"Here on the pulse of this new day, you may have the grace to look up and out and into your sister's eyes and into your brother's face, your country... and say simply, very simply, with hope, good morning." "Maya Angelou, On the Pulse of Morning, which she read at president Clinton's inauguration last month." "Come on, Vanessa, that was too easy." "Ever, did you ever sit down and wonder, what freedom's freedom would bring?" "It's so easy to be free." "You start by loving yourself." "Nikki Giovanni, Walking Down Park." "And Nikki Giovanni went to Fisk." "Yeah, but what if you could go to Harvard or Princeton?" "Fisk was there for us when Harvard and Princeton weren't, and it's also closer to mama." "Your mama's strong." "She'll be just fine without you." "I'm all she's got left." "Beyond reason, I'm attached to you, the feeling of your touch, my grandmother's soft skin, seeing in your eyes our unborn, smelling mama's kitchen in your hair, family to be." "That's beautiful." "Who wrote it?" "Wallace Samson, family to be." "I wrote it for you." "Thank you." "I love you." "I love you, Wallace Samson." "A subtitle by R3V0LV3R." "Fire Matt Harper!" "That's him!" "That's Matt Harper!" "Fire Matt Harper!" "It actually wasn't that bad a story." "Yeah, well, I'm not the one who wrote the headline and then decided to only use pictures of black people." "Matt, hightail it down to Amos." "Someone shot the police chief." "On it." "Supposed to have a good barbecue joint there." "Teddy's barbecue, the best in town." ""Come on, y'all."" ""The taste of life is oh, so sweet."" ""They're finding money in the street."" ""Some folks can live a life that's charmed."" ""Some folks can go through hell unharmed."" ""The taste of life is oh, so sweet"" ""but hard luck days have caught me"" ""In a corner full of kill."" ""So why does the road seem the hardest when uphill?"" ""I want a break that I don't have to make."" ""I want a break that I don't have to make."" ""I want a break that I don't have to make."" ""I want a break that I don't have to make."" ""I want a break that I don't have to make."" "What are you looking at, huh?" "Now, now, now, it's all right, Emma Jean." "It's all right." "I'm sorry for your loss." "I understand the chief was your dad." "Have you no decency?" "Just doing my job, sir." "Well, I'm just doing mine." "Why don't you boys escort this vulture out of town?" "Are you serious?" "I have a right to be here." "So sue me." "I'm a judge." "Oh." "Such a shame, Matt." "They've got you all wrong." "Okay, I get the message." "Hey." "What?" "The wedding planner was today." "Uh, what are you...?" "Delana." "What?" "Delana." "Delana, hang on." "Never a good sign when they take the key." " Hey, Delana." " Hey, Walker." "Hey, Matt, you got a..." "you got a minute?" "Hey, uh, yeah, sure." "This is Trey Hall." "Everett Hall the third, actually." "Matt Harper the first." "What brings you to The Times?" "I live in Amos, Alabama." "I saw you there yesterday." "I have some information you might be interested in." "Oh, uh, great." "Wow." "So, what do you know about chief Peringer's murder?" "Nothing." "I'm here about a different murder." "Who?" "Wallace Sampson, a 15-year-old black kid, shot in the head." "Where?" "By the store, right near where chief Peringer was killed." " When?" " 19 years ago." "19 years ago?" "Why?" "That's what I'm trying to figure out, but no one wants to talk." "No, no, no." "I mean, why... why... why now?" "I was nine then." "You were probably in diapers." "Why do you care?" "Wallace was the son of our housekeeper, Mary Pell Sampson." "I knew Mary Pell lost a son, but I didn't know until recently that he had been murdered." "So, why come to me?" "I need help." "The local authorities are a joke." "We don't have a real newspaper in Amos." "Plus, my father is seriously hassling me for getting into this." "The Wallace's shooting is still an open wound in the black community." "It bothers them that no one cares." "It should bother you too." ""We're travelin', traveling'"" "This is Delana." "Leave a message." "Hey, honey, I'm really sorry." "I'm gonna be tied up on a story all weekend, but I'll see you sunday." ""When the daylight's done."" ""This road is weary but our work has just begun."" ""Come and go with me down behind the sun."" "Windrow started as a cotton plantation." "My great-great-great grandfather bought it after the civil war." "I've been in and out of schools up north, but that house is where I grew up." "I live in the left wing now and my dad lives in the extreme right." "My father likes to hunt birds, but I like to hunt plants." "Plants and a cold case murder?" "Mmhmm." "Funny combination of interests." "Actually, they have a lot in common." "Solving Wallace's murder is like finding a plant I can't identify." "I can't stop until I do." "There's someone I want you to meet who was here when Wallace was killed." "It's been 19 years since Wallace was killed and it's still a devil that won't be exorcized, so it was no surprise when black people want to know who killed Wallace, but when a white person does..." "especially a Hall... well, that's something different." "Tell me what happened." "Well, it started out as some bottles and rocks being thrown." "Police had to break it up." "The next night, everything had quieted down and Wallace was walking home when he was gunned down in cold blood." "You know why they shot him?" "Sure, black kid at the wrong place." "Let me show you something." "You see this cross?" "It means a lot to my congregation." "They call it the lynching cross." "See, back in 1932, the Klan lynched a black kid who was accused of attacking a white Amos girl." "There was no trial." "They just hung him from an oak tree." "Well, the boy's daddy cut that tree down and made that cross out of it." "You see, he could deal with what happened if he thought his son died on a cross, but it's time we get beyond it." "What do you mean, "get beyond it"?" "Well, to my congregation, that cross is a symbol of justice in the next life, but to me, it's still just a lynching tree, and I hate that cross." "Miss Trey, what are you doing on this side of town?" "I'm sorry to bother you on a saturday, Mary Pell." "This is Matt Harper." "He's a reporter from Nashville." "Mary Pell raised me." "We'd like to speak with you about Wallace." "Thank you." "Wallace was a straight "a" student." "He never missed school or church." "I told him not to be out late, and he said, "yes, ma'am."" "then, uh, reverend young came to the door and he told me Wallace had been shot." "They took him to the hospital but he had already passed." "I wanted to see him, but they wouldn't let me." "I'm sorry for your loss." "I'm sorry to make you relive it." "I relive it every day." "You can't hurt me, Mr. Harper." "I've already been hurt the worst there is." "Tell me, Mr. big city newspaper reporter, what do you write about?" "Whatever I'm assigned." "Does it pay well?" "Not at all." "Then why do it?" "To make a difference, comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." "Do they make you drink the kool-aid or do they just