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

CHAPTER 3

THE MONTH OF THE IGUANA

⁴⁰ On an empty beach: This scene is primarily drawn from interviews with Manuela Medrano, in House Select Committee on Assassinations (hereafter HSCA), Appendix Reports, vol. 4, pp. 157-58.

⁴¹ bought a Kodak Super 8: McMillan, Making of an Assassin, p. 263.

⁴² Visibly upset: HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 4, pp. 157-58.

⁴³ modest but respectable enough place: On a research trip to Puerto Vallarta, I visited the Rio, still a popular downtown hotel, and viewed archival photographs from the 1960s.

⁴⁴ "publisher's assistant": See Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 94, and McMillan, Making of an Assassin, p. 266.

⁴⁵ "idyllic": Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King? p. 78.

⁴⁶ "everybody there wanted": Ray, "20,000 Words," HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 12, p. 69.

⁴⁷ erotic feedback loop: William Bradford Huie visited this whorehouse in 1968 and describes it in some detail in his book He Slew the Dreamer, pp. 95-96.

⁴⁸ Galt began frequenting: My description of Ray's favorite bordello is drawn from the summary of the time he spent in Mexico in HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 4, as well as in Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, pp. 94-95.

⁴⁹ He complained of headaches: McMillan, Making of an Assassin, p. 270.

⁵⁰ He rarely tipped: Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 97.

⁵¹ which he called his "equalizer": Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 66.

⁵² trips into the hills: HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 4, p. 159.

⁵³ keen on learning ... local Mexican dances: Ibid.

⁵⁴ "I seriously considered the trade": Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 61.

⁵⁵ "He said many insulting things": A good overview of the incident at Casa Susana is in HSCA, Final Assassinations Report, pp. 328-29.

⁵⁶ "I'm going to kill them": This and other details of the confrontation with the black sailors are in an official interview with Medrano, HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 4, p. 158. Also p. 174.

⁵⁷ he straddled Elisa: McMillan, Making of an Assassin, p. 269.

⁵⁸ He had a mirror: Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 97.

⁵⁹ "I couldn't accomplish anything": Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 61.

⁶⁰ "I don't believe you can live in Mexico": Ray interview, HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 9, p. 488.

⁶¹ in the direction of Tijuana: Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 62.