Paris Trout - Pete Dexter

by Pete Dexter

  He handed the pictures to Seagraves, who took them back to the defense table and studied them, one by one. Trout looked at the first three, and then he moved in his chair until he was facing a different direction.

  The pictures showed the girl on an examining table. She was naked, and even with her eyes closed, something in the flashbulbs made her appear surprised. The surgical cuts were closed with tangles of black thread. As Seagraves finished with each picture, he handed it back to Townes, who carried it to the first juror, who passed it on to the second.

  It took half an hour for all the jury to see all the pictures, and then Townes showed them to Agent E. Smythe. "Are all these wounds consistent with her description of the wounds she suffered inside the house?"

  "I would say so."

  "In your experience with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, have you had occasion to visit other victims of gunshot wounds?"

  "Yessir."

  "Do you have a knowledge of anatomy, Agent Smythe?"

  "Yessir, I do."

  "And do you have an opinion which one of these shots killed the girl?"

  "I would say the one into the stomach."

  "Objection," Seagraves said.

  The judge said, "I'll allow it," and Seagraves stood where he was a long time, staring at him, until the judge met his eyes. "I believe the agent's opinion would be considered reliably expert in shooting matters, Mr. Seagraves." There was a conciliatory note in what he said, however. Seagraves saw he had remembered who got him elected. Seagraves sat down and stared at the table where Trout was drawing something across the top of his pad.

  When he looked again, he recognized it as a family tree.

  * * *

  SEAGRAVES BEGAN HIS CROSS EXAMINATION. "Agent Smythe, in your medical opinion, how successful was the surgery to remove the bullets from Rosie Sayers's body?"

  "I do not know, sir."

  "But what I want to know, do you feel Dr. Braver did a good job?"

  "I have no way to know that."

  "You couldn't say if he might of gone in there with his knife and scissors and cut too much off this or not enough off that?"

  "No sir."

  "You couldn't say if he might of made it worse .... "

  "From the direction of the shot," the agent said, "I don't believe there was a thing your doctor could do to make it worst."

  "You have seen wounds like this before?"

  "Yessir."

  "You have seen someone who was shot in the stomach?"

  "Yessir."

  "You have seen someone shot in the side?"

  "Yessir."

  From the table Seagraves leaned toward the witness. "Have you ever heard of somebody died from an operation?"

  When Seagraves had finished with the agent, he glanced again at the notepad on the table. At the top of the family tree, where his mother's name was, Trout had drawn a spider that was also a face. It wasn't a face Seagraves recognized — he couldn't say if it was male or female, young or old — but he thought it was somebody real.

  Judge Taylor recessed for lunch at ten-thirty again and did not reconvene until one, when Ward Townes called Linda Boxer.

  * * *

  THE LITTLE GIRL CAME out of the back of the courtroom alone, wearing a new yellow dress, her hair tied in back with ribbons. She was afraid, and when the court officer offered her the Bible, she accepted it as if it were a present. Seagraves noticed the ladies in the jury box smiling.

  Judge Taylor leaned toward the child and said, "I'm afraid we need that Bible there for the court, honey, but I'll get you your own if you want."

  The girl straightened her dress. "I got my own," she said, and handed it to the judge.

  "Would you put your hand on top of it for me?" he said.

  She put her hand on the Bible, and the court officer swore her in. When it was done, Townes leaned on the rail in front of the witness box and scratched his head.

  "Linda, can you tell us how old you are?"

  "Eleven."

  "And you say you've got a Bible at home?"

  "All us got Bibles."

  "You and your sister?"

  "Me and my sister and my brothers too. Everyone got us our own."

  "And so, when you put your hand on top of the Bible and promise to tell the truth, you know what that means, don't you?"

  The child nodded.

  "Could you tell us?" _

  She nodded again.

  "Now? Could you tell us now?"

  "The devil get you if you don't tell the truth," she said. "Come and snatch you up for that."

  "All right then, let me ask if you remember the day when the men shot Rosie?"

  Seagraves stood up. "Objection. I am understanding of the problems with witnesses of this age, but the prosecutor is leading her here."