brainwash you when you join the ranks?" "Father." "Why do you make so many errors?" "I wasn't aware you read the Nashville Times." "You don't have to." "The New York Times, The Washington Post," "CBS, The Nashville Times." "If it wasn't for Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, we'd all be the same." "A liberal bias does infect the media." "I mean, you said so yourself." "You want to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, and that would be people like us." "Mary Pell, do you feel afflicted?" "Father, please." "I've got my aches and pains, Mr. Hall, but got has blessed me." "Well, I see you have induced Mr. Harper to join you in this wild goose chase." "I wouldn't call it that." "You're stirring up things that... that don't need to be stirred up." "Now, the boy was probably killed by his own kind and, well, he probably deserved it." "Not based on what we found at his house." "You went to Mary Pell's?" "In Nigra Town?" "Please don't use that word." "It's an embarrassment." "No, no, you are the embarrassment, and I forbid you to continue." "I will not have my daughter riling up the whole town over some dead nigra kid." "Now, other than you and Mary Pell, no one cares." "Wallace Sampson had friends." "They care." "Mr. Harper cares." "And if you weren't a blue-blooded fat cat born on third base but you think you hit a triple, you would care." "That's enough." "This is Delana." "Leave a message." "Hey, sorry I keep missing you." "I'm down in Alabama, chasing a story." "It could be big." "Anyway, see you tomorrow night." "Love you." "So let justice flow like a river and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." "Amen." "Justice." "Yes." "And righteousness." "Amen." "My beloved, we have guests here this morning, just in case you hadn't noticed." "They're here for sister Mary Pell." "Amen." "They're here for Wallace Sampson." "Yes." "Every sunday morning, for 19 years, sister Mary Pell has offered up her prayer to the lord." "Amen." "And I'm saying today, lord, hear our prayer." "Lord, hear our prayer." " How long?" " How long?" "Wouldn't this be a good time for justice?" "Yes, sir." " How long?" " How long?" "Wouldn't this be a good time for righteousness?" "Yes, sir." " For 19 years..." " 19 years." "She's wondered about her son." "Who stole his life?" "For 19 years, she's wondered about the waters of righteousness." "When will justice flow?" " How long?" " How long?" "Wouldn't this be a good time for justice?" " How long?" " How long?" "Wouldn't this be a good time for righteousness?" " How long?" " How long?" " How long?" " How long?" " How long?" " How long?" "Oh, wouldn't this be a good time?" "Hey." "Hey, sorry about friday." "I totally forgot about the planner." "That was friday." "This is sunday." "Where have you been?" "Didn't you get my messages?" "I had to work." "Really?" "The paper didn't know about it." "I did it on my own." "Delana, seriously, friday was a complete accident." "Accident, my foot!" "You asked to skip the cake-tasting party and the stationery selection, okay?" "Then you blow off the meeting with our minister?" "I had to work overtime." "And now you forget the planner." "I'm upset, but what do you do?" "You go out of town when you don't even have to." "Your priorities are abundantly clear." "The wedding's off." "Fine." "Fine." "Fine." "Hey, I'm on to one heck of a story." "Just hold your horses, partner." "I've got the publisher moseying down here, which means I'm facing more crap than a cowhand at the tail end of a cattle drive." "he's funny." "What do you think Baxter wants?" "Ah, my hide, more than likely." "What'd you do now?" "Well, you've seen the headlights on the new assistant librarian, right?" "Mmhmm." "Well, I thought it'd be funny, so I asked personnel," "I said, would it cost me my pension if I nuzzled them?" "Well, apparently, there's some questions you just don't ask." "Like that one." "Yep." "That, and why there's no white history month." "You redneck." "Given the protesters, maybe Baxter's after you?" "Me?" "Think Baxter has the guts to fire the son of the legendary Lucas Harper?" "Harper!" "Oh, boy." "Better you than me, prepster." "Hey, is Baxter after me, or what?" "Bulls-eye." "Right." "Excuse me, may I ask you a question?" "Anything you say will be used against you." "Promise." "Oh, well." "Hmm." "So it's a cold case story." "Rich blue blood's obsessed with the forgotten killing of her housekeeper's son." "No, no, no, not forgotten." "Never even investigated." "Trey Hall's search for justice against the objections of her big-shot father, that's the least we get." "Best case, we solve the murder." "Well, it's a good story, all right." "But so's the murder of the police chief... only that's still news." "The murder of the police chief's already being investigated." "Wallace Sampson's murder isn't." "Amos isn't even in our circulation area." "Amos isn't in anybody's circulation area." "If we don't do it, it won't get done." "Well, I'm not frettin' about stories in Amos not getting done." "I'm worried about stories in Nashville not getting done." "We've got a newsroom full of empty desks, and Baxter the Axter's talking about culling the herd even more." "Your name's come up." "You know the protests aren't my fault." "That's not the only bullet he's got." "He's done a count of every reporter's stories, and you ranked dead last, with no blockbusters." "Well, to get a blockbuster, you need a good story." "Matt, you never handled a big investigation." "I don't know that you're ready." "Look, I've already done some work." "I can get it." "You've got a few days." "Thank you." "Screw up and you're stew meat." "I won't." "Matt, take Bullock with you." "What?" "If we use one of our top reporters, Baxter will notice." "But Bullock?" "With all this nuzzling crap from Bullock and your black hole problem," "I need you both out of sight for a while." "Besides, Bullock may be crazy but he's got every gadget you need." ""Bad news."" "Testing, one, two, three." "Testing, one, two, three." ""Bad news."" ""Bad news."" ""Bad news."" ""You've seen me shuffling down the sidewalk."" ""I know I ain't no Marlon Brando."" ""Hey, what can I say, this ain't no trash talk."" ""I've got you any way, any way I choose."" ""Bad news."" ""I'll show you what I can do."" ""Bad news."" ""Soon you'll see the picture."" ""Bad news."" ""Before I say or do."" ""Bad news."" ""Yeah, I'll tell the truth on you."" "Okay, we're taking my LeMans, 'cause your rice burner is an insult to the american working man." "Besides, my LeMans has an engine." "It might come in handy." "Get off it, Bullock." "When's the last time a reporter was on a high-speed chase?" "Hey, it could happen." "I think you're forgetting who's in charge here, boy." "I'm kind of sorry I've got to take you with me." "Hey, this is my story." "You think I'm happy about working with you and your racist caveman attitude?" "Huh!" "ow." "Now you listen to me very carefully, you little punk." "My job is to learn things people don't know about and put it in the paper." "It's called news." "And I don't worry about