Three Classic Thrillers

by John Grisham

  “George, me and Lucas have been talking about the Cayhall matter. Don’t know how much you know about the appeals, but the Fifth Circuit lifted the stay and we’re looking at an execution in four weeks.”

  “Yes sir,” Nugent snapped, absorbing and itemizing every word. “I read about it in today’s paper.”

  “Good. Lucas here is of the opinion that this one might come down, you know. Right, Lucas?”

  “There’s a good chance. Better than fifty-fifty.” Lucas said this without looking at Nugent.

  “How long have you been here, George?”

  “Two years, one month.”

  The warden calculated something while rubbing his temples. “Did you miss the Parris execution?”

  “Yes sir. By a few weeks,” he answered with a trace of disappointment.

  “So you haven’t been through one?”

  “No sir.”

  “Well, they’re awful, George. Just awful. Worst part of this job, by far. Frankly, I’m just not up to it. I was hoping I’d retire before we used the chamber again, but now that looks doubtful. I need some help.”

  Nugent’s back, though painfully stiff already, seemed to straighten even more. He nodded quickly, eyes dancing in all directions.

  Naifeh delicately sat in his seat, grimacing as he eased onto the soft leather. “Since I’m just not up to it, George, Lucas and I were thinking that maybe you’d do a good job with this one.”

  The colonel couldn’t suppress a smile. Then it quickly disappeared and was replaced with a most serious scowl. “I’m sure I can handle it, sir.”

  “I’m sure you can too.” Naifeh pointed to a black binder on the corner of his desk. “We have a manual of sorts. There it is, the collected wisdom of two dozen visits to the gas chamber over the past thirty years.”

  Nugent’s eyes narrowed and focused on the black book. He noticed that the pages were not all even and uniform, that an assortment of papers were actually folded and stuffed slovenly throughout the text, that the binder itself was worn and shabby. Within hours, he quickly decided, the manual would be transformed into a primer worthy of publication. That would be his first task. The paperwork would be immaculate.

  “Why don’t you read it tonight, and let’s meet again tomorrow?”

  “Yes sir,” he said smugly.

  “Not a word to anyone about this until we talk again, understood?”

  “No sir.”

  Nugent nodded smartly at Lucas Mann, and left the office cradling the black book like a kid with a new toy. The door closed behind him.

  “He’s a nut,” Lucas said.

  “I know. We’ll watch him.”

  “We’d better watch him. He’s so damned gung-ho he might try to gas Sam this weekend.”

  Naifeh opened a desk drawer and retrieved a bottle of pills. He swallowed two without the assistance of water. “I’m going home, Lucas. I need to lie down. I’ll probably die before Sam does.”

  “You’d better hurry.”

  ______

  The phone conversation with E. Garner Goodman was brief. Adam explained with some measure of pride that he and Sam had a written agreement on representation, and that they had already spent four hours together though little had been accomplished. Goodman wanted a copy of the agreement, and Adam explained that there were no copies as of now, that the original was safely tucked away in a cell on death row, and, furthermore, there would be copies only if the client decided so.

  Goodman promised to review the file and get to work. Adam gave him Lee’s phone number and promised to check in every day. He hung up the phone and stared at two terrifying phone messages beside his computer. Both were from reporters, one from a Memphis newspaper and one from a television station in Jackson, Mississippi.

  Baker Cooley had talked to both reporters. In fact, a TV crew from Jackson had presented itself to the firm’s receptionist and left only after Cooley made threats. All this attention had upset the tedious routine of the Memphis branch of Kravitz & Bane. Cooley was not happy about it. The other partners had little to say to Adam. The secretaries were professionally polite, but anxious to stay away from his office.

  The reporters knew, Cooley had warned him gravely. They knew about Sam and Adam, the grandson-grandfather angle, and while he wasn’t sure how they knew, it certainly hadn’t come from him. He hadn’t told a soul, until, of course, word was already out and he’d been forced to gather the partners and associates together just before lunch and break the news.