  Judge Taylor sustained.

  "Do you remember the day when the shooting happened?" Townes said. The child nodded, her braids were as stiff as wire and moved with her head.

  "You have to say it out loud, honey," Townes said.

  "I remember."

  "Where were you when the men came?"

  "Me and Jane Ray was in the house," she said.

  "The boys' side?"

  She nodded.

  "And what did you see?"

  "We seen the men come up on the porch, and then Momma come up there to argue with them."

  "Did you go out on the porch too?"

  "No sir."

  "And did you hear them arguing?"

  "They said something, and then they ran into the house and shot Rosie."

  "The other side of the house?"

  "Yessir."

  "Did you see them shoot Rosie?"

  ' "No sir."

  "You heard them?"

  "Yessir."

  "Did it take a long time or a short time?"

  "A long time," she said.

  "And when did you see Rosie again?"

  "Me and Jane Ray stayed put."

  "Did you see Rosie again?" The child did not answer. "Linda? Can you tell us?"

  "We seen the men," she said.

  "When was that?"

  The child began to search the courtroom then, looking for someone. Her thumb went into her mouth, and Seagraves saw that she was about to cry.

  "Linda?"

  Her eyes filled, and tears the size of marbles rolled down her cheeks. There was no sound at all. "You don't have to talk anymore," Townes said. "You want to stop now?"

  "We seen them running out from the back the house," she said suddenly. "They was runnin' and fannin' their coats. When they got into the car, then we come out and saw Rosie."

  "And where was she then?"

  "Out the back door, on the ground."

  "Did Rosie say anything?"

  The child shook her head. "To Momma," she said. "We never got that close to hear it."

  "Where were you, and where was your momma?"

  "Me and Jane Ray come out and saw what they had did. Momma was shot on the ground too, holding Rosie."

  The child's eyes filled again. She dropped her head, and Seagraves could see tears dropping into her lap. Townes said, "Did you think your momma was going to die?"

  "We thought we was all going to die," she said.

  "Thank you," Townes said, and then he turned and looked at Seagraves as if something had been explained.

  * * *

  SEAGRAVES APPROACHEDTHE CHILD carefully. He said, "Linda, did you know who Mr. Trout was before that day?"

  At the sound of the new voice she flattened herself against the back of the chair. The judge leaned toward the child again. just a few more questions, honey. Can you tell us a few more things?"

  She nodded.

  Seagraves said, "Did you hear of Mr. Trout before he came to your house? Did you know who he was?"

  She nodded.

  "How was that?"

  "When he lent the boys money."

  "He lent Thomas and Henry Ray money?"

  "Uh-hmh."

/>   Seagraves smiled at the child, trying to get her to smile back. "That was a nice thing to do, wasn't it?"

  "No sir."

  "It wasn't nice to give your family money when you needed it?"

  "He didn't give it," she said.

  "You're right. He lent it. Do you know what that means?"

  She looked beyond him now, into the seats behind the railing.

  "Linda," he said, bringing her back, "did you wonder how come Mr. Trout would shoot your momma and Rosie?"

  She did not answer but slowly brought herself to look at Trout.

  "Linda?"

  "It just seem like a natural thing for him to do," she said.

  Seagraves held the gate, and she went through it and then to her mother, who was sitting on the aisle in back. Mary McNutt straightened the girl's dress and wiped at her cheeks, and then she picked her up, pressing the child's face into her collar, and carried her out of the room.

  Seagraves was watching her when he heard Townes's voice. "That's all for the people, Your Honor."

  * * *

  SEAGRAVES CALLED BUSTER DEVONNE. He stood in the witness box in a coat that looked like somebody had stolen it off an organ grinder. He put his hand on the Bible and stared right at the jury and swore to tell the truth. He stared at them, and he smiled.

  "Mr. Devonne," Seagraves said, "what is your age?"

  "I'm forty-four years old."

  "Are you employed by Mr. Trout?"

  "Yessir, I worked for Paris, off` and on, eight years."

