The Runaway Jury

The Runaway Jury Page 35

Explaining football to Henry Vu was more trouble than it was worth. But then, everyone seemed to be an expert. Nicholas had played high school junior varsity, in Texas, no less, where the sport is something only slightly less than a religion. Jerry followed twenty games a week, followed in fact with his wallet and thus claimed to know the game intimately. Lonnie, sitting behind Henry, had also played in high school and was quick to lean over his shoulder and point. The Poodle, sitting next to Jerry, closely under the quilt, had learned the game thoroughly when her two sons played. Even Shine Royce didn't hesitate to throw in a few pointers. He'd never played the game but watched a lot of television.

They sat in a tiny huddled group on the visitors' side, on cold aluminum bleachers, away from the rest of the crowd, watching a Gulf Coast school play one from Jackson. It was a perfect football setting-cool weather, nice crowd on the home side, a rowdy band in the stands, cute cheerleaders, close score.

Henry asked all the wrong questions: Why are their trousers so tight? What do they say when they group together between plays and why do they hold hands? Why do they pile up like that? He claimed it was his first live football game.

Across an aisle, Chuck and another deputy watched the game in plain clothes, ignoring six of the jurors in the most important civil trial in the country.

IT WAS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN for any juror to have contact with another juror's visitors. The prohibition had been in writing since the beginning of sequestration, and Judge Harkin had harped on it repeatedly. But an occasional hello in the hallway was unavoidable, and Nicholas had been especially determined to violate the rule whenever possible.

Millie had no interest in movies and certainly none in football. Hoppy arrived with a sack of burritos, which they ate slowly with few words. After dinner, they tried to watch a TV show but finally gave it up and began to rehash Hoppy's mess. There were more tears, more apologies, even a few of Hoppy's casual references to suicide, which Millie found a bit overly dramatic. She finally confessed she'd spilled her guts to Nicholas Easter, a fine young man who knew the law and could be trusted implicitly. Hoppy at first was shocked and angry, then his curiosity got the better of him and he longed to know what someone else thought of his situation. Especially someone who'd studied the law, as Millie said. More than once she'd mentioned her admiration for the young man.

Nicholas had promised to make a few calls, and this alarmed Hoppy. Oh how Nitchman and Napier and Cristano lectured him on the necessity of silence! Nicholas could be trusted, Millie repeated, and Hoppy eventually warmed to the idea.

The phone rang at ten-thirty; it was Nicholas, back from the game, settled in his room, and anxious to meet with the Duprees. Millie unlocked the door. Willis watched with great surprise from the end of the hall as Easter sneaked into Millie's room. Was her husband still in there? He couldn't remember. Many of the guests had yet to leave, and he'd been napping anyway. Surely Easter and Millie weren't seeing each other! Willis made a mental note of it, then drifted back to sleep.

Hoppy and Millie sat on the edge of the bed facing Nicholas, who leaned on the dresser near the TV. He began by lecturing them kindly on the need for silence, as if Hoppy hadn't heard this in the past week. They were violating a Judge's orders, enough said.

He broke the news gently. Napier, Nitchman, and Cristano were minor players in a large fraud, a conspiracy orchestrated by the tobacco company to pressure Millie. They were not government agents. The names were aliases. Hoppy had been duped.

He took it well. At first he felt even more stupid, if that was possible, then the room began to spin as Hoppy got yanked this way and that. Was it good news or bad? What about the tape? What was his next move? What if Nicholas was wrong? A hundred thoughts raced through his overloaded brain as Millie squeezed his knee and started crying.

"Are you sure?" he was able to ask, his voice on the verge of cracking.

"Positive. They have no connection with either the FBI or the Department of Justice."

"But, but they had badges and-"

Nicholas raised both hands, nodded compassionately, and said, "I know, Hoppy. Believe me, that stuff was easy. The cover was simple to create."

Hoppy rubbed his forehead and tried to arrange things. Nicholas went on to explain that KLX Property Group in Las Vegas was a sham. They had been unable to find a Mr. Todd Ringwald, which was almost certainly an alias too. "How do you know all this?" Hoppy asked.

"Good question. I have a close friend on the outside who's very good at digging for information. He is completely trustworthy. Took about three hours on the phone, which is not bad considering it's Saturday."

Three hours. On a Saturday. Why hadn't Hoppy made a few calls? He'd had a week. He sunk lower until his elbows rested on his knees. Millie wiped her cheeks with a tissue. A quiet minute passed.

"What about the tape?" Hoppy asked.

"Of you and Moke?"

"Yes. That tape."'

"I'm not worried about it," Nicholas said confidently, as if he was now Hoppy's lawyer. "Legally, there are lots of problems with the tape."

