“We want the truth to come out don’t we judge? Isn’t that what we’re here for?” Mr. Winston asked Judge Hawkins.
“Of course that’s what we’re here for, Mr. Winston, but that’s the rules. You’ll have a chance for rebuttal under cross examination from the defendant, if he chooses to question you.”
Baxter waited until the banter was over, straightened his tie again, and continued. “So, you were upset. Especially with Mr. Evans and Mr. Cruz, is that right?”
“I was upset more with Mr. Cruz, because he was several years older than my daughter and a married man. I didn’t know at the time it was innocent.”
“How do you know it was innocent, Mr. Winston? Do you know for sure what had gone on before you arrived?”
Mr. Winston leaned forward in his chair as far as he could. I could see from where I was sitting his face was as red as a beet, and he was mad as hell.
“I know because my daughter told me, Baxter. She has never lied to me.”
“Ohhhh, I see. So even if she had been doin’ something she wasn’t…..”
Ben had had enough. “Objection, your honor. If what Mr. Baxter is doin’ is not badgering the witness, I don’t know what is.”
“Sustained. Mr. Baxter, the witness has answered the question satisfactorily.”
“Very well,” Baxter said, stiffening his body and looking up at the ceiling. “Mr. Winston. After the brutal attack on your daughter by Mr. Evans, did you evict the family and burn the house they had lived in to the ground?”
“I did.”
“May I ask why, sir?”
“I didn’t want anything standin’ on my property to remind me of what had happened to her.”
“Or remind you of the person who did it, I presume,” Baxter added.
“That too,” Mr. Winston responded.
“Is Rube Evans the only person that lived in that house you didn’t want to be reminded of?”
“Yes, he was the only one.”
Baxter looked toward the jury with a look on his face that said, you are fools if you believe that last statement. “I have no further questions. Your witness, Mr. Evans.”
Ben got up and walked to the witness stand as if he were going to put out a fire. “Mr. Winston, were you upset with your daughter or with me once you discovered the true nature of our meetin’?”
“No, I was not.”
“And did Manuel Cruz sincerely apologize to you, saying he hadn’t thought the meetings we were havin’ were inappropriate because his wife was well aware of them, but he had not considered the way you would feel?”
“He did, and I know he was sincere,” Mr. Winston answered, smiling.
“Mr. Winston. After your daughter was attacked by Rube Evans, my father, who brought her to your house?”
“You did. After you saved her life.”
“And who stayed with her at your home, night and day, helping care for her, and reading books and periodicals on psychology to help cure her of her precarious mental state?”
“You did, Ben. And I thanked you by runnin’ you off and burnin’ your house. I want you to know that was a terrible mistake and I apologize from the depths of my soul.”
“No apology is necessary, Mr. Winston. Had I been in your shoes I may have done the same thing.”
“Objection,” Baxter interrupted. “This is not the time or place for such a discussion, your honor.”
“Sustained. Let’s stick to questions and answers, Mr. Evans.”
Ben shook his head in agreement. “Mr. Winston, did I attend your daughters weddin’ a few weeks ago, along with my entire family?”
“Yes, you certainly did.”
“And am I welcome in your home at any time?”
“Anytime you wish, day or night, I am at your disposal.”
“No further questions, your honor.”
After Mr. Winston had taken his seat, Judge Hawkins told Baxter to call his next witness. I believe he was trying his best to speed things along as much as possible. He didn’t like the idea that the courtroom and the town were filled with Higgins’. The sooner they were back in Georgia the better.
“The state calls Will Henry.”
Will walked to the stand slowly, as if he were about to go before a firing squad. It was very obvious he was nervous. He was more than nervous in fact. Will was terrified. He took the stand and put his hand, that was shaking like a leaf, on the Bible. His response to the oath was barely audible.
Baxter let Will get seated and stalled as long as he could, trying to let him get settled. Will was running his fingers through his hair and trying desperately not to make eye contact with anybody in the room.
“Please state your name for the record, Mr. Henry,” Baxter said.
“Uh..Wil…William Henry.”
“No middle name? Baxter asked.
“N..no sir.”
