Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin (75 page)

³⁰⁰
"This is the wrong place for you":
Ibid.

³⁰¹
"People started looking at us":
Ibid.

CHAPTER 20
NOT FEARING ANY MAN

³⁰²
Galt coasted into the parking lot:
FBI interview with New Rebel Motel desk clerk Henrietta Hagermaster, conducted on April 11, 1968, by Special Agent John Bauer, out of the FBI's Memphis field office.

³⁰³
He got a haircut:
Ray told the journalist William Bradford Huie that on April 3 he got a haircut and bought a shaving kit at a Rexall drugstore in Memphis. Stickers from the Rexall drugstore were later found on several of his abandoned items. See Huie,
He Slew the Dreamer
, p. 142.

³⁰⁴
a six-pack of Schlitz:
Several unopened Schlitz beers were later found among Ray's abandoned belongings and, on the basis of Mississippi state liquor tags affixed to the cans, were traced to a bait shop in Southaven, Mississippi, near the city limits of Memphis.

³⁰⁵
"the kind of place where more or less legitimate people's around":
"Staff Report: Compilation of the Statements of James Earl Ray," in House Select Committee on Assassinations,
Appendix Reports
, vol. 3, p. 226.

³⁰⁶
Galt put his money down:
FBI interview with Hagermaster, conducted on April 11, 1968, by Special Agent Bauer.

³⁰⁷
"Ralph, I want you to go speak for me tonight":
Abernathy,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, p. 430.

³⁰⁸
"Something is happening in Memphis":
My depiction of King's "Mountaintop" speech at Mason Temple is drawn from Memphis television newsreels, newspaper accounts, and the documentary film
At the River I Stand
. I've also leaned on accounts in Abernathy,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, p. 433; Branch,
At Canaan's Edge
, pp. 757-58; Honey,
Going Down Jericho Road
, pp. 415-24; and Beifuss,
At the River I Stand
, pp. 277-80.

³⁰⁹
"it seemed like he was just saying":
Honey,
Going Down Jericho Road
, p. 424.

³¹⁰
"It seemed like he reached down":
Interviews with striking sanitation workers present at Mason Temple, from the documentary
Roads to Memphis
, Insignia Films, for the PBS program
American Experience
, WGBH, Boston.

³¹¹
"I was full of joy":
Honey,
Going Down Jericho Road
, p. 425.

³¹²
Ivan Webb:
FBI interview with Webb, conducted on April 11, 1968, by Special Agent Bauer, out of the FBI's Memphis field office.

³¹³
"He was like a kid again":
Interview with Kyles,
Roads to Memphis
.

³¹⁴
"Senator!":
Author interview with Georgia Davis Powers, May 7, 2008, Louisville.

³¹⁵
"I didn't idolize him":
Ibid.

³¹⁶
"Senator, our time together":
Georgia Davis Powers,
I Shared the Dream
, p. 227.

CHAPTER 21
A ROOM WITH A VIEW

³¹⁷
"Oh, I'll come back later":
FBI interview with the New Rebel Motel laundress Sadie McKay, conducted on April 11, 1968, by Special Agent John Bauer, out of the FBI's Memphis field office, Hughes Collection.

³¹⁸
"beer house":
James Earl Ray's testimony in House Select Committee on Assassinations (hereafter HSCA),
Appendix Reports
, vol. 1, p. 101.

³¹⁹
"Soon it will all be over":
Interview with James Earl Ray's brother Jerry Ray, in McMillan,
Making of an Assassin
, p. 299.

³²⁰
tumbledown rooming house:
My description of Brewer's flophouse is drawn from multiple sources, including Memphis Police Department crime scene photographs, newspaper and magazine accounts from 1968, and Memphis Police Department and FBI interviews with Brewer and her rooming house guests, as well as my own visits to the rooming house, which is now part of the National Civil Rights Museum.

