Reclaiming History

by Vincent Bugliosi

  “Do you recognize this individual?” he asks.

  Marguerite looks at the photo briefly through the crack in the door.

  “No, sir, believe me,” she says.

  The rain pelts the ground around the two men. Odum lowers his hand.

  “Thank you,” he says, as she closes the door.1186

  7:46 p.m. (8:46 p.m. EST)

  ABC commentator Chet Huntley announces that “all the personal effects of the late president have now been removed from the White House.”1187

  8:00 p.m.

  In Irving, Ruth Paine answers the phone and hears Lee Oswald say in Russian, “Marina, please.” That’s the opening phrase he normally uses when he wants to speak to his wife, and he’s used it on many occasions.

  “She’s not here,” Mrs. Paine replies, in English.

  Oswald is clearly irritated that his wife is not available to speak with him.

  “Where is she?” he asks, an edge to his voice.

  “I’ve got an idea where she might be, but I’m not at all certain,” Ruth answers. “I’ll try to find out.” She doesn’t tell Lee, but earlier today, while FBI agent Bardwell Odum was at her home, she overheard Odum talking on the telephone to the Life magazine people staying at the Hotel Adolphus. He was trying to find out where Marina was staying and she heard him say, “Executive Inn,” and saw him jot it down. She thinks that Marina may be there.

  “Tell her she should be at your house,” Oswald says tersely.

  “I’ll try to reach her and give her your message,” Mrs. Paine answers.

  Oswald hangs up. Mrs. Paine had been waiting to hear from Marina since she left that morning. She had no intention of attempting to reach her. She felt that if Marina wanted to talk to her, she would call. Of course, she was hurt that Marina hadn’t called or made any attempt to contact her. But now that Lee is trying to reach Marina, Ruth Paine decides to make the first move. She telephones the Executive Inn and asks the hotel operator to speak to Tommy Thompson, the Life representative. There is a short pause, then a female voice answers, “Hello?” It’s Marguerite Oswald.

  “Hello, this is Ruth Paine. I’d like to talk to Marina.”

  There is no love lost between Mrs. Paine and Oswald’s mother, who is suspicious of Ruth and her husband.

  “Marina’s in the bathroom,” Marguerite tells her.

  “Lee called me,” Mrs. Paine tells her, “and he wanted me to deliver a message to Marina.”

  “Yes?”

  “He wants me to contact an attorney for him,” Ruth says, “and he was very upset that Marina was not at my house.”

  “Well, he is in prison,” Marguerite replies callously. “He don’t know the things we are up against, the things that we have to face. What he wants doesn’t really matter.”

  Ruth is shocked that Marguerite doesn’t have any respect for Lee’s wishes.

  “Please let me speak to Marina,” Ruth asks.

  Marguerite finally relinquishes control of the telephone to her daughter-in-law. Mrs. Paine repeats Lee’s message to her, in Russian. Marina only says that she is very tired and wants to get to bed. Ruth agrees that it’s best that she stay at the hotel tonight. Ruth is disappointed that Marina doesn’t tell her what she plans to do tomorrow.

  “Did you see Lee today?” Ruth asks.

  “Yes, around noon,” Marina says.

  It’s obvious she doesn’t want to talk, so Mrs. Paine says good-bye and hangs up.1188

  Marguerite asks Marina what Mrs. Paine said, but Marina doesn’t answer her. Marguerite’s suspicions escalate and she begins to imagine that everyone is working against her. She begins to wonder how Mrs. Paine knew where they were staying? What did she say to Marina that caused Marina to withdraw and not want to tell her what Mrs. Paine said? In her conspiratorial mindset, FBI agent Odum’s earlier visit and insistence on seeing Marina, and Mrs. Paine’s call are somehow tied together. And whatever these people are up to, it’s no good.1189

  On the third floor of City Hall, reporters approach Assistant Police Chief Charles Batchelor outside the administrative offices. They are hungry and want to go out to dinner, but they don’t want to miss anything if the Dallas police decide to move the prisoner to the county jail. Just then, Chief Curry walks up.