  "In what capacity?" Buster Devonne narrowed his eyes. "In what position?"

  "I do some collecting," he said.

  "Anything else?"

  "Whatever else needs to be done."

  "And on the afternoon in question did Mr. Trout have occasion to use your services?"

  Buster Devonne smiled and shook his head. "Excuse me," he said, "but it struck me comical. It sounded like Twenty Questions." There was some quiet laughter in back, and Buster Devonne straightened in his seat. Seagraves repeated his question.

  "Yessir," Buster Devonne said. "he asked me would I drive him out to Henry Ray's, to get him to sign a note on the car."

  "Why didn't Mr. Trout just go out there by himself?"

  "When he thought there might be trouble, he took somebody along."

  "What sort of trouble?"

  Buster Devonne shrugged. "There were two pretty big Negroes there, which I had information were very bad, mean Negroes. Plus Mary McNutt and the girl."

  "So you went with Mr. Trout to protect him."

  "I went to keep things in hand, yessir."

  "And what happened when you got to Henry Ray Boxer's house?"

  "Well, let's see. Thomas Boxer and Mary Jane was on the porch with this girl that got shot. We stopped at the steps and greeted them very nicely."

  "What exactly did you say?"

  "Inquired for their health," he said.

  "And what did they say?"

  "Nothing at First. They stood up on the porch, looking down, and then Mr. Trout talked to her."

  "You mean Mrs. McNutt?"

  "Yessir. He said, 'We have never put a hardship on you, Mrs. McNutt. We have always done you kindnesses when you called on us, and I can't understand to save my life why you or one of the boys didn't come in and talk this over.' "

  "And what did Mrs. McNutt say?"

  Buster Devonne shook his head. "Nothing. Then Mr. Trout and myself assented the stairs, and he told them that they would have to sign a blank note. He said, 'You-all know this is right,' and asked me for the note."

  "You had the note."

  "Yessir. Mr. Trout don't tote papers. And so I handed it to him, and he give it to the boy to sign."

  "Did he sign it?"

  "No sir. As soon as he touched it, the woman said, 'Don't sign that thing, Tom.' And then she looked at Paris — Mr. Trout — and cussed him."

  "'What specifically did she say?"

  Buster Devonne shrugged. "She said, 'You white sonofabitch, I will shoot your damn heart out.' You can imagine how I felt."

  Before Seagraves could ask his next question, he heard Ward Townes behind him.

  "Objection," he said. "No one has more respect for this court than myself: Your Honor, for what it is and what it can accomplish, but everything has its reasonable limits, and asking the court to put itself into Mr. Devonne's mind exceeds them."

  There was some laughter again from the back, and Seagraves smiled with it. Buster Devonne put a look on the prosecutor. When the noise had passed, the judge sustained the objection.

  "All right, Mr. Devonne," Seagraves said, "wou1d you please tell what happened next."

  Buster Devonne was still staring at the prosecutor. "Thomas Boxer got up and grabbed hold of Mr. Trout by the neck," he said, "and the girl commenced to tearing at his clothes, to pull him off-balance. They tussled into the door, and then Mrs. McNutt come in there and jumped on Paris from the back. The girl had a pistol."

  "What kind of pistol?"

  "A thirty-two automatic," he said, and looked right into the jury box again.

  "Then what happened?"

  "I was tied up by the door. Thomas Boxer gone disappeared after he grabbed Mr. Trout, and there was supposed to be another Negro somewhere, who was known to be a big bad one. There was shooting then, and then the boy come in from behind to pick up the gun on the floor, and I yelled for Paris to look out, he's coming the other way. I was still waiting on the other Negro to appear and expected Paris could handle the women and Thomas until I got a fix on where he was."

  "Did Mr. Trout have a gun?"

  "Yessir, he did."

  '°Was that unusual?"

  "Not that I know. I believe it was an ordinary forty-five automatic."

  °'Was it unusual for Mr. Trout to carry a gun along when he went for collections?"

