Chapter Fifty
EARLIER THAT AFTERNOON
“What time is it Rocky?”
Opening the gold cover on his pocket watch, Rocky replied it was close to 11:00 a.m.
Turning on the digital recorder and the camera monitor Rocky, reasoned it was about time the Mafioso were supposed to begin arriving.”
The two of them, Lonnie Joe and Rocky got comfortable in the car the city of Dallas had unintentionally ‘loaned’ them; however, they did not have long before the Cosa Nostra leaders began arriving. One by one they made their way into the back room taking a seat at the circular table. Lonnie Joe and Rocky could hear every word spoken. Not only could they hear, they were also recording every movement the mobsters made.
The infamous Jack Ruby made his entrance completing the little party. Reaching into his coat pocket Lonnie Joe removed a piece of paper. It was the seating arrangement of the men sitting at the table. Captain Scarburg had received it from one of the waitresses at the Carousel Club. As the gangsters took their seats, Lonnie Joe checked their names off the list. The last two arrived and seated themselves to the left of Jack. Those two were mystery guests.
The Captain related his visit to the Carousel Club in detail; he said the waitress, Linda Lou Dearmann had never seen the last two before. Captain Scarburg explained to Lonnie Joe and Rocky that they were to be especially interested in those last two; they must have a crucial role in the ‘event’ of 22 November.
He explained that the waitress heard their names. One of them was referred to as ‘the handler’ and Linda thought his name was Donald Atwood Pearson, the second person’s name was Dan or Danny. That was about all she could recall.
As Lonnie Joe and Rocky sat watching and listening to the group at the table in the back room of the Carousel Club, they were first hand witnesses to information so explosive, so sensational no one would ever believe them. Thank goodness it had all been recorded.
The “handler” began the meeting. He explained the CIA had everything set. The ‘event’ was to take place around 12:30 tomorrow as the Presidential motorcade traveled around the square at Dealy Plaza. He assured the mobsters the CIA would take care of their problem. He introduced his partner Danletsky. Danletsky goes by the name of Danny he said. Danny was there to help solve their problem.”
“What the hell? We don’t need no outsider to take care of our business!” said one of the mobsters.
Interrupting the speaker the handler explained that Danny’s Father was Colonel Andrei Danletsky, a Russian by birth, second in command under the Cuban dictator General Batista. His position under Batista gave him control of the Cuban Secret Police; however, in 1958 Batista along with Colonel Danletsky and his family were forced to flee Cuba when Fidel Castro overthrew the Batista government. The CIA, to lead the Free Cubans in the CIA backed effort to retake Cuba, recruited Colonel Danletsky. On the morning of 17 April 1961, Colonel Danletsky was…
“Shot dead on the beaches of Cuba.” Danny angrily added. “Killed in the Bay of Pigs invasion by that yellow-bellied president – John Kennedy. He did not provide the invasion force with air cover as he promised. I’ve waited two years to pay those Kennedy’s back!!”
“My,” said one of the Mafia group, “seems as though you’ve got a burr under your saddle against the Kennedy’s? But how do we know you’re up to the task?”
At this point, the CIA man Donald Pearson took over the conversation and explained how Danny was very young when the family was forced from their home in Cuba. He told how the Russian KGB had recruited Danny, when older, to work as a double agent with the Castro regime. Later the CIA enlisted Danny’s services to help plan the re-taking of Cuba by the Free Cuban Exiles. He further explained, “Danny was part of our planning group in the Bay of Pigs screw-up. Those Kennedys really fouled up the works.”
“Darn right,” Danny said. “Those sorry Kennedys got my Father and a lot of his friends murdered on those beaches in Cuba - I’m never going to forgive them or find peace until I can avenge their deaths. I’m goin’ to get me some peace tomorrow!”
“Now,” said Pearson, “I am going to use Danny to help with this Dealy Plaza ‘event’.”
Johnny Russolli added, “Good, sounds like you found a person with enough revenge in their heart to get the job done, but one question: What the hades is Dealy Plaza?”
“Don’t worry Johnny,” said Pearson, “it’s a park in downtown Dallas. It has a couple of sharp turns, which will make the motorcade slow down. Then our shooters can get a good shot.”
