To Kill a President (37 page)

Oswald was eventually calmed down and made to stand in the line up.

“Why are you doing this Fritz give the man a chance?  This is illegal I won’t let you get away with this.  You’re not getting to do this.”  Bobby began to hobble towards the door, but his path was blocked by Hosty.

“You will not interfere in the investigation.”

“How can you call this an investigation?  You are setting him up and you know it!  Police officers are never used in line-ups!”

“Well I was worried prisoners may attack him for shooting the President.”

“You are a corrupt fuck Fritz!”

“If you speak to me like that again, I’ll kill you.”

Bobby was silent now.  This was the most corrupt police force he had ever seen.  You can’t threaten a defence lawyer.  A woman was led into the room by a police officer.  She stood beside Fritz.

“Okay Miss Markham the man that shot Officer Tippit is in that room, if you could just identify him and then you may leave.”

“You can’t say that either Fritz!  He might not be in that room!”

“I can assure you Miss Markham he is in the room.”  Fritz stated.

She gazed through the glass at the four men.  It was the most ludicrous line-up he had ever seen.  “I don’t think it was any of them.”  She said.

Bobby was delighted, but it was short lived.  “I assure you Miss Markham he is, which one do you think is most likely to be the killer?”

She hesitated before answering.  “The man with the bruise on his head.”

“No you can’t do this.  She said it wasn’t any of them.”

“Well I just heard her say it was the man with the bruise what about you Agent Hosty?”

“I heard the same thing.”

“That’s excellent Miss Markham.  Thank you very much.”  Fritz led her out of the room.  “Well I think I have some more questions for Mr Oswald now.  Hosty left the room and appeared beside Oswald, he led Oswald back into the corridor.  Bobby hobbled in that direction followed by Fritz.  When they entered the corridor Oswald was once again harangued by reporters.  They began to struggle through the crowd which Bobby guessed was now around two hundred strong as Oswald answered questions.

“Did you kill the President?”

“I didn’t shoot anybody, no sir.”

“Did you shoot the President?”

“I didn’t shoot anybody I haven’t been told what I’m here for.”

“Did you shoot a police officer?”

“I don’t know what this is all about.”

“Did you shoot the President?”

“I work in that building.”

“Were you in that building at the time?”

“Naturally if I work in that building, yes sir.”

“Did you kill the President?”

“No they have taken me in because of the fact that I lived in the Soviet Union.  I’m just a patsy!”  He shouted.

Oswald and Bobby entered Fritz’s office once again followed by Agent Hosty.  Fritz stayed outside with the press.  Oswald took his seat as did Hosty and Bobby.

“Are you okay Lee?”

“Yes I am okay.  I don’t know what this is all about.”  Bobby was beginning to feel a little confused about Oswald’s behaviour.  He knew exactly what this was all about and he seemed so calm. 

“So why did you visit Mexico City?”  Hosty asked.  Fritz entered the room as Oswald began to answer. He was carrying a large cardboard box.

“I have never been to Mexico City sir.”

“We have proof that you were there trying to defect to the Soviet Union and Cuba.”

“No sir I have never been to Mexico City.”

Fritz pulled out a letter from the cardboard box.  “We have a letter here that you had sent to the Russian embassy.”

“Yes sir.  I did write to the Russian embassy.”

“Why?”  Fritz asked.

“Like I said Agent Hosty has been bothering my wife.  I do not trust the FBI.  He has been threatening her with deportation.  I think he has been trying to make some kind of deal with her.”

“You have an answer to everything don’t you?  Fritz replied.

“So after you fled the School Book Depository what did you do?”

“I went home and changed my clothes, took a pistol and went to the theatre.”

“Why did you take a pistol to the theatre?”

“You know how boys do when they have a gun, they carry it.”

Fritz pulled out an evidence bag containing the bullets they had found on Oswald.  “Why did you have these with you?”

“I just had them in there.  They were already in my trouser pocket.”

“So how did you get back to your home?”

“I got a lift from a work colleague.”

“Who?”

“Charles Givens.”

“That’s a lie.  He did not leave the School Book Depository.”

“Yes he did sir.”

“No he didn’t.  We found this in your shirt pocket when you were brought in.”  Fritz placed a bus pass stating today’s date and 12:40 on it.

“That is not mine.  I have never seen that before.”

“Well we have witnesses that saw you on the bus.”

“I was not on a bus today sir.”

“The witness said that you told her about the Kennedy assassination and laughed.”

“No sir.”

“I’m sorry why would he kill the President then get on a bus and implicate himself by laughing about it?”  Bobby asked.

“I don’t know why did you do it Oswald?”

“I have not shot anybody and I have not been on a bus today sir.”

“We also have another witness who says you got into his taxi because the bus was stuck in traffic and he took you to your rooming house.”

“No sir I have not been in a taxi today either.”

“What about this.”  Fritz pulled a wallet from the box.  “This was found beside Officer Tippit’s body it has your identification and the identification of an Alek Hiddel.”

“That cannot be my wallet sir.  My wallet was taken from me at the theatre.”

“And what about these?”  Fritz pulled out two order forms under the name Alek James Hiddel, one was for a Mannlicher-Carcano rifle and the other was for a Smith & Wesson revolver.  “You ordered these guns and used the rifle to assassinate the President and Officer Hargis and used the revolver to kill Officer Tippit and wound another man.”

“No sir, I do own a revolver but I didn’t shoot anyone.  I do not own a rifle.”

“You tried to shoot a police officer at the theatre.”