if it's for rich people, poor people, black, white, men or women, or people you can't tell the difference." "I know what you think of me, and most of the time," "I couldn't care less, but let me tell you something, boy." "I am not a racist." "Fine, you're not a racist." "All right." "You're just a sexist." "Thank you." " Let's make a list." " All right." "Well, we need to see where it happened, check the police records." "We need to interview Wallace Sampson's girlfriend." "She was the last one to see him before he got killed." "Okay, write that down." "I've got a pen and pad in the glove box." "Uh... .22 Magnum." "That'll stop a bad guy." "That thing could have gone off." "Nah." "The hammer block is in." "Put that away for me, will you?" "So, it's true, you do carry a gun." "On this trip, three." "The .22" "Magnum." "I got a .270 in the trunk." "And when all else fails, I've got a little Henry... a double-shot Derringer." "Nice, huh?" "I can't believe you brought all those weapons." "This is Alabama, boy." "Alcohol, tobacco, and firearms ain't a government agency, it's a dang shopping list." "Oh, boy, here we go." "Oh, boy." "We got a cop with a big hat." "Officer." "License and registration." "Uhhuh." "Officer Peringer, hey." "Matt Harper from The Nashville Times." "We met the other day." "Sorry about your dad." "You were speeding, 20 miles over." "We were doing 55." "Well, it drops to 35 at the town limit." "I didn't see a sign." "I'll handle this." "Officer, how much is the fine?" "$100. or we can go see the judge." "Just pay him." "Actually, you know what?" "Pay him $200." "The next time we come through here, we'll be going the exact same speed." "I've heard enough from you." "Hand me the registration." "Officer, I can explain the pistol in the glove box." "Freeze, you keep your hands up where I can see 'em." "Up, both of you." "I've also got a .270" "in the trunk." "Move." "Come on, this way." "I'm gonna have to call you back." "You too, buddy." "what you got, Olen?" "Speeding and carrying concealed weapons." "And one of them threw up in the patrol car." "Ma'am, we didn't mean to speed, and we're not dangerous." "We're reporters." "Which one of you's sick?" "Take off the handcuffs, Olen." "Go get the judge." "Sit." "You're not gonna throw up in here, are you?" "No, ma'am." "Mmmmmm-mm." "Carrying concealed weapons is a serious violation of the Alabama criminal code." "It would be, yes, sir, but, uh, I have a permit." " That a fact?" " Yeah." "Mmhmm." "I remember you." "You're that rude reporter." "Sorry, sir." "We don't mean to make trouble." "So, are you reporting on the chief's death?" "No, we're here for something else, actually." "Ever hear of a kid named Wallace Sampson?" "Well, I'll be jiggered." "Trey Hall must have latched on to you." "How'd you know?" "Because I've known Trey and her daddy since Moses was in diapers." "Oh, Trey's a good girl." "Bless her heart, I know she means well, but too much money and too little to do is a bad combination." "Meaning what?" "Meaning I'd had to see you waste your time, especially since your little expedition down here is already costing you a fine." "We never saw a city speed limit sign." "Yeah, that sign got shot up a few years back." "We haven't had the money to replace it." "That is ridiculous." "How much could it possibly cost?" "It ain't the cost of the sign." "It's all the revenue in money we'd lose writing fewer tickets." "It's like my daddy always said, every Yankee tourist is worth a bale of cotton, and a whole lot easier to pick." "Welcome to Amos, boys." "Man, you almost blew it." "Oh, I almost blew it?" "Wouldn't have got in trouble in the first place if you hadn't lipped off to the cop." "Ain't you ever heard of "never complain, never explain"?" "Well, I wasn't the one speeding and you didn't say anything about the derringer." "What if he searched you?" "The whole point of a Derringer is surprise." "Yeah, well, it was an unnecessary risk and it jeopardized the story." "Well, all right." "I'll tell you what." "I'll play by the rules if you act like you've done this before." "I have done this before." "Investigated a murder?" "Well, not exactly." "That's all right." "I've never exactly played by the rules." "Come on, let's go to the crime scene." " Hey." " Hey." " This the place?" " Yep." "Wow." "There's nothing to see in there." "Wallace and the chief were killed out front." "They were both killed in the same spot?" "19 years apart, but practically the same place." "That's weird." "There's a dozen places a shooter could hide." "Yeah, boy." "Looks like somebody lived here." "Or worked here." "Gross." "I say we move on." "This place may be abandoned, but somebody owns it." "Let's go back to the cop shop, try to dig up that police report." "This place really is nowhere." "I can't even get a signal." "Sometimes I can get one outside." "I found something." "Okay, the night before the shooting, someone threw a firebomb at the store." "The firebomb was reported when the man who runs the store, a Braeford Watson, gets here to work and saw the scorch marks." "Wallace is shot the next night as he walks by." "All right, so let's say Wallace threw the firebomb." "It's a dud, so he comes back the next night to finish the job." "Watson shoots him." "He's there to protect the store." "There was never any evidence of Wallace having a firebomb, and I really don't think he was that kind of a kid." "Mmmm." "Well, let's get the newspaper and see if Watson's name shows up in any old clips." "Yeah." "Not so fast." "Put those files back where you got them." "Your mama's not here to clean up after you." "Yes, ma'am." "Lord have mercy." "Where's Rhett and Scarlett?" "That's Delana's car." "Oh, boy." "Bet I could sell tickets to this fight." "Who's Delana?" "Hey, I'm so glad to see you." "Listen, I know you don't believe me about the wedding planner thing, but I was just distracted with the protest and everything." "This isn't about us." "Matt, your father's very sick." " What is it?" " They don't know for sure." "He's going in for tests tomorrow." "You need to be there." "Is it cancer?" "They're not sure." "Uh, you drove all the way down here to tell me that?" "Your dad called me." "He couldn't get you and I couldn't either." "Oh, jeez, I forgot to call him." " Oh." " Hi." " Delana Calhoun." " Trey Hall." "I thought... thought you were a he." "Yeah, I get that a lot." "Must be my manly physique." "I'm sorry." "I've got to go." "Wait, you just got here." "We've got things to talk about." "I can't." "Yeah, the man who ran the store, one of the grand dragons of the Alabama Klan." "He got convicted of clubbing a civil rights marcher in montgomery." " We've got a story." " Yeah, we've got a story." "Braeford Watson was a bad man." "Where is he now?" "Burnin' with the devil, I imagine." "He passed years ago." "Okay, there's unrest in Amos." "Somebody throws a firebomb at the store." "It does not burn down." "Watson's not taking any chances." "He spends the night there." " Where?" " In the back room." " You paying attention?" " Sorry." "Anyway, maybe it was Wallace who threw