  “How about it, Chief?” they ask. “Are you going to move Oswald tonight?”

  “No,” he tells them. “It probably will be in the morning.”

  “When?” they want to know.

  “I think if you fellows are back here by ten o’clock in the morning you won’t miss anything,” Curry says.

  With that, the newsmen head out for dinner. Curry decides he’d better double-check with Captain Fritz to see when he plans to transfer Oswald. He walks down the hall to Fritz’s office.1190

  Fritz doesn’t think it’s a good idea to transfer Oswald at night. An attacker could use the cover of darkness to his benefit and hinder the police from preventing trouble. Fritz suggests they wait until daylight. Besides, Fritz would like to question Oswald again in the morning.

  “Okay,” Curry says. “What time do you think you will be ready tomorrow then?”

  “I don’t know exactly when, Chief,” Fritz answers.

  “Do you think about ten o’clock?” Curry suggests. “I need to tell these people something definite.”

  Fritz nods his head.

  “I believe so,” he replies.1191

  Curry returns to his office and tells Assistant Chief Batchelor of the plans. Then Curry decides that he might as well make an announcement to the press in the corridor. Otherwise, they’ll be there all night.1192 Once again, Chief Curry steps into the crowd of reporters gathered in the third-floor hallway and tells them that Oswald will be transferred to the sheriff’s office tomorrow. “If you men would be here by no later than ten o’clock in the morning…that will be early enough.”

  “Are you through with him for the night, sir?” someone asks.

  “Captain Fritz says he is finished with him unless possibly some witness might show up that we needed to bring him out for a show-up,” Curry says. “But, I think—I don’t believe there will be any more questioning tonight.”

  Someone wants to know what progress has been made toward a confession in the assassination.

  “I don’t think we’ve made any progress toward a confession,” Curry replies.

  “You don’t think so?”

  “No,” Curry answers firmly.

  “Why are you so pessimistic about a confession?”

  “Well,” Curry says with a smile, “you know we’ve been in the business a good while—”

  Laughter ripples through the crowd of reporters.

  “—and sometimes,” Curry continues, “you can sort of draw your own conclusions after talking to a man over a period of time. Of course he might have a change of heart but I’d be rather surprised if he did.”

  Someone asks why Oswald’s mother and wife were at police headquarters today. The chief says they visited Oswald and are attempting to get in contact with his attorney, John Abt, out of New York.

  “Has anyone heard anything from Abt?” a reporter asks.

  “Well, it’s hearsay with me,” Curry responds, “and I don’t know who said this but somewhere back in the office someone said that they understood John Abt did not want to handle the case.”*

  “Chief, will you transfer him under heavy guard?”

  “I’ll leave that up to Sheriff Decker,” Curry says. “That’s his responsibility.”

  “The sheriff takes custody of him here?” someone asks.

  “Yes,” Curry answers.† “That’s all I have, gentlemen, thank you.”

  A chorus of thank-yous follows the chief as he retreats down the hall for the night.1193

  Sunday, November 24

  12:00 midnight

  The press having been told they could go home for the night without missing anything, the pressroom at Dallas City Hall has been nearly deserted for two hours.1194 Only two repor
ters—Dallas Times Herald reporter Darwin Payne and the longtime police beat reporter for the Dallas Morning News, Johnny Rutledge—remain to cover the late shift, their normal assignment.

  The telephone rings. It’s the Times Herald news editor Charles F. Dameron asking for Payne, who takes the phone. Dameron has heard that Dan Rather was on WCBS radio saying that the Dallas Police Department had an eyewitness in protective custody who could identify Oswald as the one who pulled the trigger in the Book Depository. Dameron wants to know if there’s any truth to the vague report.

  “I’m not sure,” Payne says in a whisper, afraid his competition might overhear him.

  “Find out,” Dameron commands.

  Payne hangs up and eyes Rutledge sitting quietly across the room. Payne can’t help but think that the Dallas Morning News already has the story wrapped up and is going to run it as a big banner in the morning paper. How would that make the Times look? Darwin Payne has only been at the newspaper three months, but he knows one thing. He has to get that story.

