While hitchhiking through a rural district in California, Lucas and Powell were picked up by a local businessman. The man, Jack Smart, who owned an antique shop in the small township of Hemet, said later that he felt sorry for the couple as they seemed to be at the end of their tether.

He drove them back to his house and fed them. After dinner, Lucas told his host that Becky was his wife and that they were on the road looking for work. Smart then offered them lodgings in exchange for Henry helping him out at the store and making some much-needed repairs to the building. Smart’s wife remarked at the time that they seemed to be a strange match, a dirty one-eyed drifter and his child "bride."

For a time, Henry worked hard. Not long after his arrival, word spread of his abilities and he was soon hired to complete various handy man duties throughout the district. In the four months that he stayed in the town, Lucas proved himself invaluable to have around. He worked hard and fast, pausing just long enough for the ever-present cup of coffee and a cigarette and, at the end of the day, a few beers. Even though Henry spent most of his time with Becky, he still found time to go off on one or two day trips, presumably to satisfy his murderous desires.

At about this time, Mrs Smart had a call from relatives in Ringgold, Texas. They told her that her ailing mother was too old and frail to look after herself and needed help, especially with the maintenance of her house, which was in a sad state. The Smarts hit on the perfect solution and invited Henry and Becky to move to Ringgold to live rent free. All they had to do was help around the house.

Soon after, the odd couple traveled by bus to their new home and were met at the bus depot by Mrs Smart’s mother, Kate "Granny" Rich. She took to Becky immediately and lavished attention on the young girl. Henry was given the run of the place and, in exchange for the work he performed, given, not only food and a bed, but also Kate's trust. It wasn’t long before she was giving him money to do the weekly food shopping for the "family." At first Henry was diligent, but it wasn’t long before he began squandering the money on beer and cartons of cigarettes.

The clerk at the local general store became suspicious when Henry and Becky began ordering large stocks of goods that Kate Rich had never previously purchased. The final straw was when Henry started paying for the orders with checks that were signed differently than normal. The clerk contacted Rich’s relatives in Oklahoma and told them he feared that Kate was being taken advantage of.

The relatives drove to Ringgold to see for themselves. When they arrived they found Rich sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by dirt and filth. Dishes hadn’t been washed for weeks and the rooms hadn’t been cleaned for months. Lucas and Powell were on the couch asleep. The family was incensed and demanded that Henry and Becky leave immediately. The couple were given money for bus fare and driven into town to wait for the next bus. Instead of taking the bus, Henry decided they should keep the money and hitchhike to Wichita Falls. The intention was to pick up money that was being mailed to him from Jack Smart to pay for the repairs to Rich’s house.

They were soon picked up by a kindly man in a truck and driven the ten miles to their destination. All went well until Henry went to retrieve the promised money from the post office and found that it hadn’t been sent. Once more they were broke, hungry and homeless.