Robert Whitlow - Deeper Water

He looked at me and bowed his head slightly. I started to offer another consoling word, but the horrid, unjustified malice directed against Moses by Mr. Carpenter and Mr. Braddock hit me.

"Moses, did you know Mr. Floyd Carpenter had a son?"

"Yeah. He be a big-shot lawyer."

"He's my boss. And he wants to know everything you've been telling me."

Moses gave me a puzzled look. "Why he care about me after all these years done flowed by?"

"Because of Lisa Prescott. He and another lawyer named Samuel Braddock believe there is a connection between you and the little girl. They see you as a threat."

"What you mean?"

"You were scared of Mr. Floyd and his gun. They're scared of you and what you know."

"Why? I be sitting in this jail and can't hurt nobody."

"That's true. But they think you can harm them by changing the way people in Savannah think about them. The guilt of past generations is chasing them. And that guilt doesn't ever get tired." I paused. "Floyd Carpenter was the person responsible for Lisa Prescott's death."

Moses' face revealed his shock. "Why he do that? She not be more than a little thing."

I rubbed my hand as he had earlier. "For a lot more than a chance at five dollars."

MOSES SHOOK HIS HEAD AFTER I SPENT ALMOST AN HOUR explaining as best I could what I'd uncovered.

"That be too much old thoughts for my brain to hold."

"I know it's complicated, but what I really need is your permission to talk to the district attorney's office about the possible danger to you. The DAs office could call in the police to investigate, and you could tell Detective Branson what happened that evening on the river. He seems like a good man."

"You be a nice'un, but out there"-Moses gestured with his arm-"ain't nobody gonna believe me. Nowadays I may not be strung up on a tree limb, but I never get out of this jail. No, missy, you best keep this to me and you.,,

"Don't you understand? You could be in real danger."

"For sure, every way be a rocky path. But the less folks that knows the way I go, the better off I be."

I searched for another approach to convince him. "Please, think about it. It would be awful if something bad happened to you."

Moses gave me a slightly crooked smile. "That be a kind word. I not hear talk like that since I was a small boy at my auntie's house."

"I misjudged you, and I'm sorry."

Moses didn't answer. I looked down at my legal pad. It was blank. I'd been so engrossed in what Moses had told me that I hadn't taken a note. Perhaps no notes about our conversation would be better.

"I'll be back to see you soon," I promised.

"And don't be forgetting about my boat. If'n I get out of here on prohibition, I want that boat going with me. It ain't done nothing wrong."

THE DRIVE BACK to the office didn't give me enough time to figure out what to do next. Investigating Lisa Prescott's disappearance had been theoretical. The danger to Moses was immediate and certain.

Vince was working in the conference room adjacent to Mr. Braddock's office. Two paralegals were at the other end of the table organizing documents. I placed the keys on the table and leaned close to his ear.

"Thanks," I said. "Do you have time to talk?"

Vince motioned toward the other end of the table.

"They're up against a deadline, and I need to pull off some data from the Internet for Mr. Appleby."

"You're working for Mr. Appleby?"

"Yes. The information is in French and no one else can translate it. I should be finished within an hour. Where will you be?"

"In the library."

To my relief, Julie wasn't in the library. I logged on to one of the terminals and checked my office e-mail. There was a message from Mr. Carpenter asking for an update on the Moses Jones case. I skipped to the next item. It was from Zach.

Tami,

I talked with Maggie Smith. She agreed to place Moses Jones' case on judge Howell's trial calendar. She also brought up the possibility of running the plea bargain past Judge Howell. If the judge goes along with the deal, Jones could be released in a few days. Thought you might want this good news as soon as possible. Follow up with me upon your return to the office.

Zach

A few hours before, this would have been welcome news. Now, it doubled the pressure I felt. I noticed that Zach had also sent it to Mr. Carpenter. My mouth went dry, and the pressure doubled again. I glanced at the ceiling and offered up a prayer for help.

I tried to work on the Folsom divorce case while I waited for Vince to finish, but it was trivial compared to the threats facing Moses. I checked my watch every five minutes. Shortly, before the hour was up, the library door opened. I looked up in relief.

It was Zach.

"Did you read my e-mail?" he asked.

"Yes."

"And?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It sounds hopeful, but I'm not sure Moses is ready to get out of jail. You heard what he said when we explained the terms of probation to him. He'll violate the terms of release and go back to jail without any chance of getting out for a long time."

"He's a grown man. As long as he understands what's expected of him, compliance is his responsibility. Do you think he wants to stay locked up? We don't have the right to keep him in jail if there is a reasonable chance to get him out."

"We might get a not-guilty verdict at trial," I responded. "Then he wouldn't have to worry about probation. I met with him this afternoon and explained our trial strategy. As we talked it made more and more sense. I mean, jurors are regular people who can appreciate an honest mistake, especially when no property damage has occurred."

"I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I can't believe what I'm hearing. The case is exactly where we want it to be, and you think the best course of action is for our client to go to trial? What's really going on? This has to do with Lisa Prescott, doesn't it?"

I pressed my lips tightly together.

"What did you find in the microfilm records?" Zach continued. "Even if you uncovered incriminating information about Moses Jones, it doesn't give you the right to be judge and jury, sentencing him to jail."

The door opened, and Vince stepped in. He saw Zach and started backing out of the room. "Sorry to interrupt," he said. "I'll check with you later."

"Hold it," Zach said.

"What?" Vince asked.

Zach stared at Vince, then turned toward me. "Because you two are working on the Jones case together doesn't mean you can withhold information from me. Tami was supposed to take me with her and conveniently forgot to let me know."

"Oh," I said, stung, "I got caught up and-"

Zach interrupted. "I want to hear what's happened since we met this morning."

The three of us sat around the table, with Zach at one end and Vince and I across from each other.

"Out with it," Zach said.

I looked at Vince, who seemed nervous. Zach hesitated for a moment, then spoke. "I'm only an associate. Do you want me to bring in one of the partners to help sort this out? I don't know who's here this afternoon, but Mr. Carpenter is the most familiar-"

"No!" I blurted out. "That would be cruel."

"No more than the accusations you've made against him," Zach shot back.

"Not cruel to me," I replied testily. "Leave me out of this. I've never had a realistic chance of working here, and based on what I know now, I wouldn't accept a permanent job if Mr. Carpenter offered me one. This is all about Moses Jones. You have no idea what you're about to do to him."

Zach's neck was slightly red. "Then tell me. I'm listening."