A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) - John Grisham Page 0,85

man enough to step up when everybody else was hiding under their desks and running from the phone. Now I’m asking you to keep it, Jake, keep this case and make sure this defendant gets a fair trial.”

“Obviously, you plan to deny my motion to move it to youth court.”

“Of course. I’m keeping jurisdiction for a lot of reasons, Jake. If he goes through youth court he’ll be out when he’s eighteen. You think that’s fair?”

“No, not in theory. Not at all.”

“Good, then we agree. He stays in circuit court and you’re his lawyer.”

“But, Judge, I’m not going to let this case bankrupt me. I practice alone and have a limited staff. So far, since your first phone call on March twenty-fifth, I have spent forty-one hours on this case and the work has just begun. As you know, the state legislature caps attorney’s fees in indigent cases at one thousand dollars. Hard to believe, Judge, but a fee of one thousand dollars for a capital defense is a joke. I have to get paid, Judge.”

“I’ll make sure you get paid.”

“But how, Judge. The statute is pretty clear.”

“I know, I know, believe me I understand, Jake. It’s an outrageous law and I’ve written letters to our lawmakers. I have an idea, something that’s never been done, at least not in the Twenty-second. You keep up with your hours, and when the case is over you submit a bill to the county. When the supervisors refuse to pay, then sue them in circuit court. I’ll handle the case and I’ll rule in your favor. How about that?”

“It’s definitely a novel idea. Never heard of it.”

“It’ll work because I’ll make it work. We’ll have a quick trial with no jury and I’ll see that you get paid.”

“But that’s months away.”

“That’s the best we can do, Jake. The law is the law.”

“So I’ll get a thousand dollars now and pray for the rest.”

“It’s the best we can do.”

“What about experts?”

“What about them?”

“Come on, Judge. The State will have all manner of shrinks and mental health professionals at its disposal to testify.”

“Are you implying an insanity defense?”

“No, I’m not implying anything. I still can’t believe I’m getting stuck with the damned case.”

“And the family has no money?”

“Are you serious? They’re homeless. They’re wearing second- and third-hand clothing. Their relatives, wherever they are, washed their hands years ago, and they’d be starving right now if not for the generosity of a church.”

“Okay, okay, just had to ask. I figured as much. I’ll do what I can, Jake, to make sure you get paid.”

“That’s not good enough, Judge. I want a promise from you that I’ll get paid a lot more than a thousand bucks.”

“I promise I’ll do everything within my power to see that you get paid for a proper defense.”

Jake took a deep breath and told himself that it was time to accept the fact that the Gamble case belonged to him. Noose fiddled with another pipe and stuffed its bowl full of dark tobacco. He grinned at Jake with his brown teeth and said, “I’ll sweeten the pot.”

“Smallwood?”

“Smallwood. I’ll set a trial date a week from next Monday, April twenty-third. I won’t put up with Sean Gilder’s nonsense and will insist that we’re picking a jury bright and early that morning. I’ll call Gilder and Walter Sullivan within the hour. How’s that?”

“Thank you.”

“Are you ready for trial, Jake?”

“I’ve been ready.”

“Any chance of a settlement?”

“Right now that appears unlikely.”

“I want you to win this case, Jake. Don’t get me wrong. I will remain an unbiased referee whose job is to guarantee a fair trial. But I’d love to see you pop Gilder and Sullivan and that railroad for a big verdict.”

“So would I, Judge. I need it.”

Noose puffed and chewed on the stem. He said, “You and I are not very popular right now, Jake, judging by this stack of letters I’ve received from Ford County, and from phone calls, some anonymous, some not. They think we’ve already found the boy insane and let him off. Are you worried about this during jury selection?”

“Well, yes, Harry Rex and I have discussed it. He’s more worried than I am because I still believe we can find twelve jurors with open minds.”

“So do I. We’ll take our time and screen them carefully. Let’s bring the boy back from Whitfield so the hotheads will know he’s back in jail, awaiting trial and not getting released on some technicality. I think that’ll appease some folks. You