Chapter 160: Kennedy’s Death!
“You kid know too?” Lin Ran’s first reaction in his mind was this.
He soon realized that the other party worked for the Soviet Union.
Either directly or indirectly working for the Soviet Union.
Lin Ran vaguely knew that the Soviet Union knew Kennedy was about to be assassinated, then tried every means to pass the news to Kennedy, as if there was such a thing.
“Who are you?” Lin Ran asked.
The other party took out a hammer and sickle medal from his chest.
“Finding me is useless.” Lin Ran was speechless.
Lin Ran estimated that as soon as he left, the other party would throw the badge into a forge and melt it.
“Professor, all the warnings we tried to pass to the White House were intercepted.” John Yardley said.
“Didn’t I help you connect the line?” Lin Ran complained.
What about the hotline?
The hotline is meant to be used at a time like this.
Lin Ran certainly knew why the Soviet Union wanted to save Kennedy.
Kennedy was one of the rare presidents with a softening attitude, open to communication, and possibly able to keep the Cold War at a very low intensity.
The Soviet Union side certainly hoped the US President would be Kennedy, rather than Lyndon Johnson or someone else.
After all, with others in power, the military-industrial complex would make a fortune, only escalating the contradictions step by step.
So saving Kennedy was in the Soviet Union’s interests.
“The hotline is a telegraph, not a telephone, and the president won’t be guarding the telegraph all the time.” John Yardley said, “Professor, now you’re the only one who can directly contact Kennedy.”
Lin Ran was speechless: “Isn’t there Robert Kennedy?
Didn’t you establish a direct contact channel with Robert Kennedy at that time?”
“He doesn’t believe us.” John Yardley said helplessly.
Not believing is normal.
After all, similar warnings happen every day, and some people even claim to be Qin Shi Huang.
If they believed every such message, they would have been running around exhausted long ago.
Like the IA eavesdropping on Oswald’s phone in Mexico City, discovering someone impersonating him to contact the Soviet Union embassy.
Impersonations, disguises, threats, warnings—too many similar messages, so building trustworthiness is very difficult.
As for why they approached Lin Ran, because Lin Ran was a Chinese descent promoted by Kennedy himself.
From the outside view, Lin Ran should have high loyalty to Kennedy.
“Sorry, I can’t save him.” Lin Ran flatly refused, left the office without looking back, thinking: “Soviet Union people are everywhere.
One by one like wild NPCs popping up in the fields.”
What he didn’t expect was that he would soon impersonate a wild NPC himself.
Bill was the Dallas County clerk.
He encountered something strange.
To be precise, he had been feeling very strange lately.
Dallas County had many people, especially around Dallas Trade Plaza, which was almost the most prosperous place here.
But with so many people, as a local who grew up in Dallas since childhood, he was basically familiar with faces here.
But after Mr. President said he was coming to Texas for a speech, and specifically to Dallas County, many new faces appeared in the county.
These new faces made him feel a faint unease inside.
This unease lingered in his heart.
Next week Mr. President was coming.
President Kennedy’s trip this time was a very high-profile political activity.
Besides his wife, White House staff, media, and security personnel, there was Lyndon Johnson (Vice President), John Connally (Governor, Donkey Party conservative), Ralph Yarborough (Texas Donkey Party senator, liberal).
Big shots gathered.
Dallas city rumors said President Kennedy came this time both to prepare for next year’s presidential election, canvass votes, increase support among voters, and to ease contradictions between different factions within the Donkey Party.
In short, the whole county public was looking forward to Kennedy’s Dallas trip.
But before Kennedy arrived, he encountered something strange at his doorstep.
“Bang bang bang.”
A masked man in a black robe appeared at his doorstep.
The mask was also strange, white or light ivory, featuring a middle-aged man with a black mustache and goatee, sly smile, red lips, and upturned eyebrows.
Later generations would recognize it at a glance as the V for Vendetta mask.
It was designed based on the image of 17th-century England conspirator Guy Fox, and in America, few knew Guy Fox.
Bill didn’t know either.
But the eerie aura from the mask, he could definitely feel it.
Bill was scared and wanted to close the door immediately, but a powerful force prevented him from closing it; the other’s hand pressed on the open door like a thousand pounds, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t close it.
“Mr. Bill, relax.” A voice came from behind the mask, “I need you to help me with a small favor.”
The other party pulled out a stack from his pocket; Bill thought it was a gun, but it was US dollars, a full stack, at least fifty bills.
“A little favor, five thousand US dollars is yours.” The masked man said.
Bill thought it was about murder or arson.
What could be worth five thousand US dollars?
In 1963, $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 bills had stopped printing and were no longer widely circulated; the largest denomination was $100.
