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I started to go back to ht up to Carter Ames’s table

“May I, Carter?”

I picked up his Bible, flipping through the pages until I appeared to find the verse I was seeking in the book of Proverbs No one needed to knoas quoting from memory:

“When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous”

I closed the Good Book

Chapter 5

CARTER AMES PUSHED his silver flask of bourbon toward , Ben You deserve it, son Well done”

What a sight for the funny pages we must haveside by side in the marble hallway outside the courtroom

“No, thanks, Carter I’d rather be sober when the verdict comes in”

“I wouldn’t, if I was you” His voice was a curdled m and whiskey As he lifted the flask to his mouth, I was surprised to see half-moons of sweat under his arms In the courtroom he’d looked cool as a block of pond ice

“Your suoing for a while there But then you went and threw in that colored stuff Why’d you have to remind them? You think they didn’t notice she’s black as the ace of spades?”

“I thought I saw one or teren’t buying your’em up”

“And twelve to hang her, don’t I know it”

He took another swig from his flask and eased himself down to a bench “Sit down, Ben I want to talk to you, not your rear end”

I sat