Colonel Nugent. Nugent said he'd seen Sam just hours earlier, and, yes, of course, he would be happy to testify. Son of a bitch wasn't crazy. He was just mean. And Sergeant Packer saw him every day. And the prison psychiatrist, Dr. N. Stegall, had met with Sam, and she could testify. Nugent was anxious to help. He also suggested the prison chaplain. And he would think about others.
Morris Henry organized a hit squad of four lawyers to do nothing but dig for dirt on Dr. Anson Swinn. Find other cases he'd been involved in. Talk to other lawyers around the country. Locate transcripts of his testimony. The guy was nothing but a hired mouthpiece, a professional testifier. Get the goods to discredit him.
Once Roxburgh had the attack planned and others doing the work, he rode the elevator to the lobby of the building to chat with the press.
Adam parked in a vacant spot on the grounds of the state capitol. Goodman was waiting under a shade tree with his jacket off and sleeves rolled up, his paisley bow tie perfect. Adam quickly introduced Carmen to Mr. Goodman.
'The governor wants to see you at two. I just left his office, for the third time this morning. Let's walk to our place,' he said, waving toward downtown. 'It's just a coupla blocks.'
'Did you meet Sam?' Goodman asked Carmen.
'Yes. This morning.'
'I'm glad you did.'
'What's on the governor's mind?' Adam asked. They were walking much too slow to suit him. Relax, he told himself. Just relax.
'Who knows? He wants to meet with you privately. Maybe the market analysis is getting to him. Maybe he's planning a media stunt. Maybe he's sincere. I can't read him. He does look tired, though.'
'The phone calls are getting through?'
'Splendidly.'
'No one's suspicious?'
'Not yet. Frankly, we're hitting them so fast and so hard I doubt they have time to trace calls.'
Carmen shot a blank look at her brother, who was too preoccupied to see it.
'What's the latest from Slattery?' Adam asked as they crossed a street, pausing for a minute in silence to watch the demonstration under way on the front steps of the capitol.
'Nothing since ten this morning. His clerk called you in Memphis, and your secretary gave him my number here. That's how they found me. He told me about the hearing, and said Slattery wants the lawyers in his chamber at three to plan things.'
'What does this mean?' Adam asked, desperate for his mentor to say that they were on the brink of a major victory.
Goodman sensed Adam's anxiety. 'I honestly don't know. It's good news, but no one knows how permanent it is. Hearings at this stage are not unusual.'
They crossed another street and entered the building. Upstairs, the temporary office was buzzing as four law students rattled away on cordless phones. Two were sitting with their feet on the table. One stood in the window and talked earnestly. One was pacing along the far wall, phone stuck to her head. Adam stood by the door and tried to absorb the scene. Carmen was hopelessly confused.
Goodman explained things in a loud whisper. 'We're averaging about sixty calls an hour. We dial more than that, but the lines stay jammed, obviously. We're responsible for the jamming, and this keeps other people from getting through. It was much slower over the weekend. The hotline used only one operator.' He delivered this summary like a proud plant manager showing off the latest in automated machinery.
'Who are they calling?' Carmen asked.
A law student stepped forward and introduced himself to Adam, and then to Carmen. He was having a ball, he said.
'Would you like something to eat?' Goodman asked. 'We have some sandwiches.' Adam declined.
'Who are they calling?' Carmen asked again.
'The governor's hotline,' Adam replied, without explanation. They listened to the nearest caller as he changed his voice and read a name from a phone list. He was now Benny Chase from Hickory Flat, Mississippi, and he had voted for the governor and didn't think Sam Cayhall should be executed. It was time for the governor to step forward and take care of this situation.
Carmen cut her eyes at her brother, but he ignored her.
'These four are law students at Mississippi College,' Goodman explained further. 'We've used about a dozen students since Friday, different ages, whites and blacks, male and female. Professor Glass has been most helpful in finding these people. He's made calls too. So have Hez Kerry and his boys at the Defense Group. We've had at least twenty people calling.'
They pulled three chairs to the end of a table and sat down. Goodman found soft drinks in a plastic cooler, and sat them on the table. He continued talking in a low voice. 'John Bryan Glass is doing some research as we speak. He'll have a brief prepared by four. Hez Kerry is also at work. He's checking with his counterparts in other death states to see if similar statutes have been used recently.'
'Kerry is the black guy?' Adam said.
'Yeah, he's the director of the Southern Capital Defense Group. Very sharp.'
'A black lawyer busting his butt to save Sam.'
'It makes no difference to Hez. It's just another death case.'
'I'd like to meet him.'
'You will. All these guys will be at the hearing.'
'And they're working for free?' Carmen asked.
'Sort of. Kerry is on salary. Part of his job is to monitor every death case in this state, but since Sam has private lawyers Kerry is off the hook. He's donating his time, but it's something he wants to do. Professor Glass is on salary at the law school, but this is definitely outside the scope of his employment there. We're paying these students five bucks an hour.'
'Who's paying them?' she asked.
'Dear old Kravitz & Bane.'
Adam grabbed a nearby phonebook. 'Carmen needs to get a flight out of here this afternoon,' he said, flipping to the yellow pages.
'I'll take care of it,' Goodman said, taking the phonebook. 'Where to?'
'San Francisco.'
'I'll see what's available. Look, there's a little deli around the corner. Why don't you two get something to eat? We'll walk to the governor's office at two.'
'I need to get to a library,' Adam said, looking at his watch. It was almost one o'clock.
'Go eat, Adam. And try to relax. We'll have time later to sit down with the brain trust and talk strategy. Right now, you need to relax and eat.'
'I'm hungry,' Carmen said, anxious to be alone with her brother for a few minutes. They eased from the room, and closed the door behind them.
She stopped him in the shabby hallway before they reached the stairs. 'Please explain that to me,' she insisted, grabbing his arm.
'What?'
'That little room in there.'
'It's pretty obvious, isn't it?'
'Is it legal?'
'It's not illegal.'
'Is it ethical?'
Adam took a deep breath and stared at the wall. 'What are they planning to do with Sam?'
'Execute him.'
'Execute, gas, exterminate, kill, call it what you want. But it's murder, Carmen. Legal murder. It's wrong, and I'm trying to stop it. It's a dirty business, and if I have to bend a few ethics, I don't care.'
'It stinks.'
'So does the gas chamber.'
