The Chamber (Page 112)

He returned the receiver to the phone. "So, Mr. Gilbert Hurt from Dumas, Mississippi, is against the execution," he said, staring at the phone, dazed. "The phones have gone crazy."

"Lots of calls, huh?" Goodman asked, sympathetically.

"You wouldn’t believe."

"For or against?"

"bout fifty-fifty, I’d say," Larramore said. He took the phone again and punched in the number for Mr. Gilbert Hurt of Dumas, Mississippi. No one answered. "This is strange," he said, hanging up again. "The man just called me, left a legitimate number, now there’s no answer."

"Probably just stepped out. Try again later." Goodman hoped he wouldn’t have the time to try again later. In the first hour of the market analysis yesterday, Goodman had made a slight change in technique. He had instructed his callers to first check the phone numbers to make certain there was no answer. This prevented some curious type such as Larramore or perhaps a nosy hotline operator from calling back and finding the real person. Odds were the real person would greatly support the death penalty. If slowed flings ‘a hit for the market

analysts, but Goodman e.\f safer W with it.

"I’m working on an outline for the hearing," Larramore said, "just in case. We’ll probably have it in the House Ways and Means Committee Room, just down the hall."

"Will it be closed?"

"No. Is this a problem?"

"We have four days left, Mr. Larramore. Everything’s a problem. But the hearing belongs to the governor. We’re just thankful he’s granted one."

"I have your numbers. Keep in touch."

"I’m not leaving Jackson until this is over."

They shook hands quickly and Goodman left the office. He sat on the front steps for half an hour and watched the Klansmen get organized and attract the curious.

Chapter 42

THOUGH he’d worn a white robe and a pointed hood as a much younger man, Donnie Cayhall kept his distance from the lines of Klansmen patrolling the grassy strip near the front gate of Parchman. Security was tight, with armed guards watching the protestors. Next to the canopy where the Klansmen gathered was a small group of skinheads in brown shirts. They held signs demanding freedom for Sam Cayhall.

Donnie watched the spectacle for a moment, then followed the directions of a security guard and parked along the highway. His name was checked at the guardhouse, and a few minutes later a prison van came for him. His brother had been at Parchman for nine and a half years, and Donnie had tried to visit at least once a year. But the last visit had been two years ago, he was ashamed to admit.

Donnie Cayhall was sixty-one, the youngest of the four Cayhall brothers. All had followed the teachings of their father and joined the Klan in their teens. It had been a simple decision with little thought given to it, one expected by the entire family. Later he had joined the Army, fought in Korea, and traveled the world. In the process, he had lost interest in wearing robes and burning crosses. He left Mississippi in 1961, and went to work for a furniture company in North Carolina. He now lived near Durham.

Every month for nine and a half years, he had shipped to Sam a box of cigarettes and a small amount of cash. He’d written a few letters, but neither he nor Sam were interested in correspondence. Few people in Durham knew he had a brother on death row.

He was frisked inside the front door, and shown to the front office. Sam was brought in a few minutes later, and they were left alone. Donnie hugged him for a long time, and when they released each other both had moist eyes. They were of similar height and build, though Sam looked twenty years older. He sat on the edge of the desk and Donnie took a chair nearby.

Both lit cigarettes and stared into space.

"Any good news?" Donnie finally asked, certain of the answer.

"No. None. The courts are turning everything down. They’re gonna do it, Donnie. They’re gonna kill me. They’ll walk me to the chamber and gas me like an animal."

Donnie’s face fell to his chest. "I’m sorry, Sam."

"I’m sorry too, but, dammit, I’ll be glad when it’s over." ‘

"Don’t say that."

"I mean it. I’m tired of living in a cage. I’m an old man and my time has come."

"But you don’t deserve to be killed, Sam."

"That’s the hardest part, you know. It’s not that I’m gonna die, hell, we’re all dying. I just can’t stand the thought of these jackasses getting the best of me. They’re gonna win. And their reward is to strap me in and watch me choke. It’s sick."

"Can’t your lawyer do something?"

"He’s trying everything, but it looks hopeless. I want you to meet him."

"I saw his picture in the paper. He doesn’t resemble our people."

"He’s lucky. He looks more like his mother."

"Sharp kid?"

Sam managed a smile. "Yeah, he’s pretty terrific. He’s really grieving over this."

"Will he be here today?"

"Probably. I haven’t heard from him. He’s staying with Lee in Memphis," Sam said with a touch of pride. Because of him, his daughter and his grandson had become close and were actually living together peacefully.

"I talked to Albert this morning," Donnie said. "He says he’s too sick to come over."

"Good. I don’t want him here. And I don’t want his kids and grandkids here either."

"He wants to pay his respects, but he can’t."

"Tell him to save it for the funeral."

"Come on, Sam."

"Look, no one’s gonna cry for me when I’m dead. I don’t want a lot of false pity before then.

"I need something from you, Donnie. And it’ll cost a little money."

"Sure. Anything."

Sam pulled at the waist of his red jumpsuit. "You see this damned thing. They’re called reds, and I’ve worn them every day for almost ten years.. This is what the State of Mississippi expects me to wear when it kills me. But, you see, I have the right to wear anything I want. It would mean a lot if I die in some nice clothes."

Donnie was suddenly hit with emotion. He tried to speak, but words didn’t come. His eyes were wet and his lip quivered. He nodded, and managed to say, "Sure, Sam."

"You know those work pants called Dickies? I wore them for years. Sort of like khakis."

Donnie was still nodding.

"A pair of them would be nice, with a white shirt of some sort, not a pullover but one with buttons on it. Small shirt, small pants, thirty-two in the waist. A pair of white socks, and some kind of cheap shoes. Hell, I’ll just wear them once, won’t I? Go to Wal-Mart or some place and you can probably get the whole thing for less than thirty bucks. Do you mind?"

Donnie wiped his eyes and tried to smile. "No, Sam."

"I’ll be a dude, won’t I?"

"Where will you be buried?"

"Clanton, next to Anna. I’m sure that’ll upset her peaceful rest. Adam’s taking care of the arrangements."

"What else can I do?"

"Nothing. If you’ll just get me a change of clothes."

"I’ll do it today."

"You’re the only person in the world who’s cared about me all these years, do you know that? Aunt Barb wrote me for years before she died, but her letters were always stiff and dry, and I figured she was doing it so she could tell her neighbors."

"Who the hell was Aunt Barb?"

"Hubert Cain’s mother. I’m not even sure she’s related to us. I hardly knew her until I arrived here, then she started this awful correspondence. She was just all tore up by the fact that one of her own had been sent to Parchman."