11/22/63 Part 73

On November sixteenth, the Times Herald published the Kennedy motorcade route. It would start at Love Field and end at the Trade Mart, where he would speak to the Dallas Citizens Council and their invited guests. The nominal purpose of his speech was to salute the Graduate Research Center and congratulate Dallas on its economic progress over the last decade, but the Times Herald was happy to inform those who didn't already know that the real reason was pure politics. Texas had gone for Kennedy in 1960, but '64 was looking shaky in spite of having a good old Johnson City boy on the ticket. Cynics still called the vice president "Landslide Lyndon," a reference to his 1948 Senate bid, a decidedly hinky affair he won by eighty-seven votes. That was ancient history, but the nickname's longevity said a lot about the mixed feelings Texans had about him. Kennedy's job-and Jackie's, of course-was to help Landslide Lyndon and Texas governor John Connally fire up the faithful.

"Look at this," Sadie said, tracing a fingertip along the route. "Blocks and blocks of Main Street. Then Houston Street. There are high buildings all along that part. Is the man going to be on Main Street? He just about has to be, don't you think?"

I hardly listened, because I'd seen something else. "Look, Sadie, the motorcade's going to go along Turtle Creek Boulevard!"

Her eyes blazed. "Is that where it's going to happen?"

I shook my head doubtfully. Probably not, but I knew something about Turtle Creek Boulevard, and it had to do with the man I'd come to stop. As I considered this, something floated to the surface.

"He was going to hide the rifle and come back for it later."

"Hide it where?"

"It doesn't matter, because that part already happened. That part's the past." I put my hands over my face because the light in the room was suddenly too bright.

"Stop thinking about it now," she said, and s.n.a.t.c.hed the newspaper story away. "Relax, or you'll get one of your headaches and need one of those pills. They make you all sloppy."

"Yes," I said. "I know."

"You need coffee. Strong coffee."

She went into the kitchen to make it. When she came back, I was snoring. I slept for almost three hours, and might have remained in the Land of Nod even longer, but she shook me awake. "What's the last thing you remember about coming to Dallas?"

"I don't remember it."

"Where did you stay? A hotel? A motor court? A rented room?"

For a moment I had a hazy memory of a courtyard and many windows. A doorman? Maybe. Then it was gone. The headache was cranking up again.

"I don't know. All I remember is crossing the state line on Highway 20 and seeing a sign for barbecue. And that was miles from Dallas."

"I know, but we don't have to go that far, because if you were on 20, you stayed on 20." She glanced at her watch. "It's too late today, but tomorrow we're going for a Sunday drive."

"It probably won't work." But I felt a flicker of hope, just the same.

She stayed the night, and the next morning we left Dallas on what residents called the Honeybee Highway, headed east toward Louisiana. Sadie was at the wheel of my Chevy, which was fine once the jimmied ignition switch had been replaced. Deke had taken care of that. She drove as far as Terrell, then pulled off 20 and turned around in the potholed dirt parking lot of a side-o'-the-road church. Blood of the Redeemer, according to the message board on the fading lawn. Below the name, there was message in white stick-on letters. It was supposed to say HAVE YOU READ THE WORD OF ALMIGHTY G.o.d TODAY, but some of the letters had fallen off, leaving AVE YOU REA THE WORD OF AL IGHTY G.o.d TOD Y.

She looked at me with some trepidation. "Can you drive back, honey?"

I was pretty sure I could. It was a straight shot, and the Chevy was an automatic. I wouldn't need to use my stiff left leg at all. The only thing was . . .

"Sadie?" I asked her as I settled behind the wheel for the first time since August and ran the seat as far back as it would go.

"Yes?"

"If I fall asleep, grab the wheel and turn off the key."

She smiled nervously. "Oh, believe me."

I checked for traffic and pulled out. At first I didn't dare go much above forty-five, but it was a Sunday noon, and we had the road pretty much to ourselves. I began to relax.

"Clear your mind, Jake. Don't try to remember anything, just let it happen."

"I wish I had my Sunliner," I said.

"Make believe it is your Sunliner, then, and just let it go where it wants to go."

"Okay, but . . ."

"No buts. It's a beautiful day. You're coming into a new place, and you don't have to worry about Kennedy being a.s.sa.s.sinated, because that's a long time from now. Years."

Yes, it was a nice day. And no, I didn't fall asleep, although I was plenty tired-I hadn't been out for this long since the beating. My mind kept returning to the little side-o'-the-road church. Very likely a black church. They probably swung the hymns in a way the white folks never would, and read THE WORD OF AL IGHTY G.o.d with lots of hallelujah and praise Jesus.

We were coming into Dallas now. I made lefts and rights-probably more rights, because my left arm was still weak and turning that way hurt, even with the power steering. Soon I was lost in the side streets.

I'm lost, all right, I thought. I need someone to give me directions the way that kid did in New Orleans. To the Hotel Moonstone.

Only it hadn't been the Moonstone; it had been the Monteleone. And the hotel where I'd stayed when I came to Dallas was . . . it was . . .

For a moment I thought it was going to waft away, as even Sadie's name sometimes still did. But then I saw the doorman, and all those glittering windows looking down on Commerce Street, and it clicked home.

I had stayed at the Adolphus Hotel. Yes. Because it was close to . . .

It wouldn't come. That part was still blocked off.

"Honey? All right?"

