A Time to Kill Level 5 PDF

 A Time to Kill J O H N GRISHAM Level 5 Retold by Christopher Tribble Series Editors: Andy Hopkins and Jocelyn Potter  Pearson Education Limited Contents...

 A Time to Kill J O H N GRISHAM Level 5 Retold by Christopher Tribble Series Editors: Andy Hopkins and Jocelyn Potter  Pearson Education Limited Contents Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex CM20 2JE, England and Associated Companies throughout the world. page ISBN-13: 978-0-582-36410-3 ISBN-10: 0-582-36410-8 Introduction V First published in Great Britain by Century, one of the Publishers in Chapter 1 A Violent Crime 1 Random House UK Ltd 1989 This edition first published 1999 Chapter 2 Revenge 6 Original copyright ©John Grisham 1989 Chapter 3 Afterward 13 Text copyright © Penguin Books 1999 All rights reserved Chapter 4 The Klan 21 11 Chapter 5 Lawyers. 25 Typeset by Digital Type, London Chapter 6 Professional Witnesses 29 Set in 1 l/14pt Bembo Printed in China Chapter 7 Problems for Jake 31 SWTC/11 Chapter 8 The Research Assistant 37 All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored Chapter 9 Preparations 40 in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the Chapter 10 The Jury 45 prior written permission of the Publishers. Chapter 11 The Trial Begins 52 Published by Pearson Education Limited in association with Chapter 12 A Crazy World 59 Penguin Books Ltd, both companies being subsidiaries of Pearson Plc Chapter 13 The Trial Ends 69 Chapter 14 Guilty or Not Guilty? 76 Activities 87 For a complete list of titles available in the Penguin Readers series please write to your local Pearson Education office or contact: Penguin Readers Marketing Department, Pearson Education, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex, CM20 2JE.  Introduction Jake Brigance woke at 5.30 a.m. as usual, rolled out of bed, and went downstairs to make coffee for his wife, Carla. It is just another day in the life of a small town Southern lawyer, an ambitious man with a loving wife and a new car that he has not yet paid for. But, like everyone else in Clanton, Mississippi, Jake soon hears awful news — two local men have attacked and raped ten-year-old Tonya Hailey. After the rape Tonya's father, Carl Lee, plans his own revenge. As a result, only his lawyer and friend Jake Brigance stands between him and the electric chair. But does Jake have the experience to win this particular case? Is there a legal defense for Carl Lee's actions? John Grisham's story takes us into the dark side of the southern United States. Clanton has a black sheriff and many good, honest citizens, but it is at times a violent place where blacks and whites have still not learned to live together. The fear and violence increases when the Ku Klux Klan become involved. They, too, want revenge. John Grisham is the author of The Firm, The Client, and many other exciting titles. Grisham was born in 1955 and became a lawyer after he graduated from college. He was also involved in politics. When his first two books became bestsellers, he gave up the law profession to become a full-time writer. He now lives in Virginia and Mississippi with his wife and two children. He has sold over 55 million copies of his books and is one of the world's most popular writers.  Chapter 1 A Violent Crime Billy Ray Cobb sat on the back of the pickup drinking a beer, watching his friend Pete Willard take his turn with the black girl. She was ten, and small for her age. She did not look at the man on top of her. He was breathing hard and swearing. He was hurting her. When he finished, he hit her in the mouth and laughed, and the other man laughed too. Then they laughed harder and rolled around the grass by the pickup, screaming like two crazy men. The girl lay in a pool of blood and beer. Later, Willard asked what Billy Ray planned to do now that they had finished with her. Billy Ray said they should kill her. "Are you going to do it?" asked Willard. Cobb hesitated. "No, I'll let you do it." Willard said, "It wasn't my idea. You're the one who's good at killing niggers. You do it." He thought for a minute while he finished a beer. "Let's throw her off a bridge." "Good idea. Very good idea," said Billy Ray. They drove past Lake Chatulla, a large, man-made mud-hole in the far southwest corner of Ford County, looking for a place to throw out their unwanted passenger. At each bridge they approached, they saw blacks fishing in the muddy water. Cobb was getting desperate by now. He turned off into a side road and stopped the pickup. They threw her into the long grass at the edge of the woods. Carl Lee Hailey did not hurry home when he got the phone call. Gwen was easily excited, and she had called him at work before when she thought the children had been kidnapped. He 1 only became anxious when he turned into his yard and saw the Ozzie Walls was the only black sheriff in Mississippi. He was police car parked next to the house. proud of this, especially since Ford County was 74 percent white As he opened the front door, he wondered where Tony and and the other black sheriffs had been from much blacker the boys were. Then he heard Gwen crying. To his right in the counties. He arrested Billy Ray Cobb and Willard in Huey's, a small living-room he saw a crowd around a small figure. The bar on Highway 365 near the lake outside town. They had been child was covered with towels and surrounded by crying there all evening, drinking whiskey and telling everybody about relatives. As he went closer, the crying stopped and they moved the good time they had been having. Bad news travels fast, and back. the story had soon reached the sheriff. Carl Lee Hailey asked what had happened. No one answered. Ozzie was smiling when he walked to the table where Cobb Only Gwen stayed by the girl, holding her hand. He knelt beside was sitting with Willard and two others. the sofa and touched the girl's shoulder. He spoke to his "I'm sorry, sir, but we don't allow niggers in here," said Cobb, daughter, and she tried to smile. Both her eyes were swollen shut and the four started to laugh. Ozzie continued to smile. and bleeding. When the laughing stopped, Ozzie said, "You boys having a Carl Lee stood and turned to the crowd and demanded to good time, Billy Ray?" know what had happened. "We were." He asked for the third time. The deputy, Willie Hastings, one "Looks like it. I hate to interrupt your conversation, but you of Gwen's cousins, stepped forward and told Carl Lee that some and Mr. Willard need to come with me." people were fishing down by the river when they saw Tonya "Where're we going?"Willard asked. lying in the middle of the road. She told them her daddy's name, "For a ride." and they brought her home. "I ain't moving," said Cobb. Willard stared desperately at "What happened, Willie?" Carl Lee shouted as he stared at the Cobb. Cobb drank his beer and said, "I ain't going to jail." deputy. Ozzie's deputy passed the sheriff the longest, blackest police Hastings spoke slowly, looking out of the window while he stick ever used in Ford County. Ozzie struck the center of the repeated what Tonya had told her mother about the white men table, sending beer and cans in all directions. Willard sat up as if and their pickup, and the rope and the trees, and being hurt he had been hit. He put his wrists together and held them out for when they got on her. Hastings stopped when he heard the Deputy Looney. He was dragged outside and thrown into a sound of the approaching ambulance. police car. Carl Lee walked out of the house with his daughter in his Cobb did not move. Ozzie took him by the hair and lifted arms. He whispered gently to her, the tears rolling down his face. him from his chair, then pushed his face into the floor. He put a He walked to the back of the ambulance and stepped inside. The knee into his back, slid his stick under his throat, and pulled doctor closed the door and carefully took her from him. upward while pushing down on the knee. Cobb stopped moving when he couldn't breathe any more. 2 3  He was no trouble after that. Ozzie dragged Cobb by the hair "Lester Hailey? Of course I remember." across the dance floor, out of the door, across the yard and threw "You know his brother Carl Lee?" him into the back seat with Willard. "Sure. Know him well. I know all the Haileys. Represented most of them." "Well, it was his little girl." Jake Brigance woke at 5.30 a.m. as usual, rolled out of bed, and "You're joking?" went downstairs to make coffee for his wife, Carla. She was still "No." asleep. He had to be at the Coffee Shop at 6 a.m. He had made Suddenly Jake didn't feel hungry any more. He pushed his many rules like this for himself. He was ambitious but poor. If he plate to one side. He listened to the conversation change from was going to be the most successful lawyer in the state, he knew fishing to Japanese cars and back to fishing. he would also have to be the hardest working. He gave Carla her coffee, kissed his still sleeping four-year-old daughter goodbye, and went out of the house. The new red Saab At three minutes before seven, Jake unlocked the front door to he drove had a lot in common with the