“No, I did not.” It was solid, and I thought I could feel his sincerity as it flowed from his eyes into mine.
“Okay, good, that’s a start.” I said. I was so nervous my hands would not stop shaking.
I checked the recording device to make sure it was working properly. It took me a moment, and when I turned back toward him, he was doodling on a pad. He mentioned that he liked to sketch and that it would help him relax. He asked if it would bother me and I told him no, that was fine.
“All right, may I call you by your first name?
He nodded. “Of course, if I may do that same?”
“Naturally,” I said.
“Tell me what happened, Lee?”
“Where do you want me to begin?”
“Wherever you feel comfortable.”
2
I wanted to know what happened after he was shot by Jack Ruby. The old man took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying his best to remember.
“I don’t remember much, because I lost consciousness and nearly died. I received medical attention and a doctor removed the bullet and brought me back to life. The next thing I knew two Federal agents whisked me away, brought me to an airport and gave me a shot. I remember one of the agents saying something about a long flight and it would be better if I were able to sleep most of the way. It would help the healing process. I didn’t know whether to believe him or not, but he seemed to have some kind of medical expertise. Besides, what choice did I have? I was in pain and closing my eyes seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Later, they told me that I slept all the way to Italy, and when I finally woke up we were in a hospital, surrounded by a dozen nurses and just as many doctors, all discussing my condition.”
“Do you recall what they were saying?”
“I’m not sure. They were speaking Italian and when they switched to English they were talking so fast I could only pick up a word here and there.”
“As they were wheeling me down the hall toward the operating room, the one thought that came to me just before I passed out again was that, at the very least, I was in the hands of professionals, and they seemed to be doing their best to save my life, which was more than I could say for the people back in Dallas.”
I woke up a few hours later and a nurse was hovering over me. She had white hair and bad breath that smelled of garlic. Her English was more than adequate.
“You’re okay now, Mr. Smith.” Mr. Smith, I thought, who the hell was Mr. Smith? But, then I realized that was the name the agents must have given the staff when they brought me to the hospital. This nurse was busy making sure that I was getting the right amount of fluids into my body. It was then that I realized that I must have gone through an operation of some kind, but I remembered nothing about it. I was thinking of asking her when she spoke up.
“Your associates told us that you are a Federal Agent, that your wounds occurred in the line of duty and that you’re a hero, Mr. Smith. Did you remember any of the details?”
Not sure how to react, I simply nodded. Then, I mumbled something lame, not knowing what to say or how to say it.
“When they first brought you into the hospital we thought you were going to die. If Dr. Stark had not been here, I’m fairly certain you would have.”
“Dr. Stark?”
“Yes, probably the best Surgeon in all of northern Italy. He just happened to be here today to look in on another patient he operated on a few days ago. When they brought you in and he saw your deteriorating condition he asked if we could use his help. You’re a lucky man, Mr. Smith, for I truly believe you would be dead now if it weren’t for his skill with a scalpel.”
“Do me a favor and thank the doctor for me, please.”
“I certainly will, but I believe he’ll be checking in on you in the next day or so and you can thank him yourself.”
I nodded. Maybe my luck was changing, after all?
That would be a first.
“How long did it take you to fully recover from the operation, Mr. Oswald?” I asked.
“Operations,” he said. There were two of them, one to make sure there were no leftover bullet fragments and the second one to stop some bleeding that occurred as a result of the first operation.”
“Okay.”
“As for my recovery, it took almost a month for me to begin to feel like my old self. I slept most of that time. Then, one day, the nurse came in and said I was being released. I had no idea what that meant, because I had not seen any of my bodyguards for days. Apparently, they were there, but they were staying out of sight.”
“What happened next?” I asked.
He sighed. His eyes were closed, as he was doing his best to remember back to that day.
“Two agent’s came into my room and told me we were leaving. Before I could complain, they had strapped me in a wheelchair and placed me into a van. We drove for two hours on bad roads and ended up at a remote farmhouse about one hundred and seventy-five miles away.”
“Then what?” I wanted to know.
“After a good nights sleep and a hearty, but rushed breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, toast and bacon, the agents all left the room, leaving me with the man who was obviously in charge. I believe his name was Walter? I was sitting at the table, finishing up my coffee and he was doing the same.
“I want to ask you a question, Lee, and I want you to think long and hard on your answer because it may determine what happens to you the rest of your life.” He was being quite serious and in his tone I thought I felt a sense of a threat.
“Let’s just call it more like an ultimatum.”
I looked up at him.
“An ultimatum?”
“You heard me.” I had the feeling the past month or so that everything was going to be okay, but now he had me wondering?”
“Let me ask you a question.” He took a moment to sweep away some crumbs. “Do you think I care about what happens to you?”
“I’m not all that sure, but I was hoping...”
“Don’t bother, Lee. I’m here to tell you that the only reason you are still alive is that someone high up on the food chain told me to keep you alive. I want you to know that if the decision were mine you would already have been history. If you want to go on living you must keep your mouth shut and do what you are told...and...” Here he hesitated for a moment. “if you don’t, I will come and find you and shut you up once and for all. Do you understand what I am saying to you, Lee?”
I nodded. Clearly a threat, I thought to myself.
“That sounds to me like they were trying to buy your silence, Lee.”
“That’s the way it sounded to me too, but honestly, I thought I would have been dead already.”
“Why didn’t they just shoot you?”
“To this day, I don’t know?”
“What happened after that?” I asked.
“Walter told me I had a choice. Then, he pulled a contract out of his