Three Classic Thrillers

by John Grisham

  “But you’re still fighting.”

  “Sure, though sometimes I don’t know why. It’s like a long bout with cancer. You gradually decline and grow weak. You die a little each day, and you reach the point where death would be welcome. But no one really wants to die. Not even me.”

  “I’ve read about your grandson. That must be heartwarming. I know you’re proud of him.”

  Sam smiled and looked at the floor.

  “Anyway,” the reverend continued, “I’ll be around. Would you like for me to come back tomorrow?”

  “That would be nice. Let me do some thinking, okay?”

  “Sure. You know the procedures around here, don’t you? During your last few hours you’re allowed to have only two people present. Your lawyer and your spiritual adviser. I’ll be honored to stay with you.”

  “Thanks. And can you find the time to talk to Randy Dupree? The poor kid is cracking up, and he really needs help.”

  “I’ll do it tomorrow.”

  “Thanks.”

  ______

  Adam watched a rented movie by himself, with the phone nearby. There had been no word from Lee. At ten, he made two calls to the West Coast. The first was to his mother in Portland. She was subdued, but glad to hear from him, she said. She did not ask about Sam, and Adam did not offer. He reported that he was working hard, that he was hopeful, and that he would, in all likelihood, return to Chicago in a couple of weeks. She’d seen a few stories in the papers, and she was thinking about him. Lee was fine, Adam said.

  The second call was to his younger sister, Carmen, in Berkeley. A male voice answered the phone in her apartment, Kevin somebody if Adam remembered correctly, a steady companion for several years now. Carmen was soon on the phone, and seemed anxious to hear about events in Mississippi. She too had followed the news closely, and Adam put an optimistic spin on things. She was worried about him down there in the midst of all those horrible Kluckers and racists. Adam insisted he was safe, things were quite peaceful, actually. The people were surprisingly gentle and laid-back. He was staying at Lee’s and they were making the best of it. To Adam’s surprise, she wanted to know about Sam—what was he like, his appearance, his attitude, his willingness to talk about Eddie. She asked if she should fly down and see Sam before August 8, a meeting Adam had not contemplated. Adam said he would think about it, and that he would ask Sam.

  He fell asleep on the sofa, with the television on.

  At three-thirty Monday morning, he was awakened by the phone. A voice he’d never heard before crisply identified himself as Phelps Booth. “You must be Adam,” he said.

  Adam sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Yes, that’s me.”

  “Have you seen Lee?” Phelps asked, neither calm nor urgent.

  Adam glanced at a clock on the wall above the television. “No. What’s the matter?”

  “Well, she’s in trouble. The police called me about an hour ago. They picked her up for drunk driving at eight-twenty last night, and took her to jail.”

  “Oh no,” Adam said.

  “This is not the first time. She was taken in, refused the breath test of course, and was put in the drunk tank for five hours. She listed my name on the paperwork, so the cops called me. I ran downtown to the jail, and she had already posted bail and walked out. I thought maybe she’d called you.”

  “No. She was not here when I woke up yesterday morning, and this is the first thing I’ve heard. Who would she call?”

  “Who knows? I hate to start calling her friends and waking them up. Maybe we should just wait.”

  Adam was uncomfortable with his sudden inclusion into the decision making. These people had been married, for better or for worse, for almost thirty years, and they had obviously been through this before. How was he supposed to know what to do? “She didn’t drive away from the jail, did she?” he asked timidly, certain of the answer.

  “Of course not. Someone picked her up. Which brings up another problem. We need to get her car. It’s in a lot by the jail. I’ve already paid the towing charges.”

  “Do you have a key?”

  “Yes. Can you help me get it?”

  Adam suddenly remembered the newspaper story with the smiling photo of Phelps and Lee, and he also remembered his speculation about the Booth family’s reaction to it. He was certain most of the blame and venom had been directed at him. If he’d stayed in Chicago, none of this would’ve happened.