the firebomb and now he's coming back for another try." "Or maybe he's just a school kid on the way home." "Watson decides to shoot first, ask questions later." " Only one problem." " What?" "It's all circumstantial." "No witnesses." "Watson's dead." "No one ever interviewed him." "Well, that's our story." "Authorities ignored an obvious suspect in the killing." "Police investigating the killing of a black teenager never questioned a potential suspect." "Okay, make it "failed to question." it's stronger." "Okay, "failed to question a potential suspect"," ""a Klan member who operated a store near the shooting and who had previously been convicted of racial violence."" "not "near the shooting."" "make it "near the scene of the murder."" "what are you doing here?" "You should be with your daddy." "In a minute." "Hang on." "Just hang on a second." "Let's see how you cowboys have been spending the stockholders' money." "Well, I'm not booking' my ticket to the pulitzer prize ceremony yet, but it's a start." "Fix the lead." "Make it, "never bothered to investigate."" "and the fourth paragraph's weak." "You've got all the facts, but there's no outrage." "A 15-year-old is dead." "The cops don't care." ""Almost 20 years later, the crime remains uninvestigated, unsolved, and unpunished."" "are you gonna pitch it for the front page?" "Already did." "Amos, ala-frickin'-bama?" "The name of the paper is The Nashville Times, and our competition's craigslist, not The Washington Post." "How long did we spend on this?" "A couple days." "A couple of days?" "Two reporters?" "Wake up, people!" "We are losing advertisers every day!" "We need to write about stuff that matters to Nashvillians." "This is a heck of a story, all right?" "It'll matter to our readers." "Well, you'd better be right." "Hey, Trey." "Let me put you on speaker." "I just found another police report." "Right after the firebomb," "Braeford Watson suffered a heart attack." "He was in the hospital when Wallace was shot." "Perfect alibi." "Story's dead." "Deader than an armadillo on a truck stop exit ramp." "Trey, hold on." "Let me call you right back." "Hey." "Are you sitting down?" "Uh, yeah." "Matt, I'm sorry, it is cancer." "Multiple myeloma." "Will you go with me?" "Of course." "You didn't tell me Trey Hall was a woman." "Does it matter?" "I don't know, does it?" "What are you saying?" "Would you be chasing this story all over Alabama if Trey Hall was a guy?" "Thanks a lot." "Well, Matt, what else haven't you told me?" "I haven't told my dad we're not getting married." "What?" "I should have." "Matt, how does this not come up?" "I haven't spoken to him." "You would have if it was important." "Well, are we gonna eat out here or are you two coming in?" "How are you doing?" "Fine, thanks." "Transfusion helped." "I start chemo tomorrow." "You look beautiful." "How long do you have to do chemo for?" "You mean, "for how long do I have to do chemo?"" "to paraphrase Winston Churchill," ""ending a sentence with a preposition is a practice up with which I will not put."" "Come on in, Matty." "So without this Braeford Watson in the picture, you're no closer to getting your story than you were when you started out." "Yeah." "Hmm." "Tell us about your treatment." "Okay." "Uh, there's these tubes here." "They go right into my circulatory system." "Uh, chemo goes in." "No needles." "Pretty neat." "I'll have it done on fridays, and then I should be ready to work on my column by mondays." "You scheduled so you can be sick at home but be well to work?" "Home life's overrated." "It always was." "The world's more important." "I just, uh, don't see how you can be so philosophical." "Here's what I think about... if I died today, how would my obit read?" "Long or short?" "Front page or buried inside?" "Above the fold?" "Below the fold?" "Would they remember my preferred epitaph?" "You were a fool for the truth?" "Yeah, exactly." "I think if I died right now, it'd make a pretty good story." "Fine for you." "What about me?" "I hate that you're sick." "Son, I happen to have a particularly aggressive form of cancer, but we're all dying of something." "They push the death rate down for this, it goes up for that." "It's a zero sum game." "No one gets out alive." "I can't believe you talked that way to your father." "You're more worried about your feelings than his." "At least I have feelings." "He's a wonderful man." "A wonderful, very sick man." "Let me tell you something about my father." "If he's ever said "I love you," I don't remember it." "I don't believe that." "I'm not kidding." "I've played this game where I try to see if I can make him say it." "I've never won." "We've got to get back down there." "All we need is a couple more days." "We've got to find out who owns the store, and we haven't even talked to" "Wallace's girlfriend Vanessa Brown yet." "I don't think Walker will buy it, and our credibility isn't exactly at a high point." "Well, who says we need to ask Walker's permission?" "We could do it in a series of trips." "If we get the story, nobody's gonna care how we did it." "I'll pick you up at 6:00." "Sorry to bother you, but we need to ask you some more questions." "I told you about the night it happened." "Yeah, but we need to make sure we know everything." "That's even things that you might not think are important." "I have to live here." "You two get to leave." "You can trust me." "Ask anyone who knows me." "I don't know anyone who knows you." "Your timing sucks." "My porcelain cracked." "I got a horrible review." "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot." "You got cold feet three months before our wedding." "Now you want me to drop everything and help you with a reluctant source?" "You're trained to get people to open up to you." "You're good at it." "That was my old life." "Now I sling mud." "It doesn't talk back." "No codependency issues, no enabling issues, nothing." "Please, Delana?" "Why doesn't Trey talk to her?" "Trey tried." "I just..." "I think there are some things" "Mary Pell is not comfortable talking to her about." "Trey's like her child." "At least convince Mary Pell that she can trust me." "Delana, my job's on the line." "Which matters to me exactly why?" "I'll help, but not because of you." "I'll do it for Mary Pell." "My sanctuary." "That's how I feel about my studio." "No one bothers me here." "Mary Pell, I know it must be hard for you, but may I ask you some questions?" "You can ask." "I understand Braeford Watson was in the Klan." "Is that why someone threw a firebomb at his store?" "Everyone knew Braeford Watson was a Kluxer, plus he charged twice what he should have for everything." "But that's not why the store was firebombed." " Hey, guys." " How are you doing?" "I forgot patty has fridays off, but the door was open." "What is this?" "I've been collecting plant specimens." "That one's called cnidoscolus stimulosus." "Cnidoscolus stimulosus." "a natural aphrodisiac." "Country people call it "the courage plant."" "freeze." "Y'all keep your hands up where I can see 'em." "Up." "Now, just what do you think you're doing?" "We're