beautiful nineteenth- his office and turned on the lights. His office was a two-story century house he had just left. First, they were the only ones of building in a row of two-story buildings overlooking the their kind in Ford County. Second, he owed the three local banks courthouse on the north side of the square, just down from the a lot of money for both of them. There were good reasons why Coffee Shop. The building had been built by the Wilbanks family Jake Brigance worked so hard. back in the 1890s, when they owned most of Ford County. There He heard about the rape of Tonya Hailey at the Coffee Shop, had been a Wilbanks practicing law in the building until 1979, as he was eating breakfast with Tim Nunley, who worked at the when Jake's employer, Lucien Wilbanks, had been thrown out of local garage, and Bill and Bert West, who worked at the shoe the legal profession for a series of offenses resulting from a serious factory north of town. There were three deputies having drink problem. breakfast at the next table, and they asked him if he had defended Lucien had been more hurt by this than anything that had Billy Ray Cobb on a drugs case a few years ago. happened to him in his troubled life. He gave the keys of the "No, I didn't represent him. I think he had a Memphis office to Jake and left town. The firm was now Jake's and though lawyer," Jake replied. "What's he done?" Lucien had come back, he had no involvement with it. He spent "We arrested him last night for rape." most of his time up at the Wilbanks' place, drinking whiskey and "Rape!" looking out over the garden. "Yes, him and Pete Willard." "Who did they rape?" "You remember that Hailey nigger you looked after in that Carl Lee had not been able to sleep at the hospital. Tonya's murder trial a few years ago?" condition was serious but she was not going to die. They had seen 4 5  her at midnight, after the doctor warned them that she looked They talked about Tonya and Carl Lee's family. Then Carl Lee bad. She did. Gwen had kissed the little bandaged face while Carl told Jake that his younger brother Lester was coming down from Lee stood at the end of the bed, unable to do anything but stare at Chicago. the small figure surrounded by machines, tubes, and nurses. "What's Lester coming in for?"Jake asked. The sheriff, Ozzie Walls, brought coffee and cakes at two in the "Family business." morning, and told Carl Lee all he knew about Cobb and Willard. "Are you two planning something?" "No. He just wants to see Tonya." "You two be careful." Jake began to check his mail. He heard his secretary Ethel Twitty "That's easy for you to say, Jake." come in at eight-thirty as usual. At around that time Sheriff "I know." Ozzie Walls was typing up Pete Willard's story of the rape. -"You've got a little girl. If she was lying up in the hospital, Ozzie had told Willard what had happened to the last white beaten and raped, what wo_uld you do?" man who had gone to the State Jail at Parchman. Jake looked through the window of the door and could not "About five years ago a young white man in Helena County answer. Carl Lee waited. raped a black girl. She was twelve. They were waiting for him "Don't do anything stupid, Carl Lee." when he got to Parchman. Knew he was coming. On his first "Answer my question. What would you do?" night about thirty blacks tied him over a big oil drum and "I don't know. I don't know what I'd do." climbed on. The guards watched and laughed. They hate rapists. "Let me ask you this. If it was your little girl, and if it was two The other prisoners got him every night for three months, and niggers, and you could get your hands on them, what would you then they killed him." do?" After that, Willard seemed to want to help the sheriff as much "Kill them." as he could. Carl Lee smiled, then laughed. "I'm sure you would, Jake. I'm sure you would. Then you'd hire an expensive lawyer to say you were cra2y, just like you did Chapter 2 Revenge when you defended Lester." As they came out of the courthouse, Jake told Carl Lee it had Jake was in court the next day to see Billy Ray and Willard go been different when Lester was on trial. There was no planning. before the local judge and to hear Ozzie Wall's report of Willard's The man Lester had killed had attacked him first. Carl Lee story. Carl Lee was there too. As soon as they had heard the judge looked back up at the stairs. say that the two men should be kept in jail, Carl Lee and Jake "Is this how they'll come into the courtroom?" he asked, walked out of the courtroom and down to the first floor. They without looking at Jake. stopped at the back door of the court. "Who?" 6 7  "Those boys." Carl Lee nodded. He looked down the hall. "Yes. Most of the time they take them up those stairs. It's "Come outside," he said. "I've got some things to ask you." quicker and safer. They can park right outside the door here." "Are you ready to defend another member of my family?" "Don't do it, Carl Lee. It's not worth it. What if you're found The Ford County Courthouse opened at 8 a.m. and closed at guilty and they give you the electric chair? What about your 5 p.m. every day except Friday, when it closed at four-thirty. At children? Who'll look after them?" four-thirty on Friday, Carl Lee was hiding in a first-floor toilet. "I have no choice, Jake. I'll never sleep till those two are dead. He sat and listened quietly for an hour. No one. Silence. He I owe it to my little girl, I owe it to myself, and I owe it to my walked through the wide, dark hall to the back doors, and looked people. It'll be done." through the window. There was no one around. He listened for a They opened the doors, and walked down to Washington while. No one. Street, opposite Jake's office. They shook hands. Jake promised to He started to study the building. He pretended to be on trial. stop at the hospital the next day to see Gwen and the family. He put his hands behind him and walked the thirty feet to the "One more thing, Jake. Will you meet me at the jail when stairs - up the stairs, ten steps, then a turn to the left, just like they arrest me?" Lester said. He had a good memory, and Lester's time in the army Jake nodded before he thought about what Carl Lee was saying. had made him good at giving directions. Carl Lee smiled and walked down the sidewalk to his pickup. Carl Lee studied the courthouse for over an hour. Up and down, up and down, he followed the movements that would be made by the men who had raped his daughter. He followed them Carl Lee's younger brother, Lester, drove from Chicago to in his mind, room by room. He sat in the judge's chair and Clanton in his new Cadillac. It was late Wednesday night when looked out over the court. He sat in one of the comfortable he arrived at the hospital. He found some of his cousins reading chairs in the jury box. He sat in the witness chair. magazines in the second-floor waiting room. When he saw Carl It was dark at seven o'clock when Carl Lee Hailey raised a Lee, he pulled him close and held him tightly. They had not seen window in the toilet and went quietly through the bushes and each other since the Christmas holidays, when half the blacks in into the darkness. Chicago traveled home to Mississippi and Alabama. "How is she?" Lester asked. "Better. Much better. Might go home this weekend." Getting the gun was no problem. Carl Lee and Lester just went Lester felt his breathing get easier. When he had left Chicago to Memphis, met an old army friend of Carl Lee's called Cat eleven hours earlier he had thought she was near death. He lit a Bruster and asked for an M-16.* Two hours later it was in the cigarette under the NO S M O K I N G sign and stared at his big brother. "You OK?" * M-16: an automatic weapon used by the US army. 8 9 trunk of Lester's Cadillac. The gun was the easy part; what came up the stairs, but fell over each other as they slipped on their own next would be harder. blood. Deputy Looney was hit in the leg but managed to get up the stairs into a back room. From there he could hear the screams of On May 20, Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard were brought back Cobb and Willard, and the crazy nigger laughing. Bullets to the court to hear Judge Bullard tell them the date of their trial. continued to hit the walls of the narrow stairway, and as he Jake Brigance had no reason to be in court, but he still worried looked through the door, Looney could see blood and flesh about Carl Lee as he worked in his office. sliding down the walls. Just before two o'clock he went over to the window one more The enormous explosions of the M-16 filled the courthouse. time and lit another cigarette. The two rapists had just heard that Through the gunfire and the sounds of the bullets hitting the they would be held in the county jail until the trial. walls of the stairway, Looney could still hear Carl Lee's crazy The crowd started to leave the courtroom, but Carl Lee's laughter. brother, Lester, did not move. He watched closely as the two When Carl Lee stopped, he threw the gun at the two bodies white boys were taken through the door into the room behind and ran into the toilet. He went out through the