"Hey!" "Hey, boy." "What you doin' jumping' off here, boy?" "Well, see it's..." "Close to where I'm goin'." "You know where you goin', boy?" "Yes, sir." "You got someplace to stay?" "Yes, i got people there." "Friends." "Okay." "You be careful, hear me?" "Yes, sir." "Pick up your stuff." "You forget something'?" "Box with my things." "Boy, don't you know a pistol gonna get you" "In a whole mess of trouble with the law?" "What if i was to phone the chief of police" "And tell him that a boy came in my place of business" "And laid down a loaded pistol" "In a king Edward's cigar box on my counter?" "You want your ass in a sling?" "No, sir." "And yet if i don't call the chief..." "Don't you know I'd be failing my dereliction of duty?" "'Cause you done broke the law." "If the chief was to find it out," "And he knew that i knew it, and didn't call him," "And didn't perform the dereliction of my duty," "He could ride my britches around the block for an accomplish." "That's what I'd be if i didn't tell him, an accomplish." "That's just the plain law on it, see?" "But there's no law if a man finds a pistol that he can't keep it." "Miss griggs." "What we've been waiting for." "My nephew, Steve mundine and his wife nella." "How do you do?" "Miss griggs." "Welcome to somerton." "See you in a minute, I.B." "My office?" "You like it?" "What can i say?" "Unpack your diplomas, hang 'em on the wall." "Excuse me a minute." "Well, I.B." "It's my wife, Mr. hedgepath." "I've decided to divorce her." "And I'd like you to represent me." "Me?" "I consider you the finest." "Divorce?" "Why?" "Adultery." "Emma's what, twenty-two?" "Three?" "Man your age." "Can't you make allowances?" "I tried." "But she won't give him up." "Will she contest it?" "No." "She agrees to it." "Will you represent me?" "I'm too busy." "No." "May i ask if..." "No, no." "I'm just too busy with my nephew," "And law partner, Mr. mundine, and his wife." "L.B. Jones." "Our colored undertaker here in the cemetery." "How do you do?" "Hi." "How do you do?" "They just arrived, you know." "And, well, uh..." "Well, i understand." "Good day." "Now this, is my office." "Mama lavorn?" "Mama lavorn?" "Mama." "Me." "Mosby." "Lord, God." "Let my eyes have light." "Child." "Child." "Oh, Sonny boy." "Thank you, Jesus." "Oman." "Seein' you don't have time" "To take the undertaker's case, maybe i could." "I'm sure not busy yet." "Simple divorce, he said." "Well..." "Not all that simple." "Hardly a place for you to start." "I gotta start somewhere." "The way you put the man off, i..." "Important to you, huh?" "Miss griggs." "Call I.B. Jones." "Tell him I've changed my mind, I'm taking the case." "We have an uncontested divorce." "Get all the information." "He'll need two witnesses in my office," "Tuesday morning, 9:00." "Bring those witnesses?" "Yeah." "He's my client." "Right." "Mustn't steal your clients." "Not this soon, anyway." "C'mon, let's go home." "Miss ponsella." "All right, I'll take care of her." "Ahh, there you are, miss ponsella." "Mr. Jones." "I've come to pay my policy." "Right here, miss ponsella." "Well, it's the same this week as last." "Two dollars." "Same as usual." "Same as usual." "You ain't got me yet, is you?" "Not yet, not yet, miss ponsella." "You will, though." "You will." "Yes, i suppose so." "Miss ponsella." "Can i see my coffin again?" "Certainly, miss ponsella." "Right over this way." "Yes, yes, of course, miss ponsella." "Nice and soft in here." "Gonna be real comfortable." "Yes, miss ponsella." "Can't hardly wait." "Well, thank you, Mr. Jones." "Miss ponsella." "Hi!" "Hello there!" "Lavorn here?" "They back in the parlor." "Hardy!" "Bring back old times." "Benny don't know who this is." "Benny's mind worried because he don't know," "And don't remember that child i took and raised" "After his mother died." "Can't be!" "It is, though." "Sonny boy, you!" "He been gone 13 years" "And now Sonny boy have come home." "Been tellin' me how he come all the way from Kansas City." "But you did come back!" "Took it easy." "Slept in a field, slept in a barn." "My mind always running ahead of me to my..." "My main love." "And my main hate." "You came back after bumpas?" "Stanley bumpas." "How?" "Oh, i said to myself when they brought this child in" "From that front yard where that policeman beat him," "I said, either my Sonny boy's gonna die tonight," "Or he's gonna kill that white man someday." "Put the prod to him." "C'mon, roll him outta here." "Miss griggs said you needed to see me." "Heard the good news?" "Your wife's hired a lawyer." "Gonna file an answer." "Gonna contest the divorce." "What do you know about it?" "Nothing." "Didn't tell you she was getting a lawyer?" "No." "Didn't let on what she was