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Frank saw what he knew to be a bayonet wound, sharp, brutish, and angry in the man’s chest near his armpit. He knew this because Frank had one on his leg courtesy of a Japanese soldier on the island of Saipan.
“Got this defendin’ my country, or a country, not sure which. Come back here and it all the same shit.”
“It ain’t fair, that’s for damn sure.”
But even as he said it, everything Frank had been taught and seen over his life rebelled at these words, could not accept them even as they left his mouth. And then he felt a measure of visceral shame about that for perhaps the first time in his life.
“Yeah, old man, it ain’t fair.”
Now Daniel looked like he was going to kill Frank.
“You know Jerome Washington?” Frank exclaimed, because the old Army vet could see this mortal threat plainly in the other man’s eyes.
“Yeah, so what?” said Daniel, curling his hand into a massive fist.
“He’s been charged with murder.”
“He ain’t kill nobody.”
“I believe that.”
“Sure you do, old man.”
“My son’s a lawyer and he’s representin’ Jerome. He’s gonna do his almighty best to see that Jerome goes free.”
“Your son the other white man that was here last night?” said Daniel, taking a step back as he asked the question.
“Yes, Jack Lee. I was here askin’ Miss Jessup some questions to help with Jerome’s defense.”
Daniel seemed to take all this in and then shook his head and stared down at his shoes, his expression as weary as it was hopeless. “Get in your truck, and you get outta here. And don’t you never come back, you hear me? You come back again, son or no son helpin’ Jerome, you ain’t leavin’ here breathin’, you got that?”
“Yes, Daniel,” said Frank.
“It’s Mistuh Daniel to you.” His look was as grave as Frank had ever seen, in peace or wartime.
“Okay, Mr. Daniel.” Frank climbed into his truck and drove off, every limb he had shaking like he was right back fighting for his life on foreign soil.
CHAPTER 20
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, FRANCIS?” said Hilly Lee as her husband walked in the back door rubbing at his spine.
“Ran out of smokes, Hilly, went to get a pack.”
“The store is five minutes from here. You’ve been gone well over two hours.”
“They didn’t have my brand.”
“They didn’t have Camels?” she said incredulously.
“Where’s Lucy?” he asked.
“She looked tired, so I sent her to bed.”
“Okay.”
“So you’re not going to tell me where you’ve really been?” Hilly folded her arms over her chest and stared resolutely at her husband.
“If you got to know, I was runnin’ an errand for Jack.”