“Okay, Mr. Henry, just try to relax. You are not the one on trial here. I just need to ask you some simple questions. And you’re gonna need to speak up, alright?”
“Yes sir,” Will said, louder this time.
“Mr. Henry, were you with George Winston and Ned Higgins the night the defendant, Ben Evans, Manuel Cruz, and Mr. Winston’s daughter Rachel Winston were found in the office of George Winston’s cotton gin?”
“Yes sir.”
“And was that the same night Ned Higgins disappeared?”
“Yes sir.”
“How well do you remember that night, Mr. Henry?”
“Real well, sir.”
“After Mr. Winston and his daughter left, what happened next?”
“Ned told me to go on home. My house wasn’t far away and I was gonna walk. Mr. Winston told Ned to take Mr. Crew home in his truck…”
“Do you mean Mr. Cruz, sir,” Baxter corrected, putting emphasis on the Z.
“Y..yes sir. I wasn’t exactly sure how to say his name.”
“That’s okay, Mr. Henry. Please continue,” Baxter said, as if he were coaxing a young child.
“Anyway, Ned was gonna take him home. I decided after I’d walked a little ways to stop and make sure the truck cranked and all. I watched Ned lay his shotgun in the seat. As soon as he did, Mr. Cruz grabbed ‘im and hit ‘im. It knocked Ned plum to the ground. Then the Evans boy started kickin’ ‘im in the head. I started to run back to help Ned when I heard the gunshot. I hightailed it fer home, then. I wished there would have been somethin’ I could’ve done.”
Will hung his head, trying to appear ashamed of himself for his failure to help his friend. I was fuming and so was Rachel. I had to put my hand on her arm to keep her from jumping up. I looked at Ben. He was as calm as could be and still had his head down taking notes and flipping through pages of one of the several books he had.
“Well, Mr. Henry, I’m sure you would have liked to have helped Mr. Higgins, but it was too late, anyway. You would have probably gotten yourself shot. I don’t think anyone here blames you for anything that happened that terrible night.” Baxter paused a minute to make sure the jury had ample time to digest everything that had been said.
“What happened next, Mr. Henry?”
“They loaded Ned up in the back of the truck and drove off.”
Baxter shook his head as if he were visualizing the scene in his mind.
“One more question, Mr. Henry. Why didn’t you go to the sheriff or someone else about this?”
“I knew that Cruz feller was mean. And after what I saw, I figured Ben Evans was as mean as he was. I was afraid they’d hurt me or my family. I know I should’ve said something to somebody. But I was scared fer my wife and kids.”
“That’s only natural, Mr. Henry. We have to put the safety and wellbeing of our family first. No more questions, your honor.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Ben stood up and walked up to the stand. He looked at Will Henry as if he felt pity for him. “Mr. Henry. Are you a church goin’ man?” Will asked.
“I go sometimes,” Will responde
d, looking a little embarrassed.
“Well, do you read the Bible?”
“Not much. I…I need to read it a whole lot more, I guess.”
“Do you know what Proverbs 14:25 says?” Ben asked, directing his attention toward the jury.
“N…no, I…I don’t believe I do,” Will answered, sinking a little lower in his chair.
“It says, true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.”
Will just sat there, looking like he had been scolded by a school teacher.
“And Proverbs 19:5 says, A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.”
“Objection,” Baxter said in a voice that sounded like he was bored. “Is this a Sunday School lesson or a cross examination, Judge?”
“Overruled. But please make a point, Mr. Evans.”
“I just wanted to let Mr. Henry know there were consequences to bearing false witness, your honor. I’ll move on.” Ben turned his attention directly to Will again. “Mr. Henry, you said as soon as you heard the alleged gunshot after the alleged beatin’ of Mr. Ned Higgins, you high tailed it toward home. Is that correct?”
“I…I guess that’s what I said. Uh…yeah, I think so.”
“I can have the court reporter read it back to you if you want me to,” Ben said, very gently.
“No, that’s what I said,” Will answered.
“I’ll bet you were scared, alright. A shotgun makes a loud noise.”
“Yeah, uh….it was purty scary.”
