Public Enemies_ America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI - Bryan Burrough [91]
On Monday morning, November 13, McGinnis called Huntington in a state of excitement. Dillinger had just been at McGinnis’s apartment, McGinnis said, looking to pass eight $1,000 Liberty Loan bonds. They had agreed to meet in a downtown parking lot that afternoon. But there was a catch. McGinnis wanted rewards he had been promised for capturing all the gang members, not just Dillinger, and he refused to reveal the parking lot’s address until Huntington promised the Chicago police would not arrest Dillinger that day. Huntington telephoned Sergeant Howe, who checked with his superiors, who told him to use his best judgment. Howe told Huntington they would just watch. No arrests.
And so Huntington and Sergeant Howe found themselves in a Loop cafeteria that afternoon when a car driven by a man who looked very much like John Dillinger plucked McGinnis off a nearby corner. Three hours later McGinnis phoned. He had driven around Chicago all afternoon with Dillinger and had dozens of stories to relate. Almost offhandedly, he mentioned that Dillinger was suffering a case of barber’s itch, an inflammation of hair follicles.au McGinnis had arranged for him to visit a doctor named Charles Eye, who worked from offices around the corner from McGinnis’s apartment, on Keeler Avenue just below Irving Park Boulevard. Once again McGinnis insisted Huntington refrain from anything that would lead to Dillinger’s arrest.
Two of Matt Leach’s men were visiting Sergeant Howe’s office when Huntington arrived to relay the news. They immediately phoned Leach in Indianapolis, who within minutes initiated an angry series of phone calls with Howe and Huntington. Leach demanded that Dillinger be taken that night: they might never have a second chance. But Huntington, like his snitch, was eager to capture the whole gang, and Sergeant Howe backed his play. The two men reluctantly acceded to Leach’s demands to bring his two men along that night.
At 7:15, Howe, Huntington, and Leach’s men sat in a darkened car and watched as Dillinger arrived at Dr. Eye’s office in an Essex Terraplane sedan. A man and a woman, probably Pete Pierpont and Mary Kinder, remained in the car while Dillinger ran inside. Fifteen minutes later he came out and drove off. The officers let him go.
The next morning a cold front blew in, driving temperatures down to 15 degrees. When McGinnis checked in with Huntington, he told him that Dillinger had a follow-up appointment at Dr. Eye’s office that night. McGinnis urged that this time officers trail Dillinger to wherever he was living, where no doubt they could find the whole gang. By late afternoon, Sergeant Howe was again refereeing a vigorous debate over what to do. Huntington agreed with his informant: he wanted Dillinger followed. Leach, who had driven up from Indianapolis, wanted him captured, or dead. The day was ultimately carried by an officer who walked into Howe’s office that day from Lima, Ohio. He argued that Dillinger should be taken out to avenge the death of Sheriff Sarber.
By seven that night three squads of Chicago police had gathered on a side street two blocks from Dr. Eye’s office. Leach was there, stamping his feet to stay warm, as were Huntington and Howe. Because Dillinger was wanted in Indiana, the squads had been placed under Leach’s supervision. A little after seven, Huntington and a Chicago cop crept forward to watch Dr. Eye’s office. At 7:25 Dillinger drove up in the Essex. Billie sat beside him. As the two men watched, Dillinger hustled into the building, leaving Billie in the car.
Huntington trotted back to where the others were waiting and briefed them. Everything was set. The men piled into four cars and cruised to their positions. Three of the cars eased to the curb