"pork pie, simmer down, the grand jury meets before long," i said as i handed him a miller lite.

"lite, you tellin' me i need to lose weight?" he huffed.

"sir, that's what she drinks, there's nothing else here," said simpson.

"can we get back to louisville when this shit's over?"

"well, thanks a hell of a lot, pork, sorry i haven't entertained you in the fashion to which you've become accustomed," i stated tartly.

"oh, it ain't that carlee, you know what i mean."

"no i don't, you tell me, pork ass?"

"ah, all this grand jury shit, what in the hell do we have to do?"

"maybe nothing, pork, maybe answer a few questions, that's all, no big deal."

"well, what the fuck is a grand jury anyway?"

"simpson, please tell him," i said wearily.

"a grand jury, mr. anderson, is merely a group of citizens that listens to the legal people, and decides whether or not a crime has been committed, worthy of a trial by jury."

"hell, they were arrested weren't they?"

"yes sir, but everyone is innocent until proven guilty, the grand jury will decide if the gentlemen will even stand trial."

"that's bullshit, buzz, hell, we seen what they did, why do they have to go through a chicken shit grand jury!"

"a matter of principles, sir."

"he's right pork, in this case it's just a formality, but they have rights," i said.

"all this damn legal mumbo jumbo, it's makeing me sick, should have finished them off when i had the chance," pork pie said.

"he's impossible today, simpson." i rolled my eyes.

"i believe you're right madam," simpson concurred.

"this beer ain't bad baby, really," pork said. pork pie anderson, he was as easy to read as my dad. he was nervous about the grand jury, then lashed out, insulted by the crack that i wanted him to get thin, then praised my choice of beer. what a guy. why would i want my favorite guy to lose weight anyway? hell, i wouldn't recognize him any other way. i jumped up on the love seat with him and patted his stomach.

"you've got a lot invested in this, pork."

he smiled. "damn right i have angel, from harriet's place to the brown hotel."

"and points south," i said.

pork pie was happy now. "hey buzz, hand me another one of those beers." simpson got him one, and i told him that we had to be at the court house at ten.

"i know, goddamnit, we got plenty of time," he said as he downed the miller's.

i went out to feed andy's babe. he was comfy in his trailer. "hi babe, everything ok? hey, you didn't eat your apple yesterday, and simpson shined it so nice." andy looked up, as if he understood, then looked around. i grabbed the apple from the floor, and andy ate it. "good, baby?" i asked.

"hey carlee, come on and get dressed, we've got to go"

"alright, just a minute, i'm feeding andy's babe."

"what should we wear, i have a top hat," pork said.

"god, that funny one you put on one day in louisville, when you were 'honest' pork pie anderson?"

"the very same, will it do?"

"only if you want the grand jury to laugh themselves to death," i said, smiling. i remembered that day so well, even sysco boling. "you all look fine, i'm the one who needs to change."

"wanna borrow my hat?"

i smiled. "don't think so," i said as i turned to leave. presently, we arrived at the court house. i had on a blue suit with very thin red pinstripes.

"love your suit, carlee, are you presiding?" a very nice voice said.

"not this year, mr. tate, give me a few more," i said. sheriff tate led us to a row near the front. god, for an indictment hearing, the place was packed. i saw mr. arnold, he was dressed better than i was, he looked very elegant. then, jeeter started to emerge.

"all rise!" the bailiff shouted. we all stood up.

"good morning," jeeter said. "in all my years on the bench, i believe this is one of the biggest tunrouts i've ever seen. please be seated." everyone sat down. "now," he said, looking toward the grand jury, "ladies and gentlemen, i welcome you all aboard. you understand your duties, this is merely an assessment, gleaned from the testimony you hear. upon hearing that, you must make a decision whether or not a crime has been committed. please listen carefully, and then it's your responsibility to decide whether or not the defendants should stand trial or not. you must all agree, each of you, so, please give this your best. thank you very much."

the grand jury was made of nine ladies and three men. they seemed to understand jeeter perfectly.

"good morning, i'm barry wells, and i will be speaking for the defendants, mr. heron and mr. johnson, two nice old boys from our county, that have been falsely accused of misconduct on the night in question. i will show that their activities on the night in question were simply misunderstood, they were curious and that was all. i thank you."

judge mcclure rolled his eyes. my god in heaven. he seemed to say to himself. "please bring the prisoners in, bailiff," he ordered. heron and johnson arrived, orange suits and all. they still looked vicious to me. "good morning, gentlemen. please be seated," jeeter said cheerfully.

heron and johnson looked at barry, as they always did. "my clients prefer not to say anything, your honor," barry said.