  “Sure. Just tell me what—”

  “Go wait by the guardhouse. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  Adam brushed his teeth and laced up his Nikes, and spent fifteen minutes chatting about this and that with Willis, the guard, at the gate. A black Mercedes, the longest model in history, approached and stopped. Adam said good-bye to Willis, and got in the car.

  They shook hands because it was the polite thing to do. Phelps was dressed in a white jogging suit and wore a Cubs cap. He drove slowly on the empty street. “I guess Lee has told you some things about me,” he said, without a trace of concern or regret.

  “A few things,” Adam said carefully.

  “Well, there’s a lot to tell, so I’m not going to ask what subjects she’s covered.”

  A very good idea, Adam thought. “It’s probably best if we just talk about baseball or something. I take it you’re a Cubs fan.”

  “Always a Cubs fan. You?”

  “Sure. This is my first season in Chicago, and I’ve been to Wrigley a dozen times. I live pretty close to the park.”

  “Really. I go up three or four times a year. I have a friend with a box. Been doing it for years. Who’s your favorite player?”

  “Sandberg, I guess. How about you?”

  “I like the old guys. Ernie Banks and Ron Santo. Those were the good days of baseball, when the players had loyalty and you knew who’d be on your team from one year to the next. Now, you never know. I love the game, but greed’s corrupted it.”

  It struck Adam as odd that Phelps Booth would denounce greed. “Maybe, but the owners wrote the book on greed for the first hundred years of baseball. What’s wrong with the players asking for all the money they can get?”

  “Who’s worth five million a year?”

  “Nobody. But if rock stars make fifty, what’s wrong with baseball players making a few million? It’s entertainment. The players are the game, not the owners. I go to Wrigley to see the players, not because the Tribune happens to be the current owner.”

  “Yeah, but look at ticket prices. Fifteen bucks to watch a game.”

  “Attendance is up. The fans don’t seem to mind.”

  They drove through downtown, deserted at four in the morning, and within minutes were near the jail. “Listen, Adam, I don’t know how much Lee has told you about her drinking problem.”

  “She told me she’s an alcoholic.”

  “Definitely. This is the second drunk driving charge. I was able to keep the first out of the papers, but I don’t know about this. She’s suddenly become an item around town. Thank heaven she hasn’t hurt anybody.” Phelps stopped the car at a curb near a fenced lot. “She’s been in and out of recovery half a dozen times.”

  “Half a dozen. She told me she’d been through treatment three times.”

  “You can’t believe alcoholics. I know of at least five times in the past fifteen years. Her favorite place is a swanky little abuse center called Spring Creek. It’s on a river a few miles north of the city, real nice and peaceful. It’s for the wealthy only. They get dried out and pampered. Good food, exercise, saunas, you know, all the bells and whistles. It’s so damned nice I think people want to go there. Anyway, I have a hunch she’ll turn up there later today. She has some friends who’ll help her get checked in. She’s well known around the place. Sort of a second home.”

  “How long will she stay there?”

  “It varies. The minimum is a week. She has stayed as long as a month. Costs two thousand bucks a day, and of course they send me the bills. But I don’t mind. I’ll pay
any amount to help her.”

  “What am I supposed to do?”

  “First, we try to find her. I’ll get my secretaries on the phones in a few hours, and we’ll track her down. She’s fairly predictable at this point, and I’m sure she’ll turn up in a detox ward, probably at Spring Creek. I’ll start pulling strings in a few hours and try to keep it out of the paper. It won’t be easy, in light of everything else that’s been printed recently.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Once we find her, you need to go see her. Take some flowers and candy. I know you’re busy, and I know what’s ahead for the next, uh—”

  “Nine days.”

  “Nine days. Right. Well, try to see her. And, when the thing down at Parchman is over, I suggest you go back to Chicago, and leave her alone.”

  “Leave her alone?”

  “Yeah. It sounds harsh, but it’s necessary. There are many reasons for her many problems. I’ll admit I’m one of the reasons, but there’s lots of stuff you don’t know. Her family is another reason. She adores you, but you also bring back nightmares and a lot of suffering. Don’t think bad of me for saying this. I know it hurts, but it’s the truth.”