window, as he the judge's table. When they were out of sight, he placed his head had done on that earlier evening, onto the sidewalk. Then he in his hands and said a short prayer. Then he listened. walked to his pickup and drove home. Cobb, or what was left of him, stopped moving and lay against Willard. Their blood mixed and ran down each step, covering the Cobb went first down the stairs, then Willard, then Deputy foot of the stairway. Looney. Ten steps down, then turn right. Then ten steps to the first floor. Three other deputies waited outside by the police cars, smoking and watching the reporters who had come to the Jake ran across the street to the back door of the courthouse. One court. deputy was on the floor, a gun in his hand, shouting at the When Cobb reached the second step from the floor, with reporters who were trying to get in. The other deputies looked Willard three steps behind, and Looney one step behind him, a out from behind the police cars. Jake ran to the front of the small door burst open and Carl Lee Hailey jumped out from the courthouse, where more deputies were guarding the door and darkness with the M-16 in his hands. getting people out of the building. Holding the gun only one or two feet from the men who had Jake pushed his way through the crowd and inside. There he raped his daughter, he opened fire. The loud, rapid gunfire shook found Ozzie Walls directing people and shouting instructions to the courthouse and broke the silence. The rapists froze, then his men. He called to Jake, and they walked down the hall to the screamed as they were hit - Cobb first, in the stomach and chest, back of the court, where a half dozen deputies stood, guns in then Willard, in the face, neck, and throat. They tried to run back hand, looking silently at the stairway. Jake felt sick. The front of 10 11 Willard's head was missing. Cobb had taken most of the bullets in Chapter 3 Afterward his back. The thick smell of gunfire hung over the stairway. "Jake, you'd better leave," Ozzie said, without taking his eyes "You can see him in a minute, Jake," Ozzie said, after Carl Lee off the bodies. had been brought back to the sheriff's office. "Why?" "Thanks. You sure he did it?" "Just leave." "Yes, I'm sure." "Why?" "He didn't say he did it?" "Because we've got to take pictures and stuff, and you don't "No. He didn't say anything. I guess Lester told him what to do." need to be here." Half an hour later, lawyer and client sat across the table and "OK. But you don't question him without me there. looked at each other carefully. They smiled but neither spoke. Understand?" They had last talked five days before — the day after the rape. Ozzie nodded. Carl Lee was not as troubled now. His face was relaxed and his eyes were clear. Finally he said: "You didn't think I'd do it, Jake." The only vehicles outside the Hailey house were Gwen's car, "Not really. You did do it?" Carl Lee's pickup, and the red Cadillac from Illinois. Ozzie "You know I did." expected no trouble as the police cars parked in a row across Jake smiled, nodded, and crossed his arms. the front yard. The deputies bent down behind the open "How do you feel?" doors, watching as the sheriff walked alone to the house. He - Carl Lee sat back in the folding chair. stopped. The front door opened slowly and the Hailey family "Well, I feel better. I don't feel good about the whole thing. came out. But then I don't feel good about what happened to my girl, you The two groups watched each other, each waiting for the know?" other to say or do something, each wanting to avoid what had to "Are you scared?" happen. Ozzie kicked at some dirt on the path, looking at the "Of what?" family, then at his men. "How about the electric chair?" Finally, he said, "You'd better come with me." "No, Jake, that's why I've got you. I don't plan to go to the Carl Lee looked at the sheriff but did not move. Gwen and the chair. You helped Lester, now you can do it for me, Jake." boy cried as Lester took the girl from her daddy. Then Carl Lee "It's not quite that easy, Carl Lee. You just don't shoot a knelt in front of the three boys and whispered to them again that person, or two people, tell the jury they needed to be killed, and he must leave but he wouldn't be gone long. He held them close, expect to walk out of the courtroom." and they all cried and held on to him. He turned and kissed his "You did with Lester." wife, then walked down the steps to the sheriff. "But every case is different. And the big difference here is that 12 13 you killed two white boys and Lester killed a nigger. Big "Fifty thousand." difference." "Fifty thousand! Are you serious?" "You scared,Jake?" "Yes." "Why should I be scared? I'm not facing the electric chair." "Man, that's a lot of money. Did you ever get that much?" "You don't sound too confident." "No, but I haven't seen too many people on trial for murder You big, stupid fool, thought Jake. How could he be confident with that kind of money." at a time like this? Sure, he was confident before the killings, but Once he had finished talking with his client, Jake left the now it was different. His client was facing the electric chair for a sheriff's office and walked toward the reporters with their crime which everyone knew he did. And that was only the microphones and cameras. Although he pretended he wanted to beginning of his problems. Carl Lee was a black who had killed get away from them, he stopped for enough time to stand in two whites in a mainly white county, Rufus Buckley would be front of the cameras and answer ten or more questions. Ozzie and the prosecutor, and Rufus would do everything he could to win. the deputies watched from inside. It was personal between him and Jake. And there was going to be "Jake loves cameras," the sheriff said. a problem about money. "All lawyers do," added one of the deputies. Jake hated to discuss professional costs, but he knew he had to do it immediately. Clients wanted to know about his charges, and most were shocked at how expensive the law could be. After he After a cold supper, Jake and his wife sat at the front of their had talked about Carl Lee's family and how they were, Jake house and looked out at the garden. They talked about the case. started to talk about preparing for the trial. Carl Lee made it easy Jake's interview was too late for the early evening news, so he and for him and asked how much all of that was going to cost. Carla waited for the ten o'clock program. And there he was, Jake looked at the file and the contract he had brought with looking fit and handsome. Jake thought he looked great on TV him and thought desperately of a fair amount. There were other and he was excited to be there. He felt good. He enjoyed the lawyers out there who would take such a case for almost nothing publicity. And when Carl Lee Hailey was found not guilty of the - nothing except publicity. He thought about the land Carl Lee murder of the two white men who raped his daughter, before an owned, the job at the paper factory, and his family, and finally said, all-white jury in rural Mississippi... "Ten thousand." "What're you smiling about?" asked Carla. Carl Lee did not seem too worried, though he said, "You "Nothing." charged Lester five thousand." "Sure. You're thinking about the trial, and the cameras, and the They finally agreed on seven thousand, five hundred. After reporters, and walking out of the courthouse with Carl Lee a free Jake filled out the contract and Carl Lee signed, Carl Lee asked: man, reporters chasing you with the TV cameras, everyone "Jake, how much would you charge a man with plenty of congratulating you. I know exactly what you're thinking about." money?" "Then why did you ask?" 14 15  "To see if you'd admit it." Counties. They should do the same thing the nigger had done. "OK. I admit it. This case could make me famous and make us Maybe the Klan would be interested. a million dollars." "If you win." In the courtroom, the groups of blacks and whites sat opposite each other and watched the machinery of justice at work. Ozzie Next morning, Tuesday, Jake ate his usual breakfast at the Coffee Walls was the first witness. He gave a clear report of what had Shop. He noticed that some of the regular customers were happened when Cobb and Willard were killed and what had quieter with him than normal, but he hoped this would change happened after. He talked about the shooting, the bodies, the when Deputy Looney was out of hospital. Looney was well liked wounds, the gun, the fingerprints on the gun and the fingerprints by the other customers, and Jake knew that there were some who of the defendant. Other witnesses followed and told how they would not be happy about him defending Carl Lee. He spent the had seen Carl Lee shoot the two men and walk out of the rest of the morning making arrangements for the trial, and courthouse. talking to a TV reporter from Memphis. He went home feeling a It was clear that he had killed the men who raped his lot happier. daughter, and Jake did not ask any questions. Carl Lee was handed to the sheriff to be held until the trial, and everyone left the courtroom. Jake got ready to talk to the