A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) - John Grisham Page 0,120

say on cross.”

Dyer ignored Jake, looked at Kiera, and asked the question again. “Did Stuart Kofer ever hit you or Drew?”

Jake said, “Don’t answer that.”

“You’re not her lawyer, Jake.”

“But she’ll be my witness on cross. Let’s just say that her testimony on cross will not be helpful to the State.”

“You’re wrong about this, Jake.”

“Then we’ll have a chat with Judge Noose.”

“You’re out of line here.”

“We’ll see, but she’s not answering that question until the judge orders her to. You got what you want, now let it go.”

“I will not. I’ll file a motion to compel her to answer my questions.”

“Fine. And we’ll argue your motion before the judge.”

Dyer made a production of putting the cap back onto his pen and gathering his notes. Meeting over. He said, “Thank you, Kiera, for your time.”

Jake, Kiera, and Josie didn’t move as the rest of them stood and filed out of the room. When the door was closed, Jake patted Kiera on the arm and said, “Nice job.”

It was a splendid performance by a fourteen-year-old girl.

* * *

—

BROKE AS HE was, Jake wanted to host a backyard barbecue. Late Friday afternoon, he fired up his grill on the patio, marinated chicken breasts and thighs, and roasted hot dogs and corn on the cob while Carla mixed a large pitcher of lemonade.

The Hailey clan arrived first: Carl Lee and Gwen with their four children, Tonya, now seventeen and going on twenty, and the three boys, Ernie, Jarvis, and Micah. They always arrived a bit reticent because they were guests at a fine home in the white section of town, a rarity in Clanton. Jake had never been to a barbecue or a cocktail party or even a wedding to which blacks were invited. Since Carl Lee’s trial five years earlier, he and Carla had been determined to change this. They had hosted the Haileys, along with Ozzie and his family, many times on the patio. And they had been to the Haileys’ home for cookouts and sprawling family gatherings where they were the only white folks. Among the blacks in Ford County, Jake Brigance could do no wrong. He was their lawyer. The problem was they had little to pay in the way of fees, and most of their legal issues fit in the pro bono category, Jake’s specialty.

Ozzie had been invited but found an excuse to stay away.

Josie and Kiera arrived with Charles and Meg McGarry. Meg was nine months pregnant and due any moment. Kiera was four months behind and was still wearing the same bulky sweatshirt, in spite of the heat.

Harry Rex was always invited, along with his current wife, but he usually declined because beer was not permitted. Lucien was an occasional guest, and had even brought Sallie once, the only time the two were seen together about town. But he, like Harry Rex, couldn’t enjoy a barbecue without booze. That, and he took pride in being fiercely antisocial.

Stan Atcavage had once been on the list but rarely made an appearance. His wife, Tilda, didn’t like to mingle with the lower classes.

As the kids played badminton and the women huddled on the patio and fussed over Meg and her due date, Jake and Carl Lee sipped lemonade in lawn chairs in the shade and caught up with the gossip. Lester was always a topic. He was Carl Lee’s younger brother and lived in Chicago where he earned big wages as a union ironworker. His troubles with women were always the source of tall stories and endless humor.

When everyone else was preoccupied, Carl Lee said, “Looks like you’ve got yourself in another mess.”

“You could say that,” Jake agreed with a smile.

“When’s the trial?”

“August, two months away.”

“Why don’t you put me on the jury?”

“Carl Lee, you’re the last person they would put on my jury.”

They enjoyed the light moment. Carl Lee still worked at a lumber mill and was now a foreman. He owned his home and five acres around it, and he and Gwen raised their children in a strict environment with many rules. Church every Sunday, plenty of chores for the kids, homework and good grades, respect for elders. His mother lived half a mile down the road and saw her grandchildren every day.

“Willie didn’t care for Kofer,” Carl Lee said. Willie Hastings was Gwen’s second cousin and the first black deputy Ozzie hired.

“I’m not surprised.”

“He had no use for blacks. He sucked up to Ozzie for obvious reasons, but he had a dark side. Real dark. Willie