“And you turned and ran straight for home.”
“Yes, I shore did.”
“And I’ll bet you were kinda like old Lot and his wife high tailin’ it out of Sodom when God was about to rain down fire and brimstone,” Ben said, his voice becoming animated.
“Shore was,” Will answered, feeding off Ben’s excitement.
“And you didn’t want to be like Lot’s wife. You didn’t want to look back and be turned into a pillar of salt like she was, did you?”
“No, I shore didn’t. I jest wanted to git outta there. I didn’t wanna git shot.”
“So you ran hard and didn’t look back.”
“Yessir.”
Ben paused for a moment and faced the jury once again. “Then how, Mr. Henry, could you have seen Manuel and me allegedly load Mr. Higgin’s body in the back of the truck like you claimed you did?”
Will looked dumbfounded. “Well, uh….I mean…..”
“You didn’t see us do it because it never happened, did it Mr. Henry? You made the whole story up, didn’t…..”
“Objection, your honor,” Baxter said jumping up and knocking papers off his table. “Mr. Evans is badgering the witness, he’s already testified….”
“Overruled,” Judge Hawkins shouted. “Please answer the question, Mr. Henry.”
“Well, I….ah…I guess I just thought that’s what you d…did. That’s been a long time ago.”
Ben looked directly in Will’s eyes as he moved in close, “Mr. Henry, you just testified a few minutes ago that you remembered that night real good, did you not?”
“Well, yeah…..I mean…I remember most of it,” Will said, looking like he wanted to get up and run as far away from the witness stand as fast as his feet would carry him.
“I see. You remember most of it. Well I remember all of it extremely well, Mr. Henry, because my life and the life of my friend was in grave danger. Ned Higgins didn’t like Mexican’s or black people at all, did he Mr. Henry?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“Mr. Higgins had a scar on his face from a knife wound he suffered from a Mexican when he was tryin’ to take advantage of a Mexican girl. I’m sure he told you that story, didn’t he?”
“Objection,” Baxter was fuming.
“Overruled,” Judge Hawkins screamed. “Answer the question.”
“He….ah….he told me he had a fight once and got cut by a knife.”
Ben started pacing furiously. I thought he was going to wear a hole in the wooden floor. Then he approached Will again, trying to keep his voice as full of compassion as he possibly could in all the excitement.
“Mr. Henry, somebody threatened you, didn’t they? Somebody told you they would harm you or your family if you didn’t get up here and perjure yourself to try and get me thrown in prison the rest of my life or maybe even get the electric chair, didn’t they? Do you know what terrible things happen to a man when that electric current goes through his body, Mr. Henry?”
“No…I….don’t.”
“Did you know that false testimony, or lying under oath is a crime, Mr. Henry?”
“Y…yeah, I mean, I…heard it was.”
“It’s not to late, Mr. Henry. Do you want me to fry like a piece of bacon? Do you know what burnin’ flesh smells like? Do you want my eyes to pop out of my head like the inside of a grape when you smash it?
“No, no…I don’t. I don’t want any of that to happen to you, Ben. They…they did threaten me and offered me money too. I…I don’t want their money. Oh please, Judge, can you protect me and my family?”
Will was in tears now. He grabbed Judge Hawkins by the sleeve of his black robe and sobbed. The whole courtroom was in turmoil and I thought a riot was about to break out. The two deputies were beginning to get nervous, especially with the large number of Higgins that were taking up two whole benches. I saw one deputy whisper something to the other one and he quickly ran out, no doubt to go and get reinforcements.
Judge Hawkins started banging his gavel, while at the same time trying to console Will Henry and assure him he would make sure he and his family were safe.
“Order,…. order in this court,” Judge Hawkins screamed. “I’ll clear everybody out if you don’t settle down right now.”
About that time, the deputy returned with three other deputies, the sheriff who had stepped out for a minute, and two Collinwood policemen. When the belligerent crowd saw all the extra lawmen, they quickly settled down. The judge banged his gavel again and said, “One more outburst like that, and this courtroom will be empty of everybody except the jury. Is that clear? Now. We are gonna recess for fifteen,… no,…. make that thirty minutes. Mr. Baxter, Mr. Evans, I want to see both of you in my chambers.”
