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

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.

³⁵⁶ bathroom was disgustingly dirty: My detailed description of the flophouse bathroom, including the condition of the toilet and bathtub, is primarily drawn from crime scene photographs taken by homicide detectives of the Memphis Police Department, on April 4 and 5, 1968, Hughes Collection. I also consulted photographs of the bathroom taken by the Memphis photographer Ernest Withers, Withers Collection.

³⁵⁷ watching the Lorraine: Memphis Police Department statement "Ptm. W. B. Richmond, Inspectional Bureau," April 9, 1968, box 5, Posner Papers, Gotlieb Center.

³⁵⁸ "He's been shot!": Ibid.

³⁵⁹ "I know a shot when I hear one": FBI interview with Stephens, April 4, 1968.

³⁶⁰ Charlie Stephens opened the door: Ibid.

³⁶¹ "Hey, that sounded like a shot!": FBI interview with Anschutz, April 4, 1968.