A Time For Mercy

Drew returns to Kiera and tells her he shot and killed Stuart. It is now 2:47am. As Drew waits for the police to arrive, he fears what will happen to him. When the police and ambulance arrive, they discover that Josie is still alive and take her immediately to the hospital. Sheriff Ozzie Walls arrives at the scene and learns the details of the murder. He sees Stuart’s body and orders the state police to oversee the investigation. Ozzie and Deputy Moss Junior Tatum drive the kids to the Ford County jail. Drew asks if they can see their mother, but Ozzie says no. At the jail, Ozzie forces a reporter to leave before taking the kids inside. He places them in a juvenile cell and removes Drew’s handcuffs. Ozzie asks them if they have any friends or relatives who can pick Kiera up, and she suggests Reverend Charles McGarry, a pastor at Good Shepherd Bible Church. Ozzie tells Tatum to call McGarry and drives to the hospital to check on Josie.

When he arrives, Ozzie learns that Josie is stable but has a shattered jaw, requiring surgery. Ozzie tells the doctor to document everything for the trial and returns to the jail. He calls Earl Kofer, Stuart’s father, and tells him he’ll stop by in the morning to meet with Earl and his family. Ozzie then meets with Deputy Marshall Prather, who explains the relationship between Josie and Stuart. He also tells Ozzie about Stuart’s drinking, brawling, and gambling. Tatum says someone filed an incident report about Stuart physically abusing Josie a month ago, but she didn’t press charges. Ozzie becomes angry because no one told him, and because the incident report is missing, the public could accuse him of a police cover-up.

In the jail cell, Drew stares silently at the wall while Kiera sits at his feet on the bunk. The first hour they are there, they talk about their mother’s condition and the shooting, about which neither feels remorse. Then their conversation shifts to how much trouble Drew might be in before falling into a long silence.

Reverend McGarry arrives at the jail and talks with Ozzie about the shooting and what information he knows about the Gamble family. McGarry says he’ll take Kiera home to live with his family for now. He and Ozzie go to the jail cell, where Kiera embraces McGarry, but Drew doesn’t move. As McGarry and Kiera prepare to leave, Ozzie learns that Josie is awake. He goes to the hospital and tells Josie of Stuart’s death and Drew’s arrest. Ozzie sees Kiera and McGarry in the waiting room as he leaves the hospital, and he and Tatum go to a café for breakfast. When they are seated, a patron asks the officers about the Kofer case, and the room falls silent. Ozzie confirms Stuart’s death but gives no details. Several men offer Ozzie their thanks. When their food arrives, Ozzie and Tatum discuss Stuart’s funeral arrangements.

After breakfast, Ozzie and Tatum go to Stuart’s house, which is crowded with police cars and other official vehicles. An investigator updates Ozzie and says they’ll take Stuart in for an autopsy. Ozzie and Tatum then drive to Earl Kofer’s house to meet with Stuart’s family. People crowd the house, showing support for the Kofers. Earl greets Ozzie and begins to sob. Ozzie tells the crowd more details about Stuart’s death and confirms that Drew pulled the trigger.

At 7:05am on March 25, Harry Rex Vonner calls Jake Brigance and tells him about Stuart Kofer’s death. He also warns Jake that Judge Omar Noose will likely appoint him to defend Drew in the case. Jake hangs up with Harry Rex and talks to his wife, Carla, who sympathizes with Josie. Carla is concerned about Jake getting involved with another controversial case, because their lives are finally returning to normal after a difficult case five years prior. Their daughter, Hanna, enters the kitchen, so Carla and Jake change the subject. The family is ready for church by 9:45am, but as Jake returns to the house to grab something, the phone rings. He lets the answering machine take a message and hears Judge Noose ask him to call him back. At church, the congregation is abuzz about Stuart’s murder, but Jake doesn’t join in the discussion, distracted by Noose’s call.

