The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy: A Novel

by Jacopo della Quercia

  LINCOLN: BLUE LIGHT. A SPECTACULAR, INCANDESCENT BLUE LIGHT LOOMING OVER THE MOUNTAINS LIKE A CLOUD.

  BUTT: HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS WASN’T THE DEADLY GAS?

  LINCOLN: BECAUSE CYANOGEN IS COLORLESS, CAPTAIN. AND EVEN IF THIS DISPLAY WAS SOME SORT OF LIGHT REFRACTION, IT STILL WOULD NOT HAVE APPEARED BLUE.

  HAMMOND: IS THERE ANY CHANCE THIS WAS AN AURORA?

  LINCOLN: THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY THIS WAS AURORA BOREALIS. AURORAS ARE USUALLY GREEN, AND NO OTHER AURORAS WERE REPORTED ANYWHERE IN THE REGION. FURTHERMORE, WE KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THIS BIZARRE DISPLAY WAS SUSTAINED, OBSERVABLE FOR SEVERAL DAYS UNTIL IT WAS CARRIED OFF BY THE WIND. THAT’S HOW WE WERE ABLE TO TRACE ITS POINT OF ORIGIN BACK TO THE WRANGELL MOUNTAINS. NOT THE KENNECOTT MINES IN PARTICULAR, BUT SOMEWHERE VERY CLOSE TO IT.

  HAMMOND: HOW CLOSE?

  LINCOLN: I’D SAY NO FARTHER THAN FIVE OR SIX MILES FROM THE MINES. MAYBE LESS.

  HAMMOND: AND THERE WAS NOTHING LIKE THIS ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD?

  LINCOLN: NOTHING EVEN REMOTELY RESEMBLING IT. ACCORDING TO ONE OF OUR WITNESSES IN ALASKA, THE SKIES RESEMBLED AN IMPRESSIONIST PAINTING.

  HAMMOND: I MUST SAY THAT IS MOST PECULIAR, MR. LINCOLN. MOST PECULIAR INDEED.

  TAFT: YES, I DON’T UNDERSTAND HALF OF IT MYSELF. FORTUNATELY, THAT’S WHY WE BROUGHT YOU ONBOARD, JACK! YOU WERE THE GUGGENHEIMS’S CHIEF ENGINEER FOR YEARS, SO PLEASE TELL US: WHAT MAKES THE WRANGELL MOUNTAINS SO [EXPLETIVE] SPECIAL?

  HAMMOND: WELL, I CAN TELL YOU IT’S ONE OF THE BEST PLACES IN THE WORLD TO MINE COPPER. THE ENTIRE MOUNTAIN RANGE IS DOTTED WITH VOLCANOES, WHICH TURNED IT INTO A TREASURE TROVE OF PRECIOUS MINERALS. COPPER WAS FIRST DISCOVERED THERE SHORTLY AFTER THE KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH, BUT THE MOUNTAINS WERE TOO REMOTE FOR ANYONE TO THOROUGHLY MINE THEM. NOT EVEN THE GUGGENHEIMS COULD AFFORD TO MOVE A MOUNTAIN OF ORE ACROSS 200 MILES OF ICE JUST TO SHIP IT ANOTHER 2,000 MILES TO TACOMA. THE COST OF THE NECESSARY RAILROADS ALONE EXCEEDED $25 MILLION. ONLY J. P. MORGAN HAD THE CAPITAL TO MAKE EVERYTHING FUNCTION, AND SINCE HE HAD JUST FORMED THE IMM [INTERNATIONAL MERCANTILE MARINE CO.], HE WAS EAGER FOR ANY EXCUSE TO EXPAND HIS SHIPPING EMPIRE. THERE WAS ALMOST NO OTHER WAY OUT OF ALASKA THAN THROUGH HIM. THE GUGGENHEIMS APPROACHED MORGAN IN 1903, AND I WAS HIRED A YEAR LATER AS THEIR GENERAL MANAGER AND MINING CONSULTANT.

  TAFT: I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE MORGAN WAS COAXED INTO DOING ANYTHING WITH THE GUGGENHEIMS.

