فصل 08

CHAPTER EIGHT

The Research Assistant

After talking with Ozzie Walls, Jake went to Lucien’s house. He was lonely and unhappy. He had financial problems, his wife and child had gone, he had not slept for twenty-four hours. When Lucien offered him a beer, he drank it quickly and accepted another and then another. By the end of the afternoon, he was drunk. By the end of the evening, he was unconscious.

The next day he woke with the worst headache he had ever had in his life. He was not a man who drank a lot. In fact the last time he had felt like this was when he was a law student, he way the felt now reminded him of the many reasons why he did not like to drink!

Later in the morning, Jake was sitting at his desk, looking out at the courthouse. He still had a bad headache and could not work. Now he had to start to prepare for the most important case of his life with no money in the bank, a drunk law partner, a drunk psychiatrist - and this headache!

He was still sitting there when he heard someone knocking at the door downstairs. He ignored it for fifteen minutes, but whoever it was knew that he was there. He walked to the window and looked out.

“Who is it?” he shouted at the street.

A woman stepped back from the sidewalk under the window and leaned on a black BMW parked next to the Saab. Her hands were deep in the pockets of old, well-fitting jeans. The midday sun lit up her gold-red hair.

“Are you Jake Brigance?” she asked.

“Yes. What do you want?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“I’m very busy.”

“It’s very important. I just need five minutes of your time.”

Jake unlocked the door. She walked in and shook his hand.

“I’m Ellen Roark.”

He pointed to a seat by the door.

“Nice to meet you. Sit down.” Jake sat on the edge of Ethel’s desk. “One sound or two?”

“I beg your pardon?”

She had a quick, northeastern accent, but you could also hear she had spent some time in the South.

“Is it Rork or Row Ark?”

“R-o-a-r-k. That’s Rork in Boston, and Row Ark in Mississippi.”

“Mind if I call you Ellen?”

“Please do. And can I call you Jake?”

“Yes, please.”

“Good, I hadn’t planned to call you Mr. Brigance.”

“So you come from Boston?”

“Yes, I was born there. Went to Boston College. My dad is Sheldon Roark, a well-known criminal lawyer in Boston.”

“I guess I’ve missed him. Wtf brings you to Mississippi?”

“I’m in law school.”

“Well, now that we know each other, what brings you to Clanton?”

“Carl Lee Hailey.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“I’ll finish law school in December, I’m killing time in Oxford this, summer, and I’m bored.”

Jake smiled and studied her carefully.

“What makes you think I need help?”

“I know you practice alone, and I know you don’t have a law clerk.”

“What qualifications do you bring with you?”

“I come from a very intelligent family. Last summer I spent three months with the Southern Prisoners’ Defense Movement in Birmingham and helped with seven murder trials. In my spare time I write reports for organizations that give free legal advice. I was brought up in my father’s law office, and I was a good legal researcher before I could drive. I’m twenty-five years old, and when I grow up I want to be a great criminal lawyer like my dad. Also, my father is very rich and I’ve got more money than you, so I’ll work without charge. A free law clerk for three weeks. I’ll do all the research, typing, answering the phone. I’ll even carry your papers and make the coffee.”

“I was afraid you’d want to be a partner in my firm.”

“No. I’m a woman, and I’m in the South. I know my place.”

“Why are you so interested in this case?”

“I want to be in the courtroom. I love criminal trials. Big trials where it’s a question of life or death. It’s a trial lawyer’s dream. I just want to be there. I’ll stay out of the way, I promise. Just let me Work with you and watch the trial.”

“Judge Noose hates women lawyers.”

“So does every male lawyer in the South. Besides, I’m not a lawyer. I’m a law student.”

“I’ll let you explain that to him.”

“So I’ve got the job?”

“Yes, you’ve got the job. I could use some free research. These cases are complicated.”

She gave a beautiful, confident smile. “When do I start?”

After he had shown her round the office it was time for lunch, so Jake took Ellen Roark with him to the Coffee Shop. As they ate he looked across at her. Her face was gentle and pleasant with an easy smile. She was not beautiful, but she was intelligent and amazingly attractive. For the first time in two days, Jake began to think he might live. They talked about his plans for the defense. Jake asked her how she would do it.

“Well, from what I hear, our client carefully planned the killings and shot them in cold blood, six days after the rape. It sounds exactly like he knew what he was doing. Insanity is our only defense. And it sounds impossible to prove.”

“Are you familiar with the insanity defense?” Jake asked.

“Yes. Do we have a psychiatrist?”

“We do and we don’t. He’ll say anything we want him to say - that is, if he’s not drunk at the trial. One of your more difficult jobs will be to make sure that he isn’t. It won’t be easy, believe me.

“I love new experiences in the courtroom.”

“All right, Row Ark. Take a pen. Your boss is now going to give you instructions.”

She began making notes on the paper tablecloth.