Wish You Well Part 28

Goode looked at Miller, betrayed. "No questions."

A nervous Wheeler fidgeted in the witness box as Cotton approached.

"You're Southern Valley's chief geologist?"

"I am."

"And you headed up the team that was exploring possible natural gas deposits on Miss Cardinal's property?"

"I did."

"Without her permission or knowledge?"

"Well, I don't know about-"

"Did you have her permission, Mr. Wheeler?" Cotton snapped.

"No."

"You found natural gas, didn't you?"

"That's right."

"And it was something your company was right interested in, wasn't it?"

"Well, natural gas is getting to be very valuable as a heating fuel. We mostly use manufactured gas, town gas they call it. You get that from heating coal. That's what fuels the streetlights in this town. But you can't make much money with town gas. And we have seamless steel pipe now, which allows us to send gas in pipelines a long way. So yes, we were very interested."

"Natural gas is explosive, right?"

"If properly used-"

"Is it, or isn't it?"

"It is."

"Exactly what did you do in that mine?"

"We took readings and did tests and located what appeared to be a huge field of gas in a trap not too far underneath the surface of that mine shaft and about six hundred feet in the mine. Coal, oil, and gas are often found together because all three result from similar natural processes. The gas always lies on top because it's lighter. That's why you have to be careful when you're mining coal. Methane gas buildup is a real danger to the miners. Anyway, we drilled down and hit that gas field."

"Did the gas come up in the mine shaft?"

"Yes."

"On what date did you hit the gas field?"

When Wheeler told them the day, Cotton said loud and clear to the jury, "One week before Jimmy Skinner's death! Would somebody be able to smell the gas?"

"No, in its natural state gas is colorless and odorless. When companies process it, they add a distinct smell so that if there's a leak people can detect it before it overcomes them."

"Or before something ignites it?"

"That's right."

"If someone set off a dynamite charge in a mine shaft where there was natural gas present, what would happen?"

"The gas would explode." Wheeler looked like he wanted to be blown up himself.

Cotton faced the jury. "I guess Eugene was real lucky he was so far away from the hole where the gas was pouring through and his lamp flame didn't ignite the gas. And he was even luckier he didn't strike a match to light that fuse. But the dynamite going off sure did the trick." He turned back to Wheeler. "What sort of explosion? Big enough to cause Jimmy Skinner's death, in the manner described by Dr. Barnes?"

"Yes," Wheeler conceded.

Cotton put his hands on the frame of the witness box and leaned in. "Didn't you ever think about posting warning signs telling people that there was gas there?"

"I didn't know they dynamited in there! I didn't know they used that old mine for anything."

Cotton thought he caught Wheeler shooting an angry look at George Davis, but he couldn't be sure.

"But if anyone went in, they might be overcome by the gas alone. Wouldn't you want to warn people?"

Wheeler spoke fast. "The ceilings in that mine shaft are real high, and there's some natural ventilation through the rock too, so the buildup of the methane wouldn't be so bad. And we were going to cap the hole, but we were waiting on some equipment we needed. We didn't want anybody to get hurt. That's the truth."

"The fact is, you couldn't post warning signs because you were there illegally. Isn't that right?"

"I was just following orders."

"You took great pains to hide the fact that you were working in that mine, didn't you?"

"Well, we only worked at night. Whatever equipment we carried in, we took out with us."

"So n.o.body would know you'd been there?"

"Yes."

"Because Southern Valley was hoping to buy Miss Cardinal's farm for a lot less money if she didn't know she was sitting on an ocean of gas?"

"Objection!" Goode said.

Cotton steamed right on. "Mr. Wheeler, you knew Jimmy Skinner died in that mine explosion. And you had to know the gas played some role in it. Why didn't you come forward and tell the truth then?"

Wheeler fidgeted with his hat. "I was told not to."

"And who told you not to?"

"Mr. Hugh Miller, company vice president."

Everyone in the courtroom looked at Miller. Cotton stared at Miller when he asked his next questions.

"You have any children, Mr. Wheeler?"