Once home, Jake takes Hanna and the family dog on a walk to avoid having to call Judge Noose back. When he returns, Carla asks if Noose can make Jake take the case, but Jake isn’t sure. They also discuss how this new case can affect his current civil suit regarding the Smallwood family, which is approaching trial. Noose calls back, and this time, Jake answers. Noose tells him he wants Jake to represent Drew for the preliminaries but promises to find someone else if the case becomes capital. Noose trusts Jake and wants him to protect Drew in such a complicated case. Jake says he’ll discuss it with Carla and call him back.

Late that afternoon, Jake walks to his office in Clanton’s town square. His biggest open case is Smallwood, which involves the death of four members of the Smallwood family at a railroad crossing. Witnesses say the crossing lights weren’t working, causing the father to drive his car into the train, instantly killing himself, his wife, and two of his three children. Harry Rex, another lawyer in town, contracted with the family and filed a $10 million lawsuit against Central and Southern Railroad. Harry Rex asked Jake to be lead counsel for half the legal fee because he saw Jake’s courtroom skills during the Hailey trial five years ago. The defense lawyers have refused a settlement for almost a year, and Noose is close to setting a trial date.

Jake enters his office and weighs his options about taking Drew’s defense. He is concerned about the consequences that will follow from the Kofer family and his friends in the area’s law enforcement. His decision made, Jake calls Noose to accept the assignment.

Around 8pm, Jake walks to the county jail. He speaks with Ozzie after offering his condolences about Stuart. They discuss Jake’s appointment to the case; he doesn’t want to get involved. Jake says he feels he’ll be stuck with the case despite Noose promising to find someone else. Jake then asks Ozzie to tell his deputies this, and Ozzie agrees.

Jake then goes into the jail and goes to Drew’s cell. Drew hasn’t spoken in 12 hours and lies curled up with his back to the door. Jake introduces himself and explains he’s on Drew’s side. The boy remains silent until Jake offers to talk about Josie. Drew turns around and sits up at Jake’s request. They talk about Josie’s condition and what will happen to Drew. He eventually lies back on the bunk and goes silent, refusing to speak to Jake further. Jake leaves the cell and stops by Harry Rex’s office. The two lawyers sit down to talk, and Harry Rex agrees that Jake will likely be stuck with the case. He also says it’s a mistake for Jake to defend Drew because the town will hate him. This case might interfere with Smallwood and a large payout for both lawyers.

That Sunday evening, Reverend McGarry meets with the board of deacons at Good Shepherd Bible Church. They decide it’s best if Kiera doesn’t return to school for a few days, and they make arrangements for her to stay a few nights in Josie’s hospital room.

On Monday morning, Jake wakes late and hurries to his office. Once there, he informs his assistant, Portia Lang, about his role in the case, and she says it will help liven up the office. Jake then tells her about the case before going upstairs to his office. Lucien Wilbanks, the law firm’s owner, arrives and says he heard about the new case, which doesn’t surprise Jake. They talk about how the case could impact the Smallwood case, though Lucien doesn’t believe it will. Portia arrives with coffee and sits to join the discussion. They talk about two threatening phone calls Portia received that morning. Carla then calls Jake to report that someone called the school where she teaches looking for her.

Jake immediately drives to the school, and a police officer tells him the call came from a pay phone at a store, but that’s all he knows. Jake talks to Carla, who is unphased by the incident, and tells her Hanna is ok. He says he’ll inform Noose of the threats and find a lawyer outside Ford County. Jake returns to his car, checking to see if his pistol is still in the console.

Jake and Portia visit with members of Good Shepherd waiting at the hospital near Josie’s room. One woman updates them on Josie’s status and test results. Jake explains his role in the case and asks the women what they know about the Gamble family. The women tell Jake that a church deacon met Josie while she was working at the local car wash and invited her to church. When she and her kids visited one Sunday, the congregation welcomed them, so the Gambles have attended for the past few months. The women are about to tell Jake and Portia about Stuart’s dark side when Josie’s doctor appears.

The doctor says Josie is doing well but that he needs to wait for the swelling to go down before operating on her jaw. Jake asks to see Josie, and the doctor allows it. Jake enters the room, where Kiera is also present, and introduces himself and Portia to Josie. He tells them Drew is ok but that he’ll be in jail for a long time. Jake gives Kiera his business card and leaves the room to visit Drew.

