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"Not really You did do it?"

"You know I did"

Jake smiled, nodded, and crossed his arms "How do you feel?"

Carl Lee relaxed and sat back in the folding chair "Well, I feel better I don&039;t feel good &039;bout the whole thing I wish it didn&039;t happen But I wish irl was okay too, you know I didn&039;t have nothin&039; against theot what they started I feel sorry for their ot daddies, which I doubt"

"Are you scared?"

"Of what?"

"How about the gas chaot you I don&039;t plan to go to no gas chaet me off You can do it, Jake"

"It&039;s not quite that easy, Carl Lee"

"Say what?"

"You just don&039;t shoot a person, or persons, in cold blood, and then tell the jury they needed killing, and expect to walk out of the courtroom"

"You did with Lester"

"But every case is different And the big difference here is that you killed thite boys and Lester killed a nigger Big difference"

"You scared, Jake?"

"Why should I be scared? I&039;as chamber"

"You don&039;t sound too confident"

You big stupid idiot, thought Jake How could he be confident at a time like this The bodies were still wars, but noas different His client was facing the gas for a crime which he adun?"

"A friend in Memphis"

"Okay Did Lester help?"

"Nope He knew &039;bout what Fs gonna do, and he wanted to help, but I wouldn&039;t let him"

"How&039;s Gwen?"

"She&039;s pretty crazy right now, but tester&039;s with her She didn&039;t know a thing about it"

"The kids?"

"You kno kids are They don&039;t want their daddy in jail They upset, but they&039;ll make it Lester&039;ll take care of theo?"

"Not for a while Jake, when do we go to court?"

"The preliminary should be tomorrow or Wednesday, depends on Bullard"

"Is he the judge?"

"He will be for the preli But he won&039;t hear the trial That&039;ll be in Circuit Court"

"Who&039;s the judge there?"

"Oe who tried Lester"

"Good He&039;s okay, ain&039;t he?"

"Yeah, he&039;s a good judge"

"When will the trial be?"

"Late summer or early fall Buckley will push for a quick trial"

"Who&039;s Buckley?"

"Rufus Buckley District attorney Sauy-"

"Yeah, yeah, I reot all about him He&039;s pretty ood He&039;s corrupt and ambitious, and he&039;ll eat this up because of the publicity"

"You&039;ve beat him, ain&039;t you?"

"Yeah, and he&039;s beat me"

Jake opened his briefcase and real services, which he studied although he had it memorized His fees were based on the ability to pay, and the blacks generally could pay little unless there was a close and generous relative in St Louis or Chicago with a good-paying job Those were rare In Lester&039;s trial there had been a brother in California orked for the post office but he&039;d been unwilling or unable to help There were some sisters scattered around but they had their own problems and had offered onlyfamily, and they stayed out of trouble, but

they were not prosperous Carl Lee owned a few acres around his house and had ed it to help Lester pay Jake before

He had charged Lester five thousand for his murder trial; half was paid before trial and the rest in installments over three years

Jake hated to discuss fees It was thelaw Clients wanted to know up front, immediately, how much he would cost, and they all reacted differently Some were shocked, some just sed hard, a few had storotiated, but most paid or promised to pay

He studied the file and the contract and thought desperately of a fair fee There were other lawyers out there ould take such a case for alht about the acreage, and the job at the paper mill, and the family, and finally said, "My fee is ten thousand"

Carl Lee was not ed Lester five thousand"

Jake anticipated this "You have three counts; Lester had one"

"How as chamber?"

"Good point How much can you pay?"

"I can pay a thousand now," he said proudly "And I&039;ll borrow as ive it all to you"

Jake thought a ree on a fee You pay a thousand now and sign a note for the rest Borrow on your land and pay against the note"

"How much you want?" asked Carl Lee

"Ten thousand"

"I&039;ll pay five"

"You can pay more than that"

"And you can do it for less than ten"

"Okay, I can do it for nine"

"Then I can pay six"

"Eight?"

"Seven"

"Can we agree on seventy-five hundred?"

"Yeah, I think I can pay that much Depends on how much they&039;ll loan n a note for sixty-five hundred?"

"That&039;s right"

"Okay, you got a deal"

Jake filled in the blanks in the contract and proned both

"Jake, how e a man with plenty of money?"

"Fifty thousand"

"Fifty thousand! You serious?"

"Yep"

"Man, that&039;s a lotta et that much?"

"No, but I haven&039;t seen too many people on trial for murder with that kind of money"

Carl Lee wanted to know about his bond, the grand jury, the trial, the witnesses, ould be on the jury, when could he get out of jail, could Jake speed up the trial, when could he tell his version, and a thousand other questions Jake said they would have plenty of time to talk He promised to call Gwen and his boss at the paper mill

He left and Carl Lee was placed in his cell, the one next to the cell for state prisoners

The Saab was blocked by a television van Jake inquired as to ned it Most of the reporters had left but a few loitered about, expecting so It was almost dark

"Are you with the sheriffs department?" asked a reporter

"No, I&039; to seem disinterested

"Are you Mr Hailey&039;s attorney?"

Jake turned and stared at the reporter as the others listened "Matter of fact, I am"

"Will you answer some questions?"

"You can ask some I won&039;t promise any answers"

"Will you step over here?"

Jake walked to the microphones and cameras and tried to act annoyed by the inconvenience Ozzie and the deputies watched from inside "Jake loves cameras," he said

"All lawyers do," added Moss

"What is your naance,"

"You&039;re Mr Hailey&039;s attorney"

"Correct," Jake answered coolly

"Mr Hailey is the father of the young girl raped by the two men ere killed today?"

"Correct"

"Who killed the two men?"

"I don&039;t know"

"Was it Mr Hailey?"

"I said I don&039;t know"

"What&039;s your client been charged with?"

"He&039;s been arrested for the murders of Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard He hasn&039;t for"

"Do you expect Mr Hailey to be indicted for the two murders?"

"No comment"

"Why no comment?"

"Have you talked with Mr Hailey?" asked another reporter

"Yes, just a o"

"How is he?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, uh, how is he?"

"You rin

"Uh, yeah"

"No comment"

"When will he be in court?"

"Probably touilty?"

Jake smiled and replied, "Of course not"

After a cold supper, they sat in the swing on the front porch and watched the lawn sprinkler and talked about the case The killings were big news across the country, and Carla recorded as many television reports as possible Two of the networks covered the story live through their Memphis affiliates, and the Memphis, Jackson, and Tupelo stations rehouse surrounded by deputies, and seconds later, being carried from the courthouse under white sheets One of the stations played the actual audio of the gunfire over fil for cover

Jake&039;s intervieas too late for the evening news, so he and Carla waited, with the recorder, for the ten o&039;clock, and there he was, briefcase in hand, looking triusted with the reporters for the inconvenience Jake thought he looked great on TV, and he was excited to be there There had been one other brief appearance, after Lester&039;s acquittal, and the regulars at the Coffee Shop had kidded hiood He relished the publicity and anticipated much more He could not think of another case, another set of facts, another setting which could generate as much publicity as the trial of Carl Lee Hailey And the acquittal of Carl Lee Hailey, for the hter, before an all-white jury in rural Mississippi

"What&039;re you s"

"Sure You&039;re thinking about the trial, and the ca out of the courthouse, ar you with the caratulations everywhere I know exactly what you&039;re thinking about"

"Then why&039;d you ask?"