A Conspiracy Uncovered

by Lindsay Downs

  “Here we go.” I leaned to the side so Nancy could compare the newspaper picture to the one in my hand.

  “Yep, that’s the man. Says the event took place in Dallas. Think that is a coincidence?”

  “Even though this was taken two years earlier I’ll bet he’s there checking out locations for where the shooting can take place,”

  “Think he’s still alive?”

  “I’d have to say yes considering the mission was a success.”

  “So, he’s Mr. Four? We’ll have to find out from John if he can be charged with murder.”

  “If he was instrumental in helping to arrange for the president to be killed then yes, he should be. There’s no statute of limitation for murder.” Steve Milton led Walter into the office. “From what my client has told me that man and the others are just as guilty as he is. Maybe more so.”

  “Good. But before we have him arrested the others need to be found as well then, they need to be taken into custody at the same time. Otherwise some might try to flee jurisdiction and go to a country that doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the United States,” Edward explained.

  “You’re right, on all points. With Benson positively identified we have two of the six. We still have to find out who this man is. Someplace in the videos we haven’t viewed should be the other three.”

  “We do have a lot of work ahead of us. Who knows in the process of finding them we might uncover more people who helped orchestrate other murders,” she told us.

  “Nancy and I’ll continue searching through the microfilm archives while the rest of you handle the video tapes. That way we will be able to cover the most ground in the least amount of time.”

  “Richard, Sr. do you mind if I sit in and watch the tapes? Even though I’m not an FBI agent there are some things that have rubbed off on me. Such as learning to identify a possible suspect. From what Walter told me that’s who you’re looking for.”

  “Steve, I think having you help is an excellent idea. Who knows, you might even like the work. We can always use an extra pair of eyes especially when that individual is a lawyer.”

  While the others went to the living room to continue watching the videos Nancy took her seat in front of the microfilm reader.

  “Nancy, we should switch every thirty minutes. That way neither of us will strain our eyes and possibly miss something.”

  “Good idea.”

  While Nancy looked through the records, I dug out the folder where we had our notes and jotted down what I had learned so far about finding another of the men who had met with Walter.

  “Junior, I think we’ve got Mr. One. His real name is Sebastian Wright. This picture was taken in Corpus Christi six months before the base became operational for Walter and the others. Come here and confirm who I found.”

  I replaced her in the chair, looked at the photo in the NYT then the picture from the video, then back.

  “That’s him. What do you want to bet he was there checking on the progress of the renovations.”

  “I was thinking the same thing. So now we have the actual leader. Let’s hope he’s still alive.”

  “No kidding. Let’s go tell the other and find out if they have found any more.”

  We started for the living room but got only as far as the hall outside the office. The others were heading toward us, with Edward leading, and they were all smiling.

  “We found the remaining three men, and would you believe Steve found possibly another man, not related to our case but maybe another murder.”

  “That’s great and we have identified the third man known to Walter as Mr. One. He’s Sebastian Wright.”

  “We found him at a political fundraiser in Corpus Christi, Texas. The caption didn’t say for which party. He was proudly wearing the pin,” Nancy said.

  “I’m going to take this roll into Watson Street and have the film processed then one of the associates can bring the prints out.”

  “If you trust me, I can handle that for you. I need to get back home anyways.”.

  “Of course we do, otherwise you wouldn’t have Walter for a client or sit in with us while viewing the videos.”

  “Thank you and helping you all is interesting. Who knows, maybe I’ll become a private detective working for you. That is if you’ll have me. I could even handle the defense of the innocent people when and if needed.”

  “Why wouldn’t we hire you especially with that particular skill? You’re smart, obviously otherwise you wouldn’t have graduated from law school at the top of your class. So, you were able to spot another member of the group,” Edward explained.

  With Steve on his way back to the city, Nancy and I returned to the looking through the microfilm in the hopes of finding more pictures of members of the Illuminismo now that we knew what to look for. The lapel pin.

  “Nancy, have you ever fired a pistol before?” Sally asked out of the blue.

  “No, why?”

  “When you are working on a case, maybe more so with this one there are a lot of dangerous people who will want to oppose us, you will need to carry a gun.”

  “Alright. Who’s going to teach me?”

  “That will be me. You should know that in all the years I’ve been working for the agency I’ve only fired my weapon once at a suspect.”

  “And he shot first, so my wife was legally protecting herself.”

  “In the Dean & Dean Detective Agency we have a rule. Never pull the trigger first. Only fire in self-defense.”

  “I understand. What about my husband?”

  “Dear, growing up I learned to shoot. Not because I was forced to but because I wanted to. What I don’t have but need is a carry permit. You will also.”

  “Let’s get you qualified then my husband can give Bill Hall a call to arrange everything for the two of you.”

  “After you both are licensed in California, I’ll have John get you federal credentials the same as we have,” Edward said.

  “Thank you. Now, let me get back to trying to find more members of the Illuminismo.”

