Frame 232 (43 page)

THIS IS A TALE of fantasy, of course. The core concept came in a bright moment of inspiration in November of 2003 while I was watching a documentary about the Kennedy assassination on
 
—what else?
 
—the History Channel. Long before then, however, and certainly many times since, I have been asked the pivotal question: “Do you think Oswald acted alone?” My answer is an unequivocal
yes
. Of this I no longer possess a shred of doubt.

For those of you who are already steadfast disciples of the lone-gunman theory, this should come as a welcome admission, as you now have one more member among your flock.

For those who are determinedly fixated on the notion that the shooting was, in fact, the work of surreptitious, comic-book hooligans who then managed to veil a conspiracy of such startling proportion for half a century, I doubt there’s anything that I or anyone else can say of a rational, reasonable nature that will move you off your position. I apologize for making the conscious choice not to play on your team anymore, but I’ve tried it and grew tired of never gaining an edge on my opponents.

And for those of you who truly remain undecided, I would like to suggest the two books that enabled me to finally reach a point of closure on the subject. The first is Vincent Bugliosi’s
Reclaiming History
. If you are old enough, you may recognize the author’s name already
 
—Bugliosi was the prosecutor in the trial of Charles Manson et al for the Tate-LaBianca murders of 1969, and then coauthor of a popular book about it called
Helter Skelter
. In
Reclaiming History
, he draws upon his considerable legal skills to examine, in brain-overloading detail, every conceivable perspective of the event. His second-by-second account of the actual shooting is so thorough you’d think he was there that day, armed with camcorders, microphones, and a small cadre of stenographers. He also takes aim at the many alternate theories that have so entertained the public through the years, blowing each out of the sky like the clay pigeon it is. It took him over twenty years to research and write the book, which boasts an elephantine 1,600-plus page count
 
—not including the endnotes, which are so voluminous they had to be included on a CD
 
—and weighs in at nearly six pounds (also making it a serviceable weapon). First published in 2007,
Reclaiming History
is still widely available and, mercifully, can now be digested in e-book format.

The second title is a bit more elusive, as it has been out of print since 1967. Copies are sometimes available from antiquarian dealers, albeit at prohibitive prices, and I certainly hope a paperback or digital edition (or both) is put forth by the rights holder at some point. The book in question,
Lee: A Portrait of Lee Harvey Oswald by His Brother
was written by the assassin’s older brother, Robert. Robert Oswald had a better fly-on-the-wall perspective of the assassin than anyone. He was able to observe Lee, up close and personal, during
every stage of his brother’s brief and troubled life. This is why I venture the opinion that his book is the singular most important piece of evidence supporting the lone-gunman theory that we have. (If you try and really can’t find a copy, then Norman Mailer’s 1995 work
Oswald’s Tale: An American Mystery
is a very suitable substitute.) To truly understand the horrific act that was carried out in Dealey Plaza that day, you must familiarize yourself with the psyche of the person responsible. Robert Oswald
 
—with tremendous courage and generosity, in my view
 
—provided the raw material to do this and, in turn, gave the definitive testimony on the assassination. While thousands have poured their time and energy into examining grainy photographs, interpreting inconsistent eyewitness accounts, and performing costly reenactments, the key that turned the lock all along has been sitting in the pages of this unjustly forgotten publication, which affords the reader the unparalleled privilege of getting behind the eyes of the man who envisioned the crime, forged the plan, and pulled the trigger.

WIL MARA
has been writing books for the last twenty-five years. He began in the school-library market, where he has contributed more than seventy-five educational titles for young readers. He entered the fiction world with five ghostwritten titles for the popular Boxcar Children Mysteries series. Wil’s first novel for adults was the 2005 disaster thriller
Wave
, which sold through its first printing in less than two months and won the New Jersey Notable Book Award. His next disaster novel,
The Gemini Virus
, was released in October 2012 to rave reviews by critics and consumers alike. Wil also spent twenty years as an editor, working for Scholastic, Harcourt Brace, Prentice Hall, and other publishers.
Frame 232
is the first book in an ongoing suspense series featuring hero Jason Hammond. It is also Wil’s first title for Tyndale House.

More information about Wil’s work can be found at
www.wilmara.com
.