looking at real estate records." "Just put the gun down." "Hold it." "Now, you're all under arrest." "For what?" "For attempted theft of government property." "That's crazy." "This is all public record, so you can't steal what you own." "Olen, no harm's been done." "Why don't we just come back when miss patty's here?" "Mmmm, that's up to judge Buchanan." "He'll be in after lunch." " Mr. Bullock and I have to be back in Nashville by 3:00." "Uhhuh, well, you should have thought about that before you broke in." "We didn't break in." "It was open." "Oh." "Olen, please, lower the gun." "I promise, we won't go anywhere until judge Buchanan shows up." "Why don't I make us some coffee while we wait." " You can pour a cup for me." " Okay." "Braeford Watson started running girls out of the store from a room in back." "Workers from the nuclear plant were the main customers." "The workers were white." "The girls were black." "The black community hated what was going on." "Matt and Bullock will want to know how you know." "My daughter worked there." "She was an addict." "Always needed money." "She's dead now." "Oh, Mary Pell." "You carry so much pain." "I carry a lot." "Mary Pell, do you know who could have shot Wallace?" "Don't know anything about who shot Wallace." "Did Wallace throw the firebomb?" "No!" "Do you have any idea who did?" "Mary Pell, where are you?" "Coming, Mr. Hall." "I've told you everything I can." "Uh..." "Y'all get in there." "What do you mean?" "Get in the closet." "Just do as he says." "Get in there." "Come on." "All right, all right, all right." "Move." "All right." " Move." " I'm going." "Go on." "Mission accomplished." "Lady's slipper, a member of the orchid family, a natural sedative." "I brewed it in his coffee." "Cool." "Let's get out of here." "Help me out, will you, pal?" "Yeah." "Okay, time for little Henry." "Here we go." "Uh... okay." "It's a double shot, but I got one bullet in here, so... heads up." "One shot's gotta do it." "Come on, little buddy." "And you thought this wouldn't come in handy." "Hey, Bullock, you got a 20?" "Yeah." "Drop it here, would you?" "Let's get Delana and roll." "Free at last!" "Howdy, men." "Have a little dustup, did we?" "Anybody facing a felony?" "No, it's a misunderstanding." "You were back in Alabama!" "We were on our own time." "Do you know how many subscribers we have in Amos, Alabama?" "Zero!" "Look, I know y'all call me Baxter the Axter, but this is a waste of resources, reporters wandering around Alabama, getting arrested." "Nobody got arrested." "If you're gonna be involved in journalism, get your facts right." "Then what are the facts?" "The fact is, we were in Amos, doing investigative reporting on our own time because The Nashville Times, is unwilling to." "It made you late." "You're right." "I'll put in an extra hour the day I retire." "I command you to end your ceaseless thrall with Wallace Sampson!" "You can command our hours and our assignments and what goes in our paychecks, but as long as it's on my time," "I, not you, will decide when I end my ceaseless thrall!" "Wow." "Look at you." " Yeah!" " Whoo!" "Spectacular." "I've seen publishers told off before, but I've never seen it done better." "Sorry, Walker." "Matt, disappear for a couple days, okay?" "Visit your father." "But put Amos on hold, at least for a while." " Hey." " Hey." "Oh, sorry." "Stuff really zaps you, huh?" "Ah, not so bad." "I go to radiation after this." "It's no sweat." "Well, it's good to see you." "Nice of you to come." "I actually need your help." "The paper wants to run a story about me." "I want you to talk them out of it." "Why?" "'Cause the hook is gonna be this multiple myeloma, and they're gonna make it sound like I'm dying." "I'm not, so there's no story." "I'm gonna beat this thing." "Please, Matty." "I need your help." "I'll see what I can do." "It's amazing I still have a job." "Because the fight was public." "Baxter can't fire you over a discussion about journalistic differences without looking like a jerk, but you're not out of the woods yet." "He'll find a way to make it tough for you." "Ah, I shouldn't have done it." "Now, wait a minute." "You believe in your story?" "Yeah, of course." "It's important to Mary Pell and a lot of people in Amos and it should be to people in Nashville and Memphis and Dallas and Denver and Seattle and New York too, yeah." "Stick with it." "Screw the consequences." "Besides, you did the right thing." "But how do we pursue it now?" "Well, Baxter's got a thing for obits, right?" "Yeah, sure does." "All right." "You don't have to be in Nashville to do that, do you?" "No." "The dead don't interview well." "Exactly." "So set up shop in Amos, report your story by day, do the obits at night." "Baxter picks up the paper, he sees you and Bullock's name with bylines... over the obituaries, no less..." "and he's happy." "It might work." "All right." "Love you, dad." "Take care." "See ya." "What'd you say to Baxter?" "Told him reporters are crazy." "The truth is always the best defense." "You didn't change his mind about the story, did you?" "Didn't try." "That'd be like trying to talk sense to an Oklahoma fan." "And I didn't want to win the battle and lose the war, and it is a war." "How so?" "It's a war for journalism, and if we don't win, it's not worth being at The Nashville Times." "It's a war for the people we write about and the people we're writing for." "Baxter calls 'em customers." "I call 'em citizens." "My dad had an idea." "What if we set up shop down in Amos, cover the Wallace Sampson story during the day, and write obits at night?" "Yeah, your dad was always a sly one." "So you'll cover for us?" "Just get the story." "Let's go track down Wallace's girlfriend." "I think we need to change course." "What?" "The last thing Vanessa Brown needs is to be intimidated by some redneck who looks as if he just rolled out of bed." "Hmm." "What about you?" "I ain't seen a man in Amos with a tie on." "What's she gonna think you are, a Jehovah's Witness?" "Let me guess, you want me to interview another woman for you." "Hi, Delana, how are you?" "Am I right?" "Yes." "Who?" "Wallace Sampson's girlfriend, Vanessa Brown." "Hi." "Why is she here?" "Uh, this is Delana Calhoun." "She's my... friend." "Uh, is everybody in this town armed?" "I got this gun 19 years ago." "Vanessa, do you have children?" "Two." "Latetia is 12 and Wallace just turned 16." "What a handsome young man." "Thank you." "You must have loved Wallace very much to name your son after him." "I loved Wallace more than anybody I've ever known." "What did you love most about him?" "He made me feel pretty." "He loved me." "He wrote me poems." "It's hard to keep breathing when you've lost someone like that." "Y'all ever lost anyone you loved?" "I lost my father when I was seven." "But Matt... that's my brother luke." "He was 15." "He died from a bullet in the head." "They never figured out if it was an accident or on purpose or what." "Heavenly Father, we don't pray for those who have gone ahead because they are with you." "We pray instead for those of us who are left behind