A time to kill

"They won't be back, will they?" she asked.

"Naw. They're through with us. They'll find out I'm off the case, then they'll call and apologize."

"It's not funny, Jake."

"I know."

"Do you think people will know?"

"Not for another hour. When the Coffee Shop opens at five, Dell Perkins will know every detail before she pours the first cup of coffee."

"What're you going to do with it?" she asked, nodding at the cross, now barely visible under the half moon.

i vc goi an idea. Let s load it up, take it to Memphis, and burn it in Marsharfsky's yard." "I'm going to bed."

By 9:00 A.M. Jake had finished dictating his motion to withdraw as counsel of record. Ethel was typing it with zest when she interrupted him: "Mr. Brigance, there's a Mr. Marsharf-sky on the phone. I told him you were in conference, and he said he would hold."

"I'll talk to him." Jake gripped the receiver. "Hello."

"Mr. Brigance, Bo Marsharfsky in Memphis. How are you?"

"Terrific."

"Good. I'm sure you saw the morning paper Saturday and Sunday. You do get the paper in Clantpn?"

"Yes, and we have telephones and mail."

"So you saw the stories on Mr. Hailey?"

"Yes. You write' some very nice articles."

"I'll ignore that. I wanted to discuss the Hailey case if you have a minute."

"I would love to."

"As I understand Mississippi procedure, out-of-state counsel must associate local counsel for trial purposes."

"You mean you don't have a Mississippi license?" Jake asked incredulously.

"Well, no, I don't."

"That wasn't mentioned in your articles."

"I'll ignore that too. Do the judges require local counsel in all cases?"

"Some do, some don't."

"I see. What about Noose?"

"Sometimes."

"Thanks. Well, I usually associate local counsel when I try cases out in the country. The locals feel better with one of their own sitting there at counsel table with me."

"That's real nice."

"I don't suppose you'd be interested in-"

"You must be kidding!" Jake yelled. "I've just been fired and now you want me to carry your briefcase. You're crazy. I wouldn't have my name associated with yours."

"Wait a minute, hayseed-"

"No, you wait a minute, counselor. This may come as a surprise to you, but in this state we have ethics and laws against soliciting litigation and clients. Champerty-ever hear of it? Of course not. It's a felony in Mississippi, as in most states. We have canons of ethics that prohibit ambulance chasing and solicitation. Ethics, Mr. Shark, ever hear of them?"

"I don't chase cases, sonny. They come to me."

"Like Carl Lee Hailey. I'm supposed to believe he picked your name out of the yellow pages. I'm sure you have a full-page ad, next to the abortionists."

"He was referred to me."

"Yeah, by your pimp. I know exactly how you got him. Outright solicitation. I may file a complaint with the bar. Better yet, I might have your methods reviewed by the grand jury."

"Yeah, I understand you and the D.A. are real close. Good day, counselor."

Marsharfsky got the last word before he hung up. Jake fumed for an hour before he could concentrate on the brief he was writing. Lucien would have been proud of him.

Just before lunch Jake received a call from Walter Sullivan, of the Sullivan firm.

"Jake, my boy, how are you?"

"Wonderful."

"Good. Listen, Jake, Bo Marsharfsky is an old friend of mine. We defended a couple of bank officials years ago on fraud charges. Got them off, too. He's quite a lawyer. He's associated me as local counsel for Carl Lee Hailey. I was just wanting to know-"

Jake dropped the receiver and walked out of his office. He spent the afternoon on Lucien's front porch.

Gwen did not have Lester's number. Neither did Ozzie, nor did anyone else. The operator said there were two pages of Haileys in the Chicago phone book, at least a dozen Lester Haileys, and several L. S.'s. Jake asked for the first five Lester Haileys and called each one. They were all white. He called Tank Scales, the owner of one of the safer and finer black honky tonks in the county. Tank's Tonk, as it was known. Lester was especially fond of the place. Tank was a client and often provided Jake with valuable and confidential information on various blacks, their dealings and whereabouts.

Tank stopped by the office Tuesday morning on the way to the bank.

"Have you seen Lester Hailey in the past two weeks?" Jake asked.

"Sure. Spent several days at the place shootin' pool, drinkin' beer. Went back to Chicago last weekend, I heard. Must've, I didn't see him all weekend."

"Who was he with?"

"Hisself mostly."

"What about Iris?"

"Yeah, he brung her a couple of times when Henry was outta town. Makes me nervous when he brings her. Henry's a bad dude. He'd cut them both if he knew they's datin'."

"They've been doing it for ten years, Tank."

"Yeah, sh,e got two kids by Lester. Everbody knows it but Henry. Poor old Henry. He'll find out one day, and you'll have another murder case."

"Listen, Tank, can you talk to Iris?"

"She don't come in too often."

"That's not what I asked. I need Lester's phone number in Chicago. I figure Iris knows it."