A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) - John Grisham Page 0,132

was forty-seven years old. At the age of twenty-two he had been involved in a terrible auto accident in which three teenagers were killed. They were drinking beer, joyriding, racing down a county road on a Friday night when they ran head-on into a car driven by Nickel. As it turned out, everybody was drunk. Nickel registered .10 and was arrested for drunk driving. There was talk of an indictment for manslaughter, but the authorities eventually decided the accident was not his fault. The three families sued anyway and the case dragged on for four years before his insurance company negotiated a nuisance settlement. Thus, his reluctance to get involved.

This valuable background had been discovered by a private investigator who charged Jake $3,500, another ding to the old Tort Sport loan sitting in Stan’s office. Jake had the dirt. Sean Gilder probably did not because he didn’t mention it during the deposition. Jake relished the moment when he sprung it on Nickel before the jury and slaughtered him with it. His credibility would be tarnished, but his past would not change the facts of the Smallwood accident.

Jake and Harry Rex had argued over strategy. Harry Rex wanted a full-frontal assault in the deposition to spook the defense and soften up Gilder for, just maybe, some settlement talk. They were desperate for cash, but Jake still dreamed of a big verdict in his courtroom. And he would not push for a trial. A year needed to pass for things to settle down. The Gamble trial needed to come and go and take the baggage with it.

Harry Rex thought this was a foolish dream. Hanging on for a year seemed impossible.

32

Jake worked late on Monday and left the office after dark. Preoccupied, he was almost home when he remembered Carla wanted milk, eggs, two cans of tomato sauce, and coffee from the grocery store. He turned around and went to a Kroger east of town. He parked his red Saab in the lot that was almost empty, went in, filled his basket, checked out, sacked his own items, and was almost to his car when things took a sudden turn for the worse. An unfriendly voice behind him said, “Hey Brigance.” Jake turned and for a split second saw a face that was vaguely familiar. Holding the grocery bag, he couldn’t duck in time to miss the sucker punch. It landed flush on his nose, cracked it, and knocked him to the asphalt beside his car. For a second he could see nothing. A heavy boot landed on his right ear as he scrambled around. He felt a can of tomato sauce and quickly hurled it at the man, hitting him in the face. The man yelled, “You son of a bitch!” and kicked him again. Jake was almost to his feet when a second man tackled him from behind. He landed hard on the asphalt again and managed to grab the hair of his tackler. The same heavy boot landed again on his forehead, and Jake was too stunned to fight back. He released his grip on the hair and tried to get up, but he was pinned on his back. The second assailant, a thick heavy guy, pounded away at his face, cursing and growling, while the first one kicked his ribs and gut and anywhere else he could land a boot. When he kicked him in the testicles Jake screamed and blacked out.

Two loud gunshots cracked through the air and someone yelled, “Stop it!”

The two thugs were startled and bolted from the scene. They were last seen sprinting around the corner of the store. Mr. William Bradley ran over with his pistol and said, “Oh my God.”

Jake was unconscious and his face was a bloody mess.

* * *

—

WHEN CARLA ARRIVED at the ER, Jake was being X-rayed. A nurse told her, “He’s breathing on his own and somewhat alert. That’s all I know right now.” His parents arrived half an hour later and she met them in the waiting room. Mr. William Bradley was in a corner talking to a Clanton city policeman, giving his story.

A doctor, Mays McKee, a friend from church, stopped by for the second time and gave them the latest. “It’s a pretty nasty beating,” he said gravely. “But Jake is awake and stable and in no danger. Some cuts and bruises, a broken nose. We’re still doing X-rays and giving him morphine. A lot of pain. I’ll be back in a minute.”