Bit o’ Honey

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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David Kushner (0:37)

On November 2nd, 1973, a girl told a Hillsborough County deputy that a few weeks earlier, she'd seen two suspicious men in the woods where Jon disappeared. She said they were standing beside a yellow car, holding bows and arrows. They tried to get her attention.

After I read that police report, I kept thinking about that girl, what she saw, how she felt, and how she got away. She was the one person who had some idea of what my brother had encountered in his last moments. Then, out of the blue, just last year, I got a chance to talk with her.

Britta McKenna (1:21)

I guess not everybody's lucky enough to be the person that got away.

David Kushner (1:28)

I'm David Kushner and this is Alligator Candy.

Britta McKenna is a grandmother living in Chicago. She read my memoir about Jon and emailed me.

Britta McKenna (1:44)

Reading your jacket cover, knowing there was a four-year-old brother that got left on the curb. I could see you just waiting.

David Kushner (1:58)

In 1973, Britta was 12, and she lived near us in Tampa. Her father happened to work at the same university as my dad, but we didn't know her family.

Britta was a competitive swimmer on a strict schedule. When she had free time, she loved taking off on her bike.

Britta McKenna (2:17)

I had a three-speed. It was red. It's one way to get a breeze down in the humid Tampa summers.

And I usually had a purpose when I was on my bike, whether it was the candy store or a friend, or to go meet somebody in a park. It was always happy. So there was this adventure and the wheels of a bicycle took me there.

David Kushner (2:47)

Like a lot of kids in our neighborhood, Britta would bike through the woods to the 7-Eleven to buy candy. Her favorite was bit of honey.

Britta McKenna (2:56)

The taste is obviously sweet and nutty and has a little bit of maybe molasses to it.

The part that I like is it lasts a really long time and you have to make a choice. Do you chew it and have it get stuck in your teeth or do you just suck on it and enjoy it for a very long time?

David Kushner (3:18)

A few weeks before my brother disappeared, Britta and her friend headed to the 7-Eleven. They turned off the main road and pedaled down the dirt trail into the forest. They rode over the palm fronds, past the fallen oranges.

Britta and her friend got their bit of honey and were eating it as they walked their bikes back home through the woods. That's when Britta noticed the yellow car.

Britta McKenna (3:46)

And in the distance on the right, I could see two figures, very colorful, moving about in the distance, which caught my eye.

David Kushner (3:58)

They were dressed in some kind of archery outfit. She thought they looked like Robin Hood.

Britta McKenna (4:04)

As I got closer, I noticed that one of them had a bow and arrow. So I asked them what they were doing. Because it seemed odd to me that they would be dressed up like Halloween, although it was just before Halloween, but with bows and arrows. And so they said, well, we're shooting little animals. Do you want to come see?

And then at that point, I realized I don't think I want to see.

David Kushner (4:36)

Brita froze, then turned to her friend and urgently told her, Ride like the wind.

Britta didn't know what to make of the strange men. A few weeks later, a police officer came to her school to ask the kids questions about the woods in the 7-Eleven.

Britta McKenna (5:13)

I shared the story about riding through the woods. I described the car and the men that I saw, what they were wearing, what they looked like.

David Kushner (5:25)

Soon after, she saw a report on TV about two men being arrested for my brother's murder.

Britta McKenna (5:31)

And I remember looking at the television, looking up and seeing the pictures of the two men.

David Kushner (5:38)

The same two men she'd met in the woods.