"Yes," I said. "Why?"

"You kind of jumped."

"It's my leg. Cramping up a little."

"None of this looks familiar?"

"No," I said. "None of it."

She sighed. "Another idea bites the dust. I guess we better go back. Want me to drive?"

"Maybe you better." I limped around to the pa.s.senger seat, thinking Adolphus Hotel. Write that down when you get back to Eden Fallows. So you won't forget.

When we were back in the little three-room efficiency with the ramps, the hospital bed, and the grab-handles on either side of the toilet, Sadie told me I ought to lie down for a little while. "And take one of your pills."

I went into the bedroom, took off my shoes-a slow process-and lay down. I didn't take a pill, though. I wanted to keep my mind clear. I had to keep it clear from now on. Kennedy and Dallas were just five days apart.

You stayed in the Adolphus Hotel because it was close to something. What?

Well, it was close to the motorcade route that had been published in the paper, which narrowed things down to . . . gee, no more than two thousand buildings. Not to mention all the statues, monuments, and walls a putative sniper could hide behind. How many alleys along the route? Dozens. How many overpa.s.ses with clear fire lines down to pa.s.sby-points on West Mockingbird Lane, Lemmon Avenue, Turtle Creek Boulevard? The motorcade was going to travel all of those. How many more on Main Street and Houston Street?

You need to remember either who he is or where he's going to shoot from.

If I got one of those things, I'd get the other. I knew this. But what my mind kept returning to was that church on Route 20 where we'd turned around. Blood of the Redeemer on the Honeybee Highway. Many people saw Kennedy as a redeemer. Certainly Al Templeton had. He- My eyes widened and I stopped breathing.

In the other room the telephone rang and I heard Sadie answer, keeping her voice pitched low because she thought I was asleep.

THE WORD OF AL IGHTY G.o.d.

I remembered the day I had seen Sadie's full name with part of it blocked out, so all I could read was "Doris Dun." This was a harmonic of that magnitude. I closed my eyes and visualized the church signboard. Then I visualized putting my hand over IGHTY G.o.d.

What I was left with was THE WORD OF AL.

Al's notes. I had his notebook!

But where? Where was it?

The bedroom door opened. Sadie looked in. "Jake? Are you asleep?"

"No," I said. "Just lying quiet."

"Did you remember anything?"

"No," I said. "Sorry."

"There's still time."

"Yes. New things are coming back to me every day."

"Honey, that was Deke. There's a bug going around school and he's caught a good case of it. He asked if I could come in tomorrow and Tuesday. Maybe Wednesday, too."

"Go in," I said. "If you don't, he'll try to do it himself. And he's not a young guy anymore." In my mind, four words flashed on and off like bar neon: THE WORD OF AL, THE WORD OF AL, THE WORD OF AL.

She sat down next to me on the bed. "Are you sure?"

"I'll be fine. Plenty of company, too. DAVIN comes in tomorrow, remember." DAVIN was Dallas Area Visiting Nurses. Their main job in my case was to make sure I wasn't raving, which might indicate that my brain was bleeding after all.

"Right. Nine o'clock. It's on the calendar, in case you forget. And Dr. Ellerton-"

"Coming for lunch. I remember."

"Good, Jake. That's good."

"He said he'd bring sandwiches. And milkshakes. Wants to fatten me up."

"You need fattening up."

"Plus therapy on Wednesday. Leg-torture in the morning, arm-torture in the afternoon."

"I don't like leaving you so close to . . . you know."

"If something occurs to me, I'll call you, Sadie."

She took my hand and bent close enough so I could smell her perfume and the faint aroma of tobacco on her breath. "Do you promise?"

"Yes. Of course."

"I'll be back on Wednesday night at the latest. If Deke can't come in on Thursday, the library will just have to stay closed."

"I'll be fine."

She kissed me lightly, started out of the room, then turned back. "I almost hope Deke's right and this whole thing is a delusion. I can't bear the idea that we know and still might not be able to stop it. That we might just be sitting in the living room and watching on television when somebody-"

"I'll remember," I said.

"Will you, Jake?"

"I have to."

She nodded, but even with the shades drawn, I could read the doubt on her face. "We can still have supper before I go. You close your eyes and let that pill do its work. Get some sleep."

I closed my eyes, sure I wouldn't sleep. And that was okay, because I needed to think about the Word of Al. After a little while I could smell something cooking. It smelled good. When I'd first come out of the hospital, still puking or s.h.i.+tting every ten minutes, all smells had revolted me. Now things were better.

I began to drift. I could see Al sitting across from me in one of the diner booths, his paper cap tilted over his left eyebrow. Photos of smalltown bigwigs looked down at us, but Harry Dunning was no longer on the wall. I had saved him. Perhaps the second time I'd saved him from Vietnam, as well. There was no way to be sure.

Still holding you back, isn't he, buddy? Al asked.

Yes. He still is.

But you're close now.

Not close enough. I have no idea where I put that G.o.ddam notebook of yours.

You put it someplace safe. Does that narrow it down any?

I started to say no, then thought: The Word of Al is safe. Safe. Because- I opened my eyes, and for the first time in what felt like weeks, a big smile creased my face.

It was in a safe deposit box.

The door opened. "Are you hungry? I kept it warm."

"Huh?"

"Jake, you've been asleep for over two hours."

I sat up and swung my legs onto the floor. "Then let's eat."