The Legacy by Stephen Frey Page B

what had happened, except for one small problem. Someone had forcibly ripped the movie camera away from her only moments after the shooting. Then she dropped the real bombshell. The person who had confiscated the camera and the film was a Dallas policeman. An officer named Jim Egan.
    What? That made no sense to Cole. She wouldnt have known he was a cop. You said my father wasnt in uniform that day.
    Thats right, I did.
    Did he identify himself when he took the film away from her?
    No, he didnt. Andrea identified him later on her own. She watched Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald on television and saw your father in the background. He was in uniform when they were bringing Oswald out. Andrea recognized his face after she had seen the killing replayed a few times on television. She said she waited after recognizing him before she came forward because she was certain he must have passed the film on to the proper people. However, when nothing came out about the film in the press, she decided to follow up.
    But in all the books and accounts of that day you never hear about this, Cole pointed out. I mean, theres the airman on leave from Alaska who claimed to have a camera confiscated and
    And several others, Smith interrupted. I know. But this story remained under wraps, primarily because no one believed Andrea, not even the few reporters who heard about it. Your father adamantly denied her accusation about taking the camera, and she was acting mysterious. She gave her permanent address as a Dallas hotel, and she wasnt willing to produce any identification proving who she was. It was a simple case of believing a man who had a good, though brief, reputation as a law officer over a woman who seemed to be trying to generate her fifteen minutes of fame.
    But she wasnt lying, Cole said defiantly.
    Smith pressed his tongue in the gap between his teeth again, then smacked his lips. Apparently not. A strange expression came over his face. But how did you know your father confiscated the film from someone? He could have gotten it any number of ways.
    Cole was hesitant to reveal too much. But Bennett Smith was providing answers to questions he had wondered about for many years and he didnt want the information flow to stop. At the end of the Dealey Tape
    Thats what you call it? Smith interrupted again.
    Cole nodded.
    Incredible. Smith shook his head, reached across the table and slapped Cole on the shoulder.
    Cole grinned. What?
    Your father was always naming things too. He named his gun, his badge, his boots. It didnt matter what it was. He named everything. Smith sat back down on the bench seat still chuckling. Go ahead, I interrupted you. I apologize.
    Suddenly Cole liked Bennett Smith even though the man was a self-described professional assassina claim Cole did not doubt for a moment. While he took actions many would not approve of, the man gave the impression he could convince anyone that honorable men had to commit unsavory acts to ensure the security of a republic. Smith indeed had killed the woman on Thirty-ninth Street in cold blood, but she had been about to pull a trigger herself. Smith had saved his life and that was reason enough to like him.
    Its okay, Cole said. At the end of the Dealey Tape, after the limousine takes off and my mother Cole swallowed the words. My mother. It sounded strange now that he was beginning to get to know her, even if she was dead and the familiarity was coming through a conduit. Sorry. He glanced at Smith.
    Its all right. Smith wasnt a sentimental man, but he could understand what Cole was going through.
    Cole coughed, then continued. As I was saying, the tape goes black for a second, then my fathers face appears. Its fuzzy, but its obviously him. Then the tape goes black again. I guess his face appears because hes about to take the camera from my mother.
    Smith whistled through his missing tooth. Jim really had the tape all these years. You know, that was another one of his traits. He could keep