Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. And the International Hunt for His Assassin

CHAPTER 27

A FEW MINUTES AND A FEW MILES

⁴⁰⁷ "entirely a hoax": My passages concerning the Memphis Police Department's postmortem analysis of the CB car chase hoax are primarily drawn from the sixteen-page report "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Homicide #3367, Supplement #85, Re: C.B. Incident," Hughes Collection. The Memphis Police Department investigated the probable culprit behind the hoax, a teenage CB enthusiast named in the report. Also see House Select Committee on Assassinations (hereafter HSCA), Final Assassinations Report, pp. 383-85.

⁴⁰⁸ he headed southeast: Ray's exact route out of Memphis is not absolutely known, but he consistently stated that he drove southeast toward Birmingham; Highway 78 would have been the fastest, most direct, and (having stayed in a motel on that same road the previous night) most familiar route for his exit. See Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 80, as well as Ray's testimony in HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 3, p. 240.

⁴⁰⁹ broadcasters now broke in: In all his accounts, Ray consistently stated that he heard the news about King's death over his car radio. However, the FBI investigation of the abandoned Mustang later determined that the radio was not in good working order at the time of inspection.

⁴¹⁰ Coretta King hurried down: My depiction of the scene at the Atlanta airport is adapted from the Atlanta Constitution, April 5, 1968, p. 1, and from Coretta Scott King, My Life with Martin Luther King Jr., pp. 319-20.

⁴¹¹ "a tragic setback": Author interview with Clark, Oct. 9, 2008, New York City.

⁴¹² "I think the bureau": This conversation between Clark and DeLoach is recalled in DeLoach's, Hoover's FBI, p. 224.

⁴¹³ "a crime of immense importance": DeLoach's testimony, HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 7, p. 22.

⁴¹⁴ "Hoover remained at war": DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, p. 222.

⁴¹⁵ "He was as anxious": Ibid., p. 226.

⁴¹⁶ "The FBI's reputation": Author interview with Clark.

⁴¹⁷ "the guy with a thousand opportunities": DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, p. 225.

⁴¹⁸ Born in Denmark: These biographical details concerning Jensen derive primarily from his obituary in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, March 22, 1992, as well as from Jensen's testimony in HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 6, pp. 586-87.

⁴¹⁹ "As you well know": DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, p. 225.

⁴²⁰ Now Jensen removed: This passage concerning Jensen's analysis of the evidence is primarily drawn from the FBI FD-302 report filed on April 4 and 5, 1968, by Special Agent in Charge Jensen and Special Agent Robert Fitzpatrick, enumerating and describing all items in the abandoned bundle, Hughes Collection.