Tell me about it, Hoppy thought but said nothing. Nicholas continued, "It was obtained by false pretenses. It's a clear case of entrapment. It's in the possession of men who themselves are violating the law. It was not obtained by law enforcement officials. There was no search warrant for it, no court order allowing your words to be recorded. Forget it."

What sweet words! Hoppy's shoulders jerked upward and he exhaled mightily. "You're serious?"

"Yes, Hoppy. The tape will never be played again."

Millie leaned over and clutched Hoppy, and they hugged without shame or embarrassment. Her tears were now of unbridled joy. Hoppy jumped to his feet and bounced around the room. "So what's the game plan?" he asked, cracking his knuckles, ready for battle.

"We have to be careful."

"Just point me in the right direction. The bastards."

"Hoppy!"

"Sorry, dear. I'm just ready to kick some ass."

"Your language!"

SUNDAY BEGAN with a birthday cake. Loreen Duke had mentioned to Mrs. Gladys Card that her thirty-sixth birthday was approaching. Mrs. Card called her sister out in the free world, and early Sunday her sister delivered a thick chocolate caramel cake. Three layers with thirty-six candles. The jurors met in the dining room at nine and ate the cake for breakfast. Most then left in a hurry for four hours of much-awaited worship. Some had not been to church in years, but felt drawn by the Spirit.

One of Poodle's boys picked her up, and Jerry tagged along. They headed in the general direction of some unnamed church, but as soon as they realized no one was watching they went to a casino instead. Nicholas left with Marlee, and they attended Mass. Mrs. Gladys Card made a grand entrance at the Calvary Baptist Church. Millie went home with good intentions of dressing for church, but she was overcome with emotion at the sight of her kids. No one was watching, so she spent her time in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning and doting on her brood. Phillip Savelle remained behind.

Hoppy went to his office at ten. He had called Napier at eight Sunday morning with the news that he had important trial developments to discuss; said he'd made much progress with his wife and she was now scoring major points with other jurors. He wanted to meet with Napier and Nitchman at his office to give a full report, and to receive further instructions.

Napier took the call in a run-down two-room apartment he and Nitchman were using as a front for the scam. Two phone lines were temporarily installed-one as the office number, the other as their residence for the duration of their hard-charging investigation into corruption along the Gulf Coast. Napier chatted with Hoppy, then called Cristano for orders. Cristano's room was at a Holiday Inn near the beach. Cristano in turn called Fitch, who was delighted with the news. Finally, Millie was off dead-center and moving their way. Fitch had begun to wonder if his investment would pay off. He green-lighted the meeting at Hoppy's office.

Wearing their standard dark suits and dark sunshades, Napier and Nitchman arrived at the office at eleven to find Hoppy brewing coffee and in great spirits. They settled around his desk and waited for the coffee. Millie was in there  -  fighting like hell to save her husband, Hoppy said, and she felt quite confident she had already convinced Mrs. Gladys Card and Rikki Coleman. She had shared the Robilio memo with them, and they had been shocked at the man's deceit.

He poured coffee as Napier and Nitchman dutifully took notes. Another guest quietly entered the building through the front door, which had been left unlocked by Hoppy. He eased along the hall behind the open reception area, stepping lightly on the worn carpet until he came to a wooden door with HOPPY DUPREE painted on it. He listened for a moment, then knocked loudly.

Inside, Napier jumped and Nitchman set down his coffee, and Hoppy stared at them as if startled. "Who is it?" he growled loudly. The door opened suddenly, and Special Agent Alan Madden stepped in, said loudly, "FBI!" while walking to the edge of Hoppy's desk and glaring at all three. Hoppy kicked his chair back and stood as if he might have to get frisked.

Napier would've fainted had he been standing. Nitchman's mouth dropped open. Both turned pale as their hearts stopped.

"Agent Alan Madden, FBI," he said as he opened his badge for all to inspect. "Are you Mr. Dupree?" he demanded.

"Yes. But the FBI is already here," Hoppy said, looking at Madden, then at the other two, then back at Madden.

"Where?" he asked, scowling down at Napier and Nitchman.

"These two guys," Hoppy said, acting brilliantly. It was his finest moment. "This is Agent Ralph Napier, and this is Agent Dean Nitchman. You guys don't know each other?"

"I can explain," Napier started, nodding confidently as if he could in fact make everything satisfactory.

"FBI?" Madden said. "Show me some identification," he demanded, shoving forward an empty palm.

They hesitated, and Hoppy pounced on them. "Go ahead. Show him your badges. Same ones you showed me."

"Identification please," Madden insisted, his anger growing by the second.