³²¹
"Got any vacancies?":
My account of Galt's checking in to Brewer's rooming house is primarily drawn from FBI interviews with Brewer, especially the initial bureau interview conducted on April 5, 1968, by Special Agent Robert Boyle, Hughes Collection. I also relied on a number of Memphis Police Department statements: "Statement of Mrs. Bessie Ruth Brewer," April 4, 1968; "Statement of Jewell G. Ray, Captain of the Memphis Police Department," April 17, 1968; and "Statement of James Vincent Papia, Lieutenant with the Memphis Police Dept.," April 16, 1968. Finally, I drew from my own interviews with Jewell Ray on February 13, 2009, and with James Papia on March 2, 2009.

³²²
Charlie Stephens:
FBI interview with Stephens, conducted on April 4, 1968, by Special Agents John Bauer and Stephen Darlington, Hughes Collection.

³²³
Grace Walden:
FBI interview with Grace Stephens, conducted on April 4, 1968, by Special Agents Bauer and Darlington, Hughes Collection.

CHAPTER 22
THE MAN IN 5B

³²⁴
ordered a mess of fried Mississippi River catfish:
My account of King's last meal comes from Abernathy,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, p. 437. See also Abernathy's testimony in HSCA,
Appendix Reports
, vol. 1, p. 32, and Abernathy's oral history in Raines,
My Soul Is Rested
, p. 468.

³²⁵
they demanded ten thousand dollars:
Honey,
Going Down Jericho Road
, p. 432.149

³²⁶
"Hosea, no one will be on our payroll":
Garrow,
Bearing the Cross
, p. 622.

³²⁷
"I don't negotiate with brothers":
Branch,
At Canaan's Edge
, p. 760.

³²⁸
Cabbage stormed out:
Honey,
Going Down Jericho Road
, p. 432.

³²⁹
"Got any binoculars?":
The passage concerning Galt's purchase of binoculars at York Arms sporting goods store is largely drawn from the initial FBI interview with Carpenter, conducted on April 5, 1968, by Special Agents Robert Goodwin and Ralph Liewer. I also relied on the Memphis Police Department statement "Ralph Meredith Carpenter, Salesman, York Arms Company," April 9, 1968, Hughes Collection.

³³⁰
back at their surveillance post:
My account of Redditt and Richmond undertaking surveillance work from inside the fire station is largely drawn from the Memphis Police Department statements "Edward E. Redditt, Detective with the Memphis Police Department," April 10, 1968, and "Ptm. W. B. Richmond, Inspectional Bureau," April 9, 1968, box 5, Posner Papers, Gotlieb Center, as well as my interview with Richmond, December 30, 2009.

³³¹
They all sat around joking:
Author interview with Georgia Davis Powers, May 7, 2008, Louisville, Ky.

³³²
decided to call their mother:
Abernathy,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, p. 438; Garrow,
Bearing the Cross
, p. 622.

³³³
"He really sensed":
Author interview with Georgia Davis Powers.

³³⁴
"Senator, you like soul food?":
Ibid.

³³⁵
Where you been all day?:
Young,
Easy Burden
, pp. 463-64.

³³⁶
full-scale pillow fight:
Ibid., p. 464.

³³⁷
Elizabeth Copeland:
Copeland was interviewed by Memphis FBI agents on April 5, 1968, FBI, MURKIN Files, ME, sub. D, sec. 1, p. 18.

³³⁸
Peggy Hurley:
The FBI interviewed Hurley on April 5, 1968, FBI, MURKIN Files, ME, sub. D, sec. 1, p. 3.

³³⁹
Once inside 5B:
Details about what Galt did inside 5B are primarily drawn from the Memphis Police Department and FBI investigations of the room immediately after the assassination. His binocular straps were found on the floor; the dresser had been moved away from the open window; the straight-backed chair was placed in front of the window.

³⁴⁰
At that moment, King was inside the room with Abernathy:
My account of King's last hour is adapted from multiple sources, including Abernathy,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, pp. 438-39; Garrow,
Bearing the Cross
, p. 623; Branch,
At Canaan's Edge
, p. 765. See also Abernathy's testimony in House Select Committee on Assassinations,
Appendix Reports
, vol. 1, p. 30.

