A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) - John Grisham Page 0,187

Gamble. Your job is to answer them.”

“Yes, I expect the jury to believe every word I’ve said because it’s all true. I may have lied before, but I assure you that lyin’ was the least of my sins.”

The smart move would be to stop the bleeding. She was scoring far more points than the prosecutor. Brigance had her prepped to the max and she was ready for anything.

Dyer was a smart man. He fumbled with some papers and finally said, “Nothing further, Your Honor.”

46

Kiera entered the courtroom with a bailiff trailing behind. She walked slowly, looking down to avoid the stares. She wore a simple, drip-dry cotton dress that was tight around the middle. By the time she stopped and faced the court reporter, everyone in the courtroom was staring at her belly. There were whispers in the gallery and several of the jurors glanced around, as if embarrassed for this poor child. She backed into the witness chair and sat gingerly, obviously uncomfortable. She glanced at the jurors as if ashamed, a terrified kid facing an adult’s screwed-up world.

Jake said, “You are Kiera Gamble, sister of the accused, correct?”

“Yes sir.”

“How old are you, Kiera?”

“Fourteen.”

“You are obviously pregnant.”

“Yes sir.”

Jake had played this scene a thousand times, had lost hours of sleep over it, and had argued and debated and dissected it with his wife and his team. He couldn’t blow it. Calmly, he asked, “When is your baby due, Kiera?”

“Late next month.”

“And, Kiera, who is the father of your child?”

As coached, she leaned a bit closer to the mike and said, “Stuart Kofer.”

There were gasps and loud reactions, and almost immediately Earl Kofer yelled, “That’s a damned lie!” He stood and pointed at her and said, “That’s a damned lie, Judge!” Janet Kofer shrieked and buried her face in her hands. Barry Kofer said, loudly, “What a crock of shit!”

“Order! Order!” Noose yelled back angrily. He rapped his gavel as Earl yelled again, “How much more of this shit do we have to take, Judge? It’s a damned lie.”

“Order in the court! We will maintain decorum!” Two uniformed bailiffs were scurrying to Earl on the third row behind the prosecution. He was waving his finger and yelling, “This is not fair, Judge! My boy is dead and they’re lyin’ about him! Lies, lies, lies!”

“Remove that man from the courtroom,” Noose barked into his mike. Cecil Kofer stood next to his father as if ready for a brawl. The first two bailiffs to reach them were seventy years old and already winded, but the third was a rookie who stood six-five, was ripped at two-forty, and held a black belt. He lifted Cecil under a wet armpit while grabbing Earl by the elbow. He dragged them, cussing and twisting, to the aisle where they were met by other bailiffs and deputies and quickly realized the futility of any further resistance. They were shoved to the door, where Earl stopped and turned around and yelled, “I’ll get you for this, Brigance!”

Jake, along with everyone else in the courtroom, watched and listened in stunned silence. Other than Janet Kofer’s sobbing, and the window units, there were no other sounds as the moment passed. Kiera sat in the witness chair and wiped her eyes. Lowell Dyer glared at Jake as if he might throw a punch. The jurors appeared to be overwhelmed.

His Honor quickly regrouped and barked at a bailiff, “Please remove the jury.”

They hurried out of the box as if they had been released for good. As soon as the door closed behind them, Dyer said, “Your Honor, I have a motion, and it should be heard in chambers.”

Noose glared at Jake as if he might disbar him on the spot, then grabbed his gavel and said, “Let’s take a break. Fifteen minutes. Miss Gamble, you may go sit with your mother for a moment.”

* * *

—

THE WINDOW UNIT in Noose’s chambers was working nicely and the office was much cooler than the courtroom. The judge flung his robe in a chair, lit his pipe, and stood behind his desk with his arms crossed, obviously upset. He glared at Jake and demanded, “Did you know she was pregnant?”

“Yes I did. So did the district attorney.”

“Lowell?”

Dyer was red-faced and furious, with sweat dripping off his chin. “The State moves for a mistrial, Your Honor.”

“On what grounds?” Jake asked coolly.

“On the grounds that we’ve been ambushed.”

“That won’t fly, Lowell,” Jake said. “You saw her in court yesterday and commented to me that she