Page 96 of The 9th Man

His drill sergeant on the first day of Ranger school.

It’d taken every shred of evidence they’d so far uncovered to assemble what was largely a circumstantial scenario. A theory. This wasn’t the kind of case you dropped on a U.S. attorney’s desk with a Post-it note attached to prosecute. Something like this might even be outside the Magellan Billet’s sphere of influence. It could also be an inescapable black hole. One that had consumed Ray Simmons and Benjamin Stein.

He steered his mind back on track.

One foot in front of the other, a step at a time.

More good advice.

“We have one play left on the board,” he said.

“I know. Let’s find David Eckstein.”

47

ROWLAND HAD NEVER BEEN A RELIGIOUS MAN. NO PASTORS ORpriests. No churches, mosques, or synagogues. So Sundays had always been just another day of the week. Nothing special. Not even a day of rest. Just business as usual. Today, he was extra apprehensive. A lot was happening.

But at least he had things under control.

In the months before Benjamin Stein was eliminated there’d only been a few emails, all asking for the same thing. Instead of replying he’d bided his time, then silenced Stein permanently when the time was right. Ray Simmons? Conveniently, Simmons had taken care of himself. Which had been appreciated. That first email had been a shocker. It had been a long time since this subject had been broached. A long time since the Warren Commission submitted its report. Three other subsequent government investigations agreed with the conclusion that two shots struck Kennedyfrom the rear. But the 1978–79 House Select Committee on Assassinations boldly determined that Oswald assassinated Kennedy,most likely as the result of a conspiracy.

Whatever that meant.

Its evidence had been shaky. The committee concluded that Oswald fired shots one, two, and four, and that an unknown assassin fired shot number three, but missed, from a point above and to Kennedy’s right front, on the famed grassy knoll. All of that had been based on supposed newly examined acoustical evidence. But was it trustworthy? Nobody knew. And nobody took the findings seriously. He’d been grateful, though, as the whole thing had deferred attention onto mysterious unknown others. On the grassy knoll. Which had become a euphemism forwho the hell knows.

Dammit. It all should be forgotten.

But it wasn’t.

People would not let it go.

Dear Mr. Rowland,

We are in the process of writing a book on the death of President John F. Kennedy. Our thesis is that the bullet that struck the president in the head was not fired by Lee Harvey Oswald. Rather, we believe, the bullet came from the AR-15 rifle in the Secret Service follow-up car. It is our belief that the rifle was accidentally fired by you when you leveled the weapon in response to Oswald’s shots and fell backwards.

Our thesis is based on a sifting of the available ballistic, medical, and other evidence. It is premised, among other things, on our contention that the behavior of the bullet in the president’s skull was much more consistent with that of a bullet fired from an AR-15 rifle than from a Mannlicher-Carcano rifle such as the one used by Oswald, and on an analysis of the trajectory of the bullet, as well as on a number of other factors.

I want to emphasize that we are by no means accusing you of any wrongdoing. The shot was a tragic accident and President Kennedy may well have died from one of the shots fired by Oswald, even if the bullet in question had not hit the president in the head.

It is important that we speak on this subject. We recognize, for obvious reasons, that you have never done such in the past. We would gladly make any and all arrangements, at our expense, to speak with you. We would also record that interview and provide you with a copy of the recording.

Any information in any form that you are willing and able to provide that would shed light one way or the other on the validity of our thesis would be appreciated. Please know that we will carefully consider anything you have to say.

The assassination of John F. Kennedy has never been a happy subject, but it has remained a lively subject. The liveliness has been increased with the release of countless books, movies, and television shows. The world has been racked by numerous conspiracy theories. We have compiled a book that may, at long last, lead to the truth of what happened in Dallas and to the extinction of so many false accusations and conspiracies. Since your actions are an integral part of our thesis, we would not be comfortable going to press without making a determined effort to hear what you have to say. You may contact me directly at the above email.

The email had been sent to his office a few weeks ago by Stein and Simmons, forwarded on by one of his assistants.

Through the decades his quest for anonymity had been aided by so many conspiratorialists. A supposed sniper behind the stockade fence on the grassy knoll. The Umbrella Man in the black trench coat who shot Kennedy with a super-secret spy pistol. Cuban exiles, who killed him out of revenge for the Bay of Pigs. The mob, who shot him for a double cross by his father Joseph Kennedy or because some godfather didn’t want to share Marilyn Monroe. Lyndon Johnson, who put out a hit because he wanted to be president.

Take your pick.

But there’s a problem with digging up the past. Sometimes you find ghosts who aren’t so happy about being disturbed.

Like him.

He’d hired a private investigative firm to look into both Benjamin Stein and Ray Simmons. He’d not used his own people since he did not want to stir anyone’s curiosity. It was important he remained aloof, strong, and unaffected to each and every one of them. He’d thought about trying to reason with Simmons and Stein. Or buy them off? Or threaten them with legal action. But the pair had already decided confrontation was the best course, no matter how much of a sugarcoating they’d applied. That course was obviously fortified by evidence. They would be asking him questions to which they already had answers.

And that was never a good thing.

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