reporters who had On Wednesday, at 10 a.m., the two rapists were buried. The already started to crowd around the courtroom doors. minister struggled desperately for something comforting to say to Later on Wednesday night, the doctors had to remove the small crowd. The service was short and with few tears. Looney's leg below the knee. They called Ozzie at the jail, and he Afterward, friends came to the Cobb's house. The men sat told Carl Lee. around in the back yard while the women looked after Mrs. Cobb. The men drank whiskey and talked about the good times when niggers knew their place. Then one cousin said he knew Rufus Buckley looked through the Thursday morning papers someone who used to be active in the Ku Klux Klan,* and he and read with great interest the report of the previous day's might give him a call. Cobb's grandfather had been in the Klan, events in Ford County. He was delighted to see his name the cousin explained, and when he and Billy Ray were children mentioned by the reporters and by Mr. Brigance. He didn't like the old man told stories about hanging niggers in Ford and Tyler Brigance, but he was glad Jake used his name in front of the cameras and reporters. For two days Brigance and Carl Lee had * Ku Klux Klan: a secret organization that began in 1865 in the southern had all the publicity: it was time the prosecutor was mentioned. states of the United States and has a long history of violent attacks against Rufus Buckley was forty-one, and very ambitious. He wanted black people and their supporters. Its members wear white robes, tall hats, and masks. a big public position — maybe, even, Governor. He had it all 16 17 planned, but he was not well known outside the district. He fact, surprisingly good, and Jake could never understand how needed to be seen, and heard. He needed publicity. Rufus Lucien knew so much. needed, more than anything else, to win a big, nasty, well- Later on Thursday, therefore, Jake parked the Saab behind publicized murder trial. Lucien's old Porsche, walked up to the house and handed the cases to him. Lucien offered whiskey, then wine, then beer, but Jake did not accept any. Carla did not like drinking, and Lucien knew it. On the same Thursday morning, Jake was reading the same "Congratulations." newspaper. He was interrupted by his secretary, Ethel, who came "For what?" Jake asked. and stood in front of the big desk. "For the Hailey case." "Mr. Brigance, my husband and I received a threatening "Why are you congratulating me?" phone call last night, and I've just had the second one here at the "I never had such a big case, and I had some big ones." office. I don't like this." "What do you mean by 'big'?" Jake pointed to a chair. "Lots of publicity. That's what makes a lawyer successful, Jake. If "Sit down, Ethel. What did these people say?" you're unknown, you don't eat. When people get in trouble, they "They threatened me because I work for you. Said I'd be sorry call a lawyer — and they call someone they've heard of. You must because I worked for a nigger lover. They threatened to harm sell yourself to the public. And you've got to try to get the trial you and your family too. I'm just scared." moved to another county. Without enough blacks on the jury, you Jake was worried too, but did not show it to Ethel. He had won't have a chance! This county is 26 percent black. Every other called Ozzie on Wednesday and reported the calls to his own county in the district is at least 30 percent black. Van Buren County house. is 40 percent, that means more black jurors. If the trial is here, He advised her to change her number, but she did not want to there's a risk of an all-white jury, and believe me, I've seen enough do that. She wanted him to stop defending Carl Lee. Jake refused, all-white juries in this county. At the very least you need one and the conversation ended, like so many conversations he had black." with Ethel, in disagreement. Jake felt that it was not going to be easy to get Judge Noose to An hour later, Ethel called him to say that Lucien, the man move the trial, and said so to Lucien. who had given Jake the law business, had asked Jake to come to "That's not a problem," he replied. "The main thing is to ask. his house with some recent cases. Lucien came to the office or Then, when they find that poor man guilty, you can claim he did called once a month. He read cases and kept up to date with not have a fair trial because the judge refused to move." developments in the law. He had little else to do except drink his "So you don't feel too optimistic about Carl Lee's chances." whiskey. He looked forward to Jake's monthly visits, when he Lucien thought for a moment. could hear about the world he used to work in and give advice "Not really. It will be difficult." to the only man who now listened to him. The advice was, in "Why?" 18 19  "Looks like it was planned. Right?" Chapter 4 T h e Klan "Yes." "I'm sure you'll say he was insane." Before Carl Lee Hailey could go on trial, he had to go in front of "I don't know." a jury of citizens of Ford County. It was their job to decide if the "You must," said Lucien. "There is no other possible defense. two murders had happened and if it was reasonable for Carl Lee You can't say it was an accident. You can't say he shot those two to stand trial. This was the first opportunity for Rufus Buckley to boys with a machine gun in self-defense, can you?" get some of the publicity he wanted so much. "No." The grand jury made its decision. There was a case against Carl "You won't tell the jury he was at home with his family?" Lee and he would have to stand trial for murder. It was then "Of course not." Rufus Buckley's turn to stand on the front steps of the "Then what other defense do you have? You must say he was courthouse in the middle of a crowd of reporters and cameramen. crazy!" Buckley had copies of the legal documents with Carl Lee's "But, Lucien, he was not insane, and there's no way I can find a name on. He waved these in front of the cameras. He talked like psychiatrist who will say he was. He planned it — every detail." a priest in church, saying how terrible it was for people to take Lucien smiled and took a drink. the law into their own hands. He praised the jury for the decision "That's why you're in trouble, my boy — but you're still lucky they had made. He accused Carl Lee Hailey of being a lawless to have the case." man and said he wanted the trial to happen soon. He guaranteed "You really think so?" asked Jake. he would prove that Carl Lee Hailey was guilty of murder. He "I'm serious. It's a lawyer's dream. Win it and you're famous. It guaranteed Carl Lee Hailey would die on the electric chair. He could make you rich." was rude, unpleasant, self-important. He was himself. "I'll need your help." A few of the reporters left, but he did not stop talking. He told "You've got it. I need something to do." those who remained about his skill as a lawyer and his success as a prosecutor. More reporters left. More cameras were turned off. He praised Judge Noose for his wisdom and fairness. He praised The next day, Friday, Lester came into Jake's office and told him the intelligence and good judgment of Ford County jurors. the family could only raise nine hundred dollars to pay for Carl When he finished speaking, there were no reporters left. They Lee's defense. All of the banks in town had refused to lend money. had grown tired of him. "Wonderful," thought Jake. "My family and my secretary are getting threatening phone calls. My best friend tells me I can't win the case, and now I'm only going to get nine hundred Stump Sisson was the Ku Klux Klan's leader in Mississippi. He dollars for a case which is going to stop me doing any other had called the meeting at a small hut deep in the forest in Nettles work for weeks. Wonderful." County, two hundred and thirty miles south of Ford County. 