To Kill a President (3 page)

“How we doing?” Bobby asked.

“Fine Bobby we were just getting around to this morning.”

Bobby glanced down and saw that Faraday didn’t have any laces on his shoes.  “So what happened?”

Faraday noticed that Bobby had calmed down considerably since they had first met and he almost came across as friendly.  “Well I started thinking about Jane and I got a bit upset.”  He was struggling to get his words out as he felt the pain of losing Jane again.  “I locked the door in my room and sat on the edge of the bed.  I just wanted it to be over.  I saw the deodorant and thought that if I sprayed it all over my clothes I would be able to go up in flames.” The tears started flowing again as Faraday relived the moment.  “But nothing fucking happened the clothes never lit up.  So I used the deodorant and lighter as a sort of flame thrower.  All I did was burn my wrist.” Faraday raised his right arm and gestured to the bandage covering his wrist.  Both the Doctor and Bobby nodded sympathetically as he took a draw on his cigarette and then continued. ”All of a sudden the fire alarm went off. So I threw a chair at the window hoping I could break out, but it just bounced back.  Then the nurses took me into a room and dressed my wrist, took away my burnt t-shirt, my lighter and then my laces.  Then they took me to the room where they give you out your tablets.  I don’t know what they gave me probably more diazepam and I went back to my room and watched someone changing my sheets.  Then I crawled into bed. When I woke up there was some guy sitting there, I didn’t recognise him and he just asked me if I could kill myself would I try it again. Without thinking I said yes and he told me they were committing me for a month.”  After he had told his story they made their way slowly back to his room.  Bobby was limping badly.  When they arrived at the room the doctor gestured to the pile of books beside the bed.  “Have you been managing to read at all?”

“No I can’t focus on anything.  This is the longest conversation I’ve had in weeks and to be honest I’m struggling to remember how it started.”  Faraday sighed and he sat back down on the bed.  The room still smelt of burnt hair.  What had happened to him? When Jane disappeared so did his sanity.

“Looks like you have a fair few history books there.” Bobby mentioned pointing with his cane.

“Yeah that’s what I studied at uni, I’ve tried reading them in here but I can’t focus so I mainly look at the photos.”

“That must be uplifting.” Bobby added sarcastically whilst picking up the book at the top of the pile.  “The assassination of JFK” Bobby read aloud.

The doctor interrupted. “So James tell me, how are the nightmares?”

Faraday was shocked. “How do you know about them?”

“You told me James.”

“Did I?”

“Yes you told me that you kept returning to the Loch, that there was a bright light and Jane was there?”

Faraday had never discussed these dreams with anyone before, why had he told a complete stranger about it?  “Um, yeah Jane is there and she blames me for what happened.  She looks round and swims towards the light, I try to follow but I can’t.  Then the light just disappears and I drown in the water.”

As Faraday looked at Bobby he saw a troubled expression on his face.  Once again the doctor took over the conversation.  “What do you think they mean James?”

“Well I guess it’s just because I blame myself right?”

“Possibly, but what about the light?”

“Um well the night that it happened there was thunder and lightning.”

“Yes but didn’t you say that the light was below the water?”

“Yes why?”

“Well what if it means you have to follow the light?”

“But every time I do I drown?”

“Hmmm well maybe you don’t drown. Maybe it just goes dark.  I mean do you actually see yourself drown?”

“Um I don’t know, I don’t think so.”

“Well I would suggest that you follow the light James.”  With that the doctor rose to his feet and stretched out an arm to shake Faraday’s hand as he accepted the hand shake the doctor spoke. “We will be seeing you soon James, just try not to do any more harm to yourself before then. And don’t give up James we can still fix this.”

“What do you mean?  She’s dead!”

The doctor nodded solemnly once again.  Bobby was staring as if shocked by the words Dr Lewis had chosen.  “I’m sorry James I misspoke.  I just mean that you still have a lot to live for.  Think of your family, imagine if you had been successful today how would they have felt?”

Faraday was silent. He hadn’t even given a thought as to how they would have reacted and how upsetting it would be for them.  To see their only die in such a horrific way was something they may never have recovered from.

The doctor again broke the silence that had filled the room. “Anyway James time is getting on and I believe your father will be here in a few minutes.  But as I said we will see you soon.  Keep trying to read your books, distraction can be a wonderful thing.”  With that Bobby began to hobble towards the door followed by Dr Lewis.

“Goodbye Faraday.” said Bobby.

Chapter 5

As the darkness began to descend over Scotland, Bobby Stinson and David Lewis sat at the airport bar.  David had ordered a pint of Tennents from which he had taken a sip whilst Bobby had ordered himself two glasses of Jack Daniels with ice and a pint of Tennents.

“You need to watch how much you’re drinking Bobby.”

“What difference does it make?  It helps me sleep and soothes my hip.”

“I know Bobby but how much more can your liver take!  How long have you been drinking like this?”

“Well I guess the first time I drank to take away the pain was 1865.  Knife wounds can be a painful thing!”  Bobby winced at the memory.  The bastard, what he would have given to kill the son of a bitch himself.

“I’m sorry Bobby I know you’ve been through a lot.  Do you still have the nightmares?”

“Not when I drink.” Bobby smiled as he took a drink from his second Jack Daniels.  “So anyway do you think today will make any difference?  The kid was stoned!”

“I don’t know Bobby but we had to try!  We planted the seed, it’s all we could do.  Did you put in the bookmark?”

“Of course I put in the God damned bookmark, but even if he notices what can he do?  You can’t change the past, we both know that.”  Bobby nodded in the direction of the barman. “Same again please.”