“Shooters? How many we got?” One of them asked.
“We have four, but only three will be shooting. I have this fellow Oswald who will be perched in a window on one of the top floors of a corner office building. There will be another shooter on the roof. A third will be hiding in some bushes just before the parade gets to the triple overpass.”
“I thought you said you had four?”
“Yes, the fourth is just a back up if something goes wrong. He will be in the building across the street from Oswald. He will have a walkie-talkie speaking directly to the shooter in the bushes. If our man on the roof, or Oswald misses, then he and the shooter at the grassy knoll will make sure the President is killed.”
“We sure about this Oswald guy?” Mancini asked.
“No I’m not real confident with him!”
“Well you’re the CIA ‘handler’, you’re supposed to handle him. What’s the problem Pearson?”
“No problem Carlos. He is just a patsy. He’s too dumb to pull off something like this by himself, but by the time we are through the police will think he was a lone gunman in the ‘event’.”
“Well, Pearson what makes you think he’ll do as you told him?”
“The CIA dealt with Lee Harvey Oswald years ago, and since then we have been screwing with his mind. The CIA has a program called MK-ULTRA, it is like... like... well its mind control.”
“Did you say MK-ULTRA?” Carlos Mancini asked as he began writing on a piece of pink napkin.”
“Yes, but don’t write that down, we don’t know who might see it,” answered Pearson.
“We not only used mind control techniques, but psychedelic drugs and in some instances torture. We have screwed with this poor kid’s head for years. He wouldn’t know his rear-end from a hole in the ground, unless I tell him. Right now the CIA has him believing he is doing the country a big favor by getting rid of Kennedy. He believes he is a patriot. He thinks Communism is a better form of government than a Democratic Republic, the nitwit.”
“If he gets caught can he be tied back to you or any of us?”
“Perhaps, but what he doesn’t know is I am going to get rid of him tomorrow. I don’t trust him to stay quite, we are going to eliminate him.”
“How you goin’ to do it?”
“After the shooting, he will return to his boarding house, and I have arranged for a police car to drive by, blow the horn twice and deliver a .38 Colt revolver to him as he leaves. It’s a World War II Smith & Wesson Victory Model that I picked up at a pawnshop, totally untraceable back to us. I am going to send a car over to Oswald’s rooming house on Beckley and drive him down within a couple of blocks of 10th Street and Patton Avenue. A few blocks down and over from Beckley a police officer by the name of J. D. Tippet will stop and search him. One of my associates who will be riding in the police car with Tippit will step out and fire two or three times killing Oswald. Our guy will then turn and kill Tippet. Next he will remove the gun from Oswald’s pocket and fire it into the air. It will appear as though Oswald shot Tippet and Tippet then killed Oswald. Afterwards, no one will ever be able to tie us back to Oswald in any manner.”
Ruby asked, “What happens if something goes wrong Mr. Pearson? What if Oswald gets captured before you can eliminate him?”
“Then we will just deal with it if that happens, but I don’t foresee any difficulties, we’ll take care of Oswald when the time comes. If things do not work out as I h
ave planned Oswald has been instructed to go to the Texas Theatre and meet one of our contact men – this man will eliminate Oswald if need be.”
“Okay, gentlemen,” said Ruby leaning over on the table and looking directly into the sinister eyes of the Mafia bosses said, “If Mr. Pearson does not take care of our friend Mr. Oswald, I will. I’m your guy... depend on me... I’ll make sure he doesn’t talk; you all can rest assured... you have my word on it. I pledge before all of y’all here and now, I will take him out, or die trying, that is a promise, and everyone knows Jack Ruby keeps his promises.”
“Good, good, that’s good to know Jack, you’ll take care of Oswald. What about the Vice President... is he on board?”
Pearson answered, “Completely, there will be a meeting tonight up in north Dallas, and all the parties attending will agree to our protocol of events. It will be a confirmed ‘go’ by all those at the meeting. Johnson would do anything to become President, and it looks like he will be doing it. I was personally given the word by his Chief-of-Staff to proceed.”
