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. When can we holler? she asked in a high-pitched voice so hoarse itsounded like her throat was coated with grit.Then, louder, taking on con-fidence, she piped:  Can I holler now?Yes, someone said.Aunt Lillie flung her hands high, threw back her cumulus of white hair,and let out a strangled howl, long, undulating, and fierce.The triumphantsound rang through the courtroom.Bo s family and lawyers broke intoamazed laughter and applause, and the television cameras vectored in onAunt Lillie, feeding off the joyful woman like bees on a magnolia blossom. %  %  %Trailed by reporters and photographers, the family drifted out of the court-house and across the street to the Duplin County Jail, where Bo had beenThe Last Lawyer 229transported the day before.Dozens of people crowded into the low-ceil-inged waiting room the size of a racquetball court.Gray-uniformed jailemployees bustled about behind a plate-glass barrier, processing the releaseforms and trying to ignore the crowd.Covering his ear so he could hear over the hubbub, Mark called Kenback.Where are you? Mark asked.Almost there, Ken said.What s going on? What did Dewey say?He said what we thought he d say, Mark said.But you need to hurry up.We re at the jail.Are they going to let him out? Ken asked, as if he couldn t quite believeit.Yes, they re going to let him out, Mark said.Any minute now.Ken said he d get there as quickly as possible. %  %  %When Bo walked into the jail waiting room, a whoop went up.TV lightsilluminated his snowy short-sleeved shirt and the horseshoe of white whis-kers that framed his mouth.Hands reached out to touch him.His daughter,Yvette, shouldered through the crowd and handed Bo his sixteen-month-old grandson.Bo lifted the baby high, his eyes crinkling in a smile, lookingvery grandfatherly.But the overpowering attention clearly made him nervous.He handedthe baby back to Yvette and headed for the door, led by a backward-shuf-fling semicircle of reporters and photographers.The awkward, many-legged media beast jostled its way through the door.Outside, in the breezyafternoon, an ACLU photographer asked Bo to pose for pictures with hislawyers.Buddy Conner and Mark and the other attorneys flanked Bo,throwing arms around each others shoulders.The photographer raised hiscamera.But Bo was swiveling his head, scanning the street. Where s Ken? he asked. Where s Ken? He s on his way, Buddy Conner assured his client.Bo seemed dissatisfied, but he submitted for the photo.A TV reporter attempted a question:  Can you just give us yourthoughts about being a free man today? I m OK, Bo said hurriedly. Just fine.Ready to go.Ready to go.Readyto go.230 The Last LawyerBo began to edge away, and his relatives chuckled at his jittery response.The laughter seemed to encourage Bo, and he elaborated on his statementto the press. Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go, he said. Gotta get away from here.I beenhere too long.Ready to go somewheres else.He broke away from the throng, lumbering down the street towardFelecia s gray SUV, his shaved head glinting in the sun.The crowd trailedhim.Bo clambered inside the back seat and rolled up the tinted window.Felecia got in the front seat and cranked the ignition.Mark craned his head up the street. Where s Ken? he said, half-exasperated, half-worried.Ken hadalready missed so much.Mark hated for him to miss seeing Bo altogether.But when reporters began to move toward the SUV, Felecia pulled outand drove away, taking Bo with her. %  %  %Through the tinted window, Kenansville looked both familiar and strangeto Bo.In the front seat, Felecia and her husband pointed out new roads andbuildings.Bo wished Ken had been there when he got out.He wanted Ken towitness his moment of triumph.He wanted Ken to understand that he, Bo,had been right, that he would win in the end.Ken was always telling himwhat the other side was doing, telling him that things weren t looking good,saying stuff Bo didn t want to hear.Mark seemed like more of a fighter.Mark s words sounded good to Bo.Ken almost seemed like he was on theother side.That was why Bo had started fighting the case himself, writing to hisjudges, explaining the case.And now he d won.He wanted Ken to see himfree on the street.Bo didn t want to seem ungrateful, because Ken had been working forhim a long time, but he also wanted the lawyer to know that Bo had beenright all along. %  %  %The family lingered under the rows of tall pines on the courthouse lawn,reliving the day s moments Aunt Lillie s shriek, Bo hoisting the baby.Thebreeze swayed the trees, and sunlight glinted through the shifting shade.The Last Lawyer 231By the time Ken drove up and parked near the courthouse, most of thereporters and cameras had dispersed.Ken saw Buddy Conner and wavedhim down near the courthouse steps.Mark spotted the two attorneysKen with his sloppy hair and Honda Civic that had smashed into a tree fiveyears earlier; Buddy Conner with his expensive cut and gleaming BMWconvertible and hurried over. Oh, Ken, it was so beautiful, Mark said.Mark related the afternoon s events as he and Ken strolled acrossthe courthouse lawn.One by one, Bo s relatives noticed Ken and turnedtoward him, grins breaking over their faces.Aunt Lillie pulled Ken into anembrace.Nobody noticed at first when the gray SUV pulled up.The rear pas-senger window rolled down.Bo s thick brown hand appeared, beckoningKen.Ken spotted Bo and shambled over to the car, smiling down throughthe window. Hey, Bo said through the window. I was asking for you a whileago. Sorry I m late, Ken said. I just got screwed up, driving in circles.ButI finally got here. Yup, yup, Bo said. Are you.Is this just overwhelming? Ken asked. So much comingat you? It s all right, Bo said. I feel pretty good.I had to get away from herefor a while. It s a little quieter now, Ken said. I m glad to see y all, Bo said,  and thanks for your help.Ken waved this away. You know how to contact us if you need any-thing? he asked. Yeah, yeah, I ll stay in contact, Bo said. After all the good work y alldone.The two men faced each other at an arm s length, neither quite able tograsp the words to sum up eleven years of uneasy and unequal partnership.But, presently, the other folks, the more demonstrative folks, those whofound it easy to recognize and plumb the depths of their feelings, driftedover to the car, and they swept the conversation in another direction, laugh-ing and joking and rescuing Ken and Bo from themselves.AUTHOR S NOTEI first approached Ken Rose about this book in early 2004.Always opento fresh ideas, Ken Rose was intrigued by the idea of a book that trackeda capital postconviction case from the lawyer s point of view.On theother hand, Ken was concerned that my book could harm Bo Jones scase.Over several months of discussions, we struck a deal [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]