To Kill a President (28 page)

“So who are the gunmen?”  Bobby asked.

Garrett opened the folder and on the first sheet of paper was a picture of a man he recognized immediately, it was Chauncey Holt.  Below that were a few paragraphs of text.

“Please don’t tell me Chauncey is a shooter.”  Bobby muttered.

“You know him?”

Bobby nodded.

“He’s not a shooter.  He is being used just like Guy Bannister was.  As we speak he is on his way to Dallas.  He has produced dozens of fake Secret Service and CIA identification cards.  He is bringing these along with pistols equipped with silencers and special ammunition.”

“What do you mean special ammunition?”  Bobby asked.

“Well for a few years the mafia have been using exploding ammunition.  You can make normal ammunition into exploding ammunition by putting liquid mercury into the hollowed out tip of the bullet.  This causes the maximum amount of damage and leaves minimal evidence.  They are getting Chauncey to deliver the guns, ammunition and fake ID’S to Dallas.  These will then go to the shooters.  Along with the guns he is bringing three men to Dallas, James Canty, Leo Moceri and Charles Nicoletti.  Do you know them?”

“I know that Nicoletti and Leo Moceri are mob hit men.  I don’t know who James Canty is.”

Garrett turned the page and the next one showed pictures of two men.  One Bobby recognised as Leo Moceri, he was a balding man with some gray hair slicked back he looked around sixty.  Garrett continued speaking.  “Okay well as you probably know the guy on the left is Leo Moceri and the guy on the right is a CIA agent named James Canty.  Both these men will be in Dealey Plaza on the day of the assassination and both will be in possession of fake Secret Service identification.  Their role is to ensure that no one leaves the area with any footage of the assassination that would provide proof that there is more than one gunman. “Garrett turned the page.  Once more Bobby was shown pictures of two men, this time he didn’t recognize either of them.  “Okay on the left we have Frank Sturgis and on the right we have Roscoe White.  Frank Sturgis was a broad shouldered man with a full head of thick brown hair that was slicked back, he looked about forty.  Roscoe White was another broad shouldered man, unlike Sturgis he was balding and the little hair he had was also combed backwards.  “Frank Sturgis is a CIA agent.  He was involved in Operation Mongoose, are you familiar with that?”

“Yes.” 

“Great.  Roscoe White was the police officer that just arrived at the safe house.  Both of these men will be also be posing as Secret Service agents.  Their job will be to ensure that no one can get near the shooters behind the grassy knoll.  Now we can move onto the teams of shooters.”

“Teams of shooters?  How many teams are there?”  Bobby asked.

“We have five teams placed at various points in Dealey Plaza.”

Bobby was astounded.  “Five teams you’re kidding me?”

“No.  They are using five teams for two reasons.  Firstly they cannot fire multiple shots from the same position as it would draw attention to them.  There may well be multiple shots fired from the Texas School Book Depository in order to draw people towards Oswald, but the other positions have a maximum of one shot.  Well that’s the way I see it.”

“Wait hang on.  That’s the way you see it, is this guesswork?”

Garrett looked annoyed.  “Of course it’s not guesswork.  I know who the shooters are but it is my assumption that they can only fire once from each position and that is why they have five teams.  The other reason is to disorientate any witnesses.  With shots coming from so many positions it will be almost impossible to know exactly where the shots are coming from.”

“Okay so where are the positions?”  Bobby asked.

Garrett looked irritated by Bobby’s interruptions.  He turned to the next page which showed a picture of another man Bobby did not recognize.  He looked Cuban and was around forty years old.  Beneath him the words “Storm Drain” were written.  “This is Bernard Barker.  He is another CIA agent that was involved in Operation Mongoose.  He will be positioned at a manhole on Elm Street.  Kennedy’s motorcade will be headed directly towards him.”

“Sorry he will be under the ground how can he possibly shoot from there?”

Garrett again looked irritable.  “I’ll show you.”  Garrett started the engine and drove back to Bobby’s apartment.  The journey did not take long.  They barely spoke, at one point Bobby attempted to start conversation.

“So why did I have to wear a suit?”

“We will be going to a couple of parties.  But we can discuss that later.”

