelson: Yes, it does. Anything else there?

Lowell McCaffrey: That's it. Like I said, he didn't work here long.

Detective Nelson: All right. Thanks, Lowell.

Lowell McCaffrey: You bet, detective.