A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) - John Grisham Page 0,23

The weather was changing. Terrible news about Stuart Kofer. They both professed admiration. Noose had spoken to Ozzie, and Ozzie had the kid locked away, safe and secure. Good ole Ozzie. Most sheriffs Noose dealt with would’ve had the kid on the rack and signing a ten-page confession.

Hitting his stride, Noose said, “Jake, I want you to represent this kid through the preliminaries. Don’t know if it’ll turn into a capital case but that’s always a real possibility. Nobody else in Clanton has any recent experience with the death penalty and you’re the lawyer I trust the most. If it goes capital, then we’ll revisit your representation and I’ll try to find someone else.”

Jake closed his eyes and nodded and, at the first pause, jumped in. “Judge, you and I both know that if I step in now there’s an excellent chance I’ll be stuck with it all the way.”

“Not necessarily, Jake. I just spoke with Roy Browning over in Oxford, damned fine lawyer, you know him, Jake?”

“Everybody knows Roy, Judge.”

“He has two capital trials this year and is swamped, but he has a young partner who he thinks highly of. He promised me they would take a look at the case down the road if it goes capital. Right now, though, Jake, I want someone in that jail talking to the kid and keeping the police away from him. I don’t want to be faced with some bogus confession or a jailhouse snitch.”

“I trust Ozzie.”

“And so do I, Jake, but this is a dead policeman, and you know how worked up those boys can get. I would just feel better if that kid had some protection right now. I’ll make the appointment good for thirty days. You get over there and see the kid, then we’ll meet at nine Tuesday morning before the Civil Docket. I believe you have motions pending in the Smallwood case.”

“But I knew the victim, Judge.”

“So what? It’s a small town and everybody knows everybody, right?”

“You’re pushing pretty hard, Judge.”

“I’m sorry, Jake, and sorry to be bothering you on a Sunday. But this situation can get dicey and needs a steady hand. I trust you, Jake, and that’s why I’m asking you to step in. You know, Jake, when I was a young lawyer I learned that we don’t always get to choose our clients, right?”

And why not, Jake asked himself. “I’d like to discuss this with my wife, Judge. As you know, we went through a lot five years ago with Hailey and she may have an opinion or two.”

“This is nothing like Hailey, Jake.”

“No, but it is a dead policeman, and any lawyer who represents the alleged killer will face a backlash from the community. As you say, it’s a small town, Judge.”

“I really want you to step up to the plate here, Jake.”

“I’ll discuss it with Carla and I’ll see you first thing Tuesday morning, if that’s all right.”

“The kid needs a lawyer now, Jake. As I understand things, he has no father and his mother is in the hospital with injuries. There’s no other family in the area. He’s already admitted to the killing, so he needs to shut up. Yes, we both trust Ozzie but I’m sure there are some hotheads around the jail who cannot be trusted. Discuss it with your wife and call me back in a couple of hours.”

There was a loud click and the line was dead. His Honor had just given an order and hung up.

* * *

—

THE MARCH WINDS picked up late in the afternoon and the temperature dropped. With his girls lost in an old movie in the den, Jake left his house and went for a long walk through the quiet streets of Clanton. He often spent an hour or two alone in his office late on Sundays, reviewing the files he had not managed to close the previous week and deciding which ones to postpone next. At the moment he had eighty open files, but only a handful were decent cases. Such was the practice of law in a small, poor town.

These days his world was consumed with Smallwood, and most other matters were being ignored.

The facts were as simple as they were complicated. Taylor Smallwood, his wife Sarah, and two of their three children were killed instantly when their small import collided with a train at a dangerous crossing near the Polk County line. The accident happened around ten-thirty on a Friday night. A witness in a pickup