20 21  months away, there was time to plan. They could march during There were no special clothes or speeches. The small group of the day around the courthouse in their Klan uniform of tall hats Klansmen discussed the events in Ford County with Freddie and masks. The press would love it — hate them, but love the Cobb, brother of Billy Ray. Freddie had called a friend, who had arguments, the anger. And at night they could frighten people contacted Stump to arrange the meeting. with their burning crosses* and threatening phone calls. There "When's the nigger's trial?" would also be violence. They knew what the sight of the Klan "I'm not sure," Cobb said. "I think it'll probably be later in did to crowds of angry niggers. summer." Ford County could be their playground for search and destroy, He was most worried, he said, by all the talk about the nigger hit and run. They had time to organize and call in people from saying he was insane and going free. It wasn't right. The nigger killed other states. The Hailey case could be used to bring together all his brother in cold blood, planned the shooting. What could the Klan do about it? Cobb complained that the niggers had so much the Southern whites who still refused to accept the rights of protection these days that no one could do anything against them. blacks to a place in society. "Hell, white people ain't got a chance, except for the Klan. "Mr. Cobb, can you get us the names and addresses of the W h o else will march and stand up for white people? All the laws nigger, his family, his lawyer, the judge, and the jurors?" asked work to help the niggers. That's why we called the Klan." Sisson.. Cobb thought about this. "What about your brother. Did he rape her?" "We're not sure, probably not. Willard, the other one, said he "Everybody except the jurors. They ain't been chosen yet. did it, but Billy Ray never did. He always had plenty of women. What're you thinking?" Why would he rape a little nigger girl? And if he did, what's the "We're not sure, but the Klan will most likely get involved. We big problem?" need to remind people we're still here, and this could be a good "Who's the nigger's lawyer?" opportunity." "Brigance, a local boy in Clanton. Young, but pretty good. He "Can I help?" Cobb asked. told some reporters the nigger, would say he was insane and "Sure, but you'd need to be a member." would go free." "We ain't got any Klan up in Clanton. It stopped meeting a "Who's the judge?" long time ago. My grandfather used to be a member." "You mean the grandfather of this man was a Klansman?" "I don't know yet." "Yes," Cobb answered proudly. Sisson and the Klan members listened carefully to this "Well, then we must get involved." mindless farmer. They liked his complaints about the government, but they had also read the papers and watched TV and they knew his brother had received justice. But at the hands of a nigger. It was unthinkable. * burning crosses: left by the Ku Klux Klan in front of the houses of people The case could be useful to them. With the trial several they want to frighten. 23 22 Buckley's four o'clock press conference did not come on the "The emotion, the desire... " early evening news. Jake laughed when first the national TV "That's more like it," she said, and slid an almost perfect brown channels and then Memphis, then Jackson, then Ripelo, ended leg up, up, up to the back of the sofa, where it gently came to their broadcasts with no news about the Hailey trial, and no rest. pictures of Buckley on the screen. They moved closer to each other and she turned off the TV. At ten, Jake and his wife Carla lay in the dark on the sofa, The room was warm and dark. waiting for the news. Finally, there was Buckley, on the front steps, waving papers and shouting while the reporter explained that this was Rufus Buckley, the man who would prosecute Carl Chapter 5 Lawyers Lee Hailey. The camera was pointed at Buckley for a few seconds, and then the camera moved around the town square to Harry R e x Vonner was enormously fat. He was a lawyer who give a wonderful view of the center of Clanton. It finally came specialized in cases where marriages had broken down nastily. He back to the reporter for two sentences about a trial in late could be just as nasty as his cases, and his services were in great summer. demand. He could get you the children, the house, the farm, the "Buckley's really horrible," Carla said, and turned off the dog, everything. One wealthy farmer sent him a check each sound of the TV. "You know what I dislike most about your month so that the woman he was married to (his fourth wife) murder trials?" couldn't hire him for herself. Harry Rex sent his criminal cases She kicked the cushions off the sofa with her thin, brown, to Jake, and Jake sent his nasty marriage problem cases to Harry almost perfect legs. Rex. They were friends and they disliked other lawyers, especially "The blood, the pain?" Rufus Buckley. "No." She let her shoulder-length hair fall around her as she On Tuesday morning, Harry R e x came slowly up the stairs to fell back on the sofa. Jake's office. The stairway shook as he climbed to the first floor. "The loss of life?" He was breathing heavily as he entered the big room. "No." "Morning, Harry Rex." She was wearing one of his old shirts. She began to play with "Why don't you get a downstairs office?" he demanded the buttons. between breaths. "The horrible possibility of an innocent man facing the "You need the exercise. If it weren't for those stairs, your electric chair?" Weight would be over three hundred pounds." "No." "Thanks. I just came from the courtroom. Noose wants you She unbuttoned the shirt. The blue television screen was the there at ten-thirty if possible. Wants to talk about Hailey with you only light in the room. It was enough for Jake to see her almost and Buckley. Agree the trial date. He asked me to tell you." perfect arms reach out for him. "Good. I'll be there." 24 25  "You'll find Buckley there too. You should see him. He's telling sixty days, even ninety days. They won't forget about you. You can everyone about his big TV appearance last night. But no one give interviews. Hold press conferences, everything. Don't worry wants to talk about it. He's like a child begging for attention." so much. You'll get your chance." "Be nice to him. He may be your next governor." Buckley's face went red. He took three steps in Jake's direction. "Not if he loses the Hailey case. And he's going to lose Hailey, "Gentlemen, please," Noose interrupted. "This is going to be a Jake. We'll pick a good jury, twelve good and faithful citizens. long, emotional case. I expect you to act like professionals. Now, Then we'll buy them." my diary is very full. The only time I have is the week of July 22. "I didn't hear that." Is that a problem?" "It works every time." Jake smiled at Buckley and looked at his own diary. "Looks good to me." A few minutes after ten-thirty, Jake entered the judge's office behind the courtroom and coolly shook hands with Buckley and After lunch, Jake visited his famous client in Ozzie's office at the the other lawyers. They had been waiting for him. Noose waved jail. He told him the trial was going to start on July 22." him toward a seat and sat behind the desk. "That's two months away! "Why so long?" "Jake, this will take just a few minutes. I would like to see Carl "We need the time. It'll take that long to find a psychiatrist Lee Hailey in the morning at nine. Any problems with that?" who'll say you were crazy. Then Buckley will send you to "No. That'll be fine," replied Jake. Whitfield to be seen by the state's psychiatrists, and they'll all say "OK. Now let's discuss a trial date for Mr. Hailey. As you you weren't crazy. It takes time." know, the next term for the court here is in late August, and I'm "No way to have it sooner?" sure we'll be just as busy then. Because of the nature of this case "We don't want it sooner." and, honestly, because of the publicity, I think it would be best if "And if I do?" we had a trial as soon as is practical." Jake studied him carefully. "The sooner the better," said Buckley. "What's the matter, big man?" "Jake, how long will you need to prepare for trial?" "I've got to get out of here, and fast." "Sixty days." "I thought you said jail wasn't so bad." "Sixty days!" Buckley repeated. "Why so long?" "It ain't, but I need to get home. Gwen's got no money, she Jake ignored him. He explained to the judge that they would can't find a job. Lester's in trouble with his wife, and I hate to ask be using an insanity defense and would need Carl Lee to be my family for help." examined by a psychiatrist, and that all this would take time. "But they will help, won't they?" Buckley kept shouting that it was unnecessary. "A little. They've got their own problems. You've got to get me "Relax, Rufus,"Jake said calmly. "The cameras will be here in out of here, Jake." 26 27  Gwen, he said, had less than a hundred dollars. She had to pay show him their feelings about nigger-loving lawyers. Several bills and they didn't have much food. She had visited on Sunday hours before the sun rose on Monday morning, three Klan and cried for an hour. Her family could not help much — maybe members put up a wooden cross in the front yard of Jake's house some vegetables from the garden and a few dollars for milk and on Adams Street and set fire to it. It was a warning. eggs. "This scares you, doesn't it?" Jake asked his wife, as they stared Jake looked through his notes and waited for Carl Lee to ask out in horror at the burning cross. for some of his money back. Most of his poorer clients did. But "If they can do this, Jake," Carla replied slowly, "why not the the question did not come. house? No case is worth this. You've got to stop." "Anything you want to ask, Carl Lee?" "Yes. What can I say tomorrow when I see the judge?" "Carl Lee, for the moment you don't say anything. Remember, Chapter 6 Professional W i t n e s s e s you paid me to do the talking." Jake had no intention of dropping the case. First, he had to find a psychiatrist they could afford. He needed to talk to Lucien. On the Sunday morning, others were thinking about Carl Lee Two days after Jake phoned him, Lucien called Ethel. He asked Hailey and his family. At black churches all over Clanton, the buckets her to tell Jake to come see him. It was important. He had a and baskets and plates were passed and re-passed and