"Fine. They've met. Now what, Mr. Reinfeld?"

"I'm here to offer my services, and the services of my staff and the entire NAACP to Mr. Hailey," said Reinfeld.

"What type of services?" asked Jake.

"Legal, of course."

"Carl Lee, did you ask Mr. Reinfeld to come here?" asked Jake.

"Nope."

"Sounds like solicitation to me, Mr. Reinfeld."

"Skip the lecture, Mr. Brigance. You know what I do, and you know why I'm here."

"So you chase all your cases?"

"We don't chase anything. We're called in by local NAACP members and other civil rights activists. We handle only capital murder cases, and we're very good at what we do."

"I suppose you're the only attorney competent to handle a case of this magnitude?"

"I've handled my share."

"And lost your share."

"Most of my cases are supposed to be lost."

"I see. Is that your position on this case? Do you expect to lose it?"

Reinfeld picked at his beard and glared at Jake. "I didn't come here to argue with you, Mr. Brigance."

"I know. You came here to offer your formidable legal skills to a defendant who's never heard of you and happens to be satisfied with his attorney. You came here to take my client. I know exactly why you're here."

"I'm here because the NAACP invited me. Nothing more or less."

"I see. Do you get all your cases from the NAACP?"

"I work for the NAACP, Mr. Brigance. I'm in charge of its capital murder defense team. I go where the NAACP sends me."

"How many clients do you have?"

"Several dozen. Why is that important?"

"Did they all have attorneys before you pushed yourself into their cases?"

"Some did, some didn't. We always try to work with the local attorney."

Jake smiled. "That's marvelous. You're offering me a chance to carry your briefcase and chauffeur you around Clanton. I might even get to fetch you a sandwich during the noon recess. What a thrill."

Carl Lee sat frozen with arms crossed and his eyes fixed on a spot in the rug. The reverends watched him closely, waiting for him to say something to his lawyer, to tell him to shut up, that he was fired and the NAACP lawyers would

handle the case. They watched ana wauea, DUI sat calmly and listened.

"We have a lot to offer, Mr. Hailey," Reinfeld said. It was best to stay calm until the defendant decided who would represent him. A tantrum might ruin things.

"Such as?" Jake asked.

"Staff, resources, expertise, experienced trial lawyers who do nothing but capital defense. Plus we have a number of highly competent doctors we use in these cases. You name it, we have it."

"How much money do you have to spend?"

"That's none of your business."

"Is that so? Is it Mr. Hailey's business? After all, it's his case. Perhaps Mr. Hailey would like to know how much you have to spend in his defense. Would you, Mr. Hailey?"

"Yep."

"All right, Mr. Reinfeld, how much do you have to spend?"

Reinfeld squirmed and looked hard at the reverends, who looked hard at Carl Lee.

"Approximately twenty thousand, so far," Reinfeld admitted sheepishly.

Jake laughed and shook his head in disbelief. "Twenty thousand! Y'all are really serious about this, aren't you? Twenty thousand! I thought you guys played in the big leagues. You raised a hundred and fifty thousand for the cop killer in Birmingham last year. And he was convicted, by the way. You spent a hundred thousand for the whore in Shreve-port who killed her customer. And she, too, was convicted, I might add. And you think this case is worth only twenty thousand."

"How much do you have to spend?" asked Reinfeld.

"If you can explain to me how that's any of your business, I'll be glad to discuss it with you."

Reinfeld started to speak, then leaned forward and rubbed his temples. "Why don't you talk to him, Reverend Agee."

The reverends stared at Carl Lee. They wished they were alone with him, with no white folks around. They could talk to him like he was a nigger. They could explain things to. him; tell him to fire this young white boy and get him some

real lawyers. NAACP lawyers. Lawyers who knew how to fight for blacks. But they were not alone with him, and they couldn't curse him. They had to show respect for the white folks present. Agee spoke first.

"Look here, Carl Lee, we tryin' to help you. We brought in Mr. Reinfeld here, and he's got all his lawyers and ever-body at your disposal, to help you now. We ain't got nothin' against Jake here; he's a fine young lawyer. But he can work with Mr. Reinfeld. We don't want you to fire Jake; we just want you to hire Mr. Reinfeld too. They can all work together."

"Forget that," said Jake.

Agee paused and looked helplessly at Jake.

"Come on, Jake. We ain't got nothin' against you. It's a big chance for you. You can work with some real big lawyers. Get some real good experience. We-"

"Let me make it real clear, Reverend. If Carl Lee wants your lawyers, fine. But I'm not playing gofer for anyone. I'm either in or out. Nothing in between. My case or your case. The courtroom is not big enough for me, Reinfeld, and Ru-fus Buckley."