  “Junior, how many rolls do you still have to view?” Thomas asked.

  Not sure I leaned over and took a guess. “Maybe fifty-five more. Why?”

  “Since we, or rather Walter, have identified the final three men why don’t we each take a roll. Not that we’ll get done any faster, but at least none of us will be sitting around while you and Nancy are doing all the work.”

  “I don’t mind but thanks for the offer. With luck I should be finished with this one in about fifteen minutes.”

  Returning to the screen on the reader I slowly cranked the handle which brought another page into my view. A photograph. This one was taken in New York City at another fundraiser for an orchestra. On the side of the picture but still clearly visible a man wearing the pin. John Moore. For easy referencing later I wrote down his name, the page number and date of the paper.

  “Is that another one?” Alice said.

  “Yeah. Knowing they wear the pin makes finding them easier. I’m about finished with this one then Thomas is going to search through the next roll.”

  When I finished, I put the film aside then let my twin take my place. Curious how my wife was doing I went to the basement and the pistol range. Through the door I heard sporadic gunfire interspersed with talking between my wife, mom and Sally. For my safety I knocked before going in.

  “How is she doing?”

  “Take a look for yourself. This is her third target.” Sally handed me the sheet of paper. The center where the bullseye should have been was hollow. She had destroyed the ten-ring.

  “That’s really great. Mind if I fire off a clip? Since I haven’t fired a pistol in years.” .

  “Sure. Which one do you want to use?”

  “Do you still have the Beretta 92 in 9mm?”

  “Of course. The men use that one while we ladies prefer the Beretta 82 in .380,”

  “As I told your wife, who should be nicknamed Annie Oakley for
her skill, the police, FBI, and military are taught to shoot center mass. The chest. The problem with that is the suspect can’t be questioned. We prefer to wound the individual. Granted that is dangerous because they can still shoot back but at least they will be able to answer questions.”

  “Yes, I recall Dad telling me that. Which is why accuracy is so important.”

  After firing off two clips, the weapons were cleaned then returned to the cabinet. We went back upstairs to the office.

  “They both have qualified.”

  “Alright. I’ll give Bill a call. Junior, Nancy, do the police have your fingerprints on file?”

  “Yes, for me, so I could get the security clearances to examine files when I was working on my doctoral thesis.”

  “They have mine because of the classes I teach at the university,” Nancy replied.

  “You will have to go to the station for head shots. That can wait until tomorrow.”

  Well, looks like my wife and I are going into the family business after all. I’m curious what the university’s reaction will be when we tender our resignations. That we’ll find out tomorrow after we see Bill. In the meantime, there is still a lot of microfilm to look through.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  November 29, 1983

  By the time we stopped for the night we had gone through about half of the microfilm and found twenty-two men wearing the Illuminismo pin. Their names and where the photos were taken, along with the page number and newspaper date had been written down for future reference. At some point prints would be made then the real hunt will begin to find out if they are still alive.

  After dinner my wife and I had met with Mom, Dad, Edward and Sally to discuss our impending participation with the agency. We all agreed that working part time would be for the best while still teaching.

  That’s where she and I headed after arriving on campus. To the chancellor so we could officially hand in our notices. From there to our individual buildings to teach our respective classes then to our offices where we will redo our spring schedules, so we’ll be able to spend more time working for the Dean & Dean Detective Agency.

  Nancy and I are now heading home, after a stop at Bill’s police station to pick up our carry permits and private detective licenses.

  We walked into the lobby to be greeted by him.

  “This is a surprise. I figured we’d have to find your desk,” I said.

  “No. I had the desk sergeant keep an eye on the visitor lot monitor. He called me when you pulled in.”

  “But how did he know which car we’d use?” Nancy said.

  “Come on. How many people in Los Angeles drive around in a 1938 Packard coupe?”

  “Hey, what can I say? I love the car.”

  “I know, but you really should get a newer one. Trying to tail someone in that vehicle, you’ll stick out like the proverbial sore thumb.”

  “In that case we can use my ‘82 blue Chevy Camaro. Nice and discrete, at least for LA.”

  “Good choice. Now, when you go buy your pistols show Mr. Williams your permit and private detective license. That way you won’t have to worry about the waiting period. All you’ll have to do is fill out the necessary paperwork for the ATF.”

  “Thanks, because that’s our next stop. Edward called to let him know we’d be over this afternoon.”

  “Richard, were you able to reduce your teaching load for next year?”

  “I’ll only have one class a week on Monday.”

  “Same here, in the morning. We can go in together.”

  “My thought exactly. I was also thinking about what Bill said about this car. I may investigate getting one that will blend in. That way we can separately tail a suspect.”

  “I agree. Any idea what make and model you’ll get?”

  “Not really. I’ll have to do some research before I settle on one, but I do like your Camaro.”

  “She is a nice ride and good on gas. What will you do with this one?”

  “Keep a cover over her since we don’t have a three-car garage like at the main house. All those spots are taken.”