Santo Riccocante the mob boss from Tampa interjected his two cents saying he would be glad to get rid of Kennedy. Calling him a sorry s.o.b. He thought with Johnson, he could get back into Cuba, and get his casinos opened back up and running again. You could hear the hate in his voice when he said the Kennedy brothers were costing the “Family” millions. If only they could get rid of his brother too.
“Pearson said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Attorney General Robert is going to be taken care of next, but first we got to get rid of his brother, the President.”
“You know,” one of the mobsters said, “why is the CIA so hot and bothered about Kennedy?”
Pearson answered, “That worthless President and his idiot brother want to dismantle the whole covert section of government, especially the CIA. They don’t have a clue how things work. We were ready, willing and able to take Cuba back from Castro, but Kennedy got cold feet at the last minute and let the whole thing turn into that Bay of Pigs fiasco. If he had just stayed out of it Cuba would be free today, and Santo, me and you would be at one of your casinos drinking Scotch, throwing dice and chasing women.”
“Yeah, now you’re talkin’.”
“Kennedy blamed it all on the CIA, called us foul ups. Well he was right with the name ‘foul ups’, but he had the name on the wrong party. He should have been talking about himself and his idiot brother the Attorney General.”
“Damn right, we’re losing a fortune every day that moron Castro stays in power.”
“Oh, the main thing Kennedy said he wanted to do was scatter the CIA to the winds. The CIA ain’t gonna let that happen, trust me. After Johnson takes power, this harassment will stop, and then your associates and my associates can get back to doing business in our customary, normal fashion.
Reaching across the table, they all touched glasses and in unison said, “To a successful ‘Event’ tomorrow.”
“What about that?” said Lonnie Joe.
“Great, and we have it all on tape.”
MEANWHILE, ACROSS TOWN
It was almost dark outside. Bud and Lou did not see anything else they could do today. They decided to go over their agenda for the next day, and afterwards go out and get a bite to eat. After supper they would return and watch a little television with Mrs. Rodgers. Later they would try to get a decent nights rest. They certainly realized they would have a busy day tomorrow.
Lou was worried. He just had one question for Bud. “We both have seen pictures of the Texas School Book Depository’s front door. There will be a large crowd of people ganged up there trying to get a glimpse of the President. I was thinking it is very possible we could miss Oswald in the crowd as he leaves the building. What if one of us stands close to the front door and the other is up the street a few yards toward the corner of Elm and Houston. When he leaves he will have to come right by both of us. Surely, one of us will see him.”
“Good idea Bud, which station do you want?”
“Either is fine, but since it’s my idea I will take the position on the corner, you stand close to the entrance to the School Book building. How’s that?”
“Sounds good, let’s drive down to 10th and Patton before finding something to eat. I would like to ‘scope’ out the place before we arrive tomorrow.”
The drive from 1026 North Beckley Avenue to 10th and Patton was only a few blocks. They slowly drove down Patton until it intersected with 10th. They noticed a ‘For Sale’ sign in one of the front yards just a house or two from the corner.
“Bud, stop! Stop the car!” The car stopped rolling; Lou opened the door and jumped out, pulled the ‘For Sale’ sign up and tossed it into the back seat of their car.
“What... what are you doing Lou?”
Lou explained with this sign missing no one will know this house is for sale. So no one should be at the house tomorrow when they arrive. Lou suggested they pull up into this driveway, park and replace the For Sale sign. The house is empty, and for sale, none of the neighbors should notice them. Even if some neighbors do, they will suspect they are just potential buyers. When Officer Tippit and Oswald approach Lou, they could crouch down in the seats and remain hidden from view. They should be able to witness the entire brutal shooting of Officer Tippit.”
“Bud, something has been bothering me. We know Officer J. D. Tippit is going to be killed tomorrow, right here on this very spot. We have the ability to prevent this tragedy. Is it morally wrong that we sit back and don’t intercede, or maybe the question is – should we?”
“I’ve just got two answers for you Lou – No, and especially No!! Remember what the Captain said, ‘Little changes in the past can create major changes in the future’. It is not up to us to alter the course of J. D. Tippit’s life. I wish it were so, but it is not. This terrible scene has to play itself out just as though we were not here to witness it. Agreed.”