doing?" "What does it mean?" "Come with me." "Yeah, come in." "Oh, it's you." "Emma." "Yeah." "Well, you got something to say to me?" "Huh?" "Why don't you say it?" "I'm listening." "Why you want to come bothering' me?" "You hired a lawyer." "Get outta here." "You led me to believe, and i led Oman hedgepath" "To believe that all was decided between us." "Now suddenly, without a word..." "That's right, no word." "Why?" "That's for Emma to know, and you to find out." "Like my mama always said," "Now you keep a little something for yourself, Emma baby." "If you don't want a divorce," "Promise me you'll never see him again." "You must be outta your mind." "If you promise me, I'm willing to call it off." "It still isn't too late, Emma." "Not where I'm concerned." "Give up Willie Joe?" "No, daddy." "Why, he's twice a man." "Will you get rid of your lawyer?" "Never happen." "Then let me have a divorce." "Why fight me?" "Well maybe Emma likes things just the way they are." "Then i must have it from you once and forever." "Tell me no." "Hell, no!" "Then I'll see you in court." "Oh sure, Mr. lord Byron Jones." "I believe you." "Hey, uh..." "Stanley?" "Hmmm?" "I'm... feelin' like a visit with Emma." "Why don't you take me over there." "You call that a visit, Willie Joe?" "Benny?" "Yes?" "Let's go." "I'll get my coat." "Mornin'." "Why, sugar boy!" "Hi!" "You goin' someplace?" "Well now, i was." "Just a minute!" "I must see Mr. hedgepath." "Mr. hedgepath is in a meetin', you..." "Oh." "Come in, I.B." "Why don't you sit down." "I'll stand." "I talked to my wife." "Excuse me." "No, you stay here." "Is it all right with you?" "Yes." "You talked to Emma?" "She agreed to..." "Withdraw?" "No." "Positively wouldn't?" "Positively." "Well, i think you must, I.B." "Mr. hedgepath." "I didn't come here for advice." "Okay..." "Let's hear my instructions." "I want this divorce." "Now." "L.B., this is somerton, Tennessee." "You were born and raised here." "You know the difficulty if a white man's named in open court." "To hell with the white man." "If you instruct me to go ahead, realize what you're doing." "Yes." "Tuesday, then." "Thank you." "Now you see?" "See what, Oman?" "See what comes from practicing' nigger law." "Nigger law, Oman?" "My God." "Well, of course," "Since you learned to make niggers your hobby," "Instead of golf or whiskey," "Or somethin' decent, like duck huntin'," "Then i suppose I'll just have to" "Learn to live with it, won't i?" "I'm confused." "You take the man's case," "Next you try to talk him out of it." "I'm going to tell you something I've never told another living soul." "I want you to promise not to breathe a word of this to anybody." "When i was a law student, years ago in Nashville," "There was this nigger gal that cooked..." "And swept and dusted." "Young." "Cassie was 19." "Well, one day i stayed in my bed" "When she made up my room and..." "Well, Steve, it went on all summer long." "After some time, i began to see Cassie as a woman." "Real person." "You mean you fell in love with her?" "God forgive me, i think i did." "Anyway, Mary Covington found out about it." "Now you know why miss Mary stood me up at the church." "Why i never married." "I'm glad at least you..." "Saw one negro as a human being." "But what's that got to do with this case?" "I don't get the point." "Point?" "How can i judge Willie Joe worth harshly?" "Do we take the man's job?" "Shame his family for that?" "Does Willie Joe deserve a break?" "But Willie Joe is not your client." "He's white." "I've got an errand." "See you later." "Check his gums?" "Go ahead and laugh." "Some day, by God, when a blue-gummed nigger" "Fangs one of you hotshots in the settee, then I'll laugh." "Yeah, 'cause a laugh will help as much as anything." "Ain't no medicine gonna save ya." "Come here, boy." "Let me see your teeth." "Pull your lip down." "Naw, the other one!" "Blue as a razor blade." "Whew!" "Close your mouth, boy." "We don't need to count your teeth and give you no receipt." "You gonna book him, Mr. ike, or send him to a tooth dentist?" "I'll book him." "Be careful taking him down." "You know a bite from a blue-gummed nigger" "Is like being struck by a rattlesnake?" "'Cept worse!" "Willie Joe." "Mr. hedgepath." "See you a minute." "Sure thing, Mr. hedgepath." "Yes sir, Mr. Oman." "Maybe you heard about the nigger undertaker?" "Wantin' a divorce?" "No, sir." "I didn't know about that, Mr. Oman." "Wife's accused of having relations with an unnamed man." "A white man." "Oh." "Is that so?" "Normally in such cases nobody cares who the man is," "But..." "His wife's gone and hired herself a lawyer." "And the cross-examination is sure to bring out" "The white man's name." "I see." "Now let's assume..." "I