A time to kill

"You know something, Mr. Brigance, you're right. I chase cases everyday. I'm a pro at hustling cases. That's how I make so much money. If there's a big criminal case, I intend to get it. And I'll use whatever method I find necessary."

"Funny, that wasn't mentioned in the paper."

"And if I want the Hailey case, I'll get it."

"Come on down." Jake hung up and laughed for ten minutes. He lit a cheap cigar, and began working on his motion for a change of venue.

Two days later Lucien called and instructed Ethel to instruct Jake to come see him. It was important. He had a visitor Jake needed to meet.

The visitor was Dr. W.T. Bass, a retired psychiatrist from Jackson. He had known Lucien for years, and they had collaborated on a couple of insane criminals during their friendship. Both of the criminals were still in Parchman. His retirement had been one year before the disbarment and had been precipitated by the same thing that contributed heavily to the disbarment, to wit, a strong affection for Jack Daniel's. He visited Lucien occasionally in Clanton, and Lucien visited him more frequently in Jackson, and they enjoyed their visits because they enjoyed staying drunk together. They sat on the big porch and waited on Jake.

"Just say he was insane," instructed Lucien.

"Was he?" asked the doctor.

"That's not important."

"What is important?"

"It's important to give the jury an excuse to acquit the man. They won't care if he's crazy or not. But they'll need some reason to acquit him."

"It would be nice to examine him."

"You can. You can talk to him all you want. He's at the jail just waiting on someone to talk to."

"I'll need to meet with him several times."

"I know that."

"What if I don't think he was insane at the time of the shooting?"

"Then you won't get to testify at trial, and you won't get your name and picture in the paper, and you won't be interviewed on TV."

Lucien paused long enough to take a long drink. "Just do as I say. Interview him, take a bunch of notes. Ask stupid questions. You know what to do. Then say he was crazy."

"I'm not so sure about this. It hasn't worked too well in the past."

"Look, you're a doctor, aren't you? Then act proud, vain, arrogant. Act like a doctor's supposed to act. Give your opinion and dare anyone to question it."

"I don't know. It hasn't worked too well in the past."

"Just do as I say."

"I've done that before, and they're both at Parchman."

"They were hopeless. Hailey's different."

"Does he have a chance?"

"Slim."

"I thought you said he was different."

"He's a decent man with a good reason for killing."

"Then why are his chances slim?"

"The law says his reason is not good enough."

"That's par for the law."

"Plus he's black, and this is a white county. I have no confidence in these bigots around here."

"And if he were white?"

"If he were white and he killed two blacks who raped his daughter, the jury would give him the courthouse."

Bass finished one glass and poured another. A fifth and a bucket of ice sat on the wicker table between the two.

"What about his lawyer?" he asked.

"He should be here in a minute."

"He used to work for you?"

"Yeah, but I don't think you met him. He was in the firm about two years before I left. He's young, early thirties. Clean, aggressive, works hard."

"And he used to work for you?"

"That's what I said. He's got trial experience for his age. This is not his first murder case, but, if I'm not mistaken, it's his first insanity case."

"That's nice to hear. I don't want someone asking a lot of questions."

"I like your confidence. Wait till you meet the D.A."

"I just don't feel good about this. We tried it twice, and it didn't work."

Lucien shook his head in bewilderment. "You've got to be the humblest doctor I've known."

"And the poorest."

"You're supposed to be pompous and arrogant. You're the expert. Act like one. Who's gonna question your professional opinion in Clanton, Mississippi?"

"The State will have experts."

"They will have one psychiatrist from Whitfield. He'll examine the defendant for a few hours, and then drive up for trial and testify that the defendant is the sanest man he's

ever met. He's never seen a legally insane defendant. To him no one is insane. Everybody's blessed with perfect mental health. Whitfield is full of sane people, except when it applies for government money, then half the state's crazy. He'd get fired if he started saying defendants are legally insane. So that's who you're up against."

"And the jury will automatically believe me?"

"You act as though you've never been through one of these before."

"Twice, remember. One rapist, one murderer. Neither was insane, in spite of what I said. Both are now locked away where they belong."

Lucien took a long drink and studied the light brown liquid and the floating ice cubes. "You said you would help me. God knows you owe me the favor. How many divorces did I handle for you?"

"Three. And I got cleaned out every time."

"You deserved it every time. It was either give in or go to trial and have your habits discussed in open court."