  HAMMOND: WHY IS THAT?

  TAFT: ARE YOU KIDDING? J. P. MORGAN IS SO ANTI-SEMITIC THAT YOU’D THINK HE WAS RUNNING FOR TSAR.

  [PAUSE.]

  TAFT: WHAT?

  LINCOLN: JOHN, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE KENNECOTT MINES?

  HAMMOND: IN WHAT REGARD?

  LINCOLN: DID YOU FIND ANYTHING UNUSUAL THERE ONCE THE GUGGENHEIMS STARTED DIGGING?

  HAMMOND: ROBERT, FROM A MINING STANDPOINT, EVERYTHING ABOUT THE WRANGELL MOUNTAINS IS MIRACULOUS! I WAS HANDED ORE SAMPLES TAKEN FROM ITS SURFACE THAT WERE OVER 70% COPPER, INCLUDING SOME BEARING BITS OF GOLD AND SILVER AS WELL. WORKING ON THIS PROJECT WAS LIKE BEING HIRED TO EXCAVATE KING SOLOMON’S MINES!

  TAFT: IF THAT’S THE CASE, WHY DID YOU QUIT?

  HAMMOND: TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST, AFTER WORKING WITH THE GUGGENHEIMS FOR FOUR YEARS, I BEGAN TO SEE AND HEAR THINGS I DID NOT LIKE. SOME STARTED OFF AS JUST RUMORS, BUT OTHERS BECAME TOO REAL AND PRONOUNCED FOR ME TO IGNORE.

  LINCOLN: SUCH AS?

  HAMMOND: WELL, JUST OUT OF MY OWN EXPERIENCE, THE GUGGENHEIMS WERE NOT VERY PLEASANT TO WORK WITH. THE PAY WAS EXCELLENT AND I ENJOYED BEING ABLE TO CONTINUE TEACHING AT YALE, BUT MY EMPLOYERS DID NOT HAVE MUCH RESPECT FOR MY METHODS. I EXPLORED EVERY OPTION TO MINE THOSE MOUNTAINS AS QUICKLY AND PROFITABLY AS POSSIBLE, BUT I WAS CONSTANTLY TOLD TO DIG DEEPER, EVEN PAST THE VEINS OF COPPER IN THE MOUNTAIN. I DON’T KNOW WHY THE GUGGENHEIMS WANTED TO DO THIS, ESPECIALLY SINCE THEY DID NOT BEHAVE SO ERRATICALLY AT ANY OF THEIR OTHER SITES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. I’M GUESSING MORGAN WAS PUSHING THEM TO ACHIEVE UNREALISTIC RESULTS. PERHAPS HE WAS HOPING WE WOULD FIND A VOLCANIC PIPE WHERE WE COULD MINE DIAMONDS JUST LIKE THE AUSTRALIANS IN THE ’90S. ALL I KNOW IS THIS MEDDLING UNNECESSARILY ADDED YEARS TO THE PROJECT AND EXPOSED MANY OF MY WORKERS TO SERIOUS HAZARDS.

  LINCOLN: WHAT KIND OF HAZARDS?

  HAMMOND: I HAVE ONE EXAMPLE THAT PERFECTLY UNDERSCORES THE CONSEQUENCE OF HAVING TOO MANY COOKS IN THE KITCHEN.

  TAFT: I’M LISTENING.

  HAMMOND: DURING MY LAST YEAR WITH THE GUGGENHEIMS, THEY BROUGHT IN SOME SORT OF OUTSIDE CONSULTANT TO ASSESS A PART OF THE MOUNTAINS I HAD PREVIOUSLY DEEMED UNSAFE. A FEW WEEKS LATER, I LEARNED MY OBJECTIONS IN ALASKA WENT COMPLETELY IGNORED. MY MINERS WERE PUT BACK TO WORK IN THE AREA WHILE I WAS VISITING ANOTHER SITE IN UTAH. AS I FEARED, THE DIGGING DISRUPTED A HOT SPRING THAT FLOODED THE ENTIRE MINESHAFT WITH STEAM. SEVERAL MEN DIED AND MANY OTHERS WERE INCAPACITATED. I ISSUED A COMPLAINT ONLY TO RECEIVE A REPLY THAT THIS SPECIALIST WOULD SERVE AS MY SURROGATE IN ALASKA WHENEVER I WAS AWAY. I REFUSED TO COMPLY AND SHORTLY AFTER QUIT MY COMMISSION.