wouldn't want to see a man," "A policeman, for example," "Lose his job over something like this sort." "Would i?" "No, sir." "And i shouldn't have to tell a man like that," "That co-habitation between white and colored is..." "Dynamite to begin with." "No, sir you sure shouldn't." "That's right, Mr. Oman." "I'm glad you agree." "Now, because Emma Jones is not my client," "I don't have the privilege of talking to her." "I see." "Let's assume i get her husband to talk to her." "Yeah, yeah." "And he don't get anywhere." "Well..." "Well, what then?" "Well then, a certain white man" "Has had his goose cooked." "Uh, a thing like that just can't happen, Mr. Oman." "Yeah, but it has." "Now, another man..." "Even her lover," "Wouldn't be prevented from talking Emma Jones" "Out of contesting this divorce." "All she'd have to do is pick up the phone, fire her lawyer." "Wouldn't take her five minutes." "Sure, not five minutes." "Now, the situation's bad." "But with a little..." "Finesse." "No one need ever know who the white man is." "Just a little persuasion..." "Yes, i understand." "So, if between now and Tuesday mornin'..." "Situation of this sort were to be" "Cleared up." "See what i mean?" "Yeah." "Between now and Tuesday." "Yeah." "Then i wouldn't be embarrassed" "And this white fellow wouldn't have shame heaped upon him." "Between now and Tuesday mornin'." "Be a terrible thing a man's family find out" "He been layin' out with a nigger girl, wouldn't it?" "Sure would, Mr. Oman." "Very idea of it makes me sick." "Physically sick." "Me too." "All right, Willie Joe?" "Oh yes, Mr. hedgepath, and thank you, sir." "Yeah." "Between now and Tuesday mornin'." "What was that all about?" "Who pulled your chain?" "Oman, you remember that last October, the year mother died?" "Yeah, the two of you come down from chattanooga." "Sure, i remember." "We came down to watch you win that case against the railroad." "You know from that day on, Oman," "I never wanted anything but the law." "Because of the man you were." "Yeah." "I was pretty, by God, magnificent." "I thought so." "But no more?" "Oman, you wouldn't mind if i called you a racist?" "Mind?" "Hell, boy, get it out." "Get it said." "Wait'll you been here a couple of years." "Give it time, boy." "You'll find yourself doing a hell of a lot of things" "You'd maybe rather not do in an ideal world." "Well..." "This isn't an ideal world, so you do the best you can." "So i built a practice." "Waited damn near 30 years to see you come in and..." "Share with me what I've worked and slaved" "And yes, by God, compromised to build." "Goddamnit, so I'm a racist." "Hell, nobody in my situation but a racist could have built this law practice." "Already half yours." "When i die, retire, the law will be yours." "All this too." "And if I've ceased to be your hero." "Maybe I've ceased to be my hero too." "Oman." "You're a force in this town, a prime mover," "A city attorney, most prominent citizen they've got." "You can change things here." "If you choose to." "Come Tuesday, i intend to be in court." "Watch you win a divorce for a deserving client." "Why, sugar boy!" "Been wondering' when you'd come." "Hey." "Why don't you bite me right here, daddy?" "Listen, by God." "Hey, is somethin' wrong?" "Or is somethin' bothering' old..." "What the hell are you tryin' to pull?" "What?" "I didn't stutter, by God." "You want to spill my guts, is that it?" "I don't understand." "Sugar boy, please!" "Got to get fancy, going to the lawyers." "Sugar boy, you're bustin' my arm." "You want to get fancy, going to the lawyers." "You think they wouldn't warn a white man?" "I seen fools, but you take the sap-suckin' prize." "How'd it be if i blew your goddamn head right off?" "Huh?" "Huh!" "?" "How'd that be?" "You wouldn't!" "I wouldn't?" "No!" "You wouldn't!" "Oh yeah, beating' up women, that's your style, all right." "Women and children, that is." "But i don't quite picture you for no triggerman." "I see you much more as a lightweight." "Beatin' up women and children, yeah." "I knew that the first whiff of your hair tonic." "You just try me." "Well, my back is turned." "Go ahead and shoot." "Oh, hell!" "I ain't gonna." "Sugar boy." "Easy daddy." "Let's say you had it as good as i did," "Would you give it up?" "So, lord Byron lovernuts wants his freedom." "But you know what he said." "He said," "Take the house, take the air-conditioned Cadillac." "But sugar boy, it takes money too." "Now, do you have the money?" "Or do i have the money?" "Oman hedgepath says he..." "Sugar boy." "I'm asking you." "Now who does have that money?" "L.B.'S got it." "Did i ever say that bastard didn't have it?" "But I'm on the police force, i need this job." "And you gonna spill