Mrs. PITTS. Cleaning.
Mr. HUBERT. Work, and you say you don’t know what time it was?
Mrs. PITTS. No, I don’t, but it was--it was after 8. I know way after
8, and when I called him he said to me, “What do you want?” And I
said----
Mr. HUBERT. Did you recognize his voice?
Mrs. PITTS. Well, I’ll tell you how he talked to me, then I said, “What
do I want?” I says, “This is Elnora.” He says, “Yes, well, what--you
need some money?” And I says, “No; I was coming to clean today.”
“Coming to clean?” Like you know, like he just----
Mr. HUBERT. In other words, when you told him that you were coming to
clean he seemed to express some surprise, is that it?
Mrs. PITTS. Yes, sir; like he didn’t know that I was going to come and
clean.
Mr. HUBERT. Did he recognize you?
Mrs. PITTS. I don’t know if he did or not. And I says to him again, I
says, “This is Elnora.” And he says, “Well, what do you want?” And I
said, “Well, I was coming to clean today.”
“You coming now?” And I says, “No.”
Mr. HUBERT. He asked you then, “Are you coming now?”
Mrs. PITTS. Yes, sir; and then I says, “No.” And he says, “Well, what
you got to do?” And I says, “I have got to go to the store for the
children.” I always goes to the store for the children before I come to
work whenever I come. He says, “Well,”--I says, “You seem so funny to
me.” And I says, “Do you want me to come today?” And he says, “Well,
yes; you can come, but you call me.” And I says, “That’s what I’m doing
now, calling you so I won’t have to call you again.” And he says, “And
you coming to clean today?” And I said, “Yes.” Well, he sounded so
strange to me but I still wouldn’t say nothing to him. I just stopped
another few minutes, and I said, “Who am I talking to? Is this Mr. Jack
Ruby?” And he said, “Yes. Why?” And I said, “Oh, nothing.” But he just
sounded terrible strange to me, so, I said, “Well, I’ll call you.” And
he says, “But, I don’t see why I called you.” And he said, “Yes, so I
can tell you where the key will be and the money.” And I said, “Okay.”
So, I hung up.
Mr. HUBERT. Did you arrange a time to go then?
Mrs. PITTS. He told me to call him before I come.
Mr. HUBERT. Did he tell you what time?
Mrs. PITTS. I told him that I would be there before 2 and he says for
me to call him.
Mr. HUBERT. Did he suggest 2 o’clock?
Mrs. PITTS. No; I did.
Mr. HUBERT. What did he say when you suggested 2?
Mrs. PITTS. He said, “Why so late?”
Mr. HUBERT. And what did you say?
Mrs. PITTS. I told him, said, “Well, I have got to go to the store, and
I have got some things to do.”
Mr. HUBERT. Did you tell him you had some cleaning to do?
Mrs. PITTS. Yes, sir; I had some cleaning to do, straightening up.
Mr. HUBERT. Did he agree that 2 o’clock would be all right?
Mrs. PITTS. No; he didn’t seem to think that 2 o’clock was all right.
Mr. HUBERT. But he asked you to call him?
Mrs. PITTS. Yes, sir; he asked me to call him.
Mr. HUBERT. Did he ask you to call him at 2 or what?
Mrs. PITTS. No; he says, “You call me before 2,” that is what he says.
He says, “Be sure you call me.” To call before 2, “Before you come.” He
says, “You call me before 2, before you start,” and I says, “Well, what
I have to call you again for?” And he says, “Well, so I can tell you
where the key is and the money.” And I said, “Uh-huh.”
So, before I could, you know, hang up, he says, “Be sure and call me.”
“Did you say you was coming in today?” And I said, “Yes.” And when he
said that, that’s when it kind of scared me, so, I just hung--I say,
“okay,” and I hung up.
Mr. HUBERT. What were you scared about?
Mrs. PITTS. The way he talked. He didn’t talk like--he never did sound
like hisself to me.
Mr. HUBERT. Are you sure you were talking to him?
Mrs. PITTS. Well, I guess so.
Mr. HUBERT. Had you ever talked to him before on the telephone?
Mrs. PITTS. Yes, it sounded like him in one way, and when he went to
talking, you know, just saying the same thing two or three times, that
is what--that is when I asked him, you know, if I was talking to Mr.
Jack Ruby.
Mr. HUBERT. So, there was some doubt in your mind as to whether it was
Jack Ruby?
Mrs. PITTS. Yes, sir. It was a doubt in something wrong with him the
way he was talking to me. Other things--times I would have, you know,
just laid my work down and went ahead on.
I called my daughter and told her, and she said, “Well, are you going
over there now?” And, “No; he don’t sound right to me over the phone. I
am going to wait.”
Mr. HUBERT. What I want to get at is this, whether or not you can say
it was Jack Ruby that you were talking to but that he seemed different?
Mrs. PITTS. Yes, sir; that was him.
Mr. HUBERT. Or whether or not he seemed so different that you were not
sure that it was Jack Ruby?
Mrs. PITTS. Yes, sir. It was him. I’m sure of that, but then he just
was indifferent. He sure did talk indifferent; yes, sir. He sure did.
Mr. HUBERT. Now, did he tell you that he was going out, or that he
would be back around 2?
Mrs. PITTS. Said he was going out, he would try to be back by 2. That
is what he told me. He says, “You call me before.” That is what he told
me.
Mr. HUBERT. Did he tell you when he was going out, Mrs. Pitts?
Mrs. PITTS. No, sir; didn’t tell me, says, “I am going out.” That is
what he says, and I says to him, I says, “If you are going to have
company or something”--I says, “I can wait and come tomorrow.” He said,
“Oh, no; you come on.”
Mr. HUBERT. Can you fix a little better for us the time that this
conversation took place?
Mrs. PITTS. It was after 8 o’clock, was way after 8, but just to tell
the truth----
Mr. HUBERT. You say “Way after 8,” you mean way after 8 on the way to 9?
Mrs. PITTS. Well, I imagine somewhere around 8:30, then, I guess it was.
Mr. HUBERT. It wasn’t after 9?
Mrs. PITTS. No, sir; it wasn’t after 9.
Mr. HUBERT. How can you be sure about that? Is there anything that you
remember that makes you say it was not before 8 but afterward, and not
before 9?
Mrs. PITTS. Well, the children had the programs on Sundays, and I know
then that they was a, you know, singing, and that is why I know it was
between 8--8:30 and 9.
Mr. HUBERT. That was what I was trying to get at, get something that
you could identify so that you could fix the time that way.
Mrs. PITTS. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Did you go to church, perhaps, that day?
Mrs. PITTS. No, sir; I didn’t.
Mr. HUBERT. Children go to church?
Mrs. PITTS. No, sir; they--they was intending to go to church. One--you
see, one, I think, did go to Sunday school, but church.
Mr. HUBERT. What time did he go?
Mrs. PITTS. That one going to Sunday school was ready and gone before
then.
Mr. HUBERT. What time does Sunday school begin?
Mrs. PITTS. Well, Sunday school begins around, I think, 9 o’clock.
Mr. HUBERT. So, he had already gone?
Mrs. PITTS. Yes, sir.