The Chamber (Page 134)

Sam tried to raise his shoulders bravely, but power failed him. He slumped even lower.

"Lord have mercy," Ralph Griffin said.

"Then it’s all over," Sam said.

"There’s nothing left," Adam whispered.

Excited murmurings could be heard from the death squad squeezed together at the end of the tier. This thing would happen after all. A door slammed somewhere behind them, in the direction of the chamber, and Sam’s knees jerked together.

He was silent for a moment – one minute or fifteen, Adam couldn’t tell. The clock was still lurching and stopping.

"I guess we oughta pray now, preacher," Sam said.

"I reckon so. We’ve waited long enough."

"How do you wanna do it?"

"Well, Sam, just exactly what do you want to pray about?"

Sam pondered this for a moment, then said, "I’d like to make sure God’s not angry with me when I die."

"Good idea. And why do you think God might be angry with you?"

"Pretty obvious, isn’t it?"

Ralph rubbed his hands together. "I guess the best way to do this is to confess your sins, and ask God to forgive you."

"All of them?"

"You don’t have to list them all, just ask God to forgive everything."

"Sort of a blanket repentance."

"Yeah, that’s it. And it’ll work, if you’re serious."

"I’m serious as hell."

"Do you believe in hell, Sam?"

"I do."

"Do you believe in heaven?"

"I do."

"Do you believe that all Christians go to heaven?"

Sam thought about this for a long time, then nodded slightly before asking, "Do you?"

"Yes, Sam. I do."

"Then I’ll take your word for it."

"Good. Trust me on this one, okay?"

"It seems too easy, you know. I just say a quick prayer, and everything’s forgiven."

"Why does that bother you?"

"Because I’ve done some bad things, preacher."

"We’ve all done bad things. Our God is a God of infinite love."

"You haven’t done what I’ve done."

"Will you feel better if you talk about it?"

"Yeah, I won’t ever feel right unless I talk about it."

"I’m here, Sam."

"Should I leave for a minute?" Adam asked. Sam clutched his knee.

No.

"We don’t have a lot of time, Sam," Ralph said, glancing through the bars.

Sam took a deep breath, and spoke in a low monotone, careful that only Adam and Ralph could hear. "I killed Joe Lincoln in cold blood. I’ve already said I was sorry."

Ralph was mumbling something to himself as he listened. He was already in prayer.

"And I helped my brothers kill those two men who murdered our father. Frankly, I’ve never felt bad about it until now. Human life seems a whole lot more valuable these days. I was wrong. And I took part in a lynching when I was fifteen or sixteen. I was just part of a mob, and I probably couldn’t have stopped it if I’d tried. But I didn’t try, and I feel guilty about it."

Sam stopped. Adam held his breath and hoped the confessional was over. Ralph waited and waited, and finally asked, "Is that it, Sam?"

"No. There’s one more."

Adam closed his eyes and braced for it. He was dizzy and wanted to vomit.

"There was another lynching. A boy named Cletus. I can’t remember his last name. A Klan lynching. I was eighteen. That’s all I can say."

This nightmare will never end, Adam thought.

Sam breathed deeply and was silent for several minutes. Ralph was praying hard. Adam just waited.

"And I didn’t kill those Kramer boys," Sam said, his voice shaking. "I had no business being there, and I was wrong to be involved in that mess. I’ve regretted it for many years, all of it. It was wrong to be in the Klan, hating everybody and planting bombs. But I didn’t kill those boys. There was no intent to harm anyone. That bomb was supposed to go off in the middle of the night when no one would be anywhere near it. That’s what I truly believed. But it was wired by someone else, not me. I was just a lookout, a driver, a flunky. This other person rigged the bomb to go off much later than I thought. I’ve never known for sure if he intended to kill anyone, but I suspect he did."

Adam heard the words, received them, absorbed them, but was too stunned to move.

"But I could’ve stopped it. And that makes me guilty. Those little boys would be alive today if I had acted differently after the bomb was planted. Their blood is on my hands, and I’ve grieved over this for many years."

Ralph gently placed a hand on the back of Sam’s head. "Pray with me, Sam." Sam covered his eyes with both hands and rested his elbows on his knees.

"Do you believe Jesus Christ was the son of God; that he came to this earth, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was persecuted, and died on the cross so that we might have eternal salvation? Do you believe this, Sam?"

"Yes," he whispered.

"And that he arose from the grave and ascended into heaven?"

"Yes."

"And that through him all of your sins are forgiven? All the terrible things that burden your heart are now forgiven. Do you believe this, Sam?"

"Yes, Yes."

Ralph released Sam’s head, and wiped tears from his eyes. Sam didn’t move, but his shoulders were shaking. Adam squeezed him even tighter.

Randy Dupree started whistling another stanza of `Just a Closer Walk with Thee’. His notes were clear and precise, and they echoed nicely along the tier.

"Preacher," Sam said as his back stiffened, "will those little Kramer boys be in heaven?"

"Yes."

"But they were Jews."

"All children go to heaven, Sam."

"Will I see them up there?"

"I don’t know. There’s a lot about heaven we don’t know. But the Bible promises that there will be no sorrow when we get there."

"Good. Then I hope I see them."

The unmistakable voice of Colonel Nugent broke the calm. The tier door clanged, rattled, and opened. He marched five feet to the door of the Observation Cell. Six guards were behind him. "Sam, it’s time to go to the Isolation Room," he said. "It’s eleven o’clock."

The three men stood, side by side. The cell door opened, and Sam stepped out. He smiled at Nugent, then he turned and hugged the reverend. "Thanks," he said.

"I love you, brother!" Randy Dupree yelled from his cell, not ten feet away.

Sam looked at Nugent, and asked, "Could I say good-bye to my friends?"

A deviation. The manual plainly said that the prisoner was to be taken directly from the Observation Cell to the Isolation Room, with nothing being mentioned about a final promenade down the tier. Nugent was dumbstruck, but after a few seconds rallied nicely. "Sure, but make it quick."

Sam took a few steps and clasped Randy’s hands through the bars. Then he stepped to the next cell and shook hands with Harry Ross Scott.

Ralph Griffin eased past the guards and left the tier. He found a dark corner and wept like a child. He would not see Sam again. Adam stood in the door of the cell, near Nugent, and together they watched Sam work his way down the hallway, stopping at each cell, whispering something to each inmate. He spent the most time with J. B. Gullitt, whose sobs could be heard.

Then he turned and walked bravely back to them, counting steps as he went, smiling at his pals along the way. He took Adam by the hand. "Let’s go," he said to Nugent.