my guts." "The hell you are." "If you don't back out, they're gonna spill my guts." "So where does that leave me?" "Well, i can see that i don't need to explain to you" "No further than you already..." "Now you call that damn lawyer, you call to see his butt," "And you tell him you changed your mind, i mean it!" "Don't you know Emma better than that?" "You won't call him, huh?" "There's no way out." "No goddamn way in the world out of it," "And that's just how it's all figured out, ain't it?" "Why don't you talk to I.B.?" "You know, he just might listen to reason." "Yeah." "What if he don't listen to reason?" "Well now, i been thinkin' the very same thing myself." "I said, now just supposing' old I.B." "Won't listen to no kind of reason." "Somethin's going to have to give somewhere." ""Let him divorce me." "What do i care?" You said." "I changed my mind." "Changed your mind?" "What the hell for?" "Dear daddy." "Ain't you noticed nothin' different about me?" "What?" "Well now, can't you see that I'm gaining' weight?" "You're lyin'." "Beginnin' to see the light?" "I asked doctor pentacal." "Why, I've got a livin' child in me." "You let that nigger knock you up." "Uh uh." "Nobody but you." "This is your baby, Willie Joe, all yours." "And you know, he just might be 'bout as white as you." "Still gonna be a nigger." "Yes, daddy." "And he's gonna be somethin'." "Now i can't let nobody rob my baby." "And i cannot let my baby come into this world without a dime." "Emma?" "Hey, baby." "Listen." "Now..." "I know a man." "He's practically a doctor." "And you won't hardly feel nothin'." "If we call now, it'll be over in a hour." "And you won't have no more reason to fight the divorce." "Now this here is a real fine man." "He uses big words like the best doctor you ever saw." "If i was sick, i wouldn't want nobody but him to look at me." "You listen." "All my life i never had nobody." "But for once, I've got somebody who's gonna love me." "And somebody who's gonna honor me." "I'm not gonna let you take him." "Can't nobody take him!" "If i call Oscar now, he'll come right over." "You won't feel nothin'!" "You dumb son of a..." "That didn't take long." "Wasn't it up to snuff this time?" "Will you shut up!" "Let's sit over here where we can hear ourselves." "You don't mind celebratin' while we make plans?" "No, no." "Now, tell me 'bout my funeral, Mr. Jones." "Well, of the four services," "The eclipsed in Christ is the most economical." "Well, i want the best, Mr. Jones." "You know i want the very best." "Well, there's one service we've not sold." "Never sold." "The angel chorus." "It's too expensive, but we stock it" "Just to show our client the ultimate possibilities." "Tell me about it, Mr. Jones." "Well, for the angel chorus..." "The grave is dug 12 feet deep instead of six." "Twelve?" "Gates to the city." "Let me go deep when i go." "How much?" "A band of singers, the gospel ramblers is hired from Memphis." "The object of the angel chorus is to omit nothing" "That will glorify and beautify the service." "How much?" "Three thousand dollars, mama." "I'll take it!" "I'll take that angel chorus!" "What color dress?" "Shinin' gold." "I have it." "I'll get it, Mr. Jones." "Jelly, dance for Mr. Jones." "Show him how good you can dance." "Jelly dances real good, Mr. Jones." "Stanley." "Fire away." "That nigger you arrested earlier, not blue-gum," "Archie Parsons..." "Don't Archie like his accommodations?" "His wife wants to talk to the arresting' officer" "Waitin' on the corner of sycamore and sixteenth." "Do tell." "Okay, me and Willie'll wipe her nose for her." "You erleen Parsons?" "Yes please, sir." "Say you want to get Archie out of jail, erleen?" "Archie ain't never been in no trouble before." "He got him a job at the tannin' factory." "He need work." "And if he don't show up, they'll lay him off." "I mean work bein' so scarce." "And i called the police station and they said that you would..." "Would help give me the details on how to get him out." "Yeah." "So soon?" "You're kiddin'." "Hop in the back seat, Emma." "Uh, erleen." "Is..." "Is Archie all right?" "I gotta get him out." "Okay, just uh..." "Get in the car." "Well, you want to get him out, don't you?" "Where are you takin' me?" "You takin' me to see Archie?" "There's some certain things you gotta understand, erleen," "If'n you want to get that boy outta jail." "You understand?" "Isn't that right, Mr. bumpas?" "Right." "It comes down to a man like me bein' asked to rush things." "To manhandle, sorta, the due process of the law" "Which has to be carried out step by step," "Whereas otherwise, uh..." "It ain't the law." "You understand?" "The boy in jail for bein' drunk." "He never drank." "Archie never took the