*****
Ben followed Judge Hawkins and Baxter intrepidly back through the door of the judges chambers. The judge had a seat behind his desk and Ben sat at one of the chairs in front. Baxter chose to stand.
The judge was wiping his glasses with his handkerchief as he asked Baxter, “Randall, do you want to drop the charges?”
“No, I don’t want to drop the charges. Why should I?”
“Because Mr. Evan’s here just tore your so-called eyewitness to shreds. That’s a pretty good reason, unless you have another eye witness”
Baxter leaned up against the large bookcase that was crammed as full of books as it could possibly get. He knew he had lost all credibility with the jury as far as Will Henry went. He still had some hope, however, that there would be enough bigots on the jury that he still might have a chance.
“Can I say something to Mr. Baxter, Judge?” Ben asked.
“Of course,” the judge answered.
“Mr. Baxter. Do you remember when Roscoe Higgins said Ned always called him from Joe Burt’s store and that he could hear the men talkin’ in the background?”
“Yes, I remember. What of it?”
“Have you ever used the telephone at Mr. Burt’s store, sir?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Well, I have. Many times, in fact. The telephone is in a little room all the way in the back of the store. Mr. Burt had it put there so he and other people could have privacy. He had a bell wired to the front of the store so he would know when it rang. You couldn’t hear anybody from the front of the store if they screamed bloody murder. I was gonna call Mr. Burt as one of my witnesses to testify to that fact.”
“Well, Ned could have called him from somew
here else. That don’t prove anything,” Baxter argued.
“Where else would he call him from around here that had lots of men talkin’ in the background?” Ben countered.
“Do the sensible thing, Randall, and drop the charges. Don’t jeopardize your good reputation on a vendetta,” Judge Hawkins pleaded with the implacable Baxter.
Baxter looked down at the floor. He knew he had been beaten, and to make matters worse, by a negro boy. It looked as if it almost killed him when he said, “Alright. I’ll drop the charges.”
“Thank you, Mr. Baxter,” Ben said.
Baxter didn’t answer him. He just turned on his heel and walked out the door. Judge Hawkins shook his head as he looked at Ben.
“Ben, I want to apologize for what you had to go through. I should have never issued a warrant on the grounds Mr. Baxter wanted.”
“You were just doin’ your job, Judge,” Ben said. “You are a fair and honest man. That’s the reason you keep gettin’ elected.”
“Thank you, Ben. Mr. Baxter is hard headed enough that he might want to bring charges against you for obstruction of justice for hidin’ Ned Higgins body. When I tell him my sentence will be time already served, however, he’ll probably change his mind. And don’t worry about the Higgins, either. I’m gonna get the sheriff and the Collinwood Police to make sure every last one of them is escorted out of town and back safely in Georgia.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
My leg was aching badly and my limp was more severe after we finished loading up the pick-up truck I had just bought to leave for Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Uncle Lee had been wanting a new truck, anyway, so I finally convinced him to sell me his old one and get him a new Ford. “I wish I could afforded to give it to you, Tom,” he had said. “You sent me and Kate money all that time you were workin’ in Georgia.” I told him he had raised me since I was just a small child, and if anything, I still owed him.
Mr. Winston had Clay Childers, his new foreman, take his truck and follow us. Between the two trucks, we managed to get most of the things Rachel wanted to carry. Me and Ben, of course, had always traveled light and didn’t require much space. Ben had been temporarily reunited with us since the trial had ended a few days earlier. He was going to have to put his pursuit of a doctorate from Harvard, something he was so close to, on hold for a while. His time spent in the Jones County jail awaiting trial, and the trial itself, had put him so far behind it was going to take him another full year. Ben was also in desperate need of funds since he hadn’t been able to work. I told him the most sensible thing he could do was to go with me and Rachel to Tennessee. I was sure Max McGee would find a place for Ben, and the wages were so good that he would be able to save enough to finish his education later and not have to hold down a job at the same time.
The Sharecropper Prodigy Page 19
