It’s so interesting to have people not only listen to him but also hang on his every word, analyzing its significance, weighing its importance.

He knows they’re trying to decide whether he’s sane.

Shortly thereafter, Mark is told that his attorney has decided to quit. Apparently, Adlerberg has received many death threats. Several promise to have him lynched.

His new lawyer, Jonathan Marks, can stomach fear. Most important, the man lusts for the limelight.

He’ll do just fine.

Mark begins to confide in his attorney. The young Harvard Law School graduate and former assistant US attorney in Brooklyn listens intently.

There are reports that grieving Lennon fans are planning to storm Bellevue. The hospital can’t protect him, so he’s transferred to Rikers Island. He refuses to eat, fearing he’ll be poisoned. The windows in his room are painted black. The prison is worried about snipers.

Alone in his cell, he thinks strategy.

“People are always eager to move on to the next bright, shiny object.”

That won’t be the case with me. I’m going to shine on, like the moon and the stars and the sun.

Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Hey, kid, rock and roll

Rock on.

—“Rock On”

On Yoko’s orders, security expert Doug MacDougall has taken charge of John’s remains. To confuse the press, the bodyguard has deployed multiple decoy hearses from a funeral chapel on Madison Avenue. He brings John’s body to the crematory at Ferncliff Cemetery, in Hartsdale, New York, without being followed.

Under cover of darkness, MacDougall returns to Studio One, carrying a large box wrapped with a big bow.

“What’s that?” John’s assistant, Fred Seaman, asks.

“That,” the bodyguard replies, “was the greatest rock musician in the world.”

*  *  *

Sean’s runny nose has spiked into a fever, and he’s been recovering in his bedroom. Yoko hasn’t been able to leave her room for days, so she sends the nanny to bring the boy to her.

“Why’s Julian here? Where’s Dad?” he’s been asking. Sean approaches Yoko’s bed, which is strewn with blankets and newspapers. At five years old, he’s just learning to read, but he sees the letters l-e-n-n-o-n repeated over and over.

“Your dad’s dead,” Yoko tells him. “He’s been killed.” She doesn’t soften the truth.

“Don’t worry, Mom,” Sean says with age-defying wisdom. “You’re still young. You’ll find somebody.”

“Well, I’m glad you feel that way about it,” she says.

The pressure Sean’s feeling is too much. He runs to his room and cries.

*  *  *

“There is no funeral for John,” Yoko announces. “John loved and prayed for the human race. Please do the same for him.”

She scatters his ashes in a spot in Central Park that can be viewed from their apartment.