Chapter 35: Bus Ride

Detective Graves and Detective Leavelle were waiting for us at the bus station. Billie and I were unarmed--more or less. “Armed” is an attitude. Besides, the detectives brought guns. I did have a pocket knife, a Victorinox, but that wasn’t regarded as a “weapon.” Before we boarded the bus, the two detectives frisked the two of us. Normally, frisking a woman is risky--but they had reason to know we wouldn’t complain.

“I can strip,” Billie offered.

“You don’t need to do that,” Detective Graves said as Detective Leavelle went through our luggage. I had an electric shaver--didn’t need it, but it served as camouflage. Had they ripped apart our two bags and Billie’s purse--and knew what to look for--they might have had reason to arrest us. I didn’t even have a second wallet with me.

“I take it that the bomb squad disarmed the bomb in my car.” My words made Leavelle pause. “Can you tell me about it?”

“Not much to tell, just two sticks of dynamite wired to your ignition switch, typical mob stuff,” Graves said.

“Stay out of Dallas,” Detective Leavelle warned. “Three bodies found on the morning of the 19th in an alley--your work. Not talking?”

“Did Scotty tell you anything?” Billie asked. Leavelle and Graves had excellent poker faces. “Did you notice that he’s had intelligence agent training? I’ll bet he gave you a bunch of stories that didn’t answer any questions.”

“You’re saying that he was intelligence?” Leavelle asked.

“You couldn’t tell? Mobsters have a different way to remain silent. Intel guys will give up a cover story if they’re allowed to, one that might check out or cannot be checked. I’ll bet Scotty Duff was a dead end and that you’ll have to let him go soon. Did Colonel Stafford intervene again?”

“What do you mean ‘again?’ Why did Stafford get Sergeant Wilson sprung?” Graves glared at me.

“Did 488th give your department anything?” I asked.

“That guide is useless,” Leavelle stated. “We can’t use it in a court of law.”

“All that guidebook does is give you leads,” I said. “Chapter One is a primer on establishing safe houses and hideouts. Chapter Two is a list--probably edited to protect means and sources--of active criminal and foreign spies in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I even have names--if they aren’t censored.”

“We had to turn it over to the FBI because Chief Curry didn’t want that in our office,” Detective Graves admitted, “but we are allowed to read it at the FBI office. The Feds can do something about spies--we can’t until the spies break laws we have jurisdiction over. How did you find all that information and how did you get it printed up so fast?”

“Oh, my husband is very good at that sort of stuff,” Billie bragged. “We’re supposed to do the same thing in New Orleans.”

“I hope you don’t leave five dead bodies and a car bomb,” Graves said. “Yes, we know that you did it.”

“Good thing you didn’t arrest him,” Billie badgered. “He’s on the trail of an assassination squad targeting President Kennedy.”

That was news to me. I was only looking for people overthrowing the government--but I guess that killing the head of state would work as well in 1963 as it did in 1865. Graves and Leavelle exchanged glances.

“Why tell us?” Graves asked.

“Because you’re loyal Americans. Next stupid question? Perhaps you noticed that my husband didn’t shush me. I’m also an agent--Jonathon has a team supporting him. You’re lucky that you guys broke into Jonathon’s car before mobsters put a bomb in it. Be careful out there. It won’t take your entire department to overthrow the current administration, just a few key players and a lot of people who will obey orders.”

I had memorized a dossier on Alek James Hidell and had no problem following the man. If he made contact with someone on the way to New Orleans, he was too skilled for me to notice. The man looked ordinary. Billie could go places where men were forbidden, women only spaces such as the women’s room, beauty parlors, some sections of department stores. That division of labor worked out during our trip except that Billie removed her underwear--too uncomfortable. She’d rather be naked. It just wasn’t practical. Besides, Billie and I had to change clothes several times. We even swapped luggage, and shortly before leaving Texas I was armed again. Hand grenades were not illegal by federal law, but local police got understandably upset when civilians had bombs in their luggage. Billie was offended that anything more than holding hands was too much public affection. Billie and I were seated apart for the final trip into New Orleans--tickets didn’t have names attached. We even changed names! I am constantly surprised how unobservant ordinary people are--I changed luggage three times in Texas, the first time right under Detective Leavelle’s nose. Yes, we were followed and unless Detective Graves and Detective Leavelle were decoys that we were supposed to notice, nobody reacted to us swapping out our luggage. The trip to New Orleans took 15 hours and Hidell didn’t swap disguises like we did. I’ll never know if he noticed us--he either was very good or just an ordinary person under scrutiny. When Hidell arrived in New Orleans, he was met by a young woman who drove off in a Plymouth. A car pulled out right after Hidell and his new lady left the bus depot.