“Reluctantly, yes - you are right Bud. Let’s try calling Lonnie Joe and Rocky and see how they are coming along. I’m depressed and need to hear some friendly voices.”
“Yeah, good idea – we are within five miles of Pegasus. I’ll give their number a try.”
“Hey, LJ and Rocky, Bud and Lou here... yeah you’re right, it is funny...who else could be calling... how are things going on your end... good... good... yeah, us too. We’re all set for tomorrow what are you and Rocky going to do. Say, you get the goods on the Mafia bunch today? Yeah... good... Lou and I have been discussing the events of tomorrow... yeah, that’s right... we have to follow Oswald after the shooting and see what he does... yeah... yeah... we’ve done that... but here’s our problem. We’re afraid with the large crowd, which will be gathered in front of the Texas School Book building we might miss Oswald when he comes out... okay... okay... yeah, LJ that sounds great. In fact, it sounds really great... okay, we’ll see you both tomorrow. Goodbye.”
“Bud, tell me what they said?”
“LJ said he and Rocky planted a ‘bug’ over the table and placed the camera on the picture holder at Jack Ruby’s Carousel Club with no hitches. The Mafia showed up, just on clue, and LJ and Rocky got all of the mobs plotting and scheming to kill President Kennedy on film.”
“What else did LJ say?”
“LJ was telling us since they had completed their mission they wanted to help us. LJ said tonight they were going to sleep in their car in the parking garage. In the morning, they will come over to Dealy Plaza and help us follow Oswald. One of them will wait just inside the Book building’s door, and the other will wait on the sidewalk just outside the front door. When Oswald comes out of the building, you and I will immediately travel over to 10th and Patton, and LJ and Rocky are going to follow him on foot to see if he talks with anyone on his way to Oswald’s rooming house.”
“Sounds terrific, we certainly can use the extra help. Let’s go get something to eat, and then head back over and watch some TV with Mrs. Rodgers. What’s on TV tonight Bud?
“Lou! What do I
look like - the 1963 edition of TV Guide? How in the world do you think I would know what programs are on television on a Wednesday night in Dallas, Texas in 1963?”
“Just having some fun with you Bud... just having some fun... looks as though we have a solid plan for tomorrow.
MIDNIGHT AT THE MURDOCKS
Captain Scarburg’s hand holding the .45 automatic began to tremble slightly. He was thinking how close he had come to shooting his old alien friend Anhur.
Earlier, the Captain was extremely tense as he crunched across the snow, and down the sidewalk toward the Murdock mansion. He had been expecting a guard or watchman, and Anhur’s sudden appearance from behind a tree bordering the driveway was almost the catalyst that caused a ‘shoot and ask questions later’ response. The Captain knew if it took violence to find Forrest and Olive Marie, then violence it would be.
He had just heard Anhur say there were at least two highly trained Secret Service men guarding Forrest and Olive Marie. How did he propose he and Anhur proceed? What did Captain Scarburg have in mind?
“Okay, Anhur, let’s slip around beside the house and go into the guesthouse. I’m sure the doors will not be locked; Mr. Murdock just had a party, so they have not had time to secure the property. Once inside lets see if we can find a serving pot and a coffee cup. Anhur then go across to the basement door and announce you have some hot coffee for the Secret Service agent on guard duty. I will be positioned outside beside the door, as the agent opens the door to get the coffee I will overpower him, and we will push into the basement and rescue my two grandchildren. What do you think?”
“Captain, we have always known you Earthlings have the ability to be deceitful and cunning. I like it!”
From their position in front of the house, the Captain and Anhur ventured past the mansion and entered the snow-covered lawn on the far side of the guesthouse. This approach would allow them to slip unnoticed into the old carriage house.
Once inside they found a coffee urn and an empty coffee cup. “Fill the urn with boiling, hot water Anhur,” Captain Scarburg said, “get it as hot as possible. When the agent opens the door dash the scalding water into his face. That will distract him long enough for me to make my move.”
