Joe Dillard - 03 - Injustice for All Read Online Free PDF Page B

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    “Big Jack,” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck, “you look fantastic.”
    “You look tired,” he says as he returns the hug and sits down across from me.
    “Didn’t sleep very well.”
    “So, how are you? Want to talk about it?”
    “Talk about what?”
    “The execution. Are you handling it all right?”
    “I’m not sure yet,” I say honestly. “It’s hard to believe I sat there and watched them kill a man.”
    “A man who murdered a defenseless little girl.”
    “I know. I’m just not quite sure what to think about it.”
    “Then don’t think about it.” He smiles broadly. “Let’s talk baseball.”
    I’m relieved he isn’t interested in hearing the details of the event I witnessed several hours earlier, and we begin to talk about our favorite subject while he wolfs down four eggs, two pieces of wheat toast, two apples, and a banana. We talk about coaches and teammates and opponents and Jack’s prospects of being drafted by a major- league team in June. I’m in favor of his staying at Vanderbilt through his senior year, but he’s a power hitter who also hits for average and rarely strikes out, and there’s a good chance the pros might throw some serious money at him in the draft this year. An hour flies by, and at seven forty-five he looks at his watch and gulps down the last of a glass of orange juice.
    “Gotta go, Dad,” he says. “Class in fifteen minutes.”
    “Sure,” I say dejectedly.
    “Something wrong?”
    “Nah. I’m just not looking forward to the rest of the week.”
    “What’s up?”
    “I have a hearing tomorrow morning that I don’t think is going to go well, and your mom has invited Ray and Toni over for dinner Saturday night. She thinks they’re on the verge of splitting up.”
    “I talked to Tommy yesterday,” Jack says. Tommy Miller and Jack have remained close despite being hundreds of miles from each other. They speak on the phone often and spend time together during the holidays, which is the only time they’re at home now. The last time I saw Tommy was at Christmas. He told me he loved Duke University and was doing well both in the classroom and on the baseball field.
    “Yeah? What’d Tommy have to say?”
    “He says things are bad. He’s worried about his dad. He also says he’s going to have to transfer in the fall because they can’t afford the tuition at Duke anymore.”
    “I know. Your mom told me.”
    Ray Miller’s situation has grown steadily worse since Judge Green threw him in jail on the contempt charge six months ago. The judge made good on the promises he made as Ray and I left the courtroom that day. Less than twenty- four hours after Ray was jailed, the judge issued an order suspending Ray from practicing law in the criminal courts of the First Judicial District. He then filed a dozen complaints against Ray with the Board of Professional Responsibility. Since the complaints were coming from a judge, the BPR—a useless bunch of paper pushers in Nashville—suspended Ray statewide without so much as a perfunctory hearing.
    Green’s scorched-earth campaign has resulted in Ray’s being unable to earn a living, which in turn has caused him to be unable to make his mortgage payments, which will undoubtedly result in the loss of his house in the very near future. Two of his vehicles have already been repossessed by creditors, Tommy is being forced to leave Duke, and as the situation has worsened, Ray has fallen into a deep depression. He’s grown a beard, is drinking heavily, and has put on at least thirty pounds. I find myself going by to see him less and less often, because watching him deteriorate is nothing short of heartbreaking.
    “So why is Mom having them over?” Jack asks.
    “Sounds like it’ll be pretty miserable.”
    “You know how she is,” I say. “She always thinks she can help, and even if she can’t, she thinks she has to try.”
    Jack rises from the table and hugs me again.
    “Tell Mom I love her,”