Wheeler looked surprised, but answered: "Three."

"They all doing well? Healthy?"

Wheeler's gaze dropped to his lap before he responded. "Yes."

"You're a lucky man."

Goode was addressing the jury with his closing argument.

"Now, we've heard far more evidence than is necessary for you to find that Louisa Mae Cardinal is mentally unfit. In fact, her own lawyer, Mr. Longfellow, has conceded that she is. Now, all this talk about gas and explosions and such, well what does it really have to do with this case? If Southern Valley was somehow involved in Mr. Skinner's death, then his survivors may may be ent.i.tled to damages." be ent.i.tled to damages."

"He doesn't have any survivors," said Cotton.

Goode chose to ignore this. "Now, Mr. Longfellow asks whether my client is an appropriate party to be buying land up here. Fact is, folks, Southern Valley has big plans for your town. Good jobs, bring prosperity back to you all."

He got real close to the jury, their best friend. "The question is, should Southern Valley be allowed to 'enrich' all of your lives as well as Miss Cardinal's? I think the answer to that is obvious."

Goode sat down. And Cotton came at the jury. He moved slowly, his bearing confident but not threatening. His hands were in his pockets, and he rested one of his scuffed shoes on the lower rail of the jury box. When he spoke, his voice leaned more southern than New England, and every single juror except George Davis hunched forward so as not to miss anything the man said. They had watched Cotton Longfellow b.l.o.o.d.y the nose of what they a.s.sumed was one of the finest lawyers from the great city of Richmond. And he had made humble a company that was as close to a monarch as one could get in a country of democracy. Now they undoubtedly wanted to see if the man could finish it.

"Let me give you good folks the legal side of the case first. And it's not complicated at all. In fact it's like a good bird dog, it points straight and true in one direction, and one direction only." He took one hand from his pocket and, like a good hound, pointed right at Hugh Miller as he spoke. "The reckless actions of Southern Valley killed Jimmy Skinner, you folks can have no doubts about that. Southern Valley's not even disputing it. They were illegally on Louisa Mae's property. They posted no warnings that the mine was filled with explosive gas. They allowed innocent people to enter that mine when they knew it was deadly. It could've been any of you. And they did not come forward with the truth because they knew they were in the wrong. And now they seek to use the tragedy of Louisa Mae's stroke as a way to take her land. The law clearly says one cannot profit from one's misdeeds. Well, if what Southern Valley did does not qualify as a misdeed, then nothing on this earth ever would." His voice up to this point had been slow and steady. Now it rose one delicate notch, but he kept his finger pointed at Hugh Miller. "One day G.o.d will hold them accountable for killing an innocent young man. But it's your job to see that they are punished today."

Cotton looked at each and every juror, stopping on George Davis; he spoke directly to him. "Now, let's get to the nonlegal nonlegal part of this business, for I think that's where the struggle you folks are going through lies. Southern Valley has come in here swinging bags full of money in front of you, telling you that it's the savior of the whole town. But that's what the lumber folks told you. They're going to be here forever. Remember? So why were all the lumber camps on rails? How much more part of this business, for I think that's where the struggle you folks are going through lies. Southern Valley has come in here swinging bags full of money in front of you, telling you that it's the savior of the whole town. But that's what the lumber folks told you. They're going to be here forever. Remember? So why were all the lumber camps on rails? How much more temporary temporary can you get? And where are they now? Last time I checked, Kentucky was not part of the Commonwealth of Virginia." can you get? And where are they now? Last time I checked, Kentucky was not part of the Commonwealth of Virginia."

He looked over at Miller. "And the coal companies told you the same thing. And what did they do? They came and took everything they wanted and left you with nothing except hollowed-out mountains, family with the black lung and dreams replaced with nightmares. And now Southern Valley's singing that same old tune with gas. It's just one more needle in the mountain's hide. Just one more thing to suck out, leaving nothing!" Cotton turned and addressed the entire courtroom.