Retrieving a white towel from the linen closet he draped it over Anhur’s arm and handed him the urn and coffee cup. “Give me a second or two to get positioned then knock on the door.” As the Captain tiptoed across the snow-covered lawn between the guesthouse and the basement, he noticed the green Ford truck parked in the lot behind the main residence. He correctly reasoned this was Forrest and Olive Marie’s transportation from the cow pasture.
The maneuver on the guard with the scalding hot water was a total success, and now Anhur and the Captain were standing in the dark basement. The Secret Service agent lay unconscious at the doorway; however, the struggle to overcome him created enough noise to cause the agent at the top of the stairs to call out, “Charlie, what’s going on down there? What was that noise? Is everything all right?” He opened the door at the head of the stairs and began to descend, step by slow step down into the basement. Seeing the Captain in the dark, he fired his nine-millimeter Beretta service weapon, barely missing the Captain’s head by a mere couple of inches. The Captain instinctively fired back causing the agent to crumple and roll down the steps into a bloody heap at the foot of the stairs, a .45 slug buried deep within his chest. Stepping across the pool of coagulating, crimson blood Captain Scarburg felt the man’s neck for a pulse as the warm, sticky, red fluid slowly oozed from the agent’s chest.
Putting his two fingers to the carotid artery on the neck of the wounded man Captain Scarburg could feel a slight pulse... it was thready and weak... but the prospect of his survival did not look good. The Secret Service agent was breathing in gasps... the Captain reached and grasped his hand. It was cold.
“Hold on son, hold on,” said Captain Scarburg, “we’ll get help.” A slight moan emanated from the throat of the agent. Suddenly a hard gasp for air followed by a convulsive jerk, and he was gone! Captain Scarburg had killed a Secret Service agent!
Suddenly Captain Scarburg was startled by what he thought was a flash of blue lightning, but it only lasted a microsecond. Lightning? No, it is snowing outside, he thought. I must be hallucinating. Released the grip on the dead man’s hand he turned toward Anhur, “Anhur did you see that flash of blue light? Was I seeing things?”
Without showing any surprise, he answered, “Yes Captain Scarburg, I saw the flash of light.”
Glancing at the identification badge attached to the breast pocket of the agent’s suit coat, the Captain could read the name: ‘ROUSSEAU, Roger’. “Hmmm...” said Captain Scarburg, “ROUSSEAU that’s interesting.”
Turning his attention to the two bound and gagged captives in the basement, he quickly cut the cords binding their wrists, removed the tape from their mouths and untied the handkerchiefs that had been blinding their vision.
“Forrest!! Is it you?” Olive Marie yelled.
“Olive Marie!!” This was the first time either of the two prisoners realized whom the other had been. Rushing across the room Forrest embraced Olive Marie. In their joy and excitement of their reunion, they failed to notice Captain Scarburg and Anhur standing back in the shadows of the basement; however, Forrest did notice the dead body at the foot of the stairs and the other agent lying unconscious at the basement door.
Before another word was spoken Captain Scarburg asked, “Are you two okay?”
“Grandpa? Grandpa! Is that you? I knew you would come, I just knew it,” cried Olive Marie. “I was so scared Grandpa, they were going to kill us... I was standing in the hallway outside the Vice President’s meeting room eavesdropping on their conversation when I was apprehended by the Secret Service...”
Forrest interjected, “Sis, did you hear them planning the President’s assassination?”
“Yes, yes Forrest they were all in on it. I heard them talking about killing President Kennedy. Grandpa I was so scared... the spy business is not as exciting as I had imaged. It is pretty dangerous.”
“I know Olive, I know. That’s why Anhur and I came for you and Forrest. You are safe now. We are going to take you both back to Clem and Penelope’s Ponderosa. Saturday we will board Pegasus and go home. Your mother and father are worried to death.”
“Thank you Grandpa, thank you. I knew you wouldn’t forget us,” Olive Marie said between sobs.
“Anhur, see those telephone lines running across the far wall? Take my knife and cut those wires, we don’t want the woman upstairs to alert anyone to our presence. After cutting the telephone lines tie the other agent up, then meet us upstairs. We need to go upstairs and get out of this damp, death-ridden basement. And, give me back my old, brown, sweat stained, tattered cowboy hat Anhur, you little alien pirate.”