He parked the car and said.  “Come on.”  He took the folder with him and the two men walked towards Dealey Plaza.  They walked on the pavement along Elm Street, they went passed the steps leading up the grassy knoll and Garrett pointed down at an opening between the road and the pavement.  “This is where Bernard Barker will be positioned.  As you can see there is plenty room to get a shot off.  He can then make an easy escape through the sewers.”

“Surely he will have difficulty seeing Kennedy clearly?”

“Well he will not be alone.”  Garrett opened the folder once more to the page after Bernard Barker’s picture.  “Do you recognize these men?”

Bobby recognized them immediately.  “I met them in Bannister’s office.  The Cuban guy is Carlos Bringuier, the other guy was with him but I can’t remember his name.”

“That is Louie Witt.  He is probably the biggest idiot involved in the plot.  He’s a former CIA agent.  He now works here in Dallas.  Carlos approached him on behalf of Guy Bannister.  They told him there was a plot to kill Kennedy and that they wanted him to raise an umbrella so that Kennedy will know why he is being killed in those final moments.  What he doesn’t know is he will also be signalling to Bernard Barker that it is time to shoot.”

“I’m sorry I don’t understand, what does the umbrella signify?”

“It signifies Kennedy’s refusal to provide an ‘umbrella’ of air support during the Bay of Pigs invasion.  He will meet with a man named Orlando Bosch.  He is another CIA agent.  He was involved in the Bay of Pigs invasion.”  Garrett turned the page to show Bobby a picture of Orlando Bosch.  He looked around forty and was Cuban.  He had huge glasses that enlarged his eyes and made him look like a giant bug.  “He is a friend of Frank Sturgis they were both members of a CIA assassination squad named Operation 40.  They were primarily focussed on Cuba and their role was that before an invasion they would assassinate key political or military figures.  He will be in possession of a walkie talkie, all the shooter’s will have someone with them holding one of these.  This will allow them to communicate with each other.”         

“Jesus.  How do you know all this?  Surely this many people cannot be involved.”  Bobby stated.  His head was spinning, how the hell could anyone remember all of this.

“I know all of this because I am a CIA agent.  I have friends involved in this plot.  I’ve been looking into it since Garrison came to me.  And if you think this is big just wait until the end of tonight.”  Garrett was clearly becoming irritated with Bobby.

“I’m sorry Garrett it’s just a lot to take in.”

“I know.  I didn’t mean to snap but I’m terrified, I know too much.  They’re going to come for me I know it.  Let’s get back to the car and I’ll talk you through the other positions”

They walked in silence back to the car.  Once they were back in Garrett opened the folder at the next page and began talking.  “Okay so that was hit squad one.  The second squad will be positioned behind the picket fence on the grassy knoll.”  Garrett pointed at the folder to show Bobby the second squad.  It was comprised of three men.  Bobby did not recognize any of them.  “Right the young guy with the moustache is James Files.  You know him?”

“Nope.”

“Right he is another CIA agent.  He will be the radio man for the grassy knoll team.  Next we have Charles Rogers he is only 5 feet 5.  I have no idea where they found him.  From what I’ve heard he’s an absolute psychopath.  Lastly the blonde guy is Charles Harrelson.  He’s a contract killer.  These two men have been staying at the safe house I showed you.  They will be the men in possession of the mercury bullets.  Apparently they are the last line of defence, if nobody kills Kennedy by the time he approaches the knoll they are to fire.

The third team will be situated at the other end of the triple underpass.  They will be hidden on the south knoll behind an iron fence and trees.  Behind the fence is a car park, they will be able to get away easily and no one would spot them as all the activity will be at the opposite side of Dealey Plaza.  These are the two men.”  Garret turned the page and revealed two men that Bobby did recognize.

“Jack Ruby and Charles Nicoletti.”  Bobby stated.

“That’s right.”  Garrett confirmed.  “Nicoletti is the shooter and Ruby is to dispose of the weapon and also cover radio contact.”