drink." "Yeah, well, uh, swearing' at an officer." "Whatever it was." "Uh..." "Are you denying and disputin'" "The word of an officer of the law?" "No." "I don't like it, Mr. worth." "No, tampering' with the law and the due process," "I'm for takin' her in and gettin' her name written down in the book." "Take it easy on the girl, Mr. Stanley." "Well, here I've drove clear out in the country," "Just to help her get her boy outta jail." "Let's take her in, right, Mr. worth?" "Well, let me just talk to her one more time, Mr. bumpas." "Can't make up your mind, huh?" "Is that it?" "No, sir." "Course, it's uh..." "Already wrote down." "I'd be takin' a chance, but uh..." "Then you say he's got to be to work on Monday." "I admire a boy that's..." "Take it easy." "I ain't gonna hurt you none." "I admire a boy..." "You like that?" "Please, sir." "See, so many of them no account black son of a bitches" "Is always playin' off." "Robbin' their wages outta their boss." "Take it easy, it ain't gonna hurt." "Nothin' you ain't done before, plenty of times." "That cop, Willie Joe." "He been botherin' you, Mr. Jones?" "You know somethin'?" "They say Emma's gone and got her own lawyer." "Benny say we may have to speak Willie Joe worth's name" "When we testify come Tuesday." "You can back out, you know." "I won't hold you to it." "I tell Benny, i say we will testify anyway." "Benny and me agree on that." "That is, if you go on with it, Mr. Jones." "You sure you gonna do that?" "A few years back, one mornin' on main street in this town," "There was a picket, a black man." "Paradin' up and down," "Alone in front of price burkhalder's hardware store." "A crowd gathered," "Curious to see what price burkhalder would do." "I was watchin' when burkhalder came out," "Shotgun in hand." "I heard him say, "by God nigger, get!" "Or I'll blow daylight through your black skin!"" "Picket dropped his sign, and then... he ran." "Lately, I've asked myself," "What if he had not run?" "I see him runnin'." "I hear the mob yelling', "run, nigger, run!"" "I hear 'em laughin'." "But..." "What if he had not run?" "Be a dead man, Mr. Jones." "I wonder." "I really wonder." "I believe erleen understands how the law works, Mr. bumpas." "I believe we can let her go." "Okay." "'Course the best the law can provide in a case like this" "Is just a suspension of the charge," "Whereas no charge as serious as Archie's can ever be" "Wiped off the slate clean forever." "You understand?" "Huh?" "Okay." "You can get out." "Okay." "Benny and me, we think you need protection, Mr. Jones." "Colored can't go up against white alone." "Mostly not a policeman like that Willie Joe." "Benny and me want you to meet somebody, Mr. Jones." "Come on." "Come on, Mr. Jones." "I let Sonny boy have the room next to mine." "Keep on with him, Emma." "Finally, he'll kill you." "Come in, Willie Joe." "Mr. Oman." "Uh..." "We're just family." "Well?" "Well, uh, i talked to her," "But she wasn't very cooperative." "How do you mean?" "Well, see Emma..." "Emma's not just some ordinary nigger." "Never mind about that." "First place, i don't want to hear about it." "Second place, all i want to know is whether it's fixed." "Is it fixed?" "Well, uh, not exactly." "Not yet." "But you're gonna fix it." "You can fix it?" "Is that what you mean?" "Well..." "Yeah." "Yes, sir." "All right, now that's all i want to hear." "Because like i told you, if it ain't fixed..." "I see, Mr. Oman." "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." "All right, Willie Joe." "Bye." "Hey, uh..." "Wife and kids doing okay?" "Oh, yeah." "Doin' fine, Mr. Oman." "That's good." "Everything's fine, isn't it?" "Yes, sir." "Let's keep it that way." "Yes, sir, Mr. Oman." "Wife and kids, job on the force," "And he can't keep out of Emma Jones' pants." "Yesterday, Willie Joe and i had a little" "Man to man talk, you know." "I see." "Well, why shouldn't Willie Joe talk to I.B.'S wife?" "He sleeps with her." "Talk?" "You mean intimidate her." "Steve, i took this case at your insistence." "Now, I'll handle it." "Jones will be a free man." "Bird free, come 10:30 Tuesday mornin'." "A liberated man." "Morning." "Good morning, miss nella." "Am i interrupting?" "No, we were just discussing the divorce case of" "Lord Byron Jones, the undertaker." "He sure puts on some mighty fine funerals." "May i have the floor, Mr. champ." "Sir?" "You mind if i talk?" "Go ahead." "If miss nella and Steve can stand it, suppose i can." "My God." "I don't know why i put up with him." "Wouldn't no one but me put up with you." "That's why." "Well, I'm with Henry." "I can hardly take it myself." "Excuse me." "Well." "Tell me about Cassie." "Cassie!" "Whatever happened to her?" "By God, Steve promised." "And