  BUTT: THIS “SPECIALIST” THE GUGGENHEIMS BROUGHT IN. WHAT WAS HIS NAME?

  HAMMOND: I DON’T KNOW. I NEVER MET HIM IN PERSON AND WE NEVER SPOKE OVER THE WIRES. HOWEVER, I KNOW THAT HE WAS NEVER AN OFFICIAL EMPLOYEE OF THE GUGGENHEIMS, OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE FIRED HIM. AS I SAID, HE WAS AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT HIRED BY THE MORGAN-GUGGENHEIM SYNDICATE AS A WHOLE.

  LINCOLN: DID THE MINERS DISCOVER ANYTHING STRANGE WHEN THEY BREACHED THE HOT SPRING? ANYTHING THAT COULD HAVE CAUSED THE ATMOSPHERIC DISPLAYS OBSERVED ON MAY 18 AND AFTERWARD?

  HAMMOND: NOT AT ALL. THERE WAS NOTHING IN THAT GROUND BUT A LEAD CAVERN AND AN UNDERGROUND RIVER. IT WAS A COMPLETE WASTE OF HUMAN LIFE, AND I SAW TO IT THAT THE FAMILIES OF ALL THE FALLEN MINERS RECEIVED PAYMENTS AT MY OWN EXPENSE.

  TAFT: JOHN, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN TELL US ABOUT THE MINES OR THE MOUNTAINS THAT MIGHT EXPLAIN THESE STRANGE OCCURRENCES BOB MONITORED?

  HAMMOND: ALAS, I HAVE TOLD YOU EVERYTHING I CAN THINK OF. I WISH I COULD BE MORE HELP, BUT PLEASE REMEMBER THAT I WAS GENERAL MANAGER FOR EVERY MINE THE GUGGENHEIMS OWNED. I SPENT VERY LITTLE TIME AT THE KENNECOTT SITE COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE COUNTRY.

  BUTT: YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT RUMORS. WHAT WERE THEY?

  [PAUSE.]

  TAFT: JACK? YOU ALL RIGHT?

  HAMMOND: WHENEVER YOU WORK FOR AN ENTERPRISE AS ENORMOUS AS THE GUGGENHEIMS OR THE HOUSE OF MORGAN, IT IS INEVITABLE THAT YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF AMONG CLIENTELE YOU WOULD OTHERWISE PREFER TO AVOID. THIS CONSULTANT THE SYNDICATE BROUGHT IN BEFORE MY DEPARTURE WAS ONE OF THESE PEOPLE, BUT THERE WAS ONE NAME I HEARD MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY THAT NEARLY MADE ME QUIT ON THE SPOT.

  BUTT: WHO WAS IT?

  HAMMOND: KING LEOPOLD II.

  [NOTE. ADDED JULY 20, 1910, 3:22 A.M.

  LEOPOLD II, KING OF THE BELGIANS. BORN TO KING LEOPOLD I ON APRIL 9, 1835. COUSIN TO QUEEN VICTORIA, PRINCE ALBERT, TSAR NICHOLAS II, AND OTHERS.

  ASCENDS TO THE THRONE DECEMBER 17, 1865.

  ORGANIZES THE INTERNATIONAL AFRICAN SOCIETY IN 1876 FOR HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS IN CENTRAL AFRICA.

  FOUNDS THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE CONGO ON NOVEMBER 17, 1879.

  LOBBIES THE U.S. GOVERNMENT FROM 1883–84 FOR INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION. THE UNITED STATES BECOMES THE FIRST COUNTRY TO FORMALLY RECOGNIZE KING LEOPOLD II’S CLAIM TO THE CONGO ON APRIL 22, 1884.

