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His Familiarity with Chappaquiddick. Kennedy flatly said that he had "never been to Chappaquiddick before 1:30 on the day of July 18." Two islanders remember differently. Says Harbor Master John Edwards, who formerly operated the ferry: "I took him to Chappaquiddick many times." Harold ("Ham") Kelley Jr., manager of the Chappaquiddick Beach Club, about a quarter-mile east of the ferry landing, recalls that on a regatta weekend in 1963, "I kicked him out. We're open to members only, and he was not a member." There is no evidence, however, that Kennedy was familiar with Dike Road and the bridge before the accident.
His Timing of Events.
District Attorney Edmund Dinis asked Kennedy at the inquest what time he, Gargan and Markham arrived back at the bridge. Replied the Senator: "I think it was 12:20, Mr. Dinis. I believe that I looked at the Valiant's clock and believe that it was 12:20." If Look was correct about having spotted Kennedy's car at 12:45, the Senator would not have had time to make "seven or eight" rescue attempts, return to the cottage, bring back his companions for further attempts, swim across the channel and change his clothing before he spoke with the innkeeper at 2:25 a.m. If Look was right, moreover, Kennedy could not very well have been headed for the ferry, which stopped regular operations at midnight. But Kennedy's recollection was wrong. The reason: the Valiant had no clock. Indeed, Chrysler Corp. officials say that "this particular model [100] does not offer a clock as factory-installed equipment." Further, TIME found and examined the Valiant and discovered no drill holes, dashboard scratches nor any other indications that the car had ever had a clock. The rental agency sold the Valiant about 1½ months after the accident for $1,725 to an elderly widow, who still garages it in a small red shed adjoining her home on Martha's Vineyard.
THE UPSHOT
A thorough investigation of the accident might have answered all of the critical questions about Chappaquiddick.
But Chief Arena accepted Kennedy's 240-word statement with no questions.
There was no autopsy.
Dinis' performance in the case was even more baffling. At first he refused to get involved. Three weeks later he changed his mind, and an inquest was held in January 1970. But by then, Dinis' attitude seemed to have changed again.
His questions were soft or off the point.
In the end, the four-day hearing produced 763 typed pages of testimony from 27 witnesses—but little new information.
Some authorities in Massachusetts suspect that he dragged his feet on the case for political reasons. For more than two decades, Dinis has been a political wheeler-dealer. He served as district attorney for eleven years while managing a private law practice as well as insurance and real estate businesses. He was not much of a crime buster.