Napier started to stand, but Madden returned him to his seat by pressing down on his shoulder. "I can explain," Nitchman said, his voice an octave higher than normal.

"Go ahead," Madden said.

"Well, you see, we're not really FBI agents, but instead-"

"What!" Hoppy screamed from across the desk. He was wild-eyed and ready to throw something. "You lying sonofabitch! You've been telling me for the last ten days that you're FBI agents!"

"Is that true?" Madden demanded.

"Not, not really," Nitchman said.

"What!" Hoppy screamed again.

"Cool it!" Madden snapped at him.

"Now continue," he said to Nitchman.

Nitchman didn't want to continue. He wanted to bolt through the door, kiss Biloxi good-bye, and never be seen again. "We're private investigators, and, well-"

"We work for a firm in B.C.," Napier chimed in helpfully. He was about to add something else when Hoppy lunged for a desk drawer, yanked it open, and removed two business cards-one for Ralph Napier, one for Dean Nitchman, both labeled as FBI agents, both from the Southeast Regional Unit in Atlanta. Madden studied both cards, saw the local numbers scrawled on the back.

"What's going on here?" Hoppy demanded.

"Who's Nitchman?" Madden asked. There was no answer.

"He's Nitchman," Hoppy yelled, pointing at Nitchman.

"Not me," Nitchman said.

"What!" Hoppy screamed.

Madden took two steps toward Hoppy and pointed at his chair. "I want you to sit down and shut up, okay? Not another word until I ask for it." Hoppy fell into his seat, his eyes glaring fiercely at Nitchman.

"Are you Ralph Napier?" Madden asked.

"Nope," Napier said, looking down, away from Hoppy.

"Sonofabitches," Hoppy mumbled. "Then who are you?" Madden asked. He waited, but there was no response.

"They gave me those cards, okay?" Hoppy said, not about to keep quiet. "I'll go to the grand jury and swear on a stack of Bibles that they gave me those cards. They've held themselves out as FBI agents, and I want them prosecuted."

"Who are you?" Madden asked the one previously known as Nitchman. No response. Madden then removed a service revolver, an action that greatly impressed Hoppy, and made the two stand and spread their legs and lean forward on the desk. A quick frisk of each revealed nothing but pocket change, some keys, and a few dollars. No wallets. No fake FBI badges. No identification whatsoever. They were too well trained to make that mistake.

He handcuffed them and led them from the office to the front of the building, where another FBI agent was sipping coffee from a paper cup and waiting. Together, they loaded Napier and Nitchman into the back of a real FBI car. Madden said goodbye to Hoppy, promised to call him later, and drove away with the two stooges in the backseat, sitting on their hands. The other FBI agent followed in the fake FBI car Napier always drove.

Hoppy waved farewell.

Madden drove along Highway 90, in the direction of Mobile. Napier, the quicker wit of the two, concocted a fairly reasonable story, which Nitchman added to slightly. They explained to Madden that their firm had been hired by some vague and unnamed casino interests to investigate various parcels of real estate along the Coast. This is where they'd run into Hoppy, who was quite corrupt and had tried to shake 'em down for cash. One thing led to another, and their boss made them pose as FBI agents. No harm had been done, really.

Madden listened with hardly a word. They would later tell Fitch that he seemed not to have a clue about Hoppy's wife Millie and her current civic responsibilities. He was a young agent, obviously amused with his catch and not certain what to do with them.

For his part, Madden deemed it a minor offense, unworthy of prosecution, certainly not worth any more effort on his part. His caseload was staggering anyway. The last thing he needed was to waste time pursuing convictions for two small-time liars. When they crossed into Alabama, he delivered a stern lecture on the penalties for impersonating a federal officer. They were truly sorry. It would never happen again.

He stopped at a rest station, uncuffed them, gave them their car, and told them to stay out of Mississippi. They thanked him profusely, promised never to return, and sped away.

FITCH BROKE A LAMP with his fist when he got the call from Napier. Blood dripped from a knuckle as he seethed and cursed and listened to the story, as told from a noisy truck stop somewhere in Alabama. He sent Pang to collect the two.

Three hours after they were first handcuffed, Napier and Nitchman were seated in a room next to Fitch's office in the rear of the old dime store. Cristano was present.

"Start at the beginning," Fitch said. "I want to hear every word." He punched a button and a recorder started. They painstakingly collaborated on the narrative until they'd recollected virtually all of it.

Fitch dismissed them and sent them back to Washington.

Alone, he dimmed the lights in his office and sulked in the darkness. Hoppy would tell Millie tonight. Millie would be lost as a defense juror; in fact, she'd probably swing so far to the other side she'd want billions in damages for the poor widow Wood.

Marlee could salvage this disaster. Only Marlee.