Billy (33 page)

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Authors: Albert French

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Billy hastened his
steps,
but
l
owered
his
eyes.
Depu ty Hill

B I L L Y
I
147

shouted, "Now, next time
Ah
come down here,
Ah want ya
standin right here so Ah can see
ya."

Billy stood quietly.

Deputy Hill's voice lowered as he handed Billy the plate
of
food and said,
"Now, ya
got ten minutes to
eat
this,
and ya
better eat everything." Billy took the plate of food and
carried
it back to his cot while Deputy Hill
called
Gumpy front
and
center.

Banes folks were doing what they do.
Some
of them
were
even calling Shorty's name and
waiting
for him to
come.
The noon hour was nearing. Mrs. Purvis
was
busy
shopping
in Mister Macky's store. Pete Grayson's
wife,
Holly, was there too. After a few short
words
of greeting,
Mrs.
Purvis was
say
ing, "Isn't it just awful. Ah just
couldn't
believe
something
like that could happen around here." Holly Grayson
sighed
and agreed, then said, "My Pete helped the
sheriff catch
them. Ah just can't believe they were so
young."
Mrs. Purvis
spoke
quickly. "Some
of
them just have that in them. Ya just have to watch all of them."

Ely Hampton was in Judge A. J. Harper's
chambers.
The judge had told him to
stop
on by. They had been
talking
for a while, but now they both
sat
quietly. Judge Harper is hold ing on to a thought and turning it over in his mind. Ely Hampton waits patiently. Finally the judge
says,
"I'll notify Wilbur Braxton, he'll do well." Ely Hampton gave
a
quick nod of his head, then
said,
"Judge, the
state
will
be
filing
first
degree." Judge Harper
sat
quietly for a moment, then
said
slowly, "Folks will want it that way."

Harvey Jakes had
a
big smile on his
face
all day. He had sold all the papers he put
out.
Helen Marks was
smiling
too; Harvey Jakes had asked her to lunch. They would
be going
over to the Rosey Gray.

148 I Albert
f're11ch

Banes' noon hour
was
near,
folks were
s
lowing down th eir pace. Cou rthouse
clerks
wer
e
putti ng th
eir
things away. Mat thew Brady
always
car
ried his lun
c
h to
work, and on
nice days looked
forward
to having it
outside
on
one of
th
e
m benches. Fr
e
d
Sneed still
had th
e
paper
in his ha nds. He had

been
sitting
all morning with his
sitting
buddies,
J. J.
Gates

and Dexter Clayton. They sat quietly,
so
metimes the only sound would be the
piff
of a quick
spit of
tobacco.

Some of Banes'
young
people were milling about. Lisa
Alo
and her sister Janet had just
crossed
the
street
before they had to walk in front of
"them
spittin old men." They were both in their early teens and knew Lori
from school,
but the
y
had never known an
y
one that
was
murdered
before.
Lisa and Janet could still
see
Lori in their minds and tried to remember the last
tim
e
they
saw
h
er
alive,
but
eac
h
one
cringed when the thought
occun-ed
that
it could
have
been
them
,
then cold
chills
made them
shiver.
Janet
had just
shown Lisa the picture in the paper
,
they hated
the
two niggers they saw.

The
noon hour
was
passing. Matthew Brady
was folding
up the paper bag he
carried
his lun
c
h in.
Mrs.
Purvis
was
wal k ing past the
courthouse with
her
groceries
in h
e
r
arms. Har
vey Jakes and H
e
len Marks were ju
st abo
u t to leave the Rosey Gray. Lisa
and
Janet Alo
slowed
t h
eir
stride and stared
down the street. Fred
Sneed spit
hi
s
tobacco
out, stood, and s
tared.

No
wind bl
e
w in th
e s
tre
e
ts
of
Ban
es,
but Cinder's
hai r flowed and the
skirt of
her long
yellow dress snapped with ev ery
step she took. Katey followed;
she
had
pleaded
wit h
Cin
der, "Child,
ya can'ts go
in there
with
t hem whi te folks
actin
like that."

Cinder had
on ly
looked at h
e
r
and
turn
e
d
away.

B I L L Y
I
149

Katey had said, "It ain't time ta goes in there
y
ets. Ya gotta gives it time."

Cinder said, "I want ta
see
Billy
Lee
."

Patch folks watched Cinder as she wea
v
ed down through the shacks and started up the broken Patch Road. Patch mamas got up from their sitting porches and got to calling to
one
another, "Where she thinks she goin? Ah told
y
a that woman ain
'
t right." Patch children stopped their pla
y
and watched. Kate
y
was still pleading, shaking her head, but following.

