American tabloid

86

Littell opened his briefcase. Stacks of money fell out.

Marcello said, “How much?”

Littell said, “A quarter of a million dollars.”

“Where’d you get it?”

“From a client.”

Carlos cleared some desk space. His office was top-heavy with Italianate knickknacks.

“You’re saying this is for me?”

“I’m saying it’s for you to match.”

“What else are you saying?”

Littell dumped the money on the desk. “I’m saying that as an attorney, I can only do so much. With John Kennedy in power, Bobby will get you all sooner or later. I’m also saying that eliminating Bobby would be futile, because Jack would instinctively know who did it and take his vengeance accordingly.”

The money smelled. Hughes dredged up old bills.

“But Lyndon Johnson don’t like Bobby. He’d put the skids to him just to teach the fucking kid a lesson.”

“That’s right. Johnson hates Bobby as much as Mr. Hoover does. And like Mr. Hoover, he bears you and our other friends no ill will.”

Marcello laughed. “LBJ borrowed some money from the Teamsters once. He is well known as a reasonable guy.”

“So is Mr. Hoover. And Mr. Hoover is also very upset about Bobby’s plans to put Joe Valachi on TV. He’s very much afraid that Valachi’s revelations will severely damage his prestige and virtually destroy everything that you and our other friends have built.”

Carlos built a little cash skyscraper. Bank stacks rose off his desk blotter.

Littell knocked them over. “I think Mr. Hoover wants it to happen. I think he feels it coming.”

“We’ve all been thinking about it. You can’t get a roomful of the boys together without somebody bringing it up.”

“It can be made to happen. And it can be made to look like we weren’t involved.”

“So you’re saying…”

“I’m saying it’s so big and audacious that we’ll most likely never be suspected. I’m saying that even if we are, the powers that be will realize that it can never be conclusively proven. I’m saying that a consensus of denial will build off of it. I’m saying that people will want to remember the man as something he wasn’t. I’m saying that we’ll present them with an explanation, and the powers that be will prefer it to the truth, even though they know better.”

Marcello said, “Do it. Make it happen.”