A Time to Kill

Jake stood. "How do I look, fellas?"

"Like a dumbass if you leave town," Harry Rex said.

"Hang around for a couple of days," Lucien pleaded. "This is an opportunity you’ll never have again. Please, Jake."

"Relax, fellas. I’m going to meet with them now, let them take my picture, answer a few of their stupid questions, then I’m leaving town."

"You’re crazy, Jake," Harry Rex said.

"I agree," said Lucien.

Jake checked the mirror, adjusted Stan’s tie, and smiled at his friends. "I appreciate you guys. I really do. I got paid nine hundred dollars for this trial, and I plan to share it with y’all."

They poured the last of the margaritas, gulped it down, and followed Jake Brigance down the stairs to face the reporters.