Garrett turned the page and revealed two more men.  This time Bobby didn’t recognise them, the first man was another Cuban and the second was Caucasian and had brown hair that was parted in the middle.  “Okay here we have one Mafia man and one CIA agent.  The Cuban is Eladio Del Valle another CIA man, again he was involved in the Bay of Pigs and beside him we have the mobster using the name Jim Braden.  He was born Eugene Hale Brading and has been arrested 35 times for various offences.  They will be positioned in the Dal-Tex building just across the street from the School Book Depository.

Lastly we have the mobster John Roselli, who I believe you will know?”

“Yeah I’ve known him a long time.  He used to work for Al Capone.”  Bobby confirmed.

“And joining him we have this man Mac Wallace.”  Wallace looked around forty years old, wore glasses and had brown hair.  “He is a native Texan and known murderer.  He works for Lyndon Johnson.  He actually dated Johnson’s sister for a while, when he found out she was sleeping with another man he went to the miniature golf course where the guy worked and shot him.  He was found guilty and courtesy of his friend Lyndon Johnson he got off on a suspended sentence.”

“For first degree murder?”  Bobby yelled stunned.

Garrett nodded.  “It gets worse he killed another guy by shooting him five times in the chest and the police decided it was a suicide.  In all he’s killed eight men at the behest of Lyndon Johnson.”

“Fuck me!” 

“Yup.  So as you can probably guess these guys are based at the School Book Depository where they will plant the gun that Oswald will be deemed to have fired and fire shots themselves.  I believe it is Roselli that will be the shooter and Wallace will plant the evidence and work the walkie talkie.”

“This is unbelievable Garrett.”

“Believe it or not it gets worse Bobby.  A friend of mine Tosh Plumlee tells me he has been assigned to a CIA team that will be in town to foil the assassination.  He’s a pilot and among the passengers he is bringing three of the co-conspirators to Dallas.  John Roselli, Eladio Del Valle and Bernard Barker will be on the plane alongside agents there to stop the hit.”

“What about Billy Beane?”  Bobby asked.

“Billy Beane is a CIA handler.  He has four people reporting to him Lee Harvey Oswald, Gerry Hemming, Billy Seymour and David Sanchez Morales.  He has been using the other three men to impersonate Lee Harvey Oswald at various times and places so that he will be further implicated in the plot.  Gerry Hemming was the one who visited Mexico City and ordered the rifle.”  Garrett turned the page to reveal three men.  One he recognized immediately as Hemming, another one looked exactly like Lee Harvey Oswald and the third man looked to be of Cuban descent.  “Billy Seymour is the double of Oswald.  He is the guy who visited Silvia Odio.  He is also the one that has the shell casings that will be planted at the Texas School Book Depository.  He has been going to the Sports Dome Rifle Range posing as Lee Harvey Oswald.  He has been attracting as much attention to himself as possible by shooting at other peoples targets and starting fights.  Lastly we have Morales he has taken a test drive recently posing as Oswald and for no apparent reason kept telling the salesman how much better life is in Russia.  The real Oswald can’t drive.  He then hitchhiked a ride to Dealey Plaza and told the man driving how much he enjoyed shooting people.  Most importantly he fired a shot through General Edwin Walker’s window that they will pin on Oswald.”

“Who?” 

“You don’t know him?”

Bobby shook his head.

“He ran for Governer last year and lost to Connally.  He led riots because a black girl was allowed to attend the University of Mississippi.”

“This is insane.  How can they do this?  How can so many people be involved, surely someone would talk?”

“Well when you think about it why would anyone talk?  They all have individual roles.  They know others are involved but only the people at the top know the whole picture.  Then they have the fear of being arrested for their part.  Or if they talk they may well be killed.”

“So who are the people at the top?” 

“Well that is the next part of our evening.  We are going to a party.”  Garrett turned the key in the ignition but was interrupted by Bobby.

“Before we go can I take that folder up to the condo so that my friends can look into it?”

“Sure.”

Bobby struggled out of the car and hobbled into the lobby.  He nodded at Kevin and then got into the elevator.  When it arrived at the twelfth floor Bobby stepped out and hobbled towards the door.  He entered the condo and walked into the living room.  At the table David, Faraday and Jane were sat with a woman he did not recognise.