Dillion Street folks saw Cinder cross the tracks, they stared, some followed from a distance. They sorta figured that fast walkin woman was lookin for trouble and was goin ta find it.

Mrs. Purvis did not recognize the Nigra women she saw coming, but she could not take her eyes from her.

Pete Grayson was coming out of Hanner's cuttin shop and saw the woman he calls by her mother's name pass. He must follow.

Lisa Alo and her sister Janet's steps slo
w
ed to a stop. Janet looked away from the Indian colored woman, but Lisa had to see the woman's face.

"Look a-here. Look what's goin over ta the jail," Fred Sneed called over his shoulder to J. J. Gates and Dexter Clayton.

Deputy Hill had fed his two prisoners lunch and was no
w
having his own lunch with Sheriff Tom. He quickly turned his head to the monotonous tappin
g
on the door, then looked back at Sheriff Tom.
The
sheriff kept eating
,
mumbled som
e
thing, then gave Deputy Hill a look that said, "Damn, Ce
c
il
,
see who that is."

Sheriff Tom heard Ce
c
il saying, "What do ya want h
e
re
?,"
then
he
heard him
c
all out, "Sheriff, it's that Bill
y
Le
e
'
s
mama."

150 I Albert Fre11ch

Sheriff
Tom
sighed,
then
shouted. "J ust
tell her ta
git on away
from here, that
boy ain't allowed
no
visitors."

Sheriff
heard
Deputy
Hill
saying,
"Git
out of
here, ain't no
visitors
allowed here," then the door
slamming.

A
grin
was
on
Deputy Hill's face as he
started back
into the office; it quick ly disappeared when the monotonous knocking
came
again.
"Damn,"
he shouted and went back to the door. Sheriff Tom rubbed the back
of
his neck as he heard the
shouts
of "Now
,
Ah told
ya,
now. Ya
git
on out of here. Now, git goin."

The door was slammed again, but before the
slamming
sound left Sheriff Tom's
ear
the monotonous knock
came
again. Deputy Hill
shouted,
"Damn bitch
!"
The sheriff
was
up and roared, "Ah
take care
of
this."

The monotonous knock
stopped when
t
he sheriff jerked
th
e
door away from it.
Cinder stood staring up
into hi
s eyes
. H
e
shouted at her,
"Ya better git out of
here.
"

Cinder just
stared. Katey stood
behind
her saying,
"She
ju
s
t
come
to
see
her
childs. Can'ts she just see
him?
She just
wantin ta
see
if
he all
right."

Sheriff
Tom
spoke
to Kate
y,
"He
can't
have
no
visitors git
tin
him
all riled
up.
Now,
ya
all go on, now." Cinder spoke, "I
want ta
see
Bill
y
Lee."

Sheriff
Tom
shouted
in
Cinder's face,
"Ah
said git on
out
of here."

"I
want
ta see
Bill
y
Lee."

"Ah
told
ya ta git out of
h
ere
.
Ya
h
ear
m
e?"

Cinder stared.
h
er eyes
glowed the
color
of
her burnin
g
soul.

"G
it
on now.
Git out of
here."
"
I
want ta
see
Bill
y
Lee."

Sheriff Tom's
s
hout
s
blew into
th
e
s
t
reets.
Tho
se
folks
that

B I L L
y
I
151

weren't looking stared. Lisa Alo and her sister
edged closer.
Mrs. Purvis stood still with her groceries in her arms. Mat thew Brady was about to go back into the
courthouse,
but he didn't.

Cinder would not move. Katey
softly
pleaded
to
her, "Come, child."

The skin on Sheriff Tom
'
s face tightened to the bone, but Cinder would not take her eyes from
it. Someone
watching shouted, "That must be
one
of em niggers
'
mamas."

Harvey Jakes and Helen Marks had just
come
out
of
the Rosey Gray and heard Sheriff Tom's
shouting.
Harv
ey
Jakes got his notebook out and started across the
street;
Helen Marks followed. Clyde Bruce started acros
s
the street,
yelling
ahead, "Git outta here, nigger." Carmella Dean's face twisted into a bitter glare;
she
followed Clyde Bruce into the
street.
Katey felt the eyes of
evil on
her back,
glanced over
her
shoulder,
and saw what she felt. Quickly
she
tugged on Cin der's arm, but Cinder
would
not turn. Sheriff Tom
shouted,
"Look, ya ain't doin nothin but startin trouble. Got
enough of