  It was almost five o’clock. Adam sat at his desk with the door shut, listening to the voices in the hall as clerks and paralegals and other salaried staff made last minute preparations to leave for the day. He decided he would have nothing to say to the TV reporter. He dialed the number for Todd Marks at the Memphis Press. A recorded message guided him through the wonders of voice mail, and after a couple of minutes, Mr. Marks picked up his five-digit extension and said hurriedly, “Todd Marks.” He sounded like a teenager.

  “This is Adam Hall, with Kravitz & Bane. I had a note to call you.”

  “Yes, Mr. Hall,” Marks gushed, instantly friendly and no longer in a hurry. “Thanks for calling. I, uh, well, we, uh, picked up a rumor about your handling of the Cayhall case, and, uh, I was just trying to track it down.”

  “I represent Mr. Cayhall,” Adam said with measured words.

  “Yes, well, that’s what we heard. And, uh, you’re from Chicago?”

  “I am from Chicago.”

  “I see. How, uh, did you get the case?”

  “My firm has represented Sam Cayhall for seven years.”

  “Yes, right. But didn’t he terminate your services recently?”

  “He did. And now he’s rehired the firm.” Adam could hear keys pecking away as Marks gathered his words into a computer.

  “I see. We heard a rumor, just a rumor, I guess, that Sam Cayhall is your grandfather.”

  “Where’d you hear this?”

  “Well, you know, we have sources, and we have to protect them. Can’t really tell you where it came from, you know.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Adam took a deep breath and let Marks hang for a minute. “Where are you now?”

  “At the paper.”

  “And where’s that? I don’t know the city.”

  “Where are you?” Marks asked.

  “Downtown. In our office.”

  “I’m not far away. I can be there in ten minutes.”

  “No, not here. Let’s meet somewhere else. A quiet little bar some place.”

  “Fine. The Peabody Hotel is on Union, three blocks from you. There’s a nice bar off the lobby called Mallards.”

  “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Just me and you, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  Adam hung up the phone. Sam’s agreement contained some loose and ambiguous language that attempted to prevent his lawyer from talking to the press. The particular clause had major loopholes that any lawyer could walk through, but Adam did not wish to push the issue. After two visits, his grandfather was still nothing but a mystery. He didn’t like lawyers and would readily fire another, even his own grandson.

  ______

  Mallards was filling up quickly with young weary professionals who needed a couple of stiff ones for the drive to the suburbs. Few people actually lived in downtown Memphis, so the bankers and brokers met here and in countless other bars and gulped beer in green bottles and sipped Swedish vodka. They lined the bar and gathered around the small tables to discuss the direction of the market and debate the future of the prime. It was a tony place, with authentic brick walls and real hardwood floors. A table by the door held trays of chicken wings and livers wrapped with bacon.

  Adam spotted a young man in jeans holding a notepad. He introduced himself, and they went to a table in the corner. Todd Marks was no more than twenty-five. He wore wire-rimmed glasses and hair to his shoulders. He was cordial and seemed a bit nervous. They ordered Heinekens.

  The notepad was on the t
able, ready for action, and Adam decided to take control. “A few ground rules,” he said. “First, everything I say is off the record. You can’t quote me on anything. Agreed?”

  Marks shrugged as if this was okay but not exactly what he had in mind. “Okay,” he said.

  “I think you call it deep background, or something like that.”

  “That’s it.”

  “I’ll answer some questions for you, but not many. I’m here because I want you to get it right, okay?”

  “Fair enough. Is Sam Cayhall your grandfather?”

  “Sam Cayhall is my client, and he has instructed me not to talk to the press. That’s why you can’t quote me. I’m here to confirm or deny. That’s all.”

  “Okay. But is he your grandfather?”

  “Yes.”

  Marks took a deep breath and savored this incredible fact, which no doubt led to an extraordinary story. He could see the headlines.