Dutifully relinquishing the hat to the Captain, Anhur remarked, “I shall perform my duties per your instructions Captain Scarburg. Forrest and Olive Marie, it is nice to see you are well. I am thankful you are safe.”
“No Anhur, it is Olive Marie, and I that should be saying thanks to you. It seems you are always around when we need you... thank you Anhur.”
“Yes,” added Olive, “I want to say ‘thank you’ too, Anhur. You are a true friend.”
The time was 3:20 a.m., Thursday, November 22, 1963.
“I HAVEN’T HEARD IT ALL!!”
Upstairs they found Margaret White huddled on a couch, whimpering and shaking uncontrollably. “Please,” she said pleading, “please don’t hurt me. I had nothing to do with holding you people. That was Lyndon Johnson and the Secret Service’s idea. I thought I was in love with him, but tonight I found out what a scoundrel he really is. He just left me here, saying he would return. How could I have been so fooled?”
“Now, now Ms. White... don’t be so hard on your self. Love can sometimes be blind, so blind. But do not worry, we are not here to hurt you,” the Captain said reassuringly. “Where did the people w
ho met with the Vice President go after they left the party?”
“They said something about going into Dallas. Some big ‘event’ was going to take place there tomorrow, but they did not tell me what it was. In fact, after the meeting broke up Lyndon hardly spoke to me. He was too busy drinking, shaking hands and slapping people on the back. You would have thought he had just won the presidential election.
Olive Marie interjected, “That’s right Grandpa. As I said earlier, I was standing in the hall right outside the room where the meeting took place. I could not make out everything they were saying, but I heard enough to know it was going to concern killing Kennedy, tomorrow in Dallas, and at Dealy Plaza. At the mention of the word ‘payback’ I could hear them all laughing. Ms. White is correct - they were celebrating.”
“By the way, how did you know my name was ‘White’?” Ms. White asked addressing the Captain.
Captain Scarburg brushed the question aside, “That is not important now, what is important Ms. White you are safe with us. We know what is going on tomorrow, but it is better you remain in the dark. It is for your own sake.”
“I heard a couple of gun shots. What happened?”
“Well, hmmm, there are two Secret Service agents in the basement; however, one was shot dead, but the other is alive, and tightly bound hand and foot. But Ms. White, I still believe the least you know about us the better off you will be. I will not introduce myself or these other two people to you; therefore, when your interrogators ask you questions you will have nothing useful to tell them. I believe this strategy is in your best interest. After tomorrow Ms. White, you will understand why I think this action is necessary.”
“I suppose you must do what you think is right, but I did hear the Secret Service say they would be back and relieve the two they left behind.”
“Did they say when?”
“Yes, they are due back any minute now.”
“That settles it, we need to get out of here Ms. White. We will bind your hands and feet, quite comfortably, and leave you lying on the couch. When the other Secret Service Agents arrive the story you will tell them will be true – almost: ‘You heard gunfire. Two men and a woman came up from the basement and questioned you about any valuables in the house. You gave them no answers, so they tied you up and left.’ I think that will supply them with sufficient enough information to keep you out of trouble. They will think we were just burglars.”
Walking across to the living room for privacy the Captain removed his cell phone and entered Lonnie Joe’s phone number. Lonnie Joe answered on the third ring – “Papa John’s Pizza, may I help you?”
“Funny, LJ, funny, Papa John’s won’t even be invented for another twenty years”, the Captain replied, “What’s wrong LJ, can’t sleep?”
“You ever try to sleep in a cold, brightly lit, parking garage, sitting in a stolen car that looks like it belongs in ‘Mayberry’, with the entire Dallas, Texas police department looking for you. Oh, did I forget – and twenty years before you were even born.” Sarcastically he added, “Yeah, I can sleep just fine! Thanks for asking Captain. What’s up?”
“Glad to see you both are enjoying yourselves.” The Captain explained how he found Forrest and Olive Marie at the Murdock mansion, and how Anhur had shown up to help. He told Lonnie and Rocky to get some rest, he would be returning to the Ponderosa. The Captain ended his conversation saying if they did not meet at the Ponderosa they all would meet Saturday in the cow pasture northwest of Celina. “You both take care, and stay safe... good night.”
