A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) - John Grisham Page 0,159

by.”

“And if Dyer finds us?”

“He has the right to talk to Kiera, not Josie. He’ll probably realize she’s pregnant but I doubt he’ll have the guts to ask who’s the father. Keep in mind the only thing Dyer wants from her is the testimony that Drew shot Kofer. He has to have that, and I doubt he’ll go much further.”

“I can do this,” she said nervously.

“Sure you can. There will be a crowd swarming around the courthouse so just try to get lost in it. At some point I’ll want you in the courtroom as we narrow the pool and start picking the twelve.”

“And what am I supposed to do in the courtroom, exactly?”

“Study the jurors, especially those on the first four rows. Especially the women.”

After a few bites, he said, “Gotta go. I’ll see you over there.”

“You need to eat, Jake.”

“I know, but I’ll probably lose it anyway.”

He kissed her on the cheek and left the house. In his car, he removed a pistol from his briefcase and hid it under the seat. He parked in front of his office, unlocked the door, and turned on the lights. Portia arrived half an hour later, and at seven Libby Provine made her entrance in a tight pink designer dress, high heels, and a loud paisley scarf. She had arrived in Clanton late Sunday afternoon and they had worked until eleven.

“You look rather smashing,” Jake observed, with reservations.

“You like it?” she shot back.

“I don’t know. It’s pretty bold. I doubt if we’ll see another pink dress in the courtroom today.”

“I like to be noticed, Jake,” she sang in her best Scottish brogue. “I know it’s rather nontraditional, but I’ve found that jurors, especially the men, like a bit of fashion amongst all the dark suits. You look quite handsome.”

“Thanks, I guess. My newest lawyer suit.”

Portia kept staring at the pink dress.

Libby said, “Just wait till they hear me talk.”

“They probably won’t understand a word.”

She wouldn’t be talking much, not at first. Her role was to assist Jake during the guilt, or second, phase of the trial, and say little until then. If Drew were convicted of capital murder, she would play a bigger role in the war over his sentencing. Dr. Thane Sedgwick was on standby at Baylor in case he was needed to sprint over to try and save the kid’s life. Jake was praying that would not be necessary, but he expected it. He didn’t have time to worry about it that morning.

Jake looked at her and said, “Tell me about Luther Redford.”

Libby shot back, “White male, age sixty-two, lives in the country on Pleasant Valley Road, raises organic chickens and sells them to the best restaurants in Memphis. Married for forty years to the same woman, three adult children, scattered, a bunch of grandchildren. Church of Christ.”

“And what does ‘Church of Christ’ mean?”

“Devout, clannish, conservative, fundamental, strong on law and order with a dim view of violent crime. Almost certainly a teetotaler with no use at all for alcohol and drunkenness.”

“Would you take him?”

“Probably not, but he might be on the cusp. We defended a seventeen-year-old two years ago in Oklahoma and the defense lawyer avoided all Church of Christ members, as well as a lot of Baptists and Pentecostals.”

“And?”

“Guilty. It was an awful crime, but we hung the jury on sentencing and got life without parole, which is supposed to be a win, I guess.”

“Would you take him, Portia?”

“No.”

“We can play this game driving over. How many jurors are complete mysteries?”

“Seventeen,” Portia said.

“That’s a lot. Look, I’ll load the car while the two of you go through the hit-list of all jurors we will challenge for cause.”

“We’ve already done that, at least twice,” Portia said. “I have the list memorized.”

“Memorize it again.”

Jake left his office, went downstairs, and loaded three large document boxes into the trunk of his Impala, which had far more space than the old Saab. At 7:30, the defense team left Clanton with Portia behind the wheel and Jake in the backseat calling off the names of people they had never seen but were about to meet.

* * *

—

JOSIE PARKED AT the jail and told Kiera to stay in the car. Lying neatly on the rear seat was a navy blazer, white shirt, clip-on tie, and gray slacks, all arranged carefully on a hanger. Josie retrieved the outfit, which she had put together in the past week browsing through discount stores in and around Oxford. Jake had given her strict instructions on