Devil's Den by Timothy Ashby

Author:Timothy Ashby [Ashby, Timothy]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781939990136
Publisher: Author Planet Press
Published: 2011-03-21T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 29

Washington, D.C.

Tuesday, June 26, 1923

Early editions of The Washington Post and The Washington Star were always waiting on the back seat of J. Edgar Hoover’s chauffeured car when it arrived at 413 Seward Square at exactly 7:00 each weekday morning. The Bureau’s Assistant Director invariably scanned the Post during the ride to the Justice Department and completed his morning reading of the Star within 15 minutes after he arrived at his office. He kept a tiny green book in his breast pocket for making notes on articles that warranted further attention.

Hoover’s eyes were drawn to the front page story headlined “Brutal Murder at Veterans’ Home.” The victim’s name, Caleb Donnell, seemed familiar. Edgar had an excellent memory, and after ten seconds of concentration he remembered where he had seen the name. He noted it, finished reading the story, and moved on to the next column that carried a piece datelined Munich about some obscure German named Adolf Hitler, who was quoted as calling Germany “neither a democracy nor a republic, but a Bolshevik-Jewish pigsty.” Hoover clucked his tongue at the absurdity of foreigners - how fortunate he was to be an American, living in a land where democracy and the rule of law prevailed!

In his office, Hoover finished his morning newspaper routine and checked his notes. The Washington Star had restated the Post’s story about the strangling of the 79-year-old triple amputee who had won the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Civil War. The police detective in charge of the investigation had admitted that as yet there were no suspects.

Hoover swiveled in his chair to the large safe behind his desk and turned the combination lock. He removed one of several dozen files labeled with his personally devised code names for various “operations” -- some personal, others official. Only he and Helen Gandy knew that the encrypted letters on this particular label could be translated to “Operation Gettysburg“: Hoover’s name for his own probe of an investigation that could lead to a great personal victory.

Opening the folder, he turned over three day’s accumulation of reports by his surveillance team and several witness statements - unsigned but ready for Archie Coleman’s signature over his typed name - until he came to the letter he had taken from Brooks’ office.

Hoover’s memory had served him correctly. Among the six names handwritten on the stationery of New Jersey Senator Matthew J. Tichenor was “Caleb Donnell,” the victim of yesterday’s unsolved murder.

After reviewing every other scrap of material in the folder, Hoover steepled his fingers and concentrated on discerning a pattern from the fragments of information. He hardly noticed when Helen Gandy quietly set a pot of coffee on his desk and poured him a cup.

Hoover smiled at the memory of Brooks’ humiliation after being ejected from the Attorney General’s office; he wondered if the argument he had overheard had been related to the Gettysburg investigation. He was also curious about the extent of Daugherty’s involvement. Hoover had been around the Harding administration’s

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