The end of the book?

I have begun to think that I have reached the end of book two. With the cases against Toffer going to litigation, Toffer’s time in the story is limited. With Tobias unable to pursue the destruction of every girl he sees as an object, he is also limited.  Sure, he can spread terror in other ways, but at the moment, he is not a threat to anyone of the opposite sex.

Natalia, of course, will see this as a change for the good. It will cause her to pursue him even more as the series continues. But I left the story on a positive note. I also ended with the girls in school.

I introduced some major characters in the last few chapters. Characters who will play important roles in the upcoming books. Some are leaving the series for good :Schoeneman, Wyland, Tobias’ original gang, and the 47 (though Carlton will reappear later, but not as the leader of the 47.).

Natalia’s little group of friends has begun to disappear as well. Partly due to Tobias’ penchant for assault, it is not completely due to that. It also has a lot to do with Natalia’s obsession with him. Though she knows that he is a bad person, she still believes he is largely innocent of all that he has been accused of. Since her group is shrinking, I won’t be naming any of them. What is the use when the faces will change?

Dunlap will be replaced in the next book, but it was imperative that he was central to this book, since he replaced Schoeneman. I introduced J. Edgar Hoover, Joseph McCarthy, and Pat McCarran into the story along with the legislators from Iowa. All are actual historical figures.

Des Moines mayors will only hold an important spot in the story, changing according to their time as mayor,  until they are no longer important. Same with governors. The Assembly, Tax Commission, IRS, Justice Department, Iowa Attorney General and other key historical figures will remain in the story until 1959 or until the year they died historically.

I took time to introduce Tom Goldman and Kendrick Wells as well. Since both men play important roles (Ken until 1960) throughout the overall story, It was important to bring them in as early as possible. Their dislike for “Eddy”, their boss at the FBI, will play a big part in what they do later. (As stated, few people in Washington actually liked or trusted J. Edgar Hoover (better known as “Eddy” here). He was a central force to the communist witch hunts of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s before he died. He remained the head of the FBI until his death and made many enemies, including several Presidents.

I mention the rumor that Hoover was a cross-dresser and a homosexual (in a comment that Tom makes to Ken) since it was a not-so-well hidden and nearly everyone in Washington held the belief that it was true…at least from most of the sources I have researched. It was, I believe, a response to his own assertion that there were many in Congress or in other governmental posts who were, themselves, either homosexual or communist…or both.

It is odd that history is so full of events that speak a warning to us, and yet, as a country, we refuse to listen. Life can truly be stranger than fiction when we view what has already been. Many would believe that the evens I write about are today’s current events. But no, they happened in the 1950’s, the decade so innocently portrayed by such shows as Happy Days, I Love Lucy, and other sitcoms or movies based in or produced during that decade.