WHITE RABBIT was, of course, your brother. I have given your repeated assertions that his confession was fabricated considerable thought. You have stated that CRUSADER RABBIT is the only one in our purview capable of such a fabrication, and I cannot in any way dispute that assessment.

CRUSADER RABBIT troubles me. As you have noted, his paramour, Arden Breen/Jane Fentress, disappeared last October and has presumably been killed by members of organized crime. I suspect that her absence and assuredly grisly fate have contributed to CRUSADER RABBIT's funk. You have often characterized CRUSADER RABBIT as a "wimp," but I would add that his propensity for kamikaze action marks him as the world's most dangerous wimp.

All told, I think we should reinstate our spot-surveillance of CRUSADER RABBIT and reinstate our Trash and Mail Covers. These actions will supplant our decision to exclude him from all aspects of OPERATION BLACK RABBIT.

Per the "Shakedown" adjunct: I veto your recommendation that we target RED RABBIT. RED RABBIT will simply be too wary of entrapment.

The target will be PINK RABBIT. His heedless pursuit of homosexual encounters marks him as more suitable and vulnerable.

BIG RABBIT seems to have recovered from his heart attack. Contact him by 12/1/66.

DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/2/66. Miami Herald headline:

KING DECRIES "IMPERIALISTIC" WAR IN VIETNAM.

DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/4/66. Denver Post-Dispatch headline and subhead: HOFFA WITH MARCH PRISON DATE.

APPEAL LAWYERS GLUM.

DOCUMENT INSERT: 11 / 12/66. Atlanta Constitution subhead:

WAR A "MORAL OUTRAGE," KING DECLARES IN SPEECH.

DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/16/66. Los Angeles Examiner subhead:

NO '68 PREZ'L PLANS, RFK TELLS PRESS.

DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/17/66. San Francisco Chronicle subhead:

"DRAFT KENNEDY" MOVEMENT GROWING DESPITE.

SENATOR'S STATED RELUCTANCE.

DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/18/66. Chicago Sun-Times headline and subhead:

KING SPEAKS TO DRAFT RESISTANCE WORKSHOP.

HOOVER CALLS CIVIL-RIGHTS LEADER.

"COMMUNIST PAWN".

DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/23/66. Washington Post subhead:

BACKLASH ON HOOVER FOR ANTI-KING REMARKS.

DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/24/66. Boston Globe subhead:

HOWARD HUGHES' BIZARRE CROSS-COUNTRY TRAIN RIDE.

DOCUMENT INSERT: 11/26/66. Las Vegas Sun headline and subhead:

HUGHES TRAIN EN ROUTE.

WHAT DOES BILLIONAIRE RECLUSE BODE FOR LAS VEGAS?.

Part V

INCURSION.

(November 27, 1966--March 18, 1968)

93 (Las Vegas, 11/27/66)

He's coming.

He's Mr. Big. He's Howard Hughes. He's the Count of Las Vegas.

Littell watched.

He joined newsmen. He joined camera crews. He joined Joe Vegas. Word leaked. The Count's coming. The train station--1 1:00 p.m.

He's coming. Check track 14. Behold the Drac Express.

The platform rocked. Newsmen cliqued up. Grips wheeled arc lights. Camera guys lugged film.

Littell watched.

He'd braced Drac's Mormons. They talked renovation. They said they'd hit the DI. They said they'd Draculized. They germ-proofed the penthouse. They lugged freezers in. They stocked snacks and treats.

Snow cones/pizza/candy bars. Demerol/codeine/Dilaudid.

They said we launch soon. We negotiate and bargain. We buy the DI. The Boys said we launch soon. We bargain and set the price.

It's large. Drac will balk. Drac will pout. Drac will pay. Drac will stump for a Mormon hegemony. Drac will shout: Mormons must run my casino!

The Boys will renavigate. The Boys will plot. The Boys will decree: Littell must brace Wayne Tedrow Senior.

They'll talk. They'll bargain. Small talk will run cruel. Wayne Senior will tweak him on Janice.

The platform shook. The rails shook. A train whistle blew.

He's coming.

A cop van pulled up. Cops got out. Cops hauled equipment. A cop pushed a gurney. A cop wheeled a tent. A cop slung oxygen cans.

Cops shoved newsmen. Cops shoved citizens. Cops pulled cameras back. Newsmen pushed. Newsmen jockeyed. Newsmen shoved back.

Train lights coming--that whistle full blast.

Littell stood tiptoed. A kid jostled him. Littell stepped back. Littell got perspective.

Sparks flew. The train braked. The train stopped and sat. The crowd shoved. Flashbulbs popped. The crowd scattered.

They hit the train. They cupped their eyes. They peeped window slats. Doors cranked open--up and back--the crowd tailed the cop with the gurney.

Littell laughed. Littell knew Drac strategy. Littell knew diversions.

Look: There's gurney 2. There's tent 2. They're all the way back.

Mormons stepped out. Mormons signaled. Mormons dropped a ramp. Mormons formed a cordon. Mormons pushed a wheelchair. Mormons wheeled Drac.

He's tall. He's thin. He's wearing a Kleenex-box hat.

94.

(Las Vegas, 11/27/66)

He's coming.

He's off the train. He's in the car. He's got this dumb hat.

Wayne walked the DI. The floor buzzed electric. Ghouls circulated. Wayne logged rumors.

He's overdue. He's due soon. He's due now. He's got plane-crash scars. He's got skin disease. He's got neck bolts like Frankenstein.

Ghouls positioned. Ghouls vultured. Ghouls swarmed the casino. Ghouls stood on chairs. Ghouls slung cameras. Ghouls perched with autograph books.

Ghouls swarmed outside. Wayne saw Barb there. Glass walls provided views. Barb saw Wayne. Barb waved. Wayne waved back.

Ghouls prowled. Hotel fuzz prowled. Somebody yelled, "Limos!" Somebody yelled, "Him!"

Ghouls whooped. Ghouls dispersed. Ghouls ran outside. Wayne checked the glass walls. Wayne caught a view.

He saw cops. He saw limos. He saw a mock Howard Hughes. He made him. He popped him--back in '62.

He hosted a kid's show. He flashed his dick. He groped prepubescents. Cops called him "Chester the Molester."

Ghouls jumped him. Chester posed for pix magnanimous. Chester signed autographs. A limo eased by. A window went down. Wayne caught a blip: White hair/dead eyes/dumb hat.

Somebody yelled, "He's a fake!" The ghouls up and ran. The ghouls chased the limo.

Barb walked inside. Wayne saw her. Wayne detoured up.

"Aren't you working tonight?"

Barb laughed. "I could ask you the same thing."

Wayne smiled. "I was thinking of Pete and Ward, and how this whole thing started."

Barb yawned. "Tell me over coffee, all right?"

A ghoul ran by. They dodged him. They walked to the bar. They grabbed seats and faced the casino.

A waitress showed. Barb cued her. She brought coffee fast. The floor was slow. Chester shot craps. Ghouls meandered through.

Barb sipped coffee. "It's been months, and I still want a cigarette."

"Not like Pete does."