Wilson Harp - EMP

I didn’t gasp audibly at the slur, but I heard several people do so. Racism was still around in Kenton, but it had grown shy in the last couple of decades and wasn’t part of acceptable public talk.

To his credit, McDaniels seemed to realize what he had said. His jaw moved but no sound came out for a few seconds.

“My point is, if he breaks the written laws of before and doesn’t seem compelled to follow decent civil rules of now, what makes you think he cares about any laws or rules you set for him? He must be punished and we must set an example for others to follow.”

The deputy sat back at his table and dropped his head into his hands. I felt a surge of optimism as I thought maybe his case had been blown wide open.

Buck stood and waited until the mayor motioned him forward. There was a commotion that caused the big, burly man to look toward the front door of the library. I turned, with most of the rest of the observers, and saw Lester Collins and several of his men walk in. They were heavily armed, but had the manner of men who were looking for a good time.

“Are we too late?” Lester asked loudly. “I hope the trial ain’t over yet.”

“What do you want, Collins?” Mayor Mueller asked.

“I just want the opportunity to address the court and all of those in attendance before you go deciding the fate of Kenny, if that would be okay.”

Collins moved forward by himself as the mayor nodded.

“Mister Fredrickson was about to make his closing arguments in Kenneth Jackson’s defense. You can speak your piece after he is done.”

Buck looked back at the mayor and the rest of the council.

“May I continue?” he asked

“Proceed.”

“Thank you, Mister Mayor. The case before you today is not about the death of a thief and danger to this town. It is about laws and rights. When we had a robust system of law enforcement, then the laws that had been passed and the system for enforcing those laws made sense.

“But we are in a new world now. When something is stolen from you, it can’t be replaced. There is no insurance company that will replace your items. There is no corner store where you can go buy another. There simply isn’t anything you can do about your loss. And that means every theft is a permanent set-back for the victim. Every loss of possession is a sliver, or chunk, or major structure out of the victim’s life they have built and have no way of getting back.

“Brent Talley was found with medicine among his stolen goods. Medicine that is essential to those who owned it. Was not that a form of murder? Stealing a man’s medicine when there was no way to replace it? It was murder and more sinister a version than having a noose put around your neck and hanged for villainy.

“If you find Kenny guilty, then you set the rules of an old society over the welfare of Kenton. You set the dream of what was above the reality of what is. Kenny doesn’t deserve death. He doesn’t deserve exile. He deserves our respect and admiration for having the strength to do what was needed. Thank you.”

The murmurs of the audience surged as Buck sat down. Everyone was whispering their opinions of what the trial meant and what they thought should, and would, happen.

“Order! Order!” Mayor Mueller banged the gavel.

“Now we are going to go meet privately to determine the verdict in this case. Mister Collins, you wanted to address the court before we went into deliberations?”

“Yes, thank you,” Lester said. He walked over to the table the council sat at and turned back to the crowded room.

“I just want to say that although Brent Talley was a man who we have had some dealings with, we were unaware of how he procured certain items. It was our understanding he was salvaging from houses of people who no longer needed the amenities he was gathering for us.

“With that in mind, if you have anything missing he may have sold to us, we would be glad to trade it back to you for no more than we gave him. It’s only fair.

“As for Kenny here, we understand if you may want to put him to death for his act of violence. If that is indeed the verdict you decide upon, I would be happy to pay a sizable amount of goods and services in order to take him into my compound so we make use of his talents and labor.”

Lester bowed and motioned to his men. They turned without a word and forced their way back out of the library. A small wave of space opened in front of Lester as he advanced and within a minute, he was out of sight of where I sat. When I looked back at the court, the council and jury were filing into the side room and Buck was talking with Kenny. They were both smiling. I felt like smiling, too. From what I had seen I thought there was a very good chance Kenny would not be put to death for his actions.

“What do you think, Ted?” Anne leaned across me to ask the appointed leader of our town.

“I don’t know,” he said. “My gut says Kenny walks, but I have a lot of friendship tied up in that. I’m not sure if I can be objective.”

“What about you, David? What do you think Kenny’s chances are?” Anne asked.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “I think Buck gave a good argument behind the reason Kenny killed him, but I don’t know if it was enough to get him out of all trouble. You can’t give back a man’s life. Killing a man is hard to accept as a good thing.”

We chatted and talked about the trial, about what Kenny would have to face based upon all of the possible outcomes, about how this changed the town, how the people in town would now view each other, and what we could expect when crime did happen in the future.

The heat in the room crept up as time went on. The crowd of bodies more than overcame the cool of the evening, and soon everyone was drenched with their own sweat. But no one left. Everyone stayed where they had found a spot, none willing to walk outside and have to hear second-hand the outcome of this evening.

Eventually the door near the front of the court opened and the council and jury came out. They took their seats and the mayor motioned back to the room where they had been shut away. Kenny and Buck came out first. They took their seats at their table and then McDaniels came out. I breathed out in relief as I saw the deputy’s jaw clenched and his hands in fists at his sides.

He dropped down in his seat and didn’t seem to look at anyone in particular.

Mayor Mueller rose and gaveled the room quiet.

“In the case of Kenneth Jackson, this court has reached a decision.”

No one in the room whispered. No one stirred.

“We find that Kenneth Jackson acted in an unlawful manner in the killing of Brent Talley. Therefore, this court has determined that Kenneth Jackson shall be prohibited from entering the township of Kenton for the remainder of his life.

“He will be escorted to the town’s limit and the road guards will be instructed to prevent his entrance by any means necessary, up to and including lethal force.”

The mayor banged his gavel one more time and the council and jury stood and went back to their room.

Ted sighed as he stood. “Well, better than it could have been, I guess.”

Kenny looked back across the few rows of people that separated us and nodded. He wore a frown and I could tell he was disappointed in the verdict. I was relieved he was going to be okay, although I would miss him around town.

The room cleared faster than I would have expected, but with the trial over and the heat in the building making the cool evening a more enjoyable venue for discussion, it made sense.

My dad walked out of the room with Ike and Clint. He spotted me and waved me over.

“I think my dad wants to leave soon,” I said to Anne and Ted.

“Take those rides when you can, talk to you tomorrow, David,” Ted said.