The Cold Six Thousand - James Ellroy [162]
Chuck exits a closet. Chuck has two guns. Chuck aims and fires. Two hammers click. Chuck fucking plotzes. Chuck fucking shits.
Pete charged him. Pete grabbed him. Pete threw him down. Wayne shut the door. Wayne tossed his cuffs. Pete snagged them.
Chuck crawled. Chuck tried to run. Pete grabbed his hair. Pete banged his head on the floor.
Wayne cuffed him. Pete picked him up. Pete threw him into a wall. He hit hard. He made dents. He hit the floor.
Wayne knelt down. “Did you tell Bob about Dallas?”
Chuck dribbled blood. “I told your daddy you’re a punk motherfucker.”
“Did you and Bob bomb that church?”
Chuck dribbled bile. “Ask Daddy Rabbit. Tell him Wild Rabbit’s his boy.”
Pete grabbed a hot plate. Pete plugged it in. Pete sparked the coils.
Wayne said, “Where’s the notes your parents found?”
Chuck pissed his pants. “Wild Rabbit says fuck you. Father Rabbit says he’s your daddy.”
Pete dropped the hot plate. It hit coil side down. It singed up Chuck’s hair.
Chuck screeched. The coil sizzled. Chuck yelled, “All right!”
Wayne grabbed the hot plate. Wayne grabbed a pillow. Wayne fluffed out Chuck’s hair.
Chuck dribbled blood. Chuck dribbled bile. Chuck rubbed his head on the floor.
“I … didn’t … tell Bob. I … I burned them notes.”
Pete cued Wayne. Wayne cranked the radio. Wayne reprised Rambunctious Roy:
“… White Man’s wise to Martin Luther Coon. Eatin’ watermelon in the month of June. Big teeth chompin’ sweet potato pie—”
Wayne pulled his piece. Pete pulled his piece. Chuck said, “No, please.”
The door creaked. The jamb snapped and sheared. Ward Littell walked in.
He was egg-spattered. He was blotto. He was non compos something. He put out booze breath.
Pete said, “Fuck.”
Wayne said, “Jesus Christ.”
Ward turned the music off. Ward walked up to Chuck. Chuck shit his pants. Chuck dribbled teeth.
Ward said, “Wild Rabbit.”
Chuck coughed. Chuck dribbled teeth.
“Wild Rabbit’s got the Federal pedig—”
Ward pulled his piece. Ward shot Chuck’s eyes out.
July 1965–November 1966
DOCUMENT INSERT: 7/2/65. Internal memorandum. To: Director. From: BLUE RABBIT. Topic: OPERATION BLACK RABBIT. Marked: “Stage-1 Covert”/“Eyes Only”/“Read and Burn.”
Sir,
Per the church bombing and related actions in Bogalusa, Louisiana.
Locally assigned agents have completed their internal investigation. They have reported to me orally, have filed no official reports and have confirmed the official judgment of the Bogalusa Police Department: that the “accidental explosion” was caused by a leaky pipe main. That judgment should stand as the authoritative verdict on this matter. It is crucial to the continued success of the WHITE-HATE arm of OPERATION BLACK RABBIT.
I’ve spoken to WILD RABBIT. His denials of complicity in the bombing were not convincing. I warned him that church bombings were outside his operating parameters and that no such incidents should happen again. WILD RABBIT seemed cowed and did not protest the reprimand. It should be noted that his arms bore odd bruises and that in fact he seemed to have sustained a recent beating.
WILD RABBIT refused to comment on his bruises and overall beaten appearance. I queried him on the possible presence of his known Vietnam associate Charles Rogers per the time of the church incident, and WILD RABBIT became visibly upset. It should be noted: The dismembered bodies of Rogers’ elderly parents were found in their Houston, Texas, home on 6/23, and Rogers (who cannot be located) is the leading suspect in this double homicide. I checked Vietnamese-U.S. passport records for the two weeks preceding the assumed date-of-death, learned that Rogers flew from Saigon to Houston on 6/15 and that the cargo on his flight included bomb material. It is my belief that Rogers supplied the explosives for the bombing and that WILD RABBIT assisted him in this unsanctioned provocation.
It should also be noted that local agents spotted CRUSADER RABBIT at the Negro hospital shortly after the bombing. He was visibly distraught and of unkempt appearance. I checked region-wide