Steve made me promise not to tell, but..." "I'll be damned." "What became of her?" "Was she pretty?" "Oh, as pretty a little nigger gal as i ever saw." "I never saw her again." "That's how you lost miss Mary." "She made a big mistake." "Lookin' at you, i see everything i lost." "Everything." "Live long enough without love and something inside you..." "Changes." "And only the touch of beauty..." "Such as yours in this house, can bring it back." "You and Steve mean more to me than..." "Anything," "More than my own flesh, you must know that." "Oman..." "Don't let Steve lose respect for you." "What does Steve want of me?" "What does he..." "Expect of me?" "To treat I.B. Jones as if he were white." "I don't know sometimes whether to laugh or cry." "I have to use my own judgment." "Maybe I'm going through the menopause, or somethin'." "Henry!" "Sir?" "Dump this out and get me some fresh, you damned old witch doctor." "You let your coffee get cold in the cup before you drink it?" "No, sir." "I drinks mine." "I pays attention to what I'm doin'" "And when mine get right, then i drinks it." "It's the police." "Go." "You alone?" "Yes." "I'll come to the point, by God." "That is, if you don't mind." "I wouldn't want to be cause too goddamn much inconvenience." "All right," "Mr. worth." "I like to be reasonable." "I tried to reason with your wife." "No telling how many favors I've done people." "Favor here, favor there, you know what i mean?" "Huh?" "I'm listenin', Mr. worth." "Well, I'm that way." "I like everybody, black or white." "You ask anybody, they'll tell you." "Now you take lawyers, they don't care." "Just another day's work for them, but..." "I got the job of enforcin' the law in Southern Tennessee," "And with me it's different." "Let people get the wrong idea about me and I'm out of a goddamned job." "You see what I'm tellin' you?" "Huh?" "I think i do." "Well, good." "'Cause i wouldn't want nobody to walk into somethin' blind," "And get hisself hurt, like the little boy says." "I don't care who he is, by God, i think he deserves a little warning'." "Uh..." "Well." "Take if, uh..." "A colored man's wife" "Was to fool around on him a little, and he got tired of it." "Take if the other man, let's say a white man." "Take if the other man was to be reasonable," "Let's say agreed to leave her alone," "If he was asked straight out in a nice way." "Now, why wouldn't that settle the whole thing?" "Let's say, let's say, this colored man" "Was to tell his lawyer he didn't want no divorce, see?" "He done changed his mind." "Well, hell, Jones." "Everybody could rest easy and forget about it, couldn't they?" "What's his hurry?" "Five minutes ain't no skin off his bottom." "Shut up, Stanley." "I'm comin'!" "All Mr. bumpas cares about is that damn farm." "Man can't even do business with him out there." "Tootin' that damn horn." "I hope he roasts!" "I hope, by God, the sweat rolls down his legs into his shoes." "Well, now." "Well, we'll leave it this way." "If i get word by 6:00 tomorrow night," "That's Monday night, that'll be soon enough." "If Mr. Oman hedgepath notifies me by then, well," "That's all right." "If he just phones me, sends me word," "By 6:00 tomorrow night, that it's called off." "Now i don't mean, by God, postponed." "Understand?" "I mean called off." "Well, then, we're okay." "I wouldn't want there to be no misunderstanding' on it, Jones." "I mean, do you by God, understand?" "Well, don't ever say you weren't told." "We're late." "I'll get my coat." "Maybe i better go with you." "No." "Benny." "He's gonna be at his farm." "All day." "Bumpas." "You see how good you feel?" "Mama told you right." "There he was on the other end of the dark." "There was that honky." "That beat up and nearly killed a 13-year-old boy." "But i couldn't remember no more how it hurt." "And there's no blood on my hands, mama." "Mama told you." "Somethin' happened so long ago," "It ain't hardly the same no more." "Mama, i don't have to kill nobody." "Lordy, lordy, this is the day." "It's Monday, ain't it?" "All day." "You comin'?" "Way past 6:00, and that black son of a bitch never called." "Just let it ride, by God." "From what you said, lawyer hedgepath" "Couldn't have put it no plainer if he'd wrote it down." "How many times you have to be told?" "Oman means for you to fix it." "Why couldn't Jones have called?" "Man has to tell you twice, by God, twice?" "Okay, okay!" "Can't you shut up five minutes and let a man think!" