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“I’ve taken some pictures of the scene, and made notes. I’ll interview the arresting officers. I have to find out who called the police because they might have seen something helpful for us. And I need to know who benefited from the Randolphs’ deaths.”
“You think it might be one of their own that done it?” suggested Miss Jessup.
His mind’s eye held the image of the grieving Christine Hanover. “Children have killed their parents for money as long as there have been families,” replied Jack. “But we would have to find some evidence.” He turned to Pearl. “Jerome said he’d worked for the Randolphs for about a year? But he was in Vietnam before that?”
“He got drafted. Then with his leg all shot up they said he couldn’t fight no more. I real glad. Jerome stay in the Army, he gonna die for sure.”
“He got drafted even though he has young children?” said Jack.
“Yeah. They say you ain’t in no college, you got to go, kids or no kids. And they say if we want to fight it we need a lawyer and it’ll cost a bunch of money. So’s Jerome went.”
Jack shook his head, knowing that none of that was true.
“And how did he end up working for the Randolphs?”
“My uncle used to work for them. He told the Randolphs Jerome could do just as good as he had done.”
“Did Jerome ever go inside the house?”
“Not unless they needed somethin’ fixed. Jerome can fix just about anythin’. He just got that way about him.”
“Like your daddy, Mr. Lee,” interjected Miss Jessup.
The image of the sweet tea and rye whisky briefly entered his thoughts. “Do you know if the Randolphs kept money in the house?” he asked.
Pearl nodded. “They must ’cause they pay Jerome cash. Why? They sayin’ Jerome took some money don’t belong to him?”
“No, but if money does turn up missing they might claim he took it.”
“I can tell you right now he ain’t have no money. I feed him his breakfast and make him his lunch. And he liked the Randolphs. They treat him real good.”
“And now they dead Jerome ain’t got no job,” added Miss Jessup. “How’s that make any sense, I ask you?”
“I might have you help me write out my closing argument,” said a smiling Jack.
“This ain’t no joke,” jabbed Pearl. “They gonna try and kill my husband.”
Jack pressed his palms against the warm table where the sunlight hit it, and said, “I know this is no joke. And at least right now Virginia does not use the death penalty, so Jerome would be looking at life in prison.”
Pearl said, “No way they gonna let a colored man who they say killed two white people stay alive in prison.”
“You may be right. And I checked the list of items he was arrested with. He had no money on him.”
She took out an envelope from her pocket and slipped some bills from it. “Speakin’ of money, how much you need? Jerome said you need money to do the work.”
“Yes, a retainer. But I know Jerome didn’t get paid last week.”
“I got a good job durin’ the week, and I work a second one on the weekends.”
“But you have three young children.”
“My momma helps out a lot. And some of my aunts. And my granny here when she ain’t at Ashby’s. Now, how much?”
“Two hundred dollars for now. I have no idea how long this will go on, you understand? But I promise I’ll make the money go as far as possible.”
She carefully counted out nine twenties and two tens and slid them across. “You just tell me when you need more.”
“I will, thank you.” He wrote her out a receipt and handed it to her. The paper went into her purse with the rest of her money. “I will need to come out to your house to talk to you about the case.”