  “We have enough room to put a shed up. Why not do that?” Nancy suggested.

  “I could and considering the boys will be driving in a few years we will need more space. Of course, they can park theirs in the driveway. That is if they keep their grades up. Dad wouldn’t let any of us get our license if our grades slipped below a B+ average.”

  “That’s a good idea. At least the kids seem to have inherited our smart genes.”

  We pulled up, parked in front of the gun shop and went in where we were greeted by the owner, Mr. Williams.

  “So, you’ve finally decided to embrace the family business I hear.”

  “Yes, you might say we stumbled onto a case where I am the expert,”

  “That’s alright. Mr. Edward Dean called and I have your pistols ready for you. The only thing you’ll have to do is put the clip in and chamber a round but that can’t be done in here. Do that in your car.”

  “We know.” I handed over my carry permit and private detective license. Nancy did the same.

  We spent the next few minutes filling out the paperwork then Mr. Williams listed the pistols serial numbers on the forms. Nancy and I selected holsters that clipped on our belts.

  Finally, we headed home to pick up where we left off yesterday looking through the microfilm. Last night the prints from the video tapes arrived after we’d left for our house, so I had no idea if names had been put to the men. Hopefully the ones we found in the NYT will help.

  “Honey, we need to find a safe place for our pistols when they aren’t with us. Such as going to the university.”

  “Why not keep them in the safe in the shooting range.”

  “That’s a good idea. Even though most of the time we’ll be working out of our home office, at least for the rest of this semester and the next. I want to borrow the training manual Mom wrote years ago and periodically updated,” I suggested.

  “You’re right about that. With this case there isn’t much field work or surveillance of a suspect, so we aren’t doing all that bad.”

  “If you consider stumbling along blindly then yeah, so far we’ve been successful. One thing I would love to find out, who is at the top of the Illuminismo food chain? If Alice can find that out, then there might be a way to take them down. Kind of like how Mom and Dad did in some of their cases.”

  “Instead of starting at the top, why not go after the ones we know about. I’m not talking about the ones who hired Walter but some of the others we’ve identified.”

  I liked her idea as I steered my car onto the driveway and to the main house since that’s where everyone was. Walking in we were met by Edward.

  “Good news. We were able to put names to the final three men from the prints thanks to The New York Times microfilm.”

  “Fantastic. Does John have the names?”

  “Yes, all five, plus Timon who is already dead, and Agent Wentworth says thank you. When their locations are confirmed he’ll inform us.”

  “We’re not rewriting history so what’s going to happen to them?”

  “For the answer to that question Alice might be able to help.”

  “One of my people in Europe, who will remain anonymous, has located the address of a senior member of the Illuminismo. One option is announce to the world that the men who had orchestrated the event on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas have finally been identified.”

  “That would get the attention of the group and then they can deal with the men,” Sally added.

  “Another option, the FBI and federal court system can put them on trial. With everything Walter, here, has told us and John, the men will be found guilty and executed,” Edward proposed.

  “The last choice, but this is up to people in a higher paygrade than any of us combined, is to do nothing.”

  I couldn’t say which of the choices I preferred over the other but the first one did have some merit but
with a slight change.

  “Instead of putting their names in the newspaper, most likely The New York Times, why not send this senior individual the names? Emphasize the fact certain people know they arranged for the assassination of President Kennedy. Doing that would keep everything, sort of, in house and no one could connect the date to Dallas,” I suggested.

  “Let’s wait to hear back from John. Most likely he may not even be able to make the decision. That would have to come from the very top like the president on the recommendation of the Attorney General.”

  “I can tell you one thing, no one is going to consult us even though, through Walter, we have been able to learn who these people are. Not to mention you, Alice, and your people who found the Illuminismo.”

  “Not meaning to put a damper on everything but no matter what John or anyone has told us about you, Walter, I have a feeling you are still in danger. Not from the group who contracted him but our government. Can you imagine what would happen if what you told us ever got out? We don’t know if any of the elected or appointed officials are members of the Illuminismo?”

  “I agree with what you’re saying. What can I do to help?”

  “We need to put everything; tapes, our notes, what you have, Walter, in a safe place where no one can get to them,” Edward answered.

  “Brother, you’re right but if they show up with a subpoena, we will be forced to turn everything over to them. I’ll bet they end up destroying the evidence then. I’m sorry to say this Walter but you will disappear and never heard from again.”

  “You’re right, Thomas, but what we can do is make copies and give those to the authorities,” Nancy suggested.

  “Okay but what about me? Won’t they still demand I go with them?”

  Our dad walked in with our mother. “If you’re here, or we know where you went, then we would be required to inform them.”

  “Sir, what are you saying, that I should leave? Where would I go? I only know a few places here and in Montana.”

  “Don’t forget England and Sutton on Sea. You left there twenty years ago so the chances of you being recognized is fairly slim,” Dad suggested.