"But this isn't really about Southern Valley, or coal or gas. It's ultimately about all of you. Now, they can cut the top of that mountain easy enough, pull out that gas, run their fine seamless steel pipeline, and it might keep going for ten, fifteen, even twenty years. But then it'll all be gone. You see, that pipeline is taking the gas to other places, just like the trains did the coal, and the river did the trees. Now, why is that, do you think?" He took his time looking around the room. "I'll tell you why. Because that's where the real prosperity is, folks. At least in the way Southern Valley defines it. And all of you know that. These mountains just got what they need to keep that prosperity going and their pockets filled. And so they come here and they take it.

"d.i.c.kens, Virginia, will never be a New York City, and let me tell you there's not a d.a.m.n thing wrong with that. In fact, I believe we have us enough big cities, and a dwindling number of places like right here. Y'all will never become rich working at the foot of these mountains. Those who will claim great wealth are the Southern Valleys of the world, who take from the land and give nothing back to it. You want a real real savior? Look at yourselves. Rely on each other. Just like Louisa Mae's been doing her whole life up on that mountain. Farmers live on the whim of the weather and the ground. Some years they lose, other years are fine. But for them, the resources of the mountain are savior? Look at yourselves. Rely on each other. Just like Louisa Mae's been doing her whole life up on that mountain. Farmers live on the whim of the weather and the ground. Some years they lose, other years are fine. But for them, the resources of the mountain are never never extinguished, because they do not tear its soul away. And their reward for that is being able to live a decent, honest life for as long as they so desire, without the fear that folks intent on nothing more than making a pile of gold by raping mountains will come with grand promises, and then leave when there is nothing to be gained by staying, and destroy innocent lives in the process." extinguished, because they do not tear its soul away. And their reward for that is being able to live a decent, honest life for as long as they so desire, without the fear that folks intent on nothing more than making a pile of gold by raping mountains will come with grand promises, and then leave when there is nothing to be gained by staying, and destroy innocent lives in the process."

He pointed to Lou where she sat in the courtroom. "Now, that girl's daddy wrote many wonderful stories about this area, and those very issues of land, and the people who live on it. In words, Jack Cardinal has enabled this place to survive forever. Just like the mountains. He had an exemplary teacher, for Louisa Mae Cardinal has lived her life the way all of us should. She's helped many of you at some point in your lives and asked for nothing in return." Cotton looked at Bu-ford Rose and some of the other farmers staring at him. "And you've helped her when she needed it. You know she'd never sell her land, because that ground is as much a part of her family as her great-grandchildren waiting to see what's going to happen to them. You can't let Southern Valley steal the woman's family. All folks have up on that mountain is each other and their land. That's all. It may not seem like much to those who don't live there, or for people who seek nothing but to destroy the rock and trees. But rest a.s.sured, it means everything to the people who call the mountains home."

Cotton stood tall in front of the jury box, and though his voice remained level and calm, the large room seemed inadequate to contain his words.

"You folks don't have to be an expert in the law to reach the right decision in this case. All you got to have is a heart. Let Louisa Mae Cardinal keep her land."

CHAPTER FORTY.

LOU STARED OUT THE WINDOW OF HER BEDROOM AT the grand sweep of land as it bolted right up to the foothills and then on to the mountains, where the leaves on all but the evergreens were gone. The naked trees were still quite something to behold, though now they appeared to Lou to be poor grave markers for thousands of dead, their mourners left with not much. the grand sweep of land as it bolted right up to the foothills and then on to the mountains, where the leaves on all but the evergreens were gone. The naked trees were still quite something to behold, though now they appeared to Lou to be poor grave markers for thousands of dead, their mourners left with not much.

"You should have come back, Dad," she said to the mountains he had immortalized with words and then shunned the rest of his life.