“County Records Building, take me to the County Records Building.” The masked man said.
Bill shuddered all over, “What do you want to do?
You want me to take you to the County Records Building on the 22nd? Impossible!”
As county clerk, Bill naturally heard some bizarre rumors, including rumors about someone wanting to kill Kennedy.
This kind of rumor happened every year.
Why did he immediately think of that?
Because he knew very well that Kennedy was coming and would give a speech at Dallas Trade Plaza.
The County Records Building had an excellent location; as long as Kennedy came, the high-level windows of this building easily provided shooting positions.
Besides assassinating Mr. President, Bill really couldn’t think of anything else that would make this mysterious and powerful masked man spend five thousand US dollars for a trip to the County Records Building.
Five thousand US dollars on the black market could buy his life.
The powerful strength shown by the masked man was also an important reason for his association.
The masked man chuckled lightly, “You’re worrying too much. Go now, return now, you’ll be with me the whole time; I just want to confirm one thing.”
Confirm what?
Confirm if this is the best camera position.
That’s right, the masked man was Lin Ran.
Coming late at night to leave an anchor point at the door in advance.
Bill, hearing this, felt terrified in the other’s mask; he worried that refusing would lead to trouble, so he swallowed and said: “Okay, I’ll get the keys.”
The County Records Building was mainly used to store Dallas County official records, including but not limited to: land and property records, birth, death, and marriage certificates, court and legal documents, election and voting records, etc.
These records were kept by the county clerk’s office, that is, Bill.
Going to confirm information—this reason Bill still didn’t believe, but he couldn’t afford not to.
Because the other wanted to go now.
There were still several days before the president arrived.
It couldn’t be planting explosives.
He wanted to close the door casually to get the keys from home, but found the door stuck dead by the other, couldn’t close at all.
“Bill, who is it?” After he went upstairs, his wife’s dissatisfied voice came.
After getting the keys from the study, he originally didn’t want to respond, but at the stairwell, he turned back to the room, kissed his wife, and said: “I have something to do, remember to lock the door!”
His wife was full of doubts.
But the mysterious masked man really only wanted to go to the County Records Building.
After going, he did nothing, just looked everywhere from top to bottom with him accompanying.
Not missing any room.
When reaching the 6th floor of the County Records Building, the masked man went to the window, seeming to take a deep breath.
Lin Ran under the mask showed a satisfied smile.
This place is good.
Why come here instead of the grassy knoll?
The grassy knoll was the absolute best vantage angle; the Zapruder film completely recorded Kennedy’s death, and he was standing on the grassy knoll.
Shooter Oswald completed the shooting from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository; this was another excellent vantage point.
If the grassy knoll and Texas School Book Depository were excellent positions to watch Kennedy’s death, then the County Records Building that Lin Ran specially chose, facing the Textbook Warehouse Building, was the best position to watch Oswald shoot.
This position was so good that the sixth floor was only 60 meters in straight-line distance from Oswald’s shooting window.
With a modern high-definition digital camera, it could clearly film the entire process from aiming to firing.
“I want to see exactly how many shots were fired.” Lin Ran thought, standing at the sixth-floor window of the County Records Building.
There were many debates surrounding Kennedy’s death.
Besides who did it, there were also how many shots were fired, one person or multiple, etc.
Official investigations, eyewitness testimonies, physical evidence, and conspiracy theorists offered different viewpoints, debating gunshots number, bullet trajectories, and time window.
The Warren Commission, the official investigation, said Oswald fired three bullets from the southeast corner window on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository using a 6.5mm Carcano rifle.
First bullet: Missed Kennedy or anyone in the car; this bullet was lost.
Second bullet: In Zapruder film frames 223-224, hit Kennedy’s back, passed through the throat, then hit Texas Governor John Connally’s back, chest, right wrist, and left thigh.
Third bullet: Fatal shot, in Zapruder film frame 313, hit Kennedy’s head, causing severe brain damage, leading to death.
Later House Select Committee on Assassinations investigation showed a total of four shots; they analyzed Dallas police recordings from police motorcycle microphones and found possibly four gunshots.
Fourth gunshot 0.5 seconds after the third, believed from Dealey Plaza grassy knoll.
Meaning there was a second shooter on site.
On-site eyewitnesses also said three shots or four shots.
Lin Ran wanted to see exactly how many shots there were.
Bill watched the mysterious masked man’s figure disappear into the vast night, then locked the County Records Building door tight with unease.
After returning home, he felt everything that happened was still like a dream.
His racing heart finally calmed down.
He went into the second-floor study, pulled out $5,000 from his pocket; the texture of the five thousand US dollars reminded him that what happened was real.
Someone really paid five thousand US dollars just to tour the County Records Building.
Actually, he agreed too quickly.