  Then he realized he should ask some more questions. He carefully took a pen from his pocket. “Who’s your father?”

  “My father is deceased.”

  A long pause. “Okay. So Sam is your mother’s father?”

  “No. Sam is my father’s father.”

  “All right. Why do you have different last names?”

  “Because my father changed his name.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t want to answer that. I don’t want to go into a lot of family background.”

  “Did you grow up in Clanton?”

  “No. I was born there, but left when I was three years old. My parents moved to California. That’s where I grew up.”

  “So you were not around Sam Cayhall?”

  “No.”

  “Did you know him?”

  “I met him yesterday.”

  Marks considered the next question, and thankfully the beer arrived. They sipped in unison and said nothing.

  He stared at his notepad, scribbled something, then asked, “How long have you been with Kravitz & Bane?”

  “Almost a year.”

  “How long have you worked on the Cayhall case?”

  “A day and a half.”

  He took a long drink, and watched Adam as if he expected an explanation. “Look, uh, Mr. Hall—”

  “It’s Adam.”

  “Okay, Adam. There seem to be a lot of gaps here. Could you help me a bit?”

  “No.”

  “All right. I read somewhere that Cayhall fired Kravitz & Bane recently. Were you working on the case when this happened?”

  “I just told you I’ve been working on the case for a day and a half.”

  “When did you first go to death row?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “Did he know you were coming?”

  “I don’t want to get into that.”

  “Why not?”

  “This is a very confidential matter. I’m not going to discuss my visits to death row. I will confirm or deny only those things which you can verify elsewhere.”

  “Does Sam have other children?”

  “I’m not going to discuss family. I’m sure your paper has covered this before.”

  “But it was a long time ago.”

  “Then look it up.”

  Another long drink, and another long look at the notepad. “What are the odds of the execution taking place on August 8?”

  “It’s very hard to say. I wouldn’t want to speculate.”

  “But all the appeals have run, haven’t they?”

  “Maybe. Let’s say I’ve got my work cut out for me.”

  “Can the governor grant a pardon?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is that a possibility?”

  “Rather unlikely. You’ll have to ask him.”

  “Will your client do any interviews before the execution?”

  “I doubt it.”

  Adam glanced at his watch as if he suddenly had to catch a plane. “Anything else?” he asked, then finished off the beer.

  Marks stuck his pen in a shirt pocket. “Can we talk again?”

  “Depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On how you handle this. If you drag up the family stuff, then forget it.”

  “Must be some serious skeletons in the closet.”

  “No comment.” Adam stood and offered a handshake. “Nice meeting you,” he said as they shook hands.

  “Thanks. I’ll give you a call.”

  Adam walked quickly by the crowd at the bar, and disappeared through the hotel lobby.

  Sixteen

  Of all the silly, nitpicking rules imposed upon inmates at the Row, the one that irritated Sam the most was the five-inch rule. This little nugget of regulatory brilliance placed a limit on the volume of legal papers a death row inmate could possess in his cell. The documents could be no thicker than five inches when placed on end and squeezed together. Sam’s file was not much different from the other inmates’, and after nine years of appellate warfare the file filled a large cardboard box. How in hell was he supposed to research and study and prepare with such limitations as the five-inch rule?

  Packer had entered his cell on several occasions with a yardstick which he waved around like a bandleader then carefully placed against the papers. Each time Sam had been over the limit; once being caught, according to Packer’s assessment, with twenty-one inches. And each time Packer wrote an RVR, a rules violation report, and some more paperwork went into Sam’s institutional file. Sam often wondered if his file in the main administration building was thicker than five inches. He hoped so. And who cared? They’d kept him in a cage for nine and a half years for the sole purpose of sustaining his life so they could one day take it. What else could they do to him?

  Each time Packer had given him twenty-four hours to thin his file. Sam usually mailed a few inches to his brother in North Carolina. A few times he had reluctantly mailed an inch or two to E. Garner Goodman.