left at the front visitor that Jake needed to meet. doors to collect money for the Hailey family. The people who had Dr. W.T. Bass was a retired psychiatrist from Jackson. His come to pray were asked to give generously to support Carl Lee and retirement had been for the same reasons that Lucien was his family. The Reverend Ollie Agee had organized the collection in forbidden to practice law. He had a liking for whiskey that was his church and other churches across town. He was very pleased that stronger than his liking for his profession. the black people of Clanton were giving so much. Another two The doctor and Lucien sat outside the house, waiting for Jake Sundays like this and the churches would be able to start a strong to arrive. movement against the nigger haters of Ford County. There might "What do you want me to do?" asked Dr. Bass. even be enough money to pay for a new Cadillac for some valuable "Just say he was insane." church workers — like the Reverend Ollie Agee. "Was he?" asked the doctor. Carl Lee Hailey gave the blacks really good reasons to work "That's not important." together. "What is important?" "To give the jury a reason to say Carl Lee was not guilty! They won't care if he's crazy or not. But they'll need some reason to let Jake soon discovered that Carl Lee was not the only one with him go." problems. The Ku Klux Klan had decided that it was time to "It would be nice to examine him." 28 29  "You can. He's at the jail just waiting for someone to talk to." "The best. We've worked together on several insanity cases. He "I'll need to meet with him several times." drinks like a fish, but never during a trial." "I know that." "That's comforting." "And if I don't think he was insane at the time of the "He wants to meet Hailey as soon as possible. Tomorrow if he shooting?" can. "Then you won't be able to speak at the trial, and get your The one problem today was that no one could wake Dr. Bass name and picture in the paper, and you won't be interviewed on to arrange the meeting. Jake walked down the steps toward his TV." car, listening to his former boss laugh and curse and throw pieces Bass finished one glass and poured another. He was not happy of ice at Dr. W.T. Bass, psychiatrist, witness for the defense. about taking the case. He didn't practice now and he was frightened of making a fool of himself. He knew his weaknesses. "What about this?" He waved his drink at Lucien. Deputy De Wayne Looney left the hospital that afternoon, and "You shouldn't drink so much," Lucien replied, keeping the drove his wife and three children to the jail, where the sheriff, the smile off his face with difficulty. other deputies, and a few friends waited with a cake and small The doctor dropped his drink and exploded in laughter. He gifts. He would continue to work in the office, and would keep rolled out of his chair holding his stomach, helpless with his uniform and full salary. laughter. Two days later, Carl Lee Hailey was taken to meet Dr. Wilbert "And now you're drunk," Lucien said, as he went into the Rodeheaver, the head psychiatrist at the state hospital. Dr. house for another bottle. Rodeheaver had been appointed by the prosecutor to see if Carl Lee had been insane or not when he killed the men who raped his daughter and accidentally shot Deputy Looney. When Jake arrived an hour later, Lucien and the doctor were asleep. Jake walked up the steps to the house and woke Lucien. "Jake, my boy, how are you?" Chapter 7 Problems for Jake "Fine, Lucien. I see you're doing quite well." He looked at the empty bottle, and one not quite empty. Several legal steps were still needed before Carl Lee's trial. First "I wanted you to meet a man," Lucien said, trying to sit up Jake had to ask for the trial to be moved to another part of the straight. state. Although he did not win this argument, he felt OK. He did "Who is he?" a good job in court, and looked a lot better than Rufus Buckley, "Our psychiatrist. Dr. Bass, from Jackson. A good friend. He'll the prosecutor. The problem was, that the judge then decided help us with Hailey." that there was too much publicity about the case, and told both "Is he a good psychiatrist?" lawyers they had to stop talking to journalists. He did not want 30 31 the trial to be held in the newspapers and on TV "Several. They threaten to burn our house or blow it up. They Outside the courthouse it hurt to say no to the reporters. They always tell us they know where we live, and if Hailey goes free, followed Jake across Washington Street, where he excused himself then they'll burn it down while we're asleep." with a "No comment" and escaped into his office. Jake found it difficult to be sympathetic to Ethel — there were The loss of publicity hurt even more when Ethel came in to other things on his mind. His wife wanted him to drop this case. tell him the firm had big money problems. Since the start of the He knew that the bank would not lend him any more money. Hailey case, he had seen no other clients and had not been The Ku Klux Klan were threatening both him and his secretary. chasing those who had failed to pay him. And now he could not talk to the newspapers and get the "Look at these," she said, waving a handful of bills under his publicity he needed so badly. nose. "Four thousand dollars. How am I supposed to pay these?" "How much is in the bank?" "Nineteen hundred dollars. Nothing came in this morning." The Ford County Ku Klux Klan had its first meeting at midnight "Nothing?" on Thursday, July 11 in a field in a forest somewhere in the "Not a penny." northern part of the county. The six new members stood After Ethel had complained for another five minutes about nervously in front of the enormous burning cross and repeated how this case was ruining the business, Jake lost his temper. strange words after the leader. An armed guard stood quietly "Shut up, Ethel. Just shut up. If you can't take the pressure, down the road, sometimes looking at the ceremony, but mainly then leave. If you can't keep your mouth shut, then you're fired." watching for uninvited guests. There were none. "You'd like to fire me, wouldn't you?" At exactly midnight the six fell to their knees and closed their "Maybe I would. I don't care at the moment." eyes as "white cloths were placed over their heads. They were She was a strong, hard woman. Fourteen years with Lucien Klansmen now, these six — and among them was Freddie Cobb, had done that to her, but at the moment she was clearly very brother of the dead rapist. unhappy. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just worried." "Worried about what?" A few hours later, Pirtle, the deputy on night duty at the sheriff's "Me and Bud." office, received a phone call. The caller did not give a name, but "What's wrong with Bud?" he said that the Klan was planning to blow up Jake Brigance's "He's a very sick man." house that night. Pirtle woke the sheriff, and within ten minutes "I know that." of the call Ozzie Walls and two deputies were outside Jake's "His blood pressure is getting worse. Especially after the house. They checked that there was no one around, then Ozzie phone calls. He's scared. We're both scared." pressed the doorbell. "How many phone calls?" The wooden door opened, and Jake looked out at the sheriff. 32 33  He was wearing a nightshirt that fell just below his knees, and he Jake looked at the suitcase and then put his ear next to it. held a loaded gun in his right hand, He jumped back. "It's ticking," he said weakly. "What is it, Ozzie?" he asked. Ozzie bent over the man and laid the police stick softly against "Can I come in?" his nose. "Yes. What's going on?" "I've got one more question before I break every bone in your "Stay outside and wait for me," Ozzie told the deputies. body. What's in the case?" Ozzie closed the front door behind them and turned off the No answer. light. They sat in the dark living-room overlooking the front Ozzie pulled back the stick and broke the man's other ankle. yard. Ozzie told Jake what the Klan were planning to do — and "What's in the case?" he shouted. told him to get his wife and daughter out of town as soon as he "Dynamite!" came the reply. could. Jake had never moved so fast in his life. Within fifteen Ozzie tied the man to a gas pipe next to the window. He minutes, Carla and their daughter were in the car and driving to carefully lifted the suitcase by the handle and placed it neatly a neighbor's house. Ozzie, Jake, and the deputies sat outside in the between the man's broken legs. Ozzie kicked both legs to spread dark, waiting for the Klan to come. them. Ozzie, the deputies, and Jake backed away slowly and They didn't have to wait long. Ozzie saw him first, a man watched him. The man began to cry. walking down the street. In his hand he carried a box — a suitcase "I don't know how to stop it," he said. of some sort. Ozzie took out his handgun and stick and watched "You'd better learn fast," Jake said. the man walk directly toward him. "Give me some light. And I need both hands," he said. Suddenly, the figure ran across the yard next door and to the "Try it with one," Ozzie said. side of Jake's house. He carefully laid the small suitcase under They waited on the other side of the street, saying little, Jake's bedroom window. As he turned to run, Ozzie's police stick listening for any unusual noise. After about fifteen minutes, the crashed across the side of his head, tearing his right ear into two man shouted and they ran back across the front yard. The empty pieces. He screamed and fell to the ground. suitcase had been thrown a few feet away. Next to the man was a "What's your name?" Ozzie demanded. neat pile of twelve sticks of dynamite. Between his legs was a The man said nothing. large, round-faced clock with wires connected to it. "I asked you a question," Ozzie said. Pirtle and Nesbit stood Ozzie bent down and removed the clock and the wires. He beside him, guns ready, too frightened to speak or move. did not touch the dynamite. "I ain't speaking," came the reply. "Where are your friends?" Ozzie raised the stick high over his head and brought it down No answer. on the man's right ankle. They could all hear the bone crack. He He took out his stick again and moved closer to the man. screamed and Ozzie kicked him in the face. He fell backward and "I'm going to start breaking bones one at a time. You'd better his head hit the side of the house. start talking. Now — where are your friends?" 