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Battle led him down a long hall. Arriving in the room in question the man said, “Mrs. Anne Randolph was in the chair over there with all the blood, and Mr. Leslie Randolph on the floor right there. Can tell by the blood as well. Looks more like a damn butcher shop than a home.”
“How did they die?”
“Waiting on the report.”
“Surely you can tell that without a medical examiner’s official tally.”
Battle pulled out a cigarette pack, lit up a Pall Mall, and studied Jack through the haze. “How many murder cases have you handled, Mr. Lee? Be honest now.”
“Counting this one, one. But as a lawyer, I’ve tried just about everything else. And every defense lawyer has a first murder case, don’t they?”
Battle shook his broad head. “Not as sole counsel they don’t. And ‘everything else’ doesn’t come close when you’re talking a man’s life. There are public defenders in Freeman who have a lot of experience in such matters.”
“He has money and doesn’t need a public defender. And you said a ‘man’s life’? Virginia doesn’t execute people anymore.”
“Virginia still has its death penalty statute intact and, legally, there is no reason it cannot be immediately reinstated. And I can tell you, firsthand, there is talk in Richmond of the government doing exactly that.” He paused and eyed Jack in a tactical manner. “And if it is reinstated, the commonwealth will seek it against Mr. Washington.”
“Good to know. You got the murder weapon? Anything taken? Anybody break in?”
“Whoa, son, you’re firing off questions like a machine gun does bullets.”
“Just trying to get the facts right.”
Battle sucked on his smoke. “Oh, we got the facts all right. And we’ll give you what’s required under the law, but focus on the fact that your client was found right here with two dead bodies.”
“He worked here. So no surprise about that.”
“Granted, he did, but that gives him no right to come in the house and kill his employers.” He tapped ash into a glass ashtray set on a table and said, “Hell, people around here were already on edge.”
“Why was that?”
“You heard about that colored man in Faulkner’s Woods, right next to here?”
“Somebody shot him while he was walking down the street.”
“He was up to no good.”
“On the contrary, there was no proof he was doing anything other than walking.”
“There was no lawful reason for that man to be there. Only coloreds around there are the maids, nannies, and cooks. He was clearly casing homes, looking for wives without their husbands, or children without their parents, a back door ajar, keys in a car. Somebody stopped him before he could set out to do what he was certainly going to do. Rape, robbery, kidnapping, who the hell knows.”
“I take it there will be no investigation or criminal charges filed,” said Jack.
“The Negro’s dead. How would prosecuting him make sense?”
“I was referring to the man who killed him.”
“You being funny? Might give him a medal.” Battle looked around the room. “Too bad somebody didn’t stop your client before he did what he did here.”
“Now, I understand that there was no bail asked for.”
“Oh, you don’t want bail for your client, Mr. Lee. He’s safer in jail. You let that man out, someone’s liable to do him harm.”
“I’ll take that under advisement. The indictment was handed down very quickly.”
“You have a problem with the law acting with alacrity?” retorted Battle.
“I just don’t want it to act so fast that an innocent man gets railroaded.”
