opened, as far as he could tell. He fixed a pot of coffee, and as he drank the first cup at the kitchen table

boxes would not fit in the small

, that the county would allow a ceremony in the rotunda of the courthouse that afternoon at four-thirty, tha

the casket

th Magargel at te

with the oak. The Ju

y began moving quickly. He opened windows and blinds so he could see and hear any visitors. Word was spreadin

the clock. If someone was after the money, then that someone could get it.

y had to

to the cabinet under the bookshelves. Two more garbage bags were filled. He backed his car close to the deck, as close to the kitchen as possible, then surveyed the landscape in search of human eyes. There were none. The only neighbors were the spinsters next door, and they couldn

and carry it from a parking lot down the busy pedestrian

fect spot to eat on the morning after Judge Atlee's death. The three coffee shops around the sq

s and he hadn't showered, but with Forrest that was not unusual. His eyes were red bu

Forrest said, gu

roll." He glanced through the window at his Audi, which was parked as close

. Eight, nine hours a night, a hard sleep. But when I'm not clea

clean, do you think about

ile, but the pressure's building and sooner or later you gotta

for a hundred

ed and f

s the

ck, this great detox center that the old man paid fo

t made yo

any time, any place, for any reason. They haven't designed a

l dru

same tonight, same tomorrow. By the end

ou wa

know what

ed a biscuit and took a large bite. When he could speak

on Forrest's shortcomings they would be fighting soon e

e last time

he had prostat

is scrambled eggs and pondered the q

nd surgeries that they were diffi

e in Me

nd one," Ray said.

im at the hospital. Hell, it wasn't six block

d you ta

e still thoug

when Harry Rex found them. He helped himself to a biscuit while offering t

me out to the house,"

limits,"

' them. Y'all want to r

said F

we?" a

the funeral home. But if you don't, it's no big deal. Ai

e wake and a funeral, isn'

hink

d ladies who've been talkin' about me for twenty years," Fo

ss on it,

executor," Forrest

?" said H

olographic will, leaving everything to the two of us, listing his assets,

his nose with a chubby finger and gazed across the dine

ha

will for him

anged looks that conveyed nothing because ne

nged his mind,"

the other wil

He was my client, s

Forrest said. "Forgive me

arry Rex. "It revokes all prior wills, so whatever t

us what's in the old

wyer, cannot discus

ou prepared is

still can't

lared at Harry Rex. All three too

en Harry Rex knew about it. And if he knew, then the money would quickly be removed from the trunk of the little TT convertible and

in his office?" Forrest asked, in

N

you s

ne finding the old one and probating it. Some folks change their wills every year, and as lawyers we know to burn the old

her, and that he was unwilling to share it, chilled the conversation

aiting," he s

s like

aped with purple velvet. Mr. Magargel led while an assistant pushed. Behind the casket were Ray

ingent of Reservists from the local armory snapped to attention when Retired Captain Atlee was stopped in the center of the cour

casket. All city and county officials, courthouse clerks, cops, and deputies were present, and as Harry Rex stepped forward to begin the c

from that hefty price was a ten percent discount that Mr. Pope insisted on giving. Forrest's new suit was dark gray. It cost $280 before the discount, and it had also

it of Judge Atlee. It had been painted ten years earlier by a local artist, for free, and everyone knew the Judge had not been particularly fond of it. He hung it in

e he didn't wish to look around the gathering. All eyes were on him, and Forrest. Reverend Palmer d

Church of God in Christ stepped forward and sang a mournful rendition of "Shall We Gather at t River," a cappella because she certainly didn't nee

f his father's death. He thought of all the things they could have done together, now that they were men, all the things they had

. It was only natural at death to wish he'd done more, but the truth was that the Judge had carried a

He would not beat himself up because he had chos

as coming, and we all prayed it would never get here." He hit the highlights of the Judge's career, then told of his first appearance in front of th

hem, then began studying them as a group. How could one small town have so many lawyers? He knew about half of them. Many of th

knew him. He was

brief court appearance with Harry Rex and begin probate, to prepare an inventory and do a half-dozen other duties as executor of his father's estate. Th

source rich enough to generate the kind of money now hidden in the trunk of his little car. They were small-town ham-and-egg lawyers, all scrambling to pay their bills and outhustle the guy next door. The

sses and bad hairpiece owned thousands of acres handed down through generations, but he couldn't sell i

ne shared the secret. Someone knew about the money. Cou

e Judge would lie in state in the courthouse until 10 P.M. He directed the procession to begin where Ray and Fo

ouched. He pretended to remember the names of all those who knew him. He hugged old ladies he'd never met before. The procession moved slowly by Ray and Forrest, then to the casket, wh

He mumbled something to Harry Rex about going home,

, "There's a line around the courth

f here," Ray

" Harry Rex asked, just loud enou

k, whispering importantly, and ducked into a narrow ha

taking in the scene. The flag in front of the courthouse was at half-