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.I expect you know a Mr.HughHolmes at the bank? I wonder if you'd be kind enough to step overthere and ask him if it's convenient for him to join me here in the carfor just a few minutes?""Certainly." Will Henry crossed the street, went into the bank, andstuck his head into Holmes's office, where the banker was poring over aledger.""Scuse me, Hugh.Mr.Franklin D.Roosevelt himself isparked ove ring front of the drugstore, and he'd like you to step overthere and meet him, if you have the time."Holmes's eyebrows shot up."Oh, yes.He's a friend of Clark Howell,at the Constitution.Clark said he was coming down to Warm Springs.You know he had a pretty bad case of infantile paralysis since theelection.""I read about it in the paper.""Clark talked him into coming down here for his health." The two menleft the bank, and Will Henry stopped and watched as Holmes crossed thestreet, introduced himself to the man, then went around and got intothe passenger seat.The two men fell into conversation.Hugh Holmesand Roosevelt seemed to be getting on like a house afire.Will Henrythought what a pity it was that a man in the prime of life could havesuch a brilliant political career cut short.Boox from: Will Henry Lee 27 "IT WAS shortly after the first visit ofFranklin Roosevelt to Delano that the second murder occurred.WillHenry, at least, thought of it as the second murder.He learned aboutit, Zrnost casually, from Skeeter Willis, who dropped into his officewithout notice one day."A nigger found him early yesterday morninghung up in a barbed-wire fence a couple of hundred yard from theColumbus highway, over the side of the mountain." The Other side ofthe mountain was in Talbot Count."He'd ben shot in the back with whatSheriff Gooisby reckoned was a.45 automatic.Little hole in his back,big one in his chest where it came out.Don't know much more myself.I saw one of Goolsby's deputies at a filling station in Woodland.Ibeen down to Albany to deliver a prisoner." "Was he wearing anyclothes? Were there any marks on him?" Will Henry had a terriblesinking feeling already."Don't know.You're not thinking it hadsomething to do with that thing of yours, when was itmtwo, three' yearsago?" "Four and a half years." Will Henry got up and put on his hat.'2 think I better go talk with Jim Goolsby."He found the Talbot County sheriff at the Talbotton courthouse during arecess.Goolsby, an elderly man who had held/28 CHI!FSoffice for more than twenty-five years and looked fragile and worn, wasvery pushed for time."Sorry, but it's always like this when court'sin session." "What was the man wearing?" "A shirt and overalls, noshoes.Feet was tore up a little.Looked like he'd been running.Runinto a bobbed-wire fence.Bullet went clean through him." "Were thereany other marks on his body?" "Huh?" The sheriff turned to a deputy."Carlton, are they back with that prisoner, yet?" Well hell, go seewhat's keepin' 'em.The judge has already had to call a recess.He'llpitch a fit." He turned back to Will Henry."What was that aboutmarks?" "Were there any noticable bruises anywhere? Had his hands orfeet been bound?" Goolsby looked at him incredulously."Good Lord, Idon't know.The coroner would ordinarily have done some kind ofexamination, but he had a funeral to do in Villa Rica, so I just talkedto him on the phone.I put 'death due to a gunshot wound' on the deathcertificate, and he signed it when he come back." "Can I have alook athim?" "The dead feller? He's halfway to Waycross by now.There was aletterin his pocket with a return addreSs on it,.I called the sheriffdown there, and the feller's daddy come up here with a truck and tookhim home to bury this morning." "You got any suspects?" "Hoboes, wereckon.We found an empty camp we didn't know about not very far awayfrom where the nigger found the body.He didn't have no money orshoes, and I reckon that's what hoboes would take." "Do you have anyidea which way he was running?" The sheriff thought for a moment."The way he was hung on the fence he could have been running eitheraway from the highway or towards it.Hard to say.My guess wastowards the road, away from the camp." "How old was he, could youestimate?" "His daddy said he just turned twenty-one, but he lookedyounger than that to me.Listen, Chief, I'd like to talk with you somemore, but I'm due back in court.Was there anything else?" Will Henrygot the name and address of the boy's father and directions to wherethe body was found [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]