A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) - John Grisham Page 0,144

kill anybody. We’ll just give the dude a little of his own medicine, make sure it don’t happen again.”

“It’s not going to happen again, Carl Lee, and you’re not getting involved. Believe me, it would only complicate matters.”

“Give me his name and he’ll never know what hit him.”

“No, Carl Lee. The answer is no.”

Carl Lee clenched his jaws, nodded his disapproval, and was about to press on when Carla opened the door and said hello.

* * *

—

ON SUNDAY, THE old Mazda with a rebuilt transmission parked in the lot beside the jail and Josie got out. As bad as Kiera wanted to see her brother, she knew she could not go inside. She rolled down the windows and stuck her nose in a paperback Mrs. Golden had given her two days earlier.

Josie checked in at the desk where Mr. Zack welcomed her back. She followed him down the hall and he unlocked the door to Drew’s cell. She stepped inside and he locked the door behind her. The defendant was sitting at his small table, his textbooks stacked neatly in the center of it. He jumped to his feet and hugged his mother. They sat down, and Josie opened a paper bag and pulled out a bag of cookies and a soft drink.

“Where’s Kiera?” he asked.

“Outside, in the car. She can’t come in anymore.”

“Because she’s pregnant?”

“That’s right. Jake doesn’t want anyone to know.”

He popped the top and chewed on a cookie. “I can’t believe she’s gonna have a baby, Mom. She’s only fourteen.”

“I know. I had you when I was sixteen and that was way too young, believe me.”

“What’ll happen to the baby?”

“We’re putting him up for adoption. Some nice couple will get a beautiful little baby boy and he’ll be raised in a fine home.”

“Lucky him.”

“Yes, lucky him. It’s about time somebody in this family caught a lucky break.”

“He’s not really part of the family, is he, Mom?”

“I guess not. It’s best if we just forget about him. Kiera will heal up nicely, be as good as new, and start school over in Oxford. No one there will ever know she had a baby.”

“Will I ever get to see him?”

“I don’t think so. Jake knows a lot about adoptions and he thinks it’s best if we never see the baby, says it only complicates things.”

He took a sip and thought about this. “You want a cookie?”

“No thanks.”

“You know, Mom, I’m not sure I want to see that kid. What if he looks like Stuart?”

“He won’t. He’ll be as beautiful as Kiera.”

Another sip, another long pause. “You know, Mom, I’m still not sorry I shot him.”

“Well, I’m certainly sorry you did. Otherwise you wouldn’t be in here.”

“And otherwise we might all be dead.”

“I want to ask you a question, Drew, one that’s been on my mind for a long time. Jake wants to know the answer too but he hasn’t asked you, not yet anyway. Kiera says you did not know that Stuart was raping her. Is that true?”

He shook his head and said, “I didn’t know. She didn’t tell anybody. Lookin’ back, I think Stuart waited until there was nobody else around the house. If I had known I’d’ve shot him sooner.”

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s true, Mom. Somebody had to protect us. Stuart was gonna kill all of us. Hell, I thought you were dead that night, and I guess I just went crazy. I didn’t have a choice, Mom.” His lip quivered and his eyes watered.

Josie began wiping her eyes as she looked at her pitiful little son. What a tragedy, what a mess, what a screwed-up life she had led her children into. She carried the burdens of a hundred bad decisions and ached with the guilt of being such a rotten mother.

He finally said, “Don’t cry, Mom. I’ll get out of here one day and we’ll be together again, just the three of us.”

“I hope so, Drew. I pray every day for a miracle.”

36

Eight days after the beating, Jake spent a long afternoon held captive in the chair of an oral surgeon who hammered and drilled and poured what felt like concrete to fix his teeth. He was groggy and in pain, with temporary caps, and would return in three weeks for the permanent crowns. The following day, Dr. Pendergrast removed the stitches and admired his handiwork. The scars would be tiny and would add “character” to Jake’s face. His nose had shrunk to near normal size, but the puffiness around his eyes had turned