  Adam stared at the chain-link fence across the sidewalk next to his door.

  “She was sober once for five years,” Phelps continued. “And we thought she’d stay that way forever. Then Sam was convicted, and then Eddie died. When she returned from his funeral, she fell into the black hole, and I thought many times that she’d never get out. It’s best for her if you stay away.”

  “But I love Lee.”

  “And she loves you. But you need to adore her from a distance. Send her letters and cards from Chicago. Flowers for her birthday. Call once a month and talk about movies and books, but stay away from the family stuff.”

  “Who’ll take care of her?”

  “She’s almost fifty years old, Adam, and for the most part she’s very independent. She’s been an alcoholic for many years, and there’s nothing you or I can do to help her. She knows the disease. She’ll stay sober when she wants to stay sober. You’re not a good influence. Nor am I. I’m sorry.”

  Adam breathed deeply and grabbed the door latch. “I’m sorry, Phelps, if I’ve embarrassed you and your family. It was not intentional.”

  Phelps smiled and placed a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “Believe it or not, my family is in many ways more dysfunctional than yours. We’ve been through worse.”

  “That, sir, is difficult to believe.”

  “It’s true.” Phelps handed him a key ring and pointed to a small building inside the fence. “Check in there, and they’ll show you the car.”

  Adam opened the door and got out. He watched the Mercedes ease away and disappear. As Adam walked through a gate in the fence, he couldn’t shake the unmistakable feeling that Phelps Booth actually still loved his wife.

  Thirty-six

  Retired Colonel George Nugent was barely ruffled by the news of Naifeh’s heart attack. The old guy was doing quite well by Monday morning, resting comfortably and out of danger, and what the hell he was only months away from retirement anyway. Naifeh was a good man, but past his usefulness and hanging on simply to bolster his pension. Nugent was considering a run for the head position if he could get his politics straight.

  Now, however, he was pressed with a more critical matter. The Cayhall execution was nine days away, actually only eight because it was scheduled for one minute after midnight on Wednesday of next week, which meant that Wednesday counted as another day though only one minute of it was used. Tuesday of next week was actually the last day.

  On his desk was a shiny leather-bound notebook with the words Mississippi Protocol printed professionally on the front. It was his masterpiece, the result of two weeks of tedious organizing. He’d been appalled at the haphazard guides and outlines and checklists thrown together by Naifeh for previous executions. It was a wonder they’d actually been able to gas anyone. But now there was a plan, a detailed and carefully arranged blueprint which included everything, in his opinion. It was two inches thick and a hundred and eighty pages long, and of course had his name all over it.

  Lucas Mann entered his office at fifteen minutes after eight, Monday morning. “You’re late,” Nugent snapped, now a man in charge of things. Mann was just a simple lawyer. Nugent was the head of an execution team. Mann was content with his work. Nugent had aspirations, which in the past twenty-four hours had been bolstered considerably.

  “So what,” Mann said as he stood by a chair facing the desk. Nugent was dressed in his standard dark olive pants with no wrinkles and heavily starched dark olive shirt with gray tee shirt underneath. His boots gleamed with heavily buffed polish. He marched to a point behind his desk. Mann hated him.

  “We have eight days,” Nugent said as if this were known only to him.

  “I think it’s nine,” Mann said. Both men were standing.

  “Next Wednesday doesn’t count. We have eight working days left.”

  “Whatever.”

  Nugent sat stiffly in his chair. “Two things. First, here is a manual I’ve put together for executions. A protocol. From A to Z. Completely organized, indexed, cross-indexed. I’d like for you to review the statutes contained herein and make sure they’re current.”

  Mann stared at the black binder but did not touch it.

  “And second, I’d like a report each day on the status of all appeals. As I understand it, there are no legal impediments as of this morning.”

  “That’s correct, sir,” Mann answered.