District Attorney Lowell Dyer is the prosecutor in Drew’s trial and is excited to be part of such an important and controversial case. He has already started his investigation, promising Earl Kofer justice for his son. However, when Dyer learns that Stuart’s blood alcohol level was 0.36% the night he died, Dyer has his first doubt about this being an open-and-shut case.

Jake drops Portia off at the office and goes to the jail. He immediately feels the officers’ shift in attitude toward him. Jake meets first with Ozzie and tells him of the threatening phone calls, asking Ozzie to tell Earl and his family to back off. Ozzie offers security for him and his family, but Jake declines. Jake then asks Ozzie to help convince Judge Noose to release Drew for psychiatric help, but the sheriff refuses. Jake leaves and visits Drew. He updates the boy about his mom’s condition. Drew then asks if Stuart is actually dead and says he sometimes can’t remember what happened that night. When he finally understands that Stuart is dead, Drew drops his open can of soda, spilling it on the floor. Drew begins humming and enters a trance, oblivious to everything around him.

On Monday afternoon, Ozzie calls several officers into his office, including Tatum and Prather, and tells them about Stuart’s 0.36% BAC. Ozzie then says there are two missing incident reports about Stuart abusing Josie. He still worries about a police cover-up and how it could affect the case. Ozzie warns his deputies that Noose has appointed Jake to Drew’s defense and will quickly discover the missing reports. Officer Prather says his cousin told him Stuart was drinking and gambling with four other men that night. Ozzie orders him to get their names so they can get the details before Jake does.

That evening, Jake and Carla go on a walk, leaving Hanna at home to read. Carla explains her concerns about getting involved with the case and asks Jake to get rid of it despite her initial support. Jake says he will do the preliminaries and then press Noose to appoint someone else. Carla also worries that Jake will want to keep the case because he cares about Drew and likes to be the center of attention.

After dinner that night, Earl and his sons Barry and Cecil drive to Stuart’s house for the first time since the investigators left. He makes his sons see where their brother died. They drag the blood-stained mattress into the yard and burn it. They also burn everything belonging to Josie, Drew, and Kiera. Earl will tell Ozzie to take care of Josie’s car so the Gambles can never come back again.

Jake and Lowell arrive at the courthouse on Tuesday to speak with Noose. The courthouse is crowded because someone started a rumor that Drew would appear in court and was getting released. Noose calls Jake and Lowell into his chambers and asks how Drew is doing. Jake says Drew is having a breakdown and needs a professional evaluation at the state hospital immediately. Dyer informs the men that he will seek an indictment of capital murder, and Noose says the grand jury will meet in two weeks. Noose then says he’ll sign the order for Drew’s psychiatric evaluation and excuses the lawyers.

In the courtroom, Harry Rex waits for Jake to come out of chambers. The railroad lawyers have come to discuss a settlement in the Smallwood case. However, Walter Sullivan, one of these lawyers, sees the crowd, realizes that Jake will become very unpopular because of this new case, and changes his mind about offering a settlement. Harry Rex also analyzes the crowd and knows Jake’s involvement with the Gambles jeopardizes their large payout.

Josie gets into an ambulance to transfer to a hospital in Tupelo, where a reconstructive surgeon will repair her jaw on Wednesday. Kiera and Reverend McGarry follow her in his car.

As Jake tries to exit the courthouse, Ozzie stops him. He hands Jake an envelope containing Josie’s final paycheck from the car wash and her car keys, saying the car is parked behind the jail.

At 4:30pm, Jake walks to the coffee shop to talk to Dell, a waitress with a keen ear for town gossip. He sits at the counter and asks her what the other patrons have been saying. Dell reports no criticism about Jake yet, as most know Noose appointed him to the case. Dell also says Stuart’s funeral is Saturday afternoon.

Jake enters Lucien’s workroom at the office, where Lucien and Portia work on the case. He asks them about their strategy, but they don’t have one. Jake tells them he’s still looking for a psychiatrist and that Drew needs mental help as soon as possible. Portia reports no more threatening calls.