No Clear Path

In 1976, the most famous murder scene at the largest mansion in Ft. Worth was unfolding. The millionaire-oilman Cullen Davis was accused of shooting his estranged wife, Priscilla, along with two others at their palatial mansion in Ft. Worth. Priscilla was a beautiful, blond bombshell and many in Texas didn't believe her testimony that it was Cullen who committed the shootings; not only of her but also of her current boyfriend and 12-year-old daughter. The trials of Cullen lasted from 1977-1979 and were so infamous that by 1995 three books and a 4-hour movie starring Heather Locklear and Peter Strauss had been made. But this book isn't about the trials, really. It's about Priscilla Davis and how she lived before and after the murders in August of 1976. It's the story of Texas money and glamour in the 1980's and how public image of someone can change the opinion of "justice." Cullen was acquitted of murdering his 12-year-old stepdaughter and still remains the wealthiest man in America to ever be tried for murder. The case of Cullen and Priscilla Davis was the precursor to O.J. and Nicole Brown Simpson. The only difference was that there was no such thing as cable television yet. Priscilla received 3.4 million dollars in her divorce from Cullen in 1979 and moved to the neighboring city of Dallas to start a new life. She was beautiful, rich and famous now. Dallas was exploding with glamour and money as most cities were in the 1980's. But with a future that looked so promising, the demon of alcoholism and a thirst for attention would become a problem.Meanwhile, while the shootings were occurring in Ft. Worth in 1976, the young life of a 7-year-old boy was just beginning twenty miles from the mansion in a small city named Grand Prairie. It was the life of a boy named Greg Brown who was just realizing that he was different. Greg had been born and adopted in Washington D.C. in 1969 by an educated couple from Texas. Greg's father was a physicist for NASA and his mother was an educator who decided to stay home and raise a family. This is the funny and sometimes dramatic story of a young boy trying to fight loneliness but find acceptance. After he humorously demises he is gay because he loves the teenage singer Sean Cassidy, he begins a life-long mission of hiding it and deflecting attention from this grave secret. The family dynamics and views of his upper-middle-class parents are a great snapshot of life in such a family at this time .By 1991, Priscilla is all but broke and living in a one-bedroom apartment in Dallas and Greg has been sent to Lubbock for a second time since his parents don't know what else to do with him. He is now at the age of 22 with no clear path in life and Priscilla is counting on a multi-million dollar settlement from Cullen.But what will happen to Greg and when will Priscilla get her money? Through a series of fateful decisions by Greg, his parents and Priscilla, the worlds of these people will collide and the most unlikely outcomes will transpire. This is the story of a young gay boy from Texas who meets the most infamous woman in Texas history at a time when they both need each other the most. But first you have to understand the events which made them....the events which they each had to experience before their meeting which will lead to the most surprising of outcomes. This is the first in a two-book series. The next book "Unexpected Outcomes: A Continual Search for Identity and Purpose" follows this one and is now available.