Reinfeld rolled his eyes and looked at the ceiling, shaking his head slowly and grinning with an arrogant little smirk.

"You sayin' it's up to Carl Lee?" asked Reverend Agee.

"Of course it's up to him. He's hired me. He can fire me. He's already done it once. I'm not the one facing the gas chamber."

"How 'bout it, Carl Lee?" asked Agee.

Carl Lee uncrossed his arms and stared at Agee. "This twenty thousand, what's it for?"

"Really, it's more like thirty thousand," answered Reinfeld. "The local folks have pledged another ten thousand. The money will be used for your defense. None of it's attorney fees. We'll need two or three investigators. Two, maybe three, psychiatric experts. We often use a jury psychologist to assist us in selecting the jury. Our defenses are very expensive."

"Uh huh. How much money has been raised by local people?" asked Carl Lee.

"About six thousand," answered Reinfeld.

"Who collected mis money:

Reinfeld looked at Agee. "The churches," answered the reverend.

"Who collected the money from the churches?" asked Carl Lee.

"We did," answered Agee.

"You mean, you did," said Carl Lee.

"Well, uh, right. I mean, each church gave the money to me, and I deposited it in a special bank account."

"Yeah, and you deposited every nickel you received?"

"Of course I did." .

"Of course. Let me ask you this. How much of the money have you offered to my wife and kids?"

Agee looked a bit pale, or as pale as possible, and quickly searched the faces of the other reverends, who, at the moment, were preoccupied with a stink bug on the carpet. They offered no help. Each knew Agee had been taking his cut, and each knew the family had received nothing. Agee had profited more .than the family. They knew it, and Carl Lee knew it.

"How much, Reverend?" repeated Carl Lee.

"Well, we thought the money-"

"How much, Reverend?"

"The money is gonna be spent on lawyer fees and stuff like that."

"That ain't what you told your church, is it? You said it was for the support of the family. You almost cried when you talked about how my family might starve to death if the folks didn't donate all they could. Didn't you, Reverend?"

"The money's for you, Carl Lee. You and your family. Right now we think it could be better spent on your defense."

"And what if I don't want your lawyers? What happens to the twenty thousand?"

Jake chuckled. "Good question. What happens to the money if Mr. Hailey doesn't hire you, Mr. Reinfeld?"

"It's not my money," answered Reinfeld.

"Reverend Agee?" asked Jake.

The reverend had had enough. He grew defiant and belligerent. He pointed at Carl Lee. "Listen here, Carl Lee. We busted our butts to raise this money. Six thousand bucks

from the poor people of this county, people who didn't have it to give. We worked hard for this money, and it was given by poor people, your people, people on food stamps and welfare and Medicaid, people who couldn't afford to donate a dime. But they gave for one reason, and only one reason: they believe in you and what you did, and they want you to walk outta that courtroom a free man. Don't say you don't want the money."

"Don't preach to me," Carl Lee replied softly. "You say the poor folks of this county gave six thousand?"

"Right?"

"Where'd the rest of the money come from?"

"NAACP. Five thousand from Atlanta, five from Memphis, and five from national. And it's strictly for your defense fees."

"If I use Mr. Reinfeld here?"

"Right."

"And if I don't use him, the fifteen thousand disappears?"

"Right."

"What about the other six thousand?"

"Good question. We ain't discussed that yet. We thought you'd appreciate us for raisin' money and tryin' to help. We're offerin' the best lawyers and obviously you don't care."

The room was silent for an eternity as the preachers, the lawyers, and the sheriff waited for some message from the defendant. Carl Lee chewed on his lower lip and stared at the floor. Jake lit another cigar. He had been fired before, and he could handle it again.

"You gotta know right now?" Carl Lee asked finally.

"No," said Agee.

"Yes," said Reinfeld. "The trial is less than three weeks away, and we're two months behind already. My time is too valuable to wait on you, Mr. Hailey. Either you hire me now or forget it. I've got a plane to catch."

"Well, I'll tell you what you do, Mr. Reinfeld. You go and catch your plane and don't ever worry 'bout comin' back to Clanton on my behalf. I'll take my chances with my friend Jake."

The Ford County Klavern was founded at midnight, Thursday, July 11, in a small pasture next to a dirt road deep in a forest somewhere in the northern part of the county. The six inductees stood nervously before the huge burning cross and repeated strange words offered by a wizard. A dragon and two dozen white-robed Klansmen watched and chanted when appropriate. A guard with a gun stood quietly down the road, occasionally watching the ceremony but primarily watching for uninvited guests. There were none.