A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) - John Grisham Page 0,29

marriage was not going well and he preferred the late-night tranquility of his office over the tension around the house.

Jake tapped on a window and entered through a rear door. Harry Rex met him in the kitchen and removed two cans of beer from the fridge. They settled into a cluttered workroom beside his office. “Why are you out so late?” he asked.

“Stopped by the jail,” Jake said, and Harry Rex nodded as if this was no surprise.

“Noose hazed you into it, right?”

“He did. Said the appointment was only for thirty days, just to get the kid through the preliminaries.”

“Bullshit. You’ll never get rid of this case, Jake, because no one else’ll take it. I tried to warn you.”

“You did, but it’s pretty hard saying no to the circuit judge, Harry Rex. When was the last time you looked at Noose and said no to a favor?”

“I stay away from Noose, not my domain. I prefer chancery court where we don’t have juries and the judges are afraid of me.”

“Chancellor Reuben Atlee is not afraid of anybody.”

Harry Rex swallowed some beer and looked at Jake in disbelief. He took another swallow and kicked back in an old wooden swivel. He’d lost fifty pounds the year before but had now regained at least that much, and because of his bulk he struggled to lift both feet to the table. But they made it, in ragged old jogging shoes that Jake could swear he’d been wearing for at least the past decade. Feet in place, cold beer in hand, he continued pleasantly, “A really stupid move on your part.”

“I may have stopped by for a beer but not for any abuse.”

As if he didn’t hear him, Harry Rex said, “My phone has been ringin’ all day as the gossip spread and I heard from people I thought were dead, hoped most of them were anyway, but, seriously, a murdered deputy? This county has never seen one of those, and so folks are prattlin’ away right now. And tomorrow and the next day and the rest of the week, that’s all this town will talk about. How much they all loved Stuart Kofer. Even the wags who hardly knew him will discover a deep admiration for the guy. And can you imagine the funeral or memorial or whatever Ozzie will put on with the family? Hell, you know how much cops love parades and funeral processions and burials with guns and cannons. It’ll be quite the show with the whole town tryin’ to get into the act. And when they’re not weepin’ over Kofer they’ll be vilifying his killer. Sixteen-year-old punk shot him with his own gun in his own bed. Cold-blooded murder. Let’s string him up now. As always, Jake, the guilt will rub off on the lawyer, on you. You’ll do your best to represent your client and they’ll hate you for it. It’s a mistake, Jake, a big one. You’ll regret this case for a long time.”

“You’re assuming too much, Harry Rex. Noose assured me it’s only temporary. I’ll meet with him Tuesday to discuss the possibility of approaching some of the national child advocacy groups to get some help down here. Noose knows the case is not good for me.”

“Y’all talk about Smallwood?”

“Of course not. That would be highly inappropriate.”

Harry Rex snorted and swallowed more beer.

It was unethical to discuss a hotly contested case with the presiding judge when the opposing lawyers knew nothing of the conversation. Especially a phone chat on a Sunday afternoon that was initiated for other reasons. But such ethical formalities had never impressed Harry Rex.

He said, “Here’s what might happen, Jake, and this is my biggest fear. Right now those sumbitches on the other side of Smallwood are gettin’ nervous. I’ve convinced Doby that they don’t want to mess with you in your courtroom, in front of a Ford County jury. You’re good and all that but not nearly as good as I’ve made you out to be. I’ve blown a lot of smoke up his ass and he’s not much of a trial lawyer anyway. His partner is better, but they’re from Jackson and that can be a long ways off. Sullivan will be sitting at the table with them but he’s not a factor. So we’re talkin’ trial dates for Smallwood and I have a hunch the railroad will start droppin’ hints about a settlement. However.” A gulp of beer and the can was empty. “Yesterday you were the golden