  "In Indian Heights? No sir. Paris Trout keeps a bank. He does it hisself; loans and collections, keeps it all in his head. In that business, money and guns go hand in hand."

  "Did you also have a gun?"

  "No sir."

  "Do you own a gun?"

  "Yessir, but I didn't have it with me."

  "And so if someone comes in here and testifies they saw a gun in your pocket, they're mistaken."

  "I'll tell you what they might of saw," he said. "I sometimes put my hand in my coat pocket and stick my finger out, looks like the same thing." Seagraves suddenly had the thought that Buster Devonne was about to wink at the jury.

  "So you did not fire any shots that day?"

  "No sir."

  "Did you go into the house?"

  "No sir, I went to the door. That's as far as I got."

  "Did you see the shooting?"

  "I heard it, a minute after the woman went 'round to the back. But I couldn't say this shot was Bred first and then that one."

  "How long did the shooting last?"

  "Not long," he said. "It didn't take long."

  "And what did you do when it had stopped?"

  "Paris come out of there, it looked like World War One. Both of us made to the car as fast as we could get there."

  "Did you drive back to town, or did Mr. Trout?"

  "I did. He was anxious over what had happened. He said he'd never known a good family to turn on him like that."

  "And you went directly to town?"

  "I took him back to his store. I did that, and then I called Chief Norland and tol' him what happened?

  "Mr. Trout asked you to do that?"

  "Yessir. He would of done it himself, but he had pressing business to attend."

  "Thank you, Mr. Devonne." Then, to Ward Townes: "Your witness."

  * * *

  WARD TOWNES FROWNED AND shook his head. For a long, dreamlike moment Seagraves thought he did not mean to cross-examine. Then he stood up, looking at his notes.

  "Mr. Devonne, how much do you weigh?"

  "I ain't put a penny in Mr. Dickey's scale lately," he said.

&nbs
p; "The last time you did, what did you weigh?"

  "Maybe two-fifteen."

  "Have you seen Thomas Boxer and Henry Ray Boxer in this courtroom? What do you estimate they weigh?"

  "I couldn't," he said. "They got to weigh themselves."

  "You were a member of the Cotton Point Police Department?"

  "Eleven years."

  "In all that time you never had occasion to estimate the height and weight of a suspect?"

  "Sometimes."

  "All right, as a policeman, what would you estimate Henry Ray Boxer weighed?"

  "Hundret and forty."

  "And Thomas Boxer? Would you say he was bigger or smaller?"

  "About the same."

  "Is that your idea of big Negroes, a hundred and forty pounds each?"

  "It depends on the Negroes," he said. "Mrs. McNutt as big as me all by herself?"

  There was some laughter in the courtroom again, but Seagraves noticed there was none in the jury box. Judge Taylor pounded for quiet. "Sir," he said to Buster Devonne, "I will not have women embarrassed in my courtroom."

  "All right," Townes said, "now you testified here that Thomas Boxer choked Mr. Trout and then disappeared when the scuffle started?"

  "Yessir."

  "Once again calling on your experience as a Cotton Point police officer, did you ever see a person disappear? See it for yourself?"

  "I sure as hell looked for a bunch of them that seemed to," he said, and the judge himself laughed at that.

  "But not in front of your own eyes?"

  "No sir. What happened, I was distracted when he and the girl grabbed Paris, and next thing I knew he was gone."

  "Where did he go?"

  "Don't know."

  "Into the other side of the house?"

  "Inside, underneath, I don't know."

  Townes stopped for a moment, changing directions. "How long did you say you were a member of the police force, Mr. Devonne? Eleven years?"

  "Yessir."

  "Do you recall why you left that job?"

  Seagraves objected, and Judge Taylor admonished the prosecutor.

  "Let me ask something else then," Townes said. '°When you spoke with Chief Norland after the shooting, did you indicate then that you had been unarmed?"

  "I don't recall," he said.

  "You didn't tell him you were in the thick of it out there?"

  "I might of left that impression."

  "Why would you want to do that, Mr. Devonne?"

  "We was in it together," he said. "I didn't want it to look like I was putting the blame on Paris — "