and don't know why." "Thank you." "He had given me a poem he had written for me, and he told me he loved me." "Those were the last words he ever said..." ""I love you."" "then I watched him walk toward home, and when he got near the store, he stopped and he waved." "Oh, he had the sweetest look on his face." "Then I heard the shot and I saw him fall." "If it was dark, how could you see him?" "Lights." "Some lights were always on at the store." "Then I saw Billy Baker running away." "Billy Baker?" "Some old redneck." "He used to work on cars." "Haven't seen him around in years." "Did he have a gun?" "No." "Vanessa, why didn't you tell anyone this before?" "Nobody asked." "Plus, I was scared." "I still am." "We gotta get out of here." "Get in." "Bad news." "It's got to wait." "Trey did some more digging." "Guess who owns the store." "Who?" "The judge." "Buchanan?" "You're kidding." "We left notes at his mansion and town Hall, saying we want to speak to him." "All right, what's your news?" "Uh, it's about the LeMans." "You did not wreck my car." "Uh..." "Oh!" "Oh, no!" "Man!" "Oh, mama!" "Oh, no!" "Okay, now it's personal." "Who the hell is Ronnie Bullock?" "That would be me, sir." "I only shake hands with gentlemen." "That note was not intended for you, sir." "It was for judge Buchanan." "How dare you drag Rut Buchanan into your cockamamie investigation of some dead nigra kid?" "You must do things differently up there in Nashville." "'Cause around here, when we have business with a man, we go see him." "We don't write a note." "Sorry, I was just trying to move things along." "Yeah." "Look... we've been out bird-hunting all day." "We got skunked, so we were kind of upset before we saw your note." "So fetch some glasses." "Let's sit down." "I don't know what I can tell you about whatever y'all are looking into, but I'll try." "Come on." "Yes, I own the building where they had the store, but I own most of this town." "My daddy was judge before me and his daddy before him." "It's been our habit to buy foreclosed properties." "That may have been good for us, but it also kept the property on the tax rolls." "So it's been good for Amos too." "I've known Rut Buchanan my whole life, and there's not a man alive that has done more for Amos." "Especially for the coloreds." "That's a mighty fine weapon." "Whose is it?" "It's mine." "You a sportsman?" "All my life." "Easy, father." "So you leased the store to Braeford Watson?" "No, Braeford was the only one willing to go in there and sell those people groceries, doing them a favor." "Thing is, they didn't seem to appreciate it 'cause there were cuttings and shootings, all the stuff that comes from being on that side of the tracks." "I understand a firebomb went off the night before Wallace Sampson was killed." "Ah, that's a bunch of hotheads." "Probably been hopped up on dope." "Judge, you ever hear about prostitution being around in the back of that building?" "Never had a case like that." "That's not what I asked." "I don't believe I like your tone." "I don't think the judge answered my question." "that's it." "You, sir, need to get gone." "Calm down, Everett." "Mm." "What kind of southern boy are you, taking up for the nigras?" "I'm the kind of southern boy who don't care about the color of murder victims." "You are a traitor to the south." "Is that a fact?" "Mm." "He's the kind of bigot who gives the south a bad name." "Ah, come on with yourself." "Matt, I don't wanna go." " It's dangerous here." " Well, you're staying." "I have to." "You don't." "Okay, one thing before you go." "Hop in." "Okay, you see this thing right here?" "Uhhuh." "Whatever you do, do not touch it." "The top doesn't come down?" "The top comes down fine." "It's going back up that's the problem." "Shoot, I always wanted a convertible." " Well, get on." "Have fun." " Be careful." "I can't believe you made her take the LeMans." "Swapping cars keeps us under the radar." "Besides, I had to get the LeMans out of Amos." "It's been trashed all I can stand." "Come on, let's go track down Billy Baker." "Billy Baker?" "Billy Baker?" "Oh, you mean Possum?" "That's Possum right there." "Uh-huh." "Hey." "Hold on, you're breaking up." "It's a camera." "What?" "My god, all right." "We're coming to get you." "No, don't." "I'm okay." "The LeMans is a little roughed up, but at least I got my convertible." "Are you sure you're okay?" "Yeah, but you all need to be careful." "Unless I miss my guess, they were after you and Bullock, not me." "I've got a bad feeling, man." "I'd kill myself if something bad happened to Delana." "I mean, besides the bad stuff I've done." "Eh, she seemed like a girl who can take care of herself." "Look, we can chase this Possum character tomorrow if we get cracking on these obits tonight." "Now, Walker says, if we hand in three tonight, we might have a crack at employees of the month." "What?" "It's a $20 bonus." " Whoa, look at this." " What?" "Possum, right here in this clip." "Says he was tried alongside Braeford Watson for beating civil rights marchers in Montgomery." "He and the other guy pleaded guilty even before the trial." "Now we got a story." "Okay, a man who later pleaded guilty to civil rights charges was seen at the site of..." "Make it "spotted fleeing from."" "It's stronger." "We gotta find Possum." "Maybe we can track him through the department of corrections." "We'll go to Montgomery tomorrow." "Right now, there's someplace I gotta be." "What about employees of the month?" "Congratulations, you won." "Matt..." "Take this." "Yeah." "Delana?" "Hey." "You scared me." "I..." "I told you not to come." "No, I know." "I'm, uh..." "I'm sorry." "I was worried." "You're just feeling guilty." "You're right." "But not about getting you involved with Wallace Sampson." "I'm totally ashamed that I ever gave you a reason to doubt us." "I'm sorry." "It breaks my heart to know that I hurt you." "I never want to hurt you again." "I hope you didn't jeopardize the story just to come tell me that." "I love you more than any story, more than anything." "So..." "Where is Possum?" "One more stop." "The prosecutor was Max McCallum." "Maybe he knows where Possum is." "We have fresh eyewitness testimony that Possum was there at the time of the shooting." "And we know Possum was convicted of civil rights violations, along with Braeford Watson, the guy who ran the store." "He was not convicted." "He pled guilty." "Same thing." "Actually, it's not." "Yeah, but whenever Possum was around, bad things happened." "You could write that story, and it would be accurate." "But it would be a mistake." "Facts are never a mistake." "Son, I've been around a lot of courtrooms." "Facts and truth are not the same thing." "The fact is, Possum may have been present at the site of the Sampson killing." "But the truth is, when it comes to advancing civil rights in Alabama, Possum was a hero." "You willing to go off the record?" " Sure." " Yeah." "Billy Baker, Possum, was an informer." "He was so high up in the Klan, he was the best source we ever had." "He'd tip us off, sometimes even get arrested with everyone else." "Then