34 35  "Hospital. Same room as the other." No answer. "My God, Ozzie. Did you break his legs too?" Ozzie stood and quickly looked around. Not at Jake and the "Jake, my friend, he did not cooperate with the police. We had deputies, but at the house next door. Seeing nothing, he raised to encourage him." the stick. The man's left arm was still tied to the gas pipe, and Ozzie hit him just above the elbow. The man screamed and Chapter 8 T h e R e s e a r c h Assistant pulled to the left. Jake almost felt sorry for him. "Where are they?" Ozzie demanded. After talking with Ozzie Walls, Jake went to Lucien's house. He No answer. Jake turned his head as the sheriff hit the man again. was lonely and unhappy. He had financial problems, his wife and child had gone, he had not slept for twenty-four hours. When "Where are they?" Lucien offered him a beer, he drank it quickly and accepted No answer. another and then another. By the end of the afternoon, he was Ozzie raised the stick. drunk. By the end of the evening, he was unconscious. "Stop... please stop," the man shouted. The next day he woke with the worst headache he had ever "Where are they?" had in his life. He was not a man who drank a lot. In fact the last "Down that way, about two streets." "Get the cars," Ozzie ordered. time he had felt like this was when he was a law student. he way he felt now reminded him of the many reasons why he did not like to drink! Two hours later, Jake was in the sheriff's office. His wife and daughter were already on a plane to the town where Carla's parents lived — five hundred miles away. Carla had returned to - Later in the morning, Jake was sitting at his desk, looking out at the house to pack, but had not spoken a word to him. There the courthouse. He still had a bad headache and could not work. was no doubt that she blamed him for the danger they had all Now he had to start to prepare for the most important case of his been in. Jake was happy that his family was alive, but still shook life with no money in the bank, a drunk law partner, a drunk when he thought about what nearly happened. He smiled at psychiatrist — and this headache! Ozzie. He was still sitting there when he heard someone knocking at "You play rough, don't you?" the door downstairs. He ignored it for fifteen minutes, but "Only when I have to. I didn't hear you object." whoever it was knew that he was there. He walked to the "No, I wanted to help. What about his friend?" window and looked out. "We found him sleeping in a red pickup about a half a mile "Who is it?" he shouted at the street. from your house." A woman stepped back from the sidewalk under the window "Where is he?" 37 36  and leaned on a black B M W parked next to the Saab. Her hands "I'll finish law school in December, I'm killing time in Oxford were deep in the pockets of old, well-fitting jeans. The midday this, summer, and I'm bored." sun lit up her gold-red hair. Jake smiled and studied her carefully. "Are you Jake Brigance?" she asked. "What makes you think I need help?" "Yes. What do you want?" "I know you practice alone, and I know you don't have a law "I need to talk to you." clerk." "I'm very busy." "What qualifications do you bring with you?" "It's very important. I just need five minutes of your time." "I come from a very intelligent family. Last summer I spent Jake unlocked the door. She walked in and shook his hand. three months with the Southern Prisoners' Defense Movement "I'm Ellen Roark." in Birmingham and helped with seven murder trials. In my spare He pointed to a seat by the door. time I write reports for organizations that give free legal advice. I "Nice to meet you. Sit down." Jake sat on the edge of Ethel's was brought up in my father's law office, and I was a good legal desk. "One sound or two?" researcher before I could drive. I'm twenty-five years old, and "I beg your pardon?" when I grow up I want to be a great criminal lawyer like my dad. She had a quick, northeastern accent, but you could also hear Also, my father is very rich and I've got more money than you, so she had spent some time in the South. I'll work without charge. A free law clerk for three weeks. I'll do "Is it Rork or R o w Ark?" all the research, typing, answering the phone. I'll even carry your "R-o-a-r-k. That's Rork in Boston, and R o w Ark in papers and make the coffee." Mississippi." "I was afraid you'd want to be a partner in my firm." "Mind if I call you Ellen?" "No. I'm a woman, and I'm in the South. I know my place." "Please do. And can I call you Jake?" "Why are you so interested in this case?" "Yes, please." "I want to be in the courtroom. I love criminal trials. Big trials "Good, I hadn't planned to call you Mr. Brigance." where it's a question of life or death. It's a trial lawyer's dream. I "So you come from Boston?" just want to be there. I'll stay out of the way, I promise. Just let me "Yes, I was born there. Went to Boston College. My dad is Work with you and watch the trial." Sheldon Roark, a well-known criminal lawyer in Boston." "Judge Noose hates women lawyers." "I guess I've missed him. What brings you to Mississippi?" "So does every male lawyer in the South. Besides, I'm not a "I'm in law school." lawyer. I'm a law student." "Well, now that we know each other, what brings you to "I'll let you explain that to him." Clanton?" "So I've got the job?" "Carl Lee Hailey." "Yes, you've got the job. I could use some free research. These "I'm not surprised." cases are complicated." 38 39  She gave a beautiful, confident smile. "When do I start?" Saturday studying the list of voters, selecting possible people. Noose also told Jean that she must not give the list to anyone — not even her old friend Jake Brigance. This trial was too After he had shown her round the office it was time for lunch, so important to give the Klan a chance to start frightening possible Jake took Ellen Roark with him to the Coffee Shop. As they ate jurors — or to let the lawyers start choosing the jurors before the he looked across at her. Her face was gentle and pleasant with an day of jury selection. easy smile. She was not beautiful, but she was intelligent and However, Judge Noose did not know about Harry R e x amazingly attractive. For the first time in two days, Jake began to Vonner's ability to get hold of information. At ten o'clock the think he might live. They talked about his plans for the defense. next day, Harry R e x pushed open the door of Jake's office and Jake asked her how she would do it. threw a copy of the jury list onto his desk. "Well, from what I hear, our client carefully planned the "Don't ask," he said. killings and shot them in cold blood, six days after the rape. It Beside each name he had made notes: "Don't know," "Hates sounds exactly like he knew what he was doing. Insanity is our niggers," or "Works at the shoe factory — probably against Carl Lee." only defense. And it sounds impossible to prove." Jake read each name slowly, trying to remember faces or the "Are you familiar with the insanity defense?"Jake asked. kind of person they were. There were only names — no addresses, "Yes. Do we have a psychiatrist?" ages, jobs. Most of the names sounded white. "We do and we don't. He'll say anything we want him to say - "What do you think?" asked Harry Rex. that is, if he's not drunk at the trial. One of your more difficult "Hard to tell. Mostly white, but we expected that. Where did jobs will be to make sure that he isn't. It won't be easy, believe you get this?" me. "I already said — don't ask. I know twenty-six names. That's the "I love new experiences in the courtroom." best I can do." "All right, R o w Ark. Take a pen. Your boss is now going to "You're a true friend, Harry Rex." give you instructions." "I'm a prince. Are you ready for the trial?" She began making notes on the paper tablecloth. "Not yet. But I've found a secret weapon." "What?" "You'll meet her later." Chapter 9 Preparations In early July, Judge Noose instructed Jean, the court clerk, to As they finished their conversation, Ellen Roark came into the contact one hundred and fifty voters as possible jury members. office. The defense had asked for a large number from which to select "Good morning, R o w Ark," Jake said. "I want you to meet a the twelve, and Noose agreed. Jean and two deputy clerks spent good friend, Harry R e x Vonner." 