  Payne slips out of the pressroom and runs down the night-watch commander. He says it might be true, but he doesn’t know anything about it. Payne scrounges around a bit more, but comes up empty-handed.1195

  1:00 a.m.

  With the deadline for the final edition rapidly approaching, Darwin Payne, desperate, calls his office. He has no details to report to Dameron. They confer briefly and decide that Payne should call Chief Curry at home. Payne hates the thought of waking the chief, who surely is in bed at this hour. Dameron gives Payne the police chief’s home telephone number anyway.

  “Call him,” Dameron says.

  When the telephone rings, Curry’s wife answers, obviously awakened from a sound sleep.

  “Yes,” she mumbles, “I’ll give you the chief.”

  In a second or two, Curry comes on the line, half-asleep. Payne tries to explain to him the information he has and asks if the story is true or not? Curry is nearly incoherent, mumbling softly as if he’s in a dream. The reporter frantically scribbles down notes, hoping to make sense of them later. Finally, he gives up trying to make Curry understand and hangs up. Payne’s notes are useless. The frustrated reporter is forced to telephone his boss and report that he is unable to confirm the story.1196*

  The chief of police rolls over and drifts back into a deep sleep. His wife knows just how exhausted he feels. There’s been a constant barrage of phone calls since he came home. She reaches over and takes the telephone off the hook so that she and her husband can get a much-needed night of uninterrupted sleep.1197

  2:30 a.m.

  FBI security patrol clerk Vernon R. Glossup receives a telephone call while working the night desk at the Dallas FBI office.

  “I would like to talk to the man in charge,” a male voice says calmly.

  “The special agent-in-charge is not in at the present time,” Glossup answers. “Is there someone else that could help you?”

  “Just a minute,” the anonymous caller says. There is a brief pause, and Glossup is under the impression, though he can’t be sure, that the caller hands the telephone to someone else. A second, more mature-sounding voice speaks next.

  “I represent a committee that is neither right nor left wing,” the man says, “and tonight, tomorrow morning, or tomorrow night we are going to kill the man that killed the president. There will be no excitement and we will kill him. We wanted to be sure to tell the FBI, police department, and sheriff’s office. We will be there and we will kill him.”

  The caller hangs up.

  Glossup immediately notifies FBI special agent Melton L. Newsom and quickly prepares a memorandum on the call.1198

  3:00 a.m.

  FBI agent Newsom telephones the Dallas County sheriff’s office to advise them of the call, only to learn from Deputy Sheriff C. C. McCoy that he too got such a call. The message was nearly identical except that the anonymous caller said that he represented a group of around one hundred people “who have voted to kill the man who killed the president.” The caller said they were advising the sheriff’s office because they didn’t want any of the deputies to get hurt, but that they were going to kill Oswald anyway. The two lawmen shift into action. Newsom tells McCoy that he’ll contact the Dallas police and let them know what’s going on. Meanwhile, McCoy calls Sheriff Decker at his home and informs him of the threats they’ve received.

  “Call in a pair of our supervisory personnel,” Decker orders, “and have them stand by at the office in case the Dallas police decide to transfer Oswald tonight.”1199

  3:20 a.m.

  Captain William B. Frazier, the senior man on duty at the Dallas Police Department, takes the call from FBI agent Newsom.1200 Informed of the threats, Frazier tells Newsom that the Dallas police haven’t received any threatening calls at the department. He will, however, notify his superiors and the FBI will be advised of any change in the transfer plans.1201

  5:15 a.m.

  Nearly two hours later, Frazier calls the apartment of homicide captain Will Fritz, a notorious early riser. Frazier relates the threatening calls, but Fritz reminds him that Chief Curry is handling the particulars of the transfer and that he should be contacted directly.1202

  A few minutes later, Deputy Sheriff McCoy telephones the Dallas Police Department and tells Captain Frazier that Sheriff Decker would like Chief Curry to call him as soon as possible about the transfer plans, adding that Decker thinks the police should transfer Oswald immediately to the county jail.1203

  6:00 a.m.

