A time to kill

"Basically three. Manslaughter, regular murder, and capital murder."

"What's manslaughter?"

"Twenty years."

"What's regular murder?"

"Twenty to life."

"What's capital murder?"

"Gas chamber."

"What's aggravated assault on an officer?"

"Life. No parole."

Carl Lee studied the indictment carefully. "You mean I got two gas chambers and a life sentence."

"Not yet. You're entitled to a trial first. Which, by the way, has been set for July 22."

"That's two months away! Why so long?"

"We need the time. It'll take that long to find a psychiatrist who'll say you were crazy. Then Buckley gets to send you to Whitfield to be examined by the State's doctors, and they'll all say you were not crazy at the time. We file motions, Buckley files motions, we have a bunch of hearings. It takes time."

"No way to have it sooner?"

"We don't want it sooner."

"What if I do?" Carl Lee snapped.

Jake studied him carefully. "What's the matter, Dig man?"

"I gotta get outta here, and fast."

"I thought you said jail wasn't so bad."

"It ain't, but I need to get home. Gwen's outta money, can't find a job. Lester's in trouble with his wife. She's callin' all the time, so he won't last much longer. I hate to ask my folk for help."

"But they will, won't they?"

"Some. They got their own problems. You gotta get me outta here, Jake."

"Look, you'll be arraigned in the morning at nine. The trial is July 22, and the date won't be changed, so forget about that. Have I explained the arraignment to you?"

Carl Lee shook his head.

"It won't last twenty minutes. We appear before Judge Noose in the big courtroom. He'll ask you some questions, then ask me some questions. He'll read the indictment to you in open court, and ask if you've received a copy. Then he'll ask you to plead guilty or not guilty. When you answer not guilty, he'll set the trial date. You'll sit down, and me and Buckley will get into a big fight over your bond. Noose will refuse to set a bond, then they'll bring you back to the jail, where you'll stay until the trial."

"What about after the trial?"

Jake smiled. "Naw, you won't be in jail after the trial."

"You promise?"

"Nope. No promises. Any questions about tomorrow?"

"No. Say, Jake, uh, how much money did I pay you?"

Jake hesitated and smelled trouble. "Why do you ask?"

"Just thinkin'."

"Nine hundred, plus a note."

Gwen had less than a hundred dollars. Bills were due and food was low. She had visited on Sunday and cried for an hour. Panic was a part of her life, her makeup, her composition. But he knew they were broke and she was scared. Her family would be of little help, maybe some vegetables from the garden and a few bucks for milk and eggs. When it came to funerals and hospital stays they were very dependable. They were generous and gave of their time freely to wail and moan and put on a show. But when real money was

needed they scattered like chickens. He had little use for her family, and his wasn't much better.

He wanted to ask Jake for a hundred dollars, but decided to wait until Gwen was completely broke. It would be easier then.

Jake flipped through his legal pad and waited for Carl Lee to ask for money. Criminal clients, especially the blacks, always asked for some of the fee back after it was paid. He doubted he would ever see more than nine hundred dollars, and he was not about to return any. Besides, the blacks always took care of their own. The families would be there and the churches would get involved. No one would starve.

He waited and placed the legal pad and file in his briefcase. "Any questions, Carl Lee?"

"Yeah. What can I say tomorrow?"

"What do you want to say?"

"I wanna tell that judge why I shot them boys. They raped my daughter. They needed shootin'."

"And you want to explain that to the judge tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"And you think he'll turn you loose once you explain it all?"

Carl Lee said nothing.

"Look, Carl Lee, you hired me to be your lawyer. And you hired me because you have confidence in me, right? And if I want you to say something tomorrow, I'll tell you. If I don't, you stay quiet. When you go to trial in July you'll have the chance to tell your side. But in the meantime, I'll do the talking."

"You got that right."

Lester and Gwen piled the boys and Tonya in the red Cadillac and drove to the doctor's building next to the hospital. The rape was two weeks in the past. Tbnya walked with a slight limp and wanted to run and climb steps with her brothers. But her mother held her hand. The soreness in her legs and buttocks was almost gone, the bandages on her wrists and ankles had been removed by the doctor last week, and the cuts were healing nicely. The gauze and cotton between her legs remained.

In a small room she unaressea anu sat HCAI mother on a padded table. Her mother hugged her and helped her stay warm. The doctor poked in her mouth and rubbed her jaw. He held her wrists and ankles and inspected them. He laid her on the table and touched between her legs. She cried and clutched her mother, who leaned over her.

She was hurting again.