  THE BERLIN ACT ON THE CONGO, SIGNED FEBRUARY 26, 1885, LEGITIMIZES LEOPOLD’S CLAIMS TO THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE CONGO. BY ROYAL DECREE, LEOPOLD RENAMES HIS HOLDINGS THE CONGO FREE STATE ON MAY 29, 1885.

  GEORGE WASHINGTON WILLIAMS, A CIVIL WAR VETERAN AND NEGRO HISTORIAN, WRITES “AN OPEN LETTER TO HIS SERENE MAJESTY LÉOPOLD II, KING OF THE BELGIANS AND SOVEREIGN OF THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF CONGO” ON JULY 18, 1890. THE LETTER DETAILS EXTENSIVE ABUSES, KIDNAPPINGS, AND MURDERS COMMITTED BY LEOPOLD’S FORCES IN THE CONGO FREE STATE.

  THE NEW YORK TIMES PUBLISHES A FRONT-PAGE ARTICLE ON “COL. WILLIAMS’ CHARGES” ON APRIL 14, 1891.

  GEORGE WASHINGTON WILLIAMS DIES AUGUST 2, 18
91, IN BLACKPOOL, ENGLAND, AT AGE 41.

  JOSEPH CONRAD PUBLISHES HEART OF DARKNESS IN 1899 BASED ON FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCES IN THE CONGO FREE STATE.

  THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATES ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF THE BERLIN AGREEMENT IN 1903.

  THE CASEMENT REPORT ON ATROCITIES IN THE CONGO IS PUBLISHED IN 1904.

  MARK TWAIN PUBLISHES KING LEOPOLD’S SOLILOQUY IN 1905. REPORTS OF WIDESPREAD ABUSES IN THE CONGO FREE STATE ESCALATE.

  “KING LEOPOLD’S AMAZING ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE OUR CONGRESS EXPOSED” IS PUBLISHED IN NEW YORK AMERICAN ON DECEMBER 10, 1906. PUBLIC OUTRAGE MOUNTS OVER PHOTOGRAPHS OF ATROCITIES IN THE CONGO AND BELGIAN ATTEMPTS TO INFILTRATE THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.

  LEOPOLD ASSUMES ABSOLUTE RULE OVER THE BELGIAN CONGO ON NOVEMBER 15, 1908.

  SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE WRITES THE CRIME OF THE CONGO IN 1909.

  KING LEOPOLD II DIES DECEMBER 17, 1909.

  UNOFFICIAL ESTIMATE OF DEATHS IN THE CONGO DUE TO BELGIAN RULE: 10 MILLION.

  CONCLUSION: ACCORDING TO A PERSONAL INVESTIGATION INTO MR. HAMMOND’S CLAIMS, J. P. MORGAN AND THE GUGGENHEIMS WERE LIKELY SOLICITED AT SOME POINT FROM 1905–06 AS PART OF KING LEOPOLD II’S ATTEMPT TO MAINTAIN SUPPORT WITHIN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. WHETHER MR. MORGAN OR ANY MEMBER OF THE GUGGENHEIMS AGREED TO ENTER INTO SOME SORT OF PARTNERSHIP WITH LEOPOLD BEFORE HIS DEATH REMAINS BOTH INDISCERNIBLE AT THIS TIME AND APPARENTLY IRRELEVANT TO THE U.S. SECRET SERVICE’S INVESTIGATION INTO THE ATTEMPT ON PRESIDENT TAFT’S LIFE.

