The Cold Six Thousand - James Ellroy [202]
Per the “Shakedown” adjunct:
I veto your recommendation that we target RED RABBIT. RED RABBIT will simply be too wary of entrapment.
The target will be PINK RABBIT. His heedless pursuit of homosexual encounters marks him as more suitable and vulnerable.
BIG RABBIT seems to have recovered from his heart attack. Contact him by 12/1/66.
DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/2/66. Miami Herald headline:
KING DECRIES “IMPERIALISTIC” WAR IN VIETNAM
DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/4/66. Denver Post-Dispatch headline and subhead:
HOFFA WITH MARCH PRISON DATE
APPEAL LAWYERS GLUM
DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/12/66. Atlanta Constitution subhead:
WAR A “MORAL OUTRAGE,” KING DECLARES IN SPEECH
DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/16/66. Los Angeles Examiner subhead:
NO ’68 PREZ’L PLANS, RFK TELLS PRESS
DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/17/66. San Francisco Chronicle subhead:
“DRAFT KENNEDY” MOVEMENT GROWING DESPITE
SENATOR’S STATED RELUCTANCE
DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/18/66. Chicago Sun-Times headline and subhead:
KING SPEAKS TO DRAFT RESISTANCE WORKSHOP
HOOVER CALLS CIVIL-RIGHTS LEADER
“COMMUNIST PAWN”
DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/23/66. Washington Post subhead:
BACKLASH ON HOOVER FOR ANTI-KING REMARKS
DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/24/66. Boston Globe subhead:
HOWARD HUGHES’ BIZARRE CROSS-COUNTRY TRAIN RIDE
DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/25/66. Las Vegas Sun headline and subhead:
HUGHES TRAIN EN ROUTE
WHAT DOES BILLIONAIRE RECLUSE BODE FOR LAS VEGAS?
(November 27, 1966–March 18, 1968)
93
(Las Vegas, 11/27/66)
He’s coming.
He’s Mr. Big. He’s Howard Hughes. He’s the Count of Las Vegas.
Littell watched.
He joined newsmen. He joined camera crews. He joined Joe Vegas. Word leaked. The Count’s coming. The train station—11:00 p.m.
He’s coming. Check track 14. Behold the Drac Express.
The platform rocked. Newsmen cliqued up. Grips wheeled arc lights. Camera guys lugged film.
Littell watched.
He’d braced Drac’s Mormons. They talked renovation. They said they’d hit the DI. They said they’d Draculized. They germ-proofed the penthouse. They lugged freezers in. They stocked snacks and treats.
Snow cones/pizza/candy bars. Demerol/codeine/Dilaudid.
They said we launch soon. We negotiate and bargain. We buy the DI. The Boys said we launch soon. We bargain and set the price.
It’s large. Drac will balk. Drac will pout. Drac will pay. Drac will stump for a Mormon hegemony. Drac will shout: Mormons must run my casino!
The Boys will renavigate. The Boys will plot. The Boys will decree: Littell must brace Wayne Tedrow Senior.
They’ll talk. They’ll bargain. Small talk will run cruel. Wayne Senior will tweak him on Janice.
The platform shook. The rails shook. A train whistle blew.
He’s coming.
A cop van pulled up. Cops got out. Cops hauled equipment. A cop pushed a gurney. A cop wheeled a tent. A cop slung oxygen cans.
Cops shoved newsmen. Cops shoved citizens. Cops pulled cameras back. Newsmen pushed. Newsmen jockeyed. Newsmen shoved back.
Train lights coming—that whistle full blast.
Littell stood tiptoed. A kid jostled him. Littell stepped back. Littell got perspective.
Sparks flew. The train braked. The train stopped and sat. The crowd shoved. Flashbulbs popped. The crowd scattered.
They hit the train. They cupped their eyes. They peeped window slats. Doors cranked open—up and back—the crowd tailed the cop with the gurney.
Littell laughed. Littell knew Drac strategy. Littell knew diversions.
Look:
There’s gurney 2. There’s tent 2. They’re all the way back.
Mormons stepped out. Mormons signaled. Mormons dropped a ramp. Mormons formed a cordon. Mormons pushed a wheelchair. Mormons wheeled Drac.
He’s tall. He’s thin. He’s wearing a Kleenex-box hat.
94
(Las Vegas, 11/27/66)
He’s coming.
He’s off the train. He’s in the car. He’s got this dumb hat. Wayne walked the DI. The floor buzzed electric. Ghouls circulated. Wayne logged rumors.
He’s overdue. He’s due soon. He’s due now. He’s got plane-crash scars. He’s got skin disease. He’s got neck bolts like Frankenstein.
Ghouls positioned. Ghouls vultured. Ghouls swarmed the casino. Ghouls stood on