  At the present time, he was about twelve inches over. And he had a thin file of recent Supreme Court cases under his mattress. And he had two inches next door where Hank Henshaw watched it on the bookshelf. And he had about three inches next door in J. B. Gullitt’s stack of papers. Sam reviewed all documents and letters for Henshaw and Gullitt. Henshaw had a fine lawyer, one purchased with family money. Gullitt had a fool from a big-shot firm in D.C. who’d never seen a courtroom.

  The three-book rule was another baffling limitation on what inmates could keep in their cells. This rule simply said that a death row inmate could possess no more than three books. Sam owned fifteen, six in his cell, and nine scattered among his clients on the Row. He had no time for fiction. His collection was solely law books about the death penalty and the Eighth Amendment.

  He had finished a dinner of boiled pork, pinto beans, and corn bread, and he was reading a case from the Ninth Circuit in California about an inmate who faced his death so calmly his lawyers decided he must be crazy. So they filed a series of motions claiming their client was indeed too crazy to execute. The Ninth Circuit was filled with California liberals opposed to the death penalty, and they jumped at this novel argument. The execution was stayed. Sam liked this case. He had wished many times that he had the Ninth Circuit looking down upon him instead of the Fifth.

  Gullitt next door said, “Gotta kite, Sam,” and Sam walked to his bars. Flying a kite was the only method of correspondence for inmates several cells away. Gullitt handed him the note. It was from Preacher Boy, a pathetic white kid seven doors down. He had become a country preacher at the age of fourteen, a regular hellfire-and-brimstoner, but that career was cut short and perhaps delayed forever when he was convicted of the rape and murder of a deacon’s wife. He was twenty-four now, a resident of the Row for three years, and had recently made a glorious return to the gospel. The note said:

  Dear Sam, I am down here praying for you right now. I really believe God will step into this matter and stop this thing. But if he don’t, I’m asking him to take you quickly, no pain or noth
ing, and take you home. Love, Randy.

  How wonderful, thought Sam, they’re already praying that I go quickly, no pain or nothing. He sat on the edge of his bed and wrote a brief message on a scrap of paper.

  Dear Randy:

  Thanks for the prayers. I need them. I also need one of my books. It’s called Bronstein’s Death Penalty Review. It’s a green book. Send it down. Sam.

  He handed it to J.B., and waited with his arms through the bars as the kite made its way along the tier. It was almost eight o’clock, still hot and muggy but mercifully growing dark outside. The night would lower the temperature to the high seventies, and with the fans buzzing away the cells became tolerable.

  Sam had received several kites during the day. All had expressed sympathy and hope. All offered whatever help was available. The music had been quieter and the yelling that erupted occasionally when someone’s rights were being tampered with had not occurred. For the second day, the Row had been a more peaceful place. The televisions rattled along all day and into the night, but the volume was lower. Tier A was noticeably calmer.

  “Got myself a new lawyer,” Sam said quietly as he leaned on his elbows with his hands hanging into the hallway. He wore nothing but his boxer shorts. He could see Gullitt’s hands and wrists, but he could never see his face when they talked in their cells. Each day as Sam was led outside for his hour of exercise, he walked slowly along the tier and stared into the eyes of his comrades. And they stared at him. He had their faces memorized, and he knew their voices. But it was cruel to live next door to a man for years and have long conversations about life and death while looking only at his hands.

  “That’s good, Sam. I’m glad to hear it.”

  “Yeah. Pretty sharp kid, I think.”

  “Who is it?” Gullitt’s hands were clasped together. They didn’t move.

  “My grandson.” Sam said this just loud enough for Gullitt to hear. He could be trusted with secrets.

  Gullitt’s fingers moved slightly as he pondered this. “Your grandson?”

  “Yep. From Chicago. Big firm. Thinks we might have a chance.”

  “You never told me you had a grandson.”

  “I hadn’t seen him in twenty years. Showed up yesterday and told me he was a lawyer and wanted to take my case.”