  HOWEVER, THERE IS A POTENTIAL LINK BETWEEN THE MORGAN-GUGGENHEIM SYNDICATE’S ACTIVITIES IN ALASKA AND THE ENCRYPTED TRANSMISSION RECEIVED ON AIRSHIP ONE PRIOR TO THE ATTEMPT ON NIKOLA TESLA’S LIFE. THE “GENTLEMAN FROM BOMA” IN THE COMMUNICATION WAS LIKELY A REFERENCE TO BOMA, THE FORMER CAPITAL OF THE CONGO FREE STATE AND THE PRESENT CAPITAL OF THE BELGIAN CONGO. IT IS SUSPICIOUS THAT SUCH A LITTLE-KNOWN CITY WOULD BE FEATURED SO PROMINENTLY IN TWO SEPARATE INVESTIGATIONS. UNFORTUNATELY, ANY CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THESE EVENTS AND THE RECENT ATTACK AGAINST THE PRESIDENT REMAIN TENUOUS AT BEST.

  IN SHORT, THERE IS NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO WARRANT AN OFFICIAL U.S. SECRET SERVICE INVESTIGATION INTO ANY MEMBER OF THE MORGAN-GUGGENHEIM SYNDICATE IN RESPONSE TO THE ATTEMPT ON PRESIDENT TAFT’S LIFE. HOWEVER, IF ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SURFACES FOLLOWING YOUR MEETING WITH THOMAS EDISON, I AM HAPPY TO VOLUNTEER MYSELF FOR AN “UNOFFICIAL” INVESTIGATION INTO THE SYNDICATE’S ACTIVITIES.

  -K

  P.S. STILL NO MENTION OF THAT MYSTERIOUS POCKET WATCH.]

  Chapter XII

  “Taxi!”

  Secret Service Chief John E. Wilkie shouted over the packed mob of horses, cars, and pedestrians from the south corner of Wall Street and Nassau. It was lunchtime in New York on Friday, July 22, and Wilkie had more than 2.3 million people to move through on Manhattan Island alone. J. P. Morgan was not at his Wall Street office, and any chance of an impromptu meeting at his uptown branch hinged on how quickly Wilkie could get there. He did not want to be told Morgan was out to lunch. And to make matters worse, Wilkie was down to his last cigar.

  Fortunately, he knew he could be counted among the best-dressed men in the city in his red and white striped suit, matching vest with red bowtie, freshly starched collar, and white boater hat as he hollered “Taxi!” a second time.

  “I thought you knew your way around the city,” said Attorney General Wickersham as he walked down the steps of the stately Drexel Building.

  “What are you going to do? Indict me for perjury?”

  Wickersham discarded his spent cigarette. “I don’t know, John. This surprise visit of yours is turning into a wild-goose chase.”

  “Maybe so, but the minute I get my hands on that goose, he’s cooked.” Wilkie whistled. “Hey, you! Get over here!”

  A French Darracq taxicab pulled up to the curb. Its friendly looking driver was dressed like a West Point cadet. “Good afternoon, gentlemen.”

  “Skip the foreplay, Frank. Can you take us to the Morgan Library? It’s on East Thirty-sixth Street between Madison and Park.”

  “Sorry, sir. I don’t operate north of Fourteenth Street.”

  “You do now.” The Secret Service chief flipped a ten-dollar gold eagle into the driver’s hand as he and Wickersham stepped into the red taxi. The cabbie bit the coin, pocketed it, and away they sped.

  “I still don’t understand why you want me to come,” said Wickersham as the cab made a right at Trinity Church onto Broadway. “My investigation into the Tesla matter is over.”

  “It’s over because you found nothing,” Wilkie huffed through his cigar.

  Wickersham furrowed his brow. “John, we didn’t find anything at Tesla’s lab because there was nothing to find! The crazy wizard electrified his assassin out of existence. I’m happy to side with the police and have this ruled as self-defense, but the question of who wanted to kill Tesla and for what reason is completely unsolvable.”

  “But that’s all the reason in the world to stick around a bit longer, don’t you think?” Wilkie removed his cigar and looked the attorney general in the eyes. “George, has it not dawned on you that this has been a rather unusual week? Your Justice Department is investigating the single strangest attempted murder since the Chicago World’s Fair. The Secret Service and the War Department are examining the remains of a killer automaton that nearly destroyed the White House. And William Howard Taft, a man we both know couldn’t solve his way out of a hat, is suddenly looking for Martians in Alaska after one conversation with Robert Todd Lincoln. I’m not saying that I like this odd turn the twentieth century is taking, but it is certainly a lot more interesting than what you and I have been doing for the past year and a half. If you want to go back to arresting ice-cream cones, I won’t stop you. Hell, I’ll even have Frank here drop you off at the nearest playground. Otherwise, I suggest you sit back and keep me company for the next hour or two. When we’re finished, I’ll buy you lunch at Delmonico’s. Does that sound like a square deal?”

