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“She said what!” broke in an agitated Ashby. “What was she sayin’ to you?”
“That you gave her the time off to help with her family and watch the trial. But she made sure you had food and the house was clean.”
Ashby looked at him suspiciously, but then nodded. “You want to come on in? I... I wanted to ask you about the trial, son.”
“Okay, but I can’t stay long.”
“Nobody stays long anymore,” said Ashby, with one of the saddest faces Jack had ever seen. “My children never come to see me. Did you know that?”
Jack simply shrugged.
“Come on then.”
He led Jack into his immaculate house, which smelled of Pine Sol and Pledge. Fresh flowers were in vases on various tables. Ashby led him into what was clearly the study. Jack noted the worm-eaten floorboards, shelves filled with old law books and framed photographs. There was a lawyer’s partner’s desk with a tall leather-backed swivel chair, a small couch and two upholstered chairs, and a full bar, which Ashby headed straight to.
“You thirsty?” he asked Jack.
“Um, what do you have?”
“I got everythin’, son. Just name your poison.”
“A finger of scotch neat.”
“I’ll join you in that. Been tryin’ to cut down on the bourbon. Better for my health.” He cackled at his little joke.
He brought the drinks over. Jack held Ashby’s until the man carefully made it down to the couch and then he handed the drink to him. He sat in a chair opposite Ashby.
“Wish my place looked like this. Well, before it burned down.”
“This is all Miss Jessup’s work. Up to me, I’d be lyin’ under a heap ’a old newspapers deader’n a runover squirrel.”
Jack nodded appreciatively. “She’s a right fine housekeeper.”
Ashby looked into his glass. “Don’t know how I would have made it without her, not after Alice... did what she did.”
“Yes sir,” said Jack, who was now regretting his decision to join the man.
“You know ’bout Alice?”
“Well, I heard, like everybody else.”
“You sure Miss Jessup didn’t tell you anythin’ more?”
Jack took a sip of his scotch. “Anything more what?”
“Oh, never mind. Now, tell me how the trial is goin’.” He squinted at Jack. “You gonna get them colored folks off, you think?”
“You know as well as I do that predicting a jury is a fool’s mission.”
Ashby sat back, looking disappointed. But then he nodded and said, “Hear tell they brought in Eddie Battle all the way from Richmond.”
“And Josiah Ambrose to be the presiding judge. Don’t know much about him. You know anything? He’s around your age.”
“I know he was in the KKK as a young man.”
Jack sat up so fast he nearly upended his drink. “How do you know that?”
“I know ’cause I was right there with him. Josiah and I grew up with each other in the Piedmont, over near Danville. Had too much time on our hands and nothin’ excitin’ to do. Remember we went to the pictures and saw Birth of a Nation. The Klan was damn heroic in that flick. Don’t know how much was true, but it got our blood goin’, so we joined up.”