“His gun didn’t work.  So clearly he couldn’t have shot Tippit with it.”  Bobby stated.

“Well we also found this at your rooming house.”  Fritz again delved into the box and pulled out a Fair Play for Cuba leaflet.

“I am a supporter of Fidel Castro’s revolution.”  Oswald stated calmly.

“And you have been using the name O.H.Lee at your rooming house.  Tell me why would an innocent man require three aliases?”

“I do not use the name Alek James Hiddel.  My name is Lee Harvey Oswald.  My landlady could not understand my name. It was her idea to call me O.H.Lee.”

“And you are a member of the Communist Party?”

“No sir.”

“But you are a Communist?”

“No I am a Marxist but not a Leninist-Marxist.”

“What’s the difference?”

“There is a great deal of difference.”

“So you ran a branch of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee and were then arrested for fighting with anti-Castro Cubans.”

“I was arrested for disrupting the peace.  But I was only handing out leaflets when I was attacked.”

“And then you went on the radio to debate with the man that you fought with?”

“Yes sir.”

“I heard that went quite badly.  Is that why you lashed out?  To get people’s attention.”

“Well everyone will know me now.”  Bobby could not believe Oswald had just said that.

“So that is why you did it then?”

“No sir, I just meant that I went on the radio to raise publicity for the committee and as you said it did not go very well.  But everyone will know about it after today.”

“So you shot Kennedy because he invaded Cuba?”

“No sir, as I’ve told you I did not shoot the President.  I liked him, he had a nice family.”

There was a knock at the door once again.  “Sir it is time for the next line-up.”

“Excellent.”  Fritz said.

The four men once again entered the corridor.  The large crowd had grown in numbers and it was nearly impossible to get through them and into Line up room.  As Bobby hobbled through the crowd his arm was grabbed by Ray Hawkins.  He broke away from Oswald, Fritz and Hosty and was led by Ray into the room where Chauncey was being held.  Chauncey was gone.  When Ray closed the door Bobby took a seat where Chauncey had previously been sitting, Ray sat across from him.

“What happened Ray?”

“They let them go.”  Ray stated, he sounded exasperated as he spoke.

“They let them go?  Why?”

“I have no idea I told them what I knew and the other guys agreed to keep them in custody until Captain Fritz was available.  Then we get a call from J Edgar Hoover and they walked.”

“What reason was given?”  Bobby asked infuriated.

“He told us they were not suspects and that they were vagrants just passing through town on the train.”

“He said they were tramps?”

Ray nodded.

“That’s insane!” 

“I know, I tried to stop it but they let them all go.  He told us to let them out discretely so the media wouldn’t see them.”

“Son of a bitch!”  Bobby yelled.

“It gets worse.”  Ray said.

“Tell me.”

“The FBI is taking all of the evidence to their Head Quarters.”

“But this isn’t a federal crime!”  Bobby yelled again.

“I know but no one can stop Hoover you know that.  He said it is a matter of national security.”

“I can’t believe this.  What weapons were found?”

“At the Book Depository we found a Mannlicher Carcano which is very strange.”

“How do you mean?” 

“Well I just can’t see why anyone would have chosen to use that gun.  They were made in the 1890’s and it’s a bolt action gun, meaning it takes longer to reload and they are not the highest quality rifles, they are considered unreliable at a distance over 300 metres.  Not only that but it was my buddy that found the rifle, he told me that the scope wasn’t even lined up correctly and that the firing pin was faulty. 

I went back to the School Book Depository and looked from the window where the shots came from.  If the shooter wanted to kill Kennedy from that position he would have fired whilst the limousine was coming directly towards him on Houston Street.  Instead he waited until the car turned onto Elm Street and was driving away from him.  There is a huge oak tree that obstructs the view of Elm Street from that window.”

“Well I did tell you they were pinning it on him.”

“I know you did but they are covering up any evidence that could dispute that.  I was told by an officer that a Mauser Rifle was also found at the scene.  That has now disappeared and nobody will confirm it was there.”

“Hoover is covering everything up.”

“He told us that only four shots were fired.  How could he know that?  He wasn’t there!  I was and I heard at least ten.  You know what else?”

“What?”

“I found your friend the doctor fleeing from the Dal-Tex building, there were three bodies and he told me another guy was there with a rifle.  Hoover had some FBI guys take over the scene and they just announced it was an unrelated event.  They have said there were no fourth or fifth men.  It’s insane!”

“About half an hour ago Fritz accused Oswald of killing them.”

“Well I’m guessing that won’t be the case now.”

“Well I suppose that’s a bonus.”

“It still gets worse.”

“What?”

“The limousine, they’ve sent it to be stripped down and rebuilt.”

“I can’t even say I’m surprised.”

“I can’t believe it.  I’m going to have a word with Fritz before you go back in with him.”

“I don’t think it will make much difference.”  Bobby stated.

“I have to try.”

They both stood up and made their way through the crowded corridor and into the Line up room.  Oswald was again lined up with the same three officers.  But this time there were three people standing beside Agent Hosty and Captain Fritz.  “Well thank you all for coming in today.  We think he killed the President as well but with your identifications we will definitely nail him on Tippit.” 

“You can’t be serious Fritz.”  Bobby said.

“What is it now?”

“Did they identify him individually or as a group?”

“As a group.”  He replied.

“You know that’s illegal you are framing him!”

“It’s only a technicality.”  Fritz stated.  He glanced at his watch. “It’s time for the arraignment.”