“Just because we failed Bobby it doesn’t mean that it can’t be done and Faraday is our only chance at doing the right thing”

“But even then will it be us that are doing the right thing?”

“I don’t have all the answers Bobby you’ve been doing this a lot longer than I have.  As far as I see it I’m finished.  I’m too old for this and I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to sleeping when this finally ends.  Maybe I’ll even see Sharon again, although I can’t say my faith is what it once was.”

As the barman appeared with their drinks Bobby gulped down the first Jack Daniels.  “How long until the flight?”

“Still another hour before boarding, then I guess that’s it mission accomplished.”

“We’ve accomplished fuck all!  Faraday was a coward then and he’s a coward now.  Without the girl he’ll crack just like he did before!  How can we be sure that we haven’t done this already?!”

“Well he would surely have mentioned it?”

“When would he have mentioned it? We hardly knew him, how long was he even with us the first time?  It was fifty one years ago!”  Bobby yelled and then finished his drinks he then gestured towards the barman once more.

“I think it was around two weeks Bobby, he had plenty of time.”

“When he arrived you near enough tortured the kid!  If you’ll recall you weren’t quite as trusting then as you are now!  You accused him of killing the girl! You are the reason he did it David and then you go snivelling up to him like you are his best friend in the world!”

“Bobby I have had to live with that guilt for all these years.  I know I did wrong by Faraday, I got emotionally attached to Jane and I wanted to blame someone...anyone!”

“You didn’t blame him for Jane! You blamed him for Sharon!”

David had tears in his eyes at the sound of her name.  He knew Bobby was right.  “Well if this works then perhaps Sharon, Jane and Faraday might get a second chance.”

“Okay say that he understands what he has to do.  He still goes through the pain.  We don’t know how it even affected him.  I mean look at us, as far as I know me, you and Faraday are the only people to have ever survived and here we sit in completely different circumstances.  You’re eighty and awaiting death we both know you probably haven’t got another year in you.  I don’t have that problem but believe me I wish I did.  People aren’t supposed to live forever!”

“I know that Bobby, I’ve seen enough bodies in my life.  But if we can change what happened back then we can still save Sharon, Faraday and maybe even Jane.  We had to try.”

“We did try and we failed.  We both saw what happened to Sharon!  We know what happened to Jane. If you had been watching her instead of pummelling Faraday with your fists maybe things could have been different!  Kennedy died before my eyes and then Ruby killed Oswald whilst I was standing right next to him!  We tried again in 93!  And that son of a bitch shot himself because he couldn’t deal with any of it!”

“You didn’t have to come here Bobby!  I wanted to do this.  To make things right, we both know you never cared about anyone but yourself!”

The bastard.  Bobby had never allowed anyone to speak to him like that and he wouldn’t start now.  He got up off the bar stool. “You’re a son of a bitch, goodbye David”.  With that the friends of 54 years went their separate ways and never saw each other again.

Chapter 6

Over the next few weeks Faraday thought a lot about the odd visitors he had received.  He had so many unanswered questions.  “Maybe we can still fix this.” What had the old man meant? Bobby had looked as shocked as Faraday was.  “Follow the light.”  How did he know about the dream? The more he had replayed the conversation in his mind the more certain he was that he hadn’t mentioned the nightmares.  And perhaps the most confusing part had been that the doctor had known Jane. She had never mentioned knowing a doctor in America, let alone a pathologist working at Parkland Hospital in Dallas.  Faraday and Jane had both shared a fascination with the Kennedy assassination he therefore knew that it was Parkland Hospital that Kennedy was taken to after the shots rang out in Dealey Plaza.  Had the doctor been involved in the autopsy?  Had he seen Oswald or Ruby?

On October 3
rd
it was deemed that Faraday was no longer a threat to himself.  So on the condition that he lived with his parents Daniel and Emma and received regular visits from the Intensive Home Treatment Team he could leave the hospital.  Despite the troubles of the recent months it was one of the happiest days of his life.  He had hated the hospital. Just watching the clock all day waiting for visiting time, the clock almost appeared to move backwards at times.

Whilst Faraday sat in his parent’s home he began to regain his ability to concentrate and hold conversations.  It was then that he began to browse through the book that his father had brought into the hospital. “The Assassination of JFK”.  He opened the book and realised that there was a book mark.  The page marked was page forty two at the top of the page was a black and white photo of the Presidential motorcade as it made its way through Dealey Plaza.  As Faraday studied the picture closely he was startled by what he saw.

Almost level with the President, on the pavement watching the motorcade was a man he recognized immediately.  But it couldn’t possibly be the man he had met. The clarity of the image wasn’t great but as he studied it closely he could make out Bobby.  He hadn’t aged a day.  He stared lower to check for a cane but the man’s legs were hidden behind the motorcade.  He scanned the photo looking for his other visitor but he was nowhere to be seen.

He looked at the picture directly below this image and it showed Lee Harvey Oswald being marched along a corridor within police Head Quarters in Dallas.  Standing to the left of Oswald was a federal agent the caption below stated that his name was James P. Hosty and to the right was the Dallas Police Captain Will Fritz he looked to Oswald’s right again and saw the cane.  The hand around the Eagle at the top of the cane was attached to half a body in a black suit but the photo had not managed to capture the man’s face or the rest of the body.

Stunned James ran over to his computer and loaded up Google.  He quickly typed in the name Bobby Stinson.  The results appeared with countless Facebook profiles, he glanced through the search results but could not find anything remotely related to Lee Harvey Oswald or JFK.  He tried again with Robert Stinson and the first result was a story on the BBC News Website dated the 12
th
September 2014.  At the top of the web page was a photo of Robert Stinson.  It was definitely Bobby.  Faraday felt his heart rate increase as he read the headline.