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Mr. Jones?" "Yes?" "They took Benny." "What?" "Bumpas." "They took him down to the jail." "They're asking seventy-five dollars bail." "I said I'd pay it right now." "They say, "he work for I.B., don't he?" ""If I.B. Don't want him locked up," "Let I.B. Come downtown and bail him out."" "I'll go right away." "Emma..." "I must go." "Oh, go, go up against those big white men." "And go up against Willie Joe and Oman hedgepath." "Sure, go, baby." "Scared?" "Yes." "Well, i took my beating'." "Now you take yours." "Emma..." "I, um..." "Feel foolish?" "Big man?" "Out." "I said, out!" "Nobody never done called me, all day long." "I waited..." "Nobody never done called." "You didn't forget to call Mr. Oman?" "No." "You gonna call him?" "No." "You didn't forget?" "No." "Try to grab my pistol, will you!" "Did you ever, by God, hear of handcuffs?" "I never figured the son of a bitch would jump." "Never figured there was any need to handcuff him." "Shhh!" "Come here." "Come here, shorty." "Come here." "Go..." "Go." "I don't see a damn thing." "He's nearby." "I can smell him." "Jolly!" "Jolly!" "I know you're here, Jones!" "So, by God, why not make it easy on yourself?" "What the..." "Yes, by God, straight through the head." "Why'd you shoot him?" "He come at me." "I had to touch him off." "That old dog?" "Cucumber keeps him here to bark when a customer comes by!" "You had to, by God, kill the blind man's dog." "Run, nigger!" "Go on!" "Run, nigger, run!" "Run, nigger!" "Go on!" "Run, nigger, run!" "Look at him go!" "Run, nigger!" "Here." "Here!" "Get your hands on your head." "Get over here." "So you finally knew it was no use running'." "I'm not runnin'." "Anymore." "We might have to work you over, by God!" "Jumpin' out of a patrol car after you was arrested." "Never done following me and Mr. Stanley like you was told." "Better tape his mouth, if you mean to work him over first." "Damn you, Stanley bumpas!" "Will you, by God, shut up!" "I'm tryin' to reason with this man." "Now..." "For the last time," "Are you gonna call Mr. Oman?" "No." "What are you sayin' for yourself, nigger?" "For the last time," "Are you gonna call off the divorce, for God's sake?" "No." "Do you know what you're forcing' me to do?" "Do you, by God, know you're askin' for it?" "Go on, tape his mouth." "You got a prayer, I.B.?" "You better by God pray." "Only peace." "Huh?" "What did you say?" "Amen." "On your knees." "Now." "Feel that, nigger?" "You know what that is?" "Now, for the last time." "You gonna call it off?" "Damn you!" "Call it off!" "What the hell are you waitin' for?" "Last time, nigger." "Well, for..." "Ain't he dead yet, Stanley?" "Is he?" "What the hell you doin'?" "Oh, my God, what a..." "Jolly!" "Jolly!" "Jolly!" "Jolly!" "Where are you, doggie?" "Now that, by God, says nigger revenge, plain as day." "Couldn't say it no plainer if you hang a sign on him." "Where the hell have y'all been?" "Hmmm?" "Had to kill us a nigger." "Any nigger in particular?" "Maybe i should phone the chief." "Not if you mean to live and do well." "Yeah, but killing' a nigger seems kind of important." "Maybe the chief would like to be notified." "That nigger undertaker, know him?" "Lord Byron Jones?" "You killed him?" "Dead, did ya?" "You gotta make a thing like that look good," "Like another nigger done it outta revenge." "I altered him." "Taken his shoestrings." "Just keep it quiet." "We'll pick up some suspects." "All there is to it." "He was one rich black son of a buck." "You know, i kind of liked him." "I never wished him any harm." "Reckon if he kept his place like that little boy said, he'd still be alive and rich." "I could use a drink." "No, Hank, my stomach's all tore up as it is." "Well, mine ain't." "Boy, killin's one thing." "But that else." "What if it was you?" "When the time come, i didn't do nothin'." "They didn't take no points off him." "Yeah?" "Mr. hedgepath?" "The mayor wants to speak to you, sir." "Thank you." "Hello?" "Mayor Jack." "Got 'em both, Oman." "What?" "They wanted to kill I.B. Jones." "L.B.?" "Killed?" "Him, all right." "Oman?" "You there, Oman?" "Oman?" "I'll be right over." "Happened to him, sir." "Happen to anybody." "Oh, Oman." "Well, i said the one with the most to gain:" "Emma Jones." "But she had to have help." "Who else but Benny?" "Are you sure?" "Emma and Benny?" "How did they get these confessions?" "Well, i don't know." "I make it a policy not to be present for that point of it." "But in my opinion," "We got a case that'll hold water with the grand jury." "And I'm ready to call in the district attorney." "Well, don't." "I don't have to tell you." "People expect the murderer to be caught." "Well..." "I just might need more proof than these." "You think it wasn't them?" "I'll see you in a few minutes." "Chief, come with me." "Open that door." "Wait here for me." "Here's Benny." "Over there's Emma." "Did you do it?" "I signed it." "Benny..." "How could