The Cold Six Thousand - James Ellroy [77]
WJL: We share a wonderful friend in you, Sir.
JEH: You’re feeling frisky this morning.
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: Did Mr. Rustin bemoan my efforts against Mr. King and the SCLC?
WJL: He did, Sir.
JEH: And you were properly deplored?
WJL: Cosmetically, Sir, yes.
JEH: I’m sure you were entirely convincing.
WJL: I established a rapport with Mr. Rustin, Sir.
JEH: I’m sure you will sustain it.
WJL: I hope so, Sir.
JEH: Have you spoken to him again?
WJL: Lyle Holly facilitated a second conversation. I utilized Mr. Rustin to forestall some trouble in Las Vegas. It pertained to a client of mine.
JEH: I know elements of the story. We’ll discuss it momentarily.
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: Do you still consider it impossible to re-tape the Dark Prince?
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: I would enjoy some glimpses of his private pain.
WJL: I would, too.
JEH: I doubt that. You’re a voyeur, not a sadist, and I suspect that you’ll never reconcile your old crush on Bobby.
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: Lyndon Johnson finds him difficult to reconcile. Many of his advisors think he should include him on the fall ticket, but he hates the Dark Lad too much to succumb.
WJL: I understand how he feels, Sir.
JEH: Yes, and you disapprove, in your uniquely non-disapproving way.
WJL: I’m not that complex, Sir. Or that compromised in my emotions.
JEH: You delight me, Mr. Littell. I will nominate your last statement for Best Falsehood of 1964.
WJL: I’m honored, Sir.
JEH: Bobby may run for Kenneth Keating’s Senate seat in New York.
WJL: If he runs, he’ll win.
JEH: Yes. He’ll form a coalition of the deluded and morally handicapped and emerge victorious.
WJL: Is he maintaining his work at Justice?
JEH: Not vigorously. He still appears to be shell-shocked. Mr. Katzenbach and Mr. Clark are doing most of his work. I think he’ll resign, in a timely fashion.
WJL: Is he monitoring the agents for the Warren Commission?
JEH: I haven’t discussed the investigation with him. Of course, he receives summaries of all my field agents’ reports.
WJL: Edited summaries, Sir?
JEH: You are frisky today. Impertinent might describe it better.
WJL: I apologize, Sir.
JEH: Don’t. I’m enjoying the conversation.
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: Edited summaries, yes. With all contradictory elements deleted to conform to the thesis we first discussed in Dallas.
WJL: I’m happy to hear that.
JEH: Your clients should be, as well.
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: We can’t send your plant in again. You’re certain?
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: I mourn the missed opportunity. I would like to hear a private assessment of King Jack’s death.
WJL: I suspect we’ll never know, Sir.
JEH: Lyndon Johnson continues to share his thoughts with me, in his inimitably colorful manner. He has said, quote, It all came out of that pathetic little shithole, Cuba. Maybe it’s that cocksucker with the beard or those fucking lowlife exiles, unquote.
WJL: A lively and astute analysis.
JEH: Mr. Johnson has developed a distaste for all things Cuban. The exile cause has succumbed to factionalism and has scattered to the wind, which pleases him no end.
WJL: I share his delight, Sir. I know many people who were seduced by the cause.
JEH: Yes. Gangsters and a French-Canadian chap with homicidal tendencies.
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: Cuba appeals to hotheads and the morally impaired. It’s the cuisine and the sex. Plantains and women who have intercourse with donkeys.
WJL: I have no fondness for the place, Sir.
JEH: Mr. Johnson has developed a fondness for Vietnam. You should inform Mr. Hughes. Some military contracts may be coming his way.
WJL: He’ll be delighted to hear that.
JEH: You should inform him that I’ll keep you abreast of the Justice Department’s plans in Las Vegas.
WJL: I’m delighted to hear that.
JEH: On a need-to-know basis, Mr. Littell. As is the case with all our transactions.
WJL: I understand, Sir. And I neglected to thank you for your help in the Tedrow matter. Dwight Holly was determined to do the boy some harm.
JEH: You deserve