Comstock

Comstock was an attorney and guardian whose relationships became useful to Tom White’s investigation of the Osage murders. Though J. Edgar Hoover distrusted him, Comstock helped open a path to outlaw witness Dick Gregg and supported investigators seeking testimony. His cooperation carried danger: as threats mounted, he slept in his office in Pawhuska, where a relative recalled that dynamite had been hidden behind a curtain.

Attorney, Guardian, and Intermediary

Comstock knew Gregg’s father well and provided legal counsel to the family. When Gregg, a former member of the Al Spencer Gang serving a ten-year sentence for robbery in Kansas, hinted that he knew something about the murders but refused to betray a confidence, Comstock drew on that family connection to help persuade him to cooperate with the Bureau of Investigation. Hoover still did not trust Comstock, but White’s investigators benefited from the relationship he could bring to bear. His contribution was not a confession or direct proof; it was access to a reluctant witness who might help the investigation move forward.

A Shift in the Investigators’ Trust

Comstock’s position in the inquiry changed as White assessed the people around him. The attorney and guardian, whom White had come to regard as helping investigators persuade witnesses to speak, was no longer someone he doubted in the same way. That change did not erase Hoover’s reservations, but it made Comstock a practical intermediary at a moment when the investigation needed sources beyond the local networks that protected William K. Hale. His usefulness rested on personal ties and credibility with Gregg’s family rather than formal authority over the imprisoned outlaw.

Threats and Exposure

After Burt Lawson confessed that he had set off the explosive that destroyed Bill Smith’s home, White’s team worked to corroborate the account and feared that William K. Hale and his nephews remained dangerous. Comstock had begun receiving threats to his life. He was sleeping in his office in downtown Pawhuska, with a .44-caliber English Bulldog beside him. A relative recalled that Comstock once found sticks of dynamite behind a curtain when he went to open a window; he managed to dispose of them. The relative believed Hale and his associates were determined to kill him.

Narrative Significance

Comstock’s role shows how the investigation depended on relationships that official suspicion could not simply replace. Hoover’s distrust coexisted with Comstock’s ability to reach Gregg through his father, while White came to rely on his help in encouraging witnesses to talk. The danger he faced made that intermediary role tangible: the same local web through which investigators sought testimony could expose those who assisted them to intimidation and violence.