A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) - John Grisham Page 0,106

Raleigh where they rented a car for the vacation. Hanna wanted to fly again and was disappointed when she first learned of the family road trip. Twelve hours of it. She was too young to know of their belt-tightening, and her parents were careful with their words and actions. They planned the trip as a grand adventure and mentioned a few sites they might visit along the way. The truth was that they would take turns driving and hoped their daughter would get plenty of sleep.

The Saab stayed home. Carla’s car was of a more recent vintage and had far fewer miles. Jake bought new tires and got it serviced properly.

Off they went, at seven in the morning, with Hanna barely awake under the covers in the backseat and cuddled up with the dog. Jake found a ’60s station out of Memphis and he and Carla hummed along with the oldies as the sun rose before them. They had vowed to keep things light, not only for their benefit but for Hanna’s. The law practice was crumbling around them. The bank wanted money. Smallwood, their pot of gold, had become another kind of train wreck. The Gamble trial was two months away and loomed like its own execution date. As their income fell, their debts climbed and seemed insurmountable.

But they were determined to survive. They were not yet forty years old, in good health, with a lovely home and plenty of friends and a law office that Jake still believed he could build into something bigger. This would be a difficult year financially, but they would get through it and emerge stronger.

Hanna announced she was hungry and Carla challenged her to select the right breakfast place. She chose a fast-food restaurant beside the interstate and they went through the drive-thru. They were making good time and Jake wanted to arrive before dark. Mrs. McCullough promised to have dinner on the table.

They played car games, card games, pick-the-billboard games, count-the-cows games, any kind of game Hanna could think of, and they sang along with the radio. When Hanna drifted off, Carla pulled out a paperback and everything was quiet. Lunch was a burger at another drive-thru, another place selected by Hanna, and before they drove away they changed drivers. Carla drove for an hour before getting sleepy. Jake wasn’t fond of her driving anyway, so they swapped again. Once in the passenger’s seat, she came to life and couldn’t nap. It was almost 2:00 p.m. and they had hours to go.

Carla looked to make sure Hanna was sound asleep, and said, “Okay, I know we’re not talking about this, at least in front of her, but I can’t get it off my mind.”

Jake smiled and said, “Neither can I.”

“Good. So here’s a big question. A year from now, where will Drew Gamble be?”

A mile passed as he considered this. “There are three possible answers, all dictated by what happens at trial. One, he’s found guilty of capital murder, which is likely because there’s no doubt about what happened, and he’s sent to Parchman to await an execution. It might be possible to pull strings and get him placed in some type of protective custody because of his age and size, but it will still be a horrible place. They’ll probably place him on the actual death row, where he might be safer because he’ll be in solitary confinement.”

“And his appeals?”

“They’ll go on forever. If he’s convicted, I suspect I’ll still be writing briefs for him when Hanna’s in college. Number two, he’s found not guilty by reason of insanity, which is unlikely. If so, he’ll probably be put in a treatment facility for an undetermined length of time and eventually released. I’m sure the Gambles will flee the area, and we might be right behind them.”

“That doesn’t really seem fair either. Great for them. Terrible for the Kofers. We’re caught in the middle.”

“True.”

“I don’t want the kid to go to prison for the rest of his life, but to walk away after what he did is not fair. There should be something in between, some lesser form of punishment.”

“I agree, but what is it?” Jake asked.

“I’m not sure, but I do know something about the insanity defense because of Carl Lee. He wasn’t insane and he got off. Drew seems far more traumatized and detached from reality than Carl Lee.”

“I agree again. Carl Lee knew exactly what he was doing when he killed those two. He planned it carefully