If he refused, the masked man would have raised it to ten thousand US dollars.
Lin Ran had ten thousand US dollars in his black robe.
He somewhat underestimated the current currency purchasing power.
Bill’s suspended heart finally relaxed a bit, but greater confusion arose: what was the masked man’s purpose?
But that wasn’t important; what mattered was quickly hiding the five thousand US dollars so his wife wouldn’t find it.
He hid the money in The Truman Show, this year’s most popular science fiction work, co-authored by the professor and Philip.
What Bill didn’t know was that he had just spent what he thought was a frightening hour with the professor.
The next morning, after arriving at the county office building, Bill saw Bonnie Ray Williams surrounded by a crowd.
Originally he didn’t want to get involved, because Bonnie Ray Williams often pretended something big happened.
Actually, it was just her dog lost, her husband dating someone again, her son getting some girl pregnant.
Just these trivial matters.
Bill was never interested in these.
“It’s amazing, I encountered something strange yesterday; someone gave me money” Bonnie said nervously.
Money?
This word immediately caught Bill’s attention.
He stopped at the outer edge of the crowd.
“A mysterious masked man gave me money, just to tour the Texas School Book Depository.
His mask was very terrifying!
Like resurrected from an ancient curse.
The pale face glowed with eerie chill under the moonlight, as if kissed by death, lifeless yet weirdly vivid.
The eyes were two deep black circles.
Like, like bottomless abysses! Devouring all light.
Seeming to hide unspeakable secrets.
Slender eyebrows fiercely upturned.
Really a very scary mask!
Bright red lips slightly upturned, outlining a chilling smile.
I was scared to death at the time, thought the other was a killer sent to take me out.
Who knows, after all, I’ve offended many people.
My husband’s lovers must have long disliked me; the parents of my son’s ex-girlfriends whom I forced to abort also have motive.
I thought they sent someone to kill me.
My heart was about to jump out.”
Bonnie’s story this time was much more novel than before.
Plus she really experienced it, stirring the listeners’ emotions; everyone exclaimed: “Wow~”
Bill’s voice came: “And then!”
Bonnie glanced at Bill: “Bill, aren’t you not interested in my little stories? What’s up today? Did your brain suddenly wake up?”
Bill didn’t want to argue with her; arguing with her would definitely end with him hurt.
No one could outtalk Bonnie’s mouth.
If he hadn’t seen the masked man yesterday, he would also think someone hired a killer for Bonnie.
After all, Bonnie’s mouth offended too many people.
“Then that person gave me money, I took him to tour the Textbook Warehouse Building, looked over every room, then he left.
Nothing happened.”
Dallas returned to calm.
But this calm was obviously only temporary.
Because President Kennedy was coming to Dallas the next day.
At 12:30 noon on November 22, 1963, Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas.
Kennedy’s motorcade was traveling along Elm Street, heading to Dallas Trade Market to give a speech.
Lin Ran stood next to the room on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository where Oswald was, camera aimed at Kennedy, silently bidding farewell to his first benefactor.
Kennedy promoted him to White House Special Assistant for Aerospace Affairs, a true benefactor.
At this time, Kennedy didn’t know Lin Ran was watching him from afar.
He rode in an open-top Lincoln Continental sedan, with First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy beside him on the left, Texas Governor John Connally in front of Kennedy, and Governor’s wife Nellie Connally.
Driver and front passenger were two security personnel.
The motorcade was escorted by multiple cars and motorcycles, including Vice President Lyndon Johnson’s motorcade.
When the motorcade passed Dealey Plaza, gunshots rang out.
The scene was chaos.
Screams everywhere.
The whole site in turmoil.
Bill standing by Elm Street instinctively looked toward the Texas School Book Depository following the gunshots.
Sure enough, he saw a familiar mask.
But the other held not a pistol, but a camera.
This made Bill feel oppressed.
The shooting lasted about 6-8 seconds; the motorcade then sped toward Parkland Memorial Hospital.
From the first second, Bill completely ignored the president and kept staring at the masked man.
Discovered the other was really just taking photos, from start to finish just photographing.
This also caused greater doubt in Bill’s heart.
Who exactly was the masked man?
Did Bonnie lie?
She not only took the masked man to the Texas School Book Depository but also gave him keys.
The masked man wasn’t the shooter; was he a reporter?
If a reporter, how did he know Kennedy would be killed at this exact time?
Bill ran toward the Texas School Book Depository, trying to catch the shooter.
In the chaos, Oswald and rushing Bill collided.
Bang bang, two more shots.
The next day, waking up in Parkland Memorial Hospital, facing the police sitting by the bed, Bill’s first words.
Two chapters of ten thousand words offered, begging for monthly tickets!