She had returned to the farm with Eugene after the jury had gone into deliberation. She had no desire to be there when the verdict came in. Cotton had said he would come tell them the decision. He said he did not expect it to take long. Cotton did not say whether he thought that was good or bad, but he did not look hopeful. Now all Lou could do was wait. And it was hard, for everything around her could be gone tomorrow, depending on what a group of strangers decided. Well, one of them wasn't a stranger; he was more like a mortal enemy. Lou traced her father's initials with her finger on the desk. She had sacrificed her mother's letters for a miracle that had never bothered to come, and it pained her so. She went downstairs and stopped at Louisa's room. Through the open door she saw the old bed, the small dresser, a bowl and pitcher on top of it. The room was small, its contents spare, just like the woman's life. Lou covered her face. It just wasn't right. She stumbled into the kitchen to start the meal.

As she was pulling out a pot, Lou heard a noise behind her and turned. It was Oz. She wiped at her eyes, for she still wanted to be strong for him. Yet as she focused on his expression, Lou realized she had no need to worry about her brother. Something had seized him; she didn't know what. But her brother had never looked this way before. Without a word, he took her hand and drew his sister back down the hallway.

The jury filed into the courtroom, a dozen men from the mountain and the town, at least eleven of whom Cotton could hope would do the right thing. The jury had been out for many hours, longer than Cotton had thought probable. He did not know if that was good or bad. The real card against him, he knew, was that of desperation. It was a strong opponent, because it could so easily prey upon those who worked so hard every day simply to survive, or upon those who saw no future in a place where everything was being carved out and taken away. Cotton would loathe the jurors if they went against him, yet he knew they easily could. Well, at least it would soon be over.

Atkins asked, "Has the jury reached a verdict?"

The foreman rose. He was a man from the town, a humble shopkeeper, his body swollen from too much beef and potato, and from too little effort with arms and shoulders. "Yes, Your Honor," he said quietly.

Hardly a single person had left the courtroom since the jury had been given its charge from the judge and sent out. The whole population of the room leaned forward, as though they all had just been struck deaf.

"What say you?"

"We find ... for Southern Valley." The foreman looked down, as though he had just delivered a death sentence to one of his own.

The courtroom erupted into shouts-some cheers, some not. The balcony seemed to sway with the collective weight of the decision of a dozen men. Hugh Miller and George Davis exchanged slight nods, lips easing into victorious smiles.

Cotton sat back. The legal process had had its day; the only thing absent was justice.

Miller and Goode shook hands. Miller tried to congratulate Wheeler, but the big man walked off in obvious disgust.

"Order, order in this court or I'll clear it." Atkins slammed his gavel several times, and things did quiet down.

"The jury is dismissed. Thank you for your service," he said and not very kindly. A man entered the courtroom, spotted Cotton, and whispered something in his ear. Cotton's despair noticeably deepened.

Goode said, "Your Honor, it now remains solely to appoint someone to represent Miss Cardinal's interests and a.s.sume guardianship of the children."

"Judge, I've just received some news that the court needs to hear." Cotton slowly stood, his head down, one hand pressed to his side. "Louisa Mae Cardinal has pa.s.sed away."

The courtroom erupted once more, and this time Atkins made no move to contain it. Davis's smile broadened. He went over to Cotton. "d.a.m.n," he said, "this day get better and better."

Cotton's mind went blank for a moment, as though someone had smote him with an anvil. He grabbed Davis and had it in his mind to deliver him into the next county with his right fist, but then he stopped and simply heaved the man out of his way, as one would shovel a large pile of manure off a road.

"Your Honor," said Goode, "I know we're all very sorry to hear about Miss Cardinal. Now, I have a list of very reputable people who can represent these fine children in the sale of the property that has just now pa.s.sed to them."

"And I hope you rot in h.e.l.l for it," cried out Cotton. He raced to the bench, Goode on his heels.

Cotton pounded his fist so hard on the mighty bench of justice that Fred the bailiff took a nervous step toward them.

"George Davis tainted that whole jury," roared Cotton. "I know he's got Southern Valley dollars burning a hole in his pocket."

"Give it up, Longfellow, you lost," said Goode.

Neither man noticed the courtroom doors opening.

"Never, Goode. Never!" Cotton shouted at him.

"He agreed to be bound by the decision of the jury."