Ms. White turned to Forrest and asked, “What is that man doing?”
“I would tell you Ms White, but you would never believe me!”
“Try me, I’ve heard just about all of them.”
Without thinking, Forrest answered, “He’s talking on a portable, cordless telephone. We call it a ‘cell phone’.”
“Tele... telephone...? That small gadget...? Forget what I said, I’m wrong, I haven’t heard it all!”
Walking back across the handsome, oak parqueted floor they turned toward Captain Scarburg as he approached the group. He remarked, “Ms. White, we will be leaving now, it has been a pleasure, oh, by the way, we cut the telephone lines in the basement. But if someone will just splice the wires back together, the phones should work fine again.”
Leaving Ms. White bound and gagged on the couch Captain Scarburg, Forrest and Olive Marie slipped down the stairs into the basement. The dead Secret Service agent remained where he fell in a pool of sticky, blood at the foot of the stairs; the other unconscious agent was still out cold and securely trussed hands and feet. Everything seemed in order except for one minor detail – Anhur was nowhere to be seen - Anhur was gone!!
Outside the three stood in the cold and snow as the Captain outlined their next moves. He began by telling Forrest and Olive Marie he had intended to return to the Ponderosa once he had found the two of them, but now he had second thoughts. Tomorrow was going to be one of the most significant days in the annals of the American historic experience.
“What I am about to say may sound cold, heartless and disrespectful, but I mean no disrespect to the Office of the President. Not many times since the formation of the United States in 1776 have there ever been an opportunity to witness such an event as will happen at Dealy Plaza tomorrow, and we are aware of it before it takes place. I think it would hinge on being criminal if I had the means and ability to allow you two to be present and become part of history and did not take advantage of it. I want you both to be personally at that terrible occurrence tomorrow. It will be graphic and upsetting. This is not a once in a lifetime experience this never gets to happen in anyone’s lifetime. The murder of our President will never occur again in the foreseeable future, and I will never forgive myself if I do not allow you to be there, regardless of its horrifying nature.”
“Grandpa,” said Olive Marie, “what do you have in mind?”
“First, we will leave in your truck, head to the entrance of the driveway, and get my Jeep that I have hidden in the bushes and trees growing beside the entrance to the Murdock estate. It is out of sight, and I’m hoping the snow covered the tracks, so no one else found it.”
“I must say,” added Forrest, “I never envisioned we would get a chance to see the assassination.”
The Captain explained again about the famous Zapruder film that was taken by Abraham Zapruder, a clothing manufacturer with a sewing factory on the fourth and fifth floor of the Dal-Tel building. His address was 571 Elm Street, just across Houston Street to the east of the Texas State School Depository. He further said Mr. Zapruder had purchased his movie camera - a Bell & Howell eight-millimeter Zoomatic at the Peacock Jewelry Company just a few doors east up Elm Street at 879 Elm. The Captain said he wanted to stop at Peacocks and purchase an exact model of the Zapruder camera to film the entire motorcade precisely as Zapruder did. In fact, he did not tell Forrest or Olive Marie, but he had an idea. He was going to buy not one but two Bell & Howell movie cameras.
There is a historical report, a single report buried deeply within the thousands of FBI and Congressional reports that a young person was seen standing close to Zapruder’s concrete pedestal. The report further states this man also filmed the President; however, no one has ever interviewed this young man, nor has the FBI ever identified him. After the event of November 22, 1963, he vanished to history.
The Captain wanted Forrest to do the honors and film the scene along with Zapruder. Would Forrest end up being the person seen in some of the pictures filmed by other witnesses that fateful day? Old photos of that scene today have been minutely examined using electronic microscopic imaging trying to identify this unknown person. Although, no one could recognize this person, anyone at SCAR would have easily identified him as... as... Forrest.
Later that day at 12:30 Forrest would become a part of American history.
Captain Scarburg further explained once they returned home they could compare the Zapruder film to the
one Forrest was going to take.
Olive Marie did not realize it at the time, but she too was to become an icon of the Kennedy assassination
The time was 4:00 a.m., Thursday, November 22, 1963.