  Wickersham thought this over as their cab passed City Hall. Outside the window, it was a particularly nice day to be in New York. “All right, John. We’ll try things your way. What’s your plan?”

  The Secret Service chief treated his companion to a yellowed, tobacco-stained grin. “Good choice, my friend! Simply put, we’re going to sit down and have a nice, friendly chat with Mr. Morgan. Since you and I spoke with Thomas Edison yesterday, it’ll make sense that the two of us would want to have a word with the big cheese himself.”

  “I don’t know, John. Yesterday was a pretty embarrassing day in my career. I don’t want to repeat it with one of the most powerful men on the planet.”

  “Really?” Wilkie chirped. “I kind of enjoyed it!”

  “John, you left Thomas Edison in tears for no other reason than your own amusement.”

  “That’s not true,” Wilkie corrected. “Dr. Tesla thought it was funny as hell.”

  “Maybe so, but I’m convinced Edison had nothing to do with the attack on the president.”

  “As am I! I knew he wasn’t smart enough to construct the automaton. The War Department told me the combined technical might of the U.S. military could not have built that machine. I’m thinking whoever wanted to kill Taft brought in some help from overseas.”

  “So why waste our time pulling the house of Morgan into this? Do you honestly think he wanted to kill the president of the United States?”

  “Even if he didn’t, Morgan may know something about Edison’s records that even Edison doesn’t. Morgan’s his financial agent, for Christ’s sake!”

  “Spoken like a true Treasury agent,” said Wickersham, already dreading the paperwork.

  “Think about it, George. Why else was the android a complete failure at everything except trying to rip the president’s head off? Why else are its guts loaded with springs and wheels you can’t even find in America? Why else did it weigh several hundred pounds more than it was supposed to? For all we know, Morgan had the automaton built by international anarchists simply because he k
new they have a lousy trade union.”

  Wickersham shook his head. “I don’t know, John. It sounds to me like you’re somehow convinced J. P. Morgan was in the center of all this.”

  Wilkie smiled devilishly. This was precisely the opening he was looking for. “George, what if I told you that one of my operatives uncovered information potentially linking your Tesla investigation, my Edison inquiry, and President Taft’s little green manhunt in Alaska to none other than J. P. Morgan himself?”

  “I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Wickersham as he looked out the window. The cab was crossing Canal Street when the attorney general heard the sound of paper rustling. He looked down to see Miss Knox’s report on King Leopold II lying flat on his lap. “What is this?”

  “Take your time.” Wilkie smiled as he patiently smoked his cigar.

  The attorney general read through the brief and then stared at the Secret Service chief, aghast. “There’s been a breakthrough in the Nikola Tesla transmission?”

  “Potentially. It looks like Mr. Hammond has proven himself more useful than any of us could have imagined. After reading what he knows, I’m amazed he’s still alive.”

  “John, where did you get this information?”

  “Honestly,” Wilkie laughed, coughing on a cloud of smoke, “it came to me in a dream!”

  “Be serious.”

  “I am being serious! I went to sleep Tuesday night, woke up bright and early the next morning, and there it was!”

  “John,” Wickersham said sternly, holding the document between the two men, “where did you get this?”

  Wilkie narrowed his eyes and brushed his finger against his nose.

  The attorney general looked back at the note in disbelief. “If J. P. Morgan was in any way involved in the attack on Tesla, even peripherally, that would connect him to the attack on the president and the investigation in Alaska.”

  “Yes, and wouldn’t that be the luck of Barry Lyndon! The Morgan-Guggenheim syndicate wrapping all our cases in a neat little package…”

  “John, that would point to conspiracy.”