he'd plead guilty." "That preserved his cover." "We'd make sure he got a light sentence." "That's an even better story." "You can't write that one either." "People are still in prison because Possum put them there." "Why didn't he inform about the Wallace Sampson killing?" "Maybe he did, and no one followed up." "Well, let us follow up on it." "Ask Possum if we can interview him about the killing of Wallace Sampson." "Oh!" "Got a weirdo with a rifle." ""I fell in a hole."" ""100 miles deep."" ""The one that took my daddy"" ""and his daddy and his daddy"" ""and his daddy."" ""Try as I might."" ""To live in the light."" ""This is all I've seen."" ""This is what I'm told."" ""This is what I know."" ""That the tears of my mama"" ""and her mama and her mama."" ""they have flowed."" "One last question, Possum." "How did the feds flip you?" "Well, they got pictures of me and a black woman and threatened to go public." "And there she is right now." "You live with a black woman?" "No, I'm married to her." "Common law." "Why on earth were you in the Klan?" "I was young, raised up stupid." "Liquor might have had something to do with it too." "Max McCallum said you'd be in danger if we wrote that you'd been an informant." "Probably." "But it's time." "Old cancer's eating me up anyway." "Walker, we got it." "We're coming in." "Lucas Harper?" " Are you Matt?" " I am." "I'm Dr. Wright, your father's oncologist." " Hi." " He talks a lot about you." "I'm sorry." "I need to tell you that nothing we've tried has worked." "Uh, what about experimental therapies?" "Interferon or something?" "I'm sorry, Matt." "Maybe if we caught it earlier." "Hospice is your best choice now." "Hospice?" "How long does he have?" "We have... we have things we need to talk about." "Don't wait." " Hey." " What brings you here?" "Sorry, I couldn't stop it." "Picture's not bad." "I thought you'd be upset." "I haven't read the whole thing, but the headline certainly looks overblown." "Actually, it's accurate, but it applies to everybody on the planet." "We're all nearing death." "Therefore, not a very good headline." "How's your story?" "We got it." "We're going to write for the weekend." "Thanks for the obit idea." "It worked." "Good job." "Proud of you." "Dad, how come it took so long?" "How come you never helped me before?" "Your brother." "What has he got to do with this?" "Luke was..." "Luke was gonna be the next great journalist." "He had the name and the talent." "Lucas Harper the third, new and improved version." "His death was hard on us all." "Your mother never recovered from it." "Why didn't you want for me what you wanted for him?" "I didn't want to screw you up too." "At Luke's funeral, the reporter came and said he needed to write the story." "You said, "go ahead."" "Write the truth as best as you could determine it." "Dad, I thought Luke's death was an accident, he was in the garden killing gophers, and the gun misfired." "Is that what the story said?" "The story said it could have been an accident." "It also said the police found evidence that it might not have been accidental." "Evidence?" "A note in his diary." "It said, "sometimes I worry that I will be the first Lucas Harper not to be famous."" "I couldn't let that happen to you, Matty." "I love you, son." " Hey." " Hey." "Hey, Matt." "Have a seat." " Take a look." " How's your dad?" "Bad." "We need to finish the story." "Walker sent an artist down to Amos to do a diagram of the crime scene." "Photo's taking fresh pictures." "And national's gonna give up some space." "Partners, the lawyers are gonna peck at this like chickens with a pan of stale cornbread." "Let's be sure we got it right." ""Baby you can talk about it."" ""You can shout it in the streets."" ""Yeah you can paint it on your eyelids."" ""So you don't forget about it while you sleep."" ""But baby,"" ""mm you better find out what it is."" "What do you think?" "Mary Pell waited a long time for this." ""Baby you can sit on it."" ""You can hold it down."" ""Get out your hammer and nails."" ""Put it in a time capsule."" ""Bury it in memphis"" ""Only to be discovered centuries later,"" ""in some alien galaxy."" ""My baby,"" ""you better find out yeah"" ""what it is."" ""A picture."" ""Put it in a frame."" ""Hang it in the room to great acclaim."" ""See it in the mirror when you walk away."" ""Will you forget what you see today?"" ""Oh babe."" ""My baby."" ""Yeah."" "No, great." "Thank you." "Appreciate the call." "Max McCallum's impaneling a grand jury to consider murder charges." "Matthew." "You and me, buddy." "We're gonna be famous." " Matt." " Walker, he's gone." " Sorry, Matt." "Considerate of him to go out before deadline." "Yeah, he probably planned it that way." "He was a good man, Matt." "I always told him he was a fool for the truth." "He thought of that as his highest compliment." "Make sure it's in the obit, will you?" "You wanna write that one yourself, partner?" "You've gotten pretty good at it." "Life's funny, man." "I..." "A week ago, I was... praying I'd never have to write another obit." "Now it's an honor." "Thank you, man." "I appreciate it." "Your dad must have been so proud of you." "And you of him." "You know, Matt, in the long run, truth doesn't need any help." "But in the short run, it uses people like you and your dad to speed itself along." "There's a "justice for Wallace Sampson" march in Amos next week." "I hope you'll be there." "I'll be there." "We'll both be there." " Hey!" " Hey." "Are you marching?" "No, can't." "Journalistic objectivity and all that." "Reporters aren't supposed to take sides on a story they're covering." "Hey, what's with the cross?" "Church has a plaster problem." "Cross needs to come down for a few weeks while repairs are being made." " Too bad." " Yeah, well." "We'll do just fine." "Go back to africa!" "Nigger lovers!" "Damn Alabama." "Well, you're as bad as those rednecks, Harper." "Don't stereotype Alabama." "Trey, Mary Pell, reverend young." "They're Alabama too." "I'm marching." "You're not supposed to choose sides." "Truth doesn't have two sides." "Hey, someone will call somebody, and you'll lose your job." "I don't care what they think." "I care what I think." "You're a fool, buddy." "Maybe I am a fool." "A fool for the truth." "Fool for the truth." "I'm so proud of you." "I love you, Matt." "I love you." "I owe you everything." "Matt, we've been summoned to Baxter's office." "what's up?" "I don't know, but he's sure got a burr under his saddle." "Gentlemen, we have a problem." "The New York Times wants to do a story about Wallace Sampson." "Yeah, The Washington Post called too." "Well, I'm disinclined to cooperate." "Um, wh-what's the problem?" "I'll not be the black cat in this thing." "I can see where this is going." "Courageous reporters defy publisher and solve murder." "Justice prevails." "Well, I don't..." "I don't think that's the story at all." "Well, how would you put it then?" "That The Nashville Times is the kind of newspaper where this sort of journalism can still happen." "Do you think maybe I could be the one quoted saying that?" "I think you're