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sophomore year, Barbara got her driver’s license and her parents bought her an old blue Rambler to drive to school. When other students were cruising with dates, Barbara and her brother were seen riding together in the Rambler. That spring, Barbara took a part-time job at Duke University Medical Center as a clerk in the collections division of the bookkeeping office, a job she would keep until she went away to college. Her job, regular home chores, helping with her baby brother, church, school, band practice and homework left Barbara little free time. Still, she kept up her grades, and every year she was selected for Knights and Ladies. Somehow, too, she managed to find time for other school activities and to help family members or friends whenever they needed it.
    Barbara graduated from Northern High in 1967, thirty-third in her class of 233. It was a given that she would attend college, and although her Scholastic Aptitude Test scores were barely average (395 verbal, 450 math), she had a choice of schools. She was accepted at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, not far from home. But Appalachian State Teachers College at Boone in the mountains of western North Carolina, nearly two hundred miles from Durham, offered her a modest scholarship, one of many presented to prospective teachers, and that decided her choice.
    That summer, Barbara worked full-time at Duke University Medical Center, saving money to see her through her first year of college. Friends saw that she clearly was excited about the prospect of getting out on her own, away from the restrictions of home. But they did not know the depth of her longings, the strength of her resentments, and they could not foresee the nearly explosive urges that were stirring within her.
    Barbara received her dorm assignment and the name and address of her roommate several weeks before she left for Boone. Her roommate was to be Laura Campbell, an English major. She and Laura corresponded several times before they arrived on campus, planning who would bring what for their room.
    They were to discover that they had much in common. Both were from families of modest means. Both had been brought up Baptist. Both were quiet and studious, serious about getting an education. Neither was a drinker or partygoer. Both were neat, good housekeepers, although Barbara was by far the more meticulous of the two. Both were early risers and usually were in bed by ten.
    In some ways, though, they were very different. Laura, who was from a small mountain town near Asheville, was tall and strikingly beautiful. In August she had won the title of Miss Asheville and would be competing the following summer in the Miss North Carolina pageant. Next to her, Barbara seemed even shorter and plainer than she thought herself to be. Laura sensed an insecurity in Barbara about her looks, but that didn’t interfere with their relationship. They struck up a quick friendship. “Like two little sisters together in this big place,” Laura would recall years later.
    Appalachian, which was in the process of becoming a university that year, enforced strict regulations, especially for female students, who were not allowed to wear shorts or slacks on campus or to be outside their dorm rooms after ten o’clock on weeknights. Closed study was required for two hours every night. Barbara and Laura found themselves together a lot and enjoyed each other’s company. They chatted about school and classes, and Barbara talked a lot about her family, delighting in relating stories about her little brother Stevie. She talked often as well about Alton, with whom she corresponded regularly. She rarely mentioned her father but spoke proudly of her mother. Laura got the impression that her mother was the guiding force in her life.
    Mostly, though, the two talked about “girl stuff,” as Laura termed it. Boys were at the top of the list, but hairdos, makeup and clothing also were regular topics. Barbara asked for tips about