  Frazier telephones Chief Curry’s residence but is unable to get through. He continues to ring the line for the next fifteen minutes, with no success. Finally, Frazier calls the telephone operator and asks her to check the phone to see if a conversation is in progress or if the line is out of order. The operator calls back in a few minutes and tells him that the telephone is out of order.1204

  6:15 a.m.

  By now, the second shift is beginning to arrive at City Hall, including Platoon Captain C.E. Talbert, who is scheduled to relieve Captain Frazier. Before going off duty, Frazier tells Talbert of the overnight threats and his repeated attempts to contact Chief Curry. Talbert immediately calls the assistant chief of police, Charles Batchelor, and informs him of the threat and the fact that they can’t raise Curry on the telephone. Batchelor instructs Talbert to send a squad car over to Curry’s house and wake him. Not long thereafter, officers are pounding on the chief’s front door to tell him of the death threats against Oswald.1205

  6:30 a.m.

  Captain Fritz’s homicide team, the big, taciturn Texans in sober, off-the-rack suits and obligatory Stetsons who are the top drawer on the force and operate on their own time schedule, are also on the job early. Detective E. R. Beck arrives at 6:30, getting there even before the indefatigable and early-rising Captain Fritz. C. W. Brown gets in at seven. Most of the crew is in well before nine.1206

  7:28 a.m.

  Captain Talbert telephones the Dallas FBI office and informs Special Agent Newsom that the police chief has been advised of the threat against Oswald and that Curry expects to be in the office sometime between eight and nine o’clock this morning.

  “What about the transfer plans?” the FBI agent asks.

  “Well, I don’t know,” Talbert tells him. “But personally I don’t think there’ll be any effort to sneak Oswald out of the city jail. We want to maintain good relations with the press and right now extensive coverage has been set up to cover the transfer. I don’t think that Chief Curry will want to cross the media.”1207

  8:00 a.m.

  Marguerite Oswald is up early at the Executive Inn near Love Field. She has been worried all night. She and Marina haven’t heard from the Life representatives since they arranged their suite at the inn. Marguerite feels stranded, alone in a strange motel with a Russian daughter-in-law and two babies. She wonders whom she can call for help. She doesn’t want to call Mrs. Paine, a woman she has no use for. Nor does she want to telephone Robert, who is c
lear out in Boyd, Texas, at his farm.1208 Instead, she remembers Peter Gregory, a Fort Worth petroleum engineer who taught Russian language classes at the library. Gregory was a Russian émigré who came to the United States in 1923 to attend the University of California.1209

  About three weeks ago Marguerite read an advertisement in the Fort Worth newspaper announcing that free Russian classes were being offered at the public library beginning November 12. Although she had not heard from either Lee or Marina for nearly a year, she hoped in her heart that they would contact her some day, and she thought the instruction might help her communicate with her daughter-in-law. As it turned out, her car broke down just one block from the library before the second class started—just three days ago—and had to be towed. She walked to the class, and Gregory, when he found out that she lived only about ten blocks from his house, kindly drove her home.1210

  Marguerite approaches Marina, who is up with the babies.

  “Marina,” Marguerite says, “we need help, honey. I am going to call Mr. Gregory.”

  She tells Marina about taking Russian language lessons.

  “Oh, Mama,” Marina exclaims, “I know Mr. Gregory. Lee know Mr. Gregory.”1211

  Marguerite had no idea that Lee and Marina had already met Peter Gregory, Lee having gone to Gregory’s office in June of 1962 seeking his help in getting a job as a Russian translater or interpreter. She thinks it’s a terribly odd coincidence that they already know him, but feels that somehow her guardian angel is guiding her actions.1212 She picks up the telephone, gives a fictitious name to the hotel operator, and has her dial Mr. Gregory’s residence.

  “Mr. Gregory, I can’t say who I am,” she tells him when he answers, “but you know my son and you know my daughter-in-law, and I am in trouble, sir.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mr. Gregory says, “but I won’t talk to anybody I don’t know.”

  “I would rather not tell you who I am,” she replies, “but I shall identify myself by saying I am one of the students in the Russian class in the library.”1213