³⁴¹
Magic Shaving Powder:
Frank,
American Death
, p. 66.

³⁴²
"Billy, we're not going to get
real
soul food":
Kyles's recollection of the late afternoon he spent with King and Abernathy at the Lorraine is primarily drawn from his interviews for the Insignia Films documentary
Roads to Memphis
, produced for the PBS program
American Experience
.

³⁴³
Richmond, watching through his binoculars:
Memphis Police Department statement, "Ptm. W. B. Richmond, Inspectional Bureau," April 9, 1968, box 5, Posner Papers. I also relied on Richmond's report to the Inspectional Bureau of the Memphis Police Department, dated April 4, 1968, and signed "W. B. Richmond," Hughes Collection.

³⁴⁴
George Loenneke:
FBI interview with Loenneke, conducted on April 13, 1968, by Special Agents Edward Quinn and Shields Smith, Hughes Collection. I also consulted the Memphis Police Department statement "George Loenneke, Lieutenant at Fire Station #2," box 5, Posner Papers.

³⁴⁵
could hear the new roomer's footsteps:
FBI interview with Stephens, conducted on April 4, 1968, by Special Agents John Bauer and Stephen Darlington, Hughes Collection.

CHAPTER 23
AT THE RIVER I STAND

³⁴⁶
"I'd feel like a bird in a cage":
Garrow,
Bearing the Cross
, p. 607.

³⁴⁷
He wouldn't even let his children carry
toy
guns:
See Dexter King,
Growing Up King
, pp. 34-35.

³⁴⁸
"He just act so different":
Bailey, quoted in the
Memphis Commercial Appeal
, April 6, 1968, p. 8.

³⁴⁹
Willie Anschutz:
FBI interview with Anschutz, conducted on April 4, 1968, by Special Agents John Bauer and Stephen Darlington, Hughes Collection.

³⁵⁰
"an undue length of time":
FBI interview with Stephens, conducted on April 4, 1968, by Special Agents John Bauer and Stephen Darlington, Hughes Collection.

³⁵¹
"In a second":
This passage is primarily drawn from Abernathy,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, p. 440. See also Abernathy's testimony in House Select Committee on Assassinations,
Appendix Reports
, vol. 1, p. 20.

³⁵²
"Nothing is gained without sacrifice":
In December 2008, this scrap of paper found in King's coat pocket after his death was put up for auction at Sotheby's in New York City by King's friend the actor and singer, Harry Belafonte, and was widely reported in the media. Belafonte said proceeds from the sale would go to charity.

³⁵³
"I want you to come to dinner":
King's last words to members of his staff, uttered from the balcony, have been adapted from a multitude of sources. See Young,
Easy Burden
, p. 464, and Abernathy,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, p. 440. See also Garrow,
Bearing the Cross
, p. 623; Branch,
At Canaan's Edge
, p. 766; Frank,
American Death
, pp. 73-74; and Raines,
My Soul Is Rested
, p. 469. I have also made use of interviews with the Reverend Billy Kyles and Andrew Young taken for the Insignia Films documentary
Roads to Memphis
, produced for the PBS program
American Experience
by WGBH in Boston.

³⁵⁴
Georgia Davis was down in 201:
Author interview with Georgia Davis Powers, May 7, 2008, Louisville, Ky.

³⁵⁵
Inside the mildewy bathroom:
My depiction of Galt's actions inside the bathroom is taken from James Earl Ray's own confession (as part of his plea bargain in 1969), as well as Memphis Police Department and FBI investigations of the bathroom immediately following the assassination and interviews conducted with the tenants Charlie Stephens and Willie Anschutz. Among the findings: the bathroom window facing the Lorraine was opened several inches, the screen pried loose and found lying on the ground below; a palm print was left on the wall; and scuff marks were found in the tub.