40 41  Harry R e x shook her hand and looked her up and down — he children who were now living in the North. clearly thought she was very attractive. The house was quieter now. Bud hadn't worked for years, not "Nice to meet you. What was your first name?" since his first illness in 1975, when he had had a heart attack, "Call her R o w Ark," Jake said. "She'll clerk here until the followed by two more. He knew that he would not live long, and Hailey trial's finished." he had accepted the fact. On Monday night, he sat on the front "That's nice," said Harry R e x - still looking at Ellen, not at porch listening to the football game on the radio. Ethel was Jake. working in the kitchen. Toward the end of the ball game, he "Harry R e x is a local lawyer, Row Ark. And one of the many heard a noise. He turned the sound down on the radio. Probably you cannot trust." just a dog. Then another noise. He stood and looked toward the "What did you hire a female law clerk for, Jake?" he asked. garden. " R o w Ark's brilliant in criminal law, like most third-year law Suddenly, an enormous figure in black with red, white, and students. And she's very cheap." black war paint across his face jumped onto the porch and pulled "Do you have something against females, sir?" Ellen asked. Bud to the ground. Bud's shout for help was not heard in the " N o ma'am. I love females. I've married four of them." kitchen. Another man joined the first one and they pulled the old She looked at his big, dirty shoes, the cheap socks that had man down the steps and into the garden. One held him and the dropped around his ankles, his dirty cotton trousers, his old dark other hit him in the stomach and face. Within seconds he was blue jacket, his pink wool tie that fell a long way above his fat unconscious. stomach, and she said to Jake, "I think he's sweet!" Ethel heard noises and ran through the front door. She was "I might make you wife number five," Harry R e x said. caught by a third member of the gang, who twisted her arm "The attraction is purely physical," she said. violently behind her, and put his hand over her mouth. She "Careful," Jake said. "There's been no sex in this office since couldn't scream or talk or move, and was held there watching the Lucien left! How's the research?" 'two men beat her husband. On the sidewalk ten feet behind the "There are dozens of insanity cases, and they're all very long, violence stood three figures, each wearing the white Klan robes. I've done about half. I planned to work on the others here." They came out of the darkness and watched the beating. Harry R e x moved toward the door. After an impossibly long, horrible minute the beating slowed "Nice meeting you, R o w Ark, I'll see you around." down. "Enough," said the white figure in the middle. The men "Thanks, Harry Rex," said Jake. "See you soon." left and Ethel ran down the steps and held her unconscious husband in her arms. Three miles from Jake's office was a small, neat white country house where Ethel and Bud Twitty had lived for almost forty Jake left the hospital after midnight. Bud was still alive, but he had years. It was a pleasant house with pleasant memories of raising suffered another serious heart attack as well as the broken bones. 42 43  Ethel had shouted and screamed at Jake, blaming him for everything. words. I'll tell them what a lying, dishonest nigger you are. I'll tell "You said there was no danger!" she screamed. "It's all your them about the time you bought that stolen car in Memphis for a fault!" hundred dollars and almost got sent to jail. I'll tell them about the Jake had looked around the small waiting room at the friends money you get from the funeral business. And, Reverend, I'll and relatives. All eyes were on him. Yes, they seemed to say, it was tell..." all his fault. "Don't say it, Ozzie," Agee begged. "I'll tell them a dirty little secret that only you and me and a certain woman of bad character know about." Carl Lee Hailey and his wife were angry too. Gwen had no "When do you want the money?" money to pay her bills, and Carl Lee had no money to pay for his "As soon as you can get it," Carl Lee demanded. defense, but they had heard that Reverend Agee had collected Ozzie could be very persuasive sometimes. over six thousand dollars from black churchgoers to help Carl Lee. Why had they not received any of the money yet, they demanded. The Klan were also making preparations. At around nine o'clock Jake had arranged a meeting with Reverend Agee after Gwen that evening, they met to discuss their next steps. They would visited his office to ask for help with the bills she could no longer have a big march at the beginning of the trial and, like Jake, had pay. He had telephoned the Reverend and asked him to come to been able to get a copy of the list of possible jurors. They planned his office to talk about the defense. Ozzie Walls had brought Carl to visit a few and make sure that they remembered their duty to Lee across the square too. Reverend Agee had tried to frighten protect the interests of the white race. Carl Lee, to tell him he was ungrateful — the church was keeping the money for any future defense. Ozzie helped the Reverend to see that he was making a mistake. Later that same evening, at Lucien's house, Jake, Ellen, Harry "I agree with Carl Lee and Gwen. Reverend Agee, you ain't Rex, and Lucien sat round the table on the porch. Lucien, at the done right, and you know it." head of the table, went through the jury list commenting on "That hurts, Ozzie, coming from you. It really hurts." every name he recognized. He was drunker than normal. "Let me tell you what's going to hurt a lot more than that. Next Sunday, Carl Lee and I will be in your church. Carl Lee will do the talking. He'll tell all your people that the money they've Chapter 10 - The Jury given so generously has not left your pocket — that Gwen and the During the seven days before the trial, the people of Clanton children are going to lose their house because you're keeping the money people gave. He'll tell them that you lied to them. He began to feel they were living in a foreign country. First, there may talk for an hour or so. When he's finished, I'll say a few were the bus loads of black people who arrived and set up a 44 45 camp outside the courthouse. Their leader, the Reverend Agee, As the photographers and TV reporters moved in circles, told the reporters that they would stay until justice was done and trying to record everything that was happening, no one noticed a Carl Lee was freed. The crowd began to shout: "Free Carl Lee! small window on the third floor of the courthouse. It opened Free Carl Lee!" slowly, and from the darkness a fire-bomb was thrown. It landed After the blacks came the Klan. They arrived in groups of two perfectly at Stump's feet and exploded. Immediately, the Klan and three and came from all over the state. Their leader, Stamp leader's long white robe went up in flames. Stump Sisson was Sisson, was pleased. He drank some whiskey as he checked their having his five minutes of fame. dress. He was proud of his men and told them so. This was the The violence which followed the fire-bomb was the worst biggest meeting of its kind in years, he said. The march could be there had ever been in the small town. Blacks and whites fought dangerous, he explained. Niggers could march and scream all day with their hands, sticks, and knives, not stopping until Ozzie long and no one cared. But if whites tried to march it was Walls and his deputies fired their guns in the air. When things dangerous. The niggers could do what they liked, but not white became quieter, Ozzie went to the Town Hall. He asked the people. leader of the town council to contact the Governor. He wanted Few people in Clanton had ever seen the Klan march, and as the National Guard* to be called in. As sheriff he felt the 2 p.m. approached a great wave of excitement went around the situation was out of control, and he needed the army to help square. The shopkeepers and their customers came out to watch, and keep order. Clanton had seen nothing like it before. a group of young blacks gathered under a large tree. Ozzie smelled trouble, but they told him they had only come to watch and listen. The Klan moved slowly in their white robes and tall pointed Jake, Ellen Roark, Harry Rex, and Lucien spent the rest of the masks. Stump walked proudly in front of his men, leading them week preparing for the trial. They had two main jobs. down the long sidewalk to the center of the square by the The first was to find the people who would make the best courthouse steps. jury for Carl Lee. They studied the list of names again and again, "You niggers were no