just the right person." "What a hypocrite." "Can't believe you let him get away with that." "Partner, when you're holding all the cards, you don't want anyone to leave the table." "I went in there thinking somebody's head was about to roll." "Instead, we got the publisher begging to be quoted in the national media supporting investigative journalism." "McCallum was smart to transfer Possum over here tonight." "I'm betting there will be a whole boatload of angry people at tomorrow's hearing." "Safer not to make ol' Possum run that gauntlet." "Mr. McCallum, we're arriving at the courthouse with the package." "Roger that." "They're pulling up to the courthouse." "Looks like a good night for Possum-hunting." "There's somebody else out there." "They're gonna kill him!" "Dang, Matt." "Well, you just made Richard petty right proud." "Hoo!" "All rise." "The court is now in session." "The honorable R. Horace Williams presiding." "You may be seated." "Now counselors, this is not a trial." "This is only a hearing on the defense request for the release of the defendant on bond." "As such, there are only two questions that concern the court today." "One, is he a flight risk?" "And two, does he pose a risk of harm to the community?" "Your honor, despite judge Buchanan's ties to the community, we consider him a high flight risk." "Why is that, counselor?" "Because the state will be seeking the death penalty." "What is your aggravating circumstance?" "Premeditation." "We will offer the testimony of William A. Baker." "I do." "On the night of the killing of Wallace Sampson, were you with judge Buchanan?" "Yes, sir." "Was anyone else with you?" "Yes, sir." "Chief Peringer." "Three of us was in town hall, standing guard against the blacks." "Someone had throwed a firebomb at the store." "The judge was pretty upset about it." "He said he'd already been losing money 'cause the blacks were scaring away the white fellas, who'd come around for the girls, and now, they'd caused ol' Braeford Watson's heart attack." "What else did judge Buchanan say about the firebomb?" "He said a firebomb that, uh..." "that don't go off must have been made by a black." "Is that exactly what he said?" "No, not exactly." "Mr. Baker, tell the court exactly what judge Buchanan said." "He said, "a firebomb that don't go off"" "must have been made by a nigger."" "Please." "Did judge Buchanan offer an opinion about what should be done?" "He said, uh, "them niggers need to be put in their place."" "Did judge Buchanan say how that should be done?" "He said, "there needs to be a killing."" "Did judge Buchanan say who needed to be killed?" "He said, "we should kill the next nigger"" "that walks past the store."" "Please." "And how were you going to decide who would kill the next black person that walked past the store?" "We played poker." "That way, we could decide who would be lookouts and who would be the shooter." "And the loser would do the shooting?" "No, the winner." "Who won the hand?" "Judge Buchanan." "What happened next?" "Judge went and got his rifle from his car." "Chief said he wanted to go home." "He said he thought the judge had been bluffing." "The judge said it was fine by him, as long as he kept his mouth shut." "After the chief left, I tried to talk the judge out of it." "I told him he didn't actually need to shoot anybody." "He could just scare 'em." "Judge said it wasn't a bad idea." "I just hid in the bushes." "Then I saw someone walking." "I could tell it was a black." "Then I heard the shot from where the judge was standing." "The black fell, and I took off." "I didn't even know it was a kid until the judge told me the next day." "What else did judge Buchanan say?" "He said that was just one more nigger kid we didn't have to worry about growing up." "Your honor, I have one more witness." "Mary Pell Sampson." "Do you swear and affirm that the statements that you make are the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" "Yes, your honor." "Mrs. Sampson, judge Buchanan is accused of killing your son." "Would you be fearful if he were free on bond?" "I fear no man." "Only God." "You're a trusting woman." "What would your son's father say about this question?" "I don't know." "Where is he?" "I'd rather not say." "Ma'am, you are sworn to tell the truth here." "So I'll ask you, who is Wallace's father?" "Judge Buchanan!" "Go on, please, ma'am." "Judge Buchanan raped me." "Please." "He and Mr. Hall had been... shooting birds and..." "and drinking." "Mr. Hall fell asleep." "The judge..." "Came into the kitchen where I was working and said..." ""Why pay for brown sugar when I can get it for free?"" "I never told anyone, not even when I found I was pregnant." "It made no matter." "I loved Wallace." "He was my only son." "Judge Buchanan raped me, but God gave me Wallace." "Judge, care to comment?" "Yeah, too bad chief Peringer ain't here to tell his side of this." "Might be the point." "Perfect match." "The gun that killed Wallace Sampson was the gun that killed chief Peringer." "Chief Peringer and Possum were the only other people who knew what Buchanan had done." "So when Trey starts stirring things up," "Buchanan kills the chief the same way he shot Wallace." "The chief would still be alive if I hadn't started asking questions." " No, baby." " Well, hey." "The chief might not have pulled the trigger, but he did cover up Wallace's murder for almost 20 years." "You did what you believed in, and I was so wrong to try to stop you." "Hello?" "Daddy?" "Buchanan's dead." "Hung himself in jail." "And there's a fire at the church, and all hell is breaking loose." "Praise god." "You know, in 19 years," "I've learned a thing or two about making firebombs." ""Seems so long."" ""You been carrying that cross all by yourself,"" ""and you don't see how you can take it"" ""Truth be told."" ""We each live in a house of cards."" ""Yeah and it don't take much,"" ""to shake it."" "I'm sorry." "It's okay, Emma Jean." "It's not your fault." ""To be redeemed."" ""Oh to be redeemed."" ""To be redeemed."" ""Redeemed."" ""From the grip of the mighty."" ""From the jaws of the lion."" ""To be redeemed."" ""To be redeemed."" ""This side of Zion."" ""I heard tell of a city"" ""where no one cries."" ""We've only ever known the suburb."" ""Built on lies."" ""Where the lowborn suffer,"" ""and the wicked win."" ""They get paid to sin."" ""While the weary wait at heaven's door"" ""hoping someone lets them in."" ""To be redeemed."" ""To be redeemed."" ""To find that all we dreamed"" ""is what it seems."" ""From the grip of the mighty."" ""From the jaws of the lion."" ""This side of Zion."" ""Oh oh oh."" ""Oh."" ""100 miles an hour"" ""Coming at you fast."" ""Shot like a bullet."" ""That's showing up at last."" ""There's a dead line coming."" ""Nowhere to hide oh no."" ""There's a dead line coming."" ""Written a long time ago."" ""Across the county line."" ""Screaming as it comes."" ""Killing off the future."" ""Blocking out the sun."" ""There's a dead line coming."" ""Going across the land."" ""There's a dead line coming."" ""Be ready if you can."" ""Yeah."" ""Be ready.""