Southern feast of fried meats, fresh garden vegetables-boiled, battered, baked, and raw, homemade rolls and biscuits, two gravies, watermelon, cantaloupe, peach cobbler, lemon pie, and strawberry shortcake. Little of it would be eaten, and the leftovers would be neatly packaged by Eva and Carla and sent to Clanton, where it would last for a week.
"How are your parents, Carla?" Mr. Brigance asked as he passed the rolls.
"They're fine. I talked to Mother yesterday."
"Are they in Knoxville?"
"No, sir. They're already in Wilmington for the summer."
"Will y'all be going to visit them?" asked Eva as she poured the tea from a one-gallon ceramic pitcher.
Carla glanced at Jake, who was dipping butterbeans onto Hanna's plate. He did not want to discuss Carl Lee Hailey. Every meal since Monday night had centered around the case, and Jake was in no mood to answer the same questions.
"Yes, ma'am. We plan to. It depends on Jake's schedule. It could be a busy summer."
"So we've heard," Eva said flatly, slowly as if to remind her son he had not called since the killings.
"Is something wrong with your phone, son?" asked Mr. Brigance.
"Yes. We've had the number changed."
The four adults ate slowly, apprehensively, while Hanna looked at the shortcake.
"Yes, I know. That's what the operator told us. To an unlisted number."
"Sorry. I've been very busy. It's been hectic."
"So we've read," said his father.
Eva stopped eating and cleared her throat. "Jake, do you really think you can get him off?"
"I'm worried about your family," said his father. "It could be a very dangerous case."
"He shot them in cold blood," Eva said.
"They raped his daughter, Mother. What would you do if someone raped Hanna?"
"What's rape?" asked Hanna.
"Never mind, dear," Carla said. "Could we please change the subject." She looked firmly at the three Bri-gances, and they started eating again. The daughter-in-law had spoken, with wisdom, as usual.
Jake smiled at his mother without looking at Mr. Bri-gance. "I just don't want to talk about the case, Mother. I'm tired of it."
"I guess we'll have to read about it," said Mr. Brigance.
They talked about Canada.
At about the time the Brigances finished lunch, the sanctuary of the Mt. Zion Chapel CME rocked and swayed as the Right Reverend Ollie Agee whipped the devotees into a glorified frenzy. Deacons danced. Elders chanted. Women fainted. Grown men screamed and raised their arms toward the heavens as the small children looked upward in holy terror. Choir members lurched and lunged and jerked, then broke down and shrieked different stanzas of the same song. The organist played one song, the pianist another, and the choir sang whatever came over it. The reverend hopped around the pulpit in his long white robe with purple trim, yelling, praying, screaming at God, and perspiring.
The bedlam rose and fell, rising it seemed with each new fainting, and falling with fatigue. Through years of experience Agee knew precisely when the fury reached its peak, when the delirium gave way to weariness, and when the flock needed a break. At that precise moment, he jigged to the pulpit and slapped it with the power of God Almighty. Instantly the music died, the convulsions ceased, the fainters awoke, the children stopped crying, and the multitude settled submissively into the pews. It was time for the sermon.
As the reverend was about to preach, the rear doors opened and the Haileys entered the sanctuary. Little Tonya walked by herself, limping, holding her mother's hand. Her brothers marched behind, and Uncle Lester followed. They moved slowly down the aisle and found a seat near the front. The reverend nodded at the organist, who began to play softly, then the choir began to hum and sway. The deacons stood and swayed with the choir. Not to be outdone, the elders stood and began to chant. Then, of all things, Sister Crystal fainted violently. Her fainting was contagious, and the other sisters began dropping like flies. The elders chanted louder than the choir, so the choir got excited. The organist could not be heard, so she increased the volume. The pianist joined in with a clanging rendition of a hymn unlike the hymn being played by the organist. The organist thundered back. Reverend Agee fluttered down from the podium and danced his way toward the Haileys. Everyone followed-the choir, the deacons, the elders, the women, the crying children-everyone followed the reverend to greet the little Hailey girl.
Jail did not bother Carl Lee. Home was more pleasant, but under the circumstances, he found jail life tolerable. It was a new