  “I’d like something in writing first thing each morning with the updates.”

  “Then hire yourself a lawyer, sir. You’re not my boss, and I’ll be damned if I’ll write a little brief for your morning coffee. I’ll let you know if something happens, but I won’t push paper for you.”

  Ah, the frustrations of civilian life. Nugent longed for the discipline of the military. Damned lawyers. “Very well. Will you please review the protocol?”

  Mann flipped it open and turned a few pages. “You know, we’ve managed four executions without all this.”

  “I find that very surprising, frankly.”

  “Frankly, I don’t. We’ve become quite efficient, I’m sad to say.”

  “Look, Lucas, I don’t relish this,” Nugent said wistfully. “Phillip asked me to do it. I hope there’s a stay. I really do. But if not, then we must be prepared. I want this to run smoothly.”

  Mann acknowledged the obvious lie, and picked up the manual. Nugent had yet to witness an execution, and he was counting hours, not days. He couldn’t wait to see Sam strapped in the chair, sniffing gas.

  Lucas nodded and left the office. In the hallway, he passed Bill Monday, the state executioner, no doubt headed to Nugent’s for a quiet pep talk.

  ______

  Adam arrived at the Twig shortly before 3 p.m. The day had begun with the panic over Lee’s drunk driving mess, and had not improved.

  He had been sipping coffee at his desk, nursing a headache and trying to do some research, when in the span of ten minutes Darlene brought a fax from New Orleans and a fax from the district court. He’d lost twice. The Fifth Circuit upheld the decision of the federal court on Sam’s claim that the gas chamber was unconstitutional because it was cruel and obsolete, and the district court denied the claim that Benjamin Keyes had performed ineffectively at trial. The headache had suddenly been forgotten. Within an hour, the Death Clerk, Mr. Richard Olander, had called from Washington inquiring about Adam’s plans to appeal, and he also wanted to know what other filings might be contemplated by the defense. He told Adam that there were only eight working days to go, you know, as if Adam had to be reminded. Thirty minutes after Olander’s call, a clerk at the death desk of the Fifth Circuit called and asked Adam when he planned to appeal the district court’s ruling.

  Adam had explained to both death clerks at both courts that he was perfecting his appeals as quickly as possible, and he would try
to file by the end of the day. When he stopped to think about it, it was a little unnerving practicing law with such an audience. At this moment of the process, there were courts and justices watching to see what he would do next. There were clerks calling and asking what he might be contemplating. The reason was obvious and disheartening. They weren’t concerned with whether or not Adam would seize the magical issue that would prevent an execution. They were concerned only about logistics. The death clerks had been instructed by their superiors to monitor the waning days so the courts could rule quickly, usually against the inmate. These justices did not enjoy reading briefs at three in the morning. They wanted copies of all last minute filings on their desks long before the appeals officially arrived.

  Phelps had called him at the office just before noon with the news that Lee had not been found. He had checked every detox and recovery facility within a hundred miles, and no one had admitted a Lee Booth. He was still searching, but was very busy now with meetings and such.

  Sam arrived at the prison library thirty minutes later in a somber mood. He’d heard the bad news at noon on television, on the Jackson station that was counting down the days. Only nine more. He sat at the table and stared blankly at Adam. “Where are the Eskimo Pies?” he asked sadly, like a small child who wanted candy.

  Adam reached under the table and retrieved a small Styrofoam cooler. He placed it on the table and opened it. “They almost confiscated these at the front gate. Then the guards picked through and threatened to throw them out. So, enjoy.”

  Sam grabbed one, admired it for a long second, then carefully peeled off the wrapper. He licked the chocolate coating, then took a massive bite. He chewed it slowly with his eyes closed.

  Minutes later, the first Eskimo Pie was gone, and Sam started on the second. “Not a good day,” he said, licking the edges.

  Adam slid some papers to him. “Here are both decisions. Short, to the point, and strongly against us. You don’t have a lot of friends on these courts, Sam.”