i, Mr. Oman?" "Didn't i love that man?" "And besides..." "I was locked up in this cell all night long." "Did you kill him?" "That's what they say." "Can you get us outta here?" "I have to arrange for a funeral." "How'd you get these?" "Cattle prod." "Mr. ike?" "Yes, sir." "There it is." "I only had to sock it to her once." "But i had to lay it on Benny three times." "This is Benny Smith's confession, huh?" "He killed I.B. Jones?" "That's right." "A very clever fella, Benny." "Huh?" "Slipped out of jail, killed I.B. Jones," "Slipped back into jail, very clever." "Sir?" "My understandin' Benny Smith was locked up all night." "Mr. ike, is that right?" "Yes, sir..." "Was Benny Smith locked up all night?" "Yes, sir, the boys brought him in early yesterday evening'." "Benny's been down in that cell, locked up," "And he's still there, according to my records." "Maybe he's got a key to this place." "Turn him loose." "Well, turn him loose!" "Dumb, stupid cops!" "I've seen better heads on cabbage!" "Here." "Here!" "So long, Benny." "Get!" "Come on." "I killed him." "He..." "He..." "He wouldn't.." "Wouldn't cooperate." "I just about got down on my knees to that damn nigger." "Ain't nothing else for it, Mr. hedgepath." "Hell, he give me no room to turn around." "Maybe i ought to go across the street and get myself a cup of coffee." "Sit down." "Well, Willie Joe wanted to turn himself in to me." "I said we already had the guilty ones." "I said besides, i wasn't the one he should turn himself into." "'Cause you're the city attorney." "I'm turnin' myself in to you, Mr. hedgepath." "It was a good thing that you thought enough of me" "To come and tell me the trouble i was in..." "And get me to do what i could about it." "I?" "I told you?" "Well, you said to fix it, sir." "Dear God." "So, what i mean is," "Benny didn't do it and neither did Emma." "I done it." "I know now i ought not to have done it." "But it was either the nigger or me." "Well, it's self-defense." "Can you prove you did it?" "Here's the proof." "My gun." "You take that damn thing off my table, if you don't mind." "Nigger in white." "Don't bring me into it." "If you be so kind as to excuse me," "I haven't heard one single solitary word spoken in this office today." "Oh, sit down!" "Both of you." "Take me, book me, lock me up." "Goddamn it, will you please shut up!" "What kind of city do you think the people will imagine we're running" "Where a police officer gets caught out sleeping' with a nigger?" "Ain't there enough white women around to keep you satisfied?" "Hell, up until this morning i was the mayor of a clean, decent little city." "I'm awful sorry." "Just book me." "Book you, hell!" "I don't even want to look at you." "I wish to God I'd never seen you." "Aw, nothin' we do, any of us, will bring I.B. Back." "Is that right?" "Let the law lay on me." "Otherwise I'll never sleep again." "And have the case dragged in every newspaper in the country?" "If you don't lay it on me, I'll never get right, Mr. Oman." "Never." "Now son..." "I wouldn't want you to do anything..." "Hasty." "That you'll regret later." "Well, what about your wife?" "Lonnie." "And your little girls." "Are they worth standing up for?" "Have you got guts enough..." "To shelter them from ruin?" "He's a brave man, Oman." "I know he's got the guts." "Willie Joe," "You killed a man in the line of duty." "Is that so bad for a police officer?" "Doing your duty as you saw it?" "Son?" "It's your decision, but if it were me..." "I'd go on just like nothing happened." "But you..." "You still got Emma and Benny in jail." "If they go free," "Will you promise not to say one word about this?" "Yes, sir." "Mayor Jack, let me have your gun." "Now you swap guns." "Use this one." "In a few months, report yours lost." "We'll issue you a new one." "Yeah." "You're a lot of man, Willie Joe." "He's got the stuff." "Take the day off and get some rest." "Nice work, Oman." "Yeah, that about covers it." "Oman, i know what you must feel." "I figured you might need me." "Can i help?" "Oh, we handled it." "But how?" "The way things always been handled here." "Quietly." "But Oman, a man's been murdered." "I don't want to discuss it." "I don't want you involved." "Jones knew what he was doing." "I've got to go by the office." "Get out." "Get out, Mr. Stanley." "Now what..." "What's this all about?" "Boy." "How you, Mr. hedgepath?" "Pretty girl." "You want to crack my heart?" "Goodbye, Oman." "Goodbye, Oman." "* i hear music in the air * * over my head * * i hear music in the air * * over my head *" "* i hear music in the air * * there must be * * a heart somewhere *" "* over my head * * i hear praying in the air * * over my head *" "* i hear praying in the air * * over my head *"