"mr. wells, may i remind you that this is a grand jury, they will answer our questions or be held in contempt of court."

"yes sir," barry replied meekly. skyler questioned them, but received very little but their name, rank and serial number. they wouldn't even admit to being there.

"don't look good for them guys," pork pie said.

"no it doesn't, pork," i stated.

finally skyler said, "your honor, let me get someone down here to shed a little light on this case anyway."

jeeter shook his head.

"the state calls mr. pork pie anderson."

pork pie almost jumped out of his chair. "why me?"

"go on, pork!" i said. pork waddled down to the front.

"please, have a seat, mr. anderson." pork nodded, then sat down. the bailiff handed him a bible and said: "do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"i 'spect so," he said. the bailiff started to correct pork.

"that's good enough," shyler said warmly. "now mr. anderson, the police report states that you were driving a semi. is that correct?"

"yes it is."

"did you come barelling down buttermilk lane and accost these two gentlemen, who can't seem to remember shit?"

pork smiled. "i damn well did, do it again if i had it to do over."

"what made you think you needed to, sir?"

"carlee told me simpson was shot, over my cell phone, and two guys were trying to steal her telescope."

"and when you turned down buttermilk lane, is that what you saw?"

"yep, simpson was lying on the ground and those two were carrying the telescope."

"what did you do then?"

"why, i gave it some more gas and tried to hit them, but, they were too close to the river, so i jumped out and beat the hell out of them; then i went to 'buzz' and saw he was alive and ran to carlee."

"very well, i have nothing further," skyler said. "just like in sherrif tate's report," he added.

barry was steaming. "sir, do you know what perjury is, and the sanctions it carries?"

"yeah, i know what perjury is," pork pie replied.

"well please be advised that you're pushing it closely."

"the hell i am, i swore on a bible to tell the truth, and that's exactly what i done!" pork was beginning to turn red. god, i hated to see that.

skyler noticed it too. "mr. wells, this is the same thing that carlee and sheriff tate said, what make you so aver that this wasn't the way it was?"

"sir, that's not the way my clients remember it!"

"then why in the hell didn't they say that when we were trying to question them?"

"redbone and goodie are kind of shy."

"well, sir, this ain't the place to be shy!" skyler said furiously.

"my clients agree that anderson barreled down in a semi and beat them up, durn near killed them."

"and do they also agree that mr. simpson was lying on they ground, perhaps dead?"

"no sir, they know nothing about that, could have been a couple of more guys."

"bullshit!" skyler yelled.

"order, order, let's have some order here," jeeter hollared.

"alright then, since the defence has no more witnesses, i would like to call mr. simpson," skyler said.

"we had plenty of witnesses your honor, but they didn't show."

"surely you don't mean character witnesses mr. wells?" skyler snapped.

"yes, character witnesses!" barry practically screamed.

"i'm not going to warn you all again, i want order," jeeter said. skyler looked at the jury members and smiled. simpson took the stand. he was so impressive in his butler's attire, so calm and collected. the bailiff swore him in.

"i do," he said.

skyler smiled at him. "sir, if it's not too personal, what is your age?"

"a hunnerd an two, mr. anderson says, but i believe i'm a hundred and three," he said and smiled.

"you're quite a remarkable fellow, mr. simpson," skyler returned, and again looked at the jury members: an old lawyers' trick, i suppose. "mr. simpson, will you please relate to us the facts of that evening?"

"certainly sir. i was sitting on the couch, almost asleep, when i heard mr. heron and mr. johnson, out by the telescope."

"and did you go out to them?"

"yes sir i did and i asked them what they were doing here. they said they were taking the telescope, i told them it wasn't theirs and one of the two shot me."

"did you pass out, sir?"

"for a moment, i did," simpson answered.

"do you bear the scars of battle, sir?"

"it's clearing up nicely, but yes, i do."

"make him show us!" barry shouted.

"you're out of order mr. wells," jeeter said.

"mr. simpson is giving sworn testimony, i don't think undressing is in order," skyler stated. "now, mr. simpson, did you hear the telephone conversation between ms. mccord and mr. anderson?"

"i was not privy to that, sir."

"did you see mr. anderson coming down the road and beating the defendants up?"

"part of it, sir, i was very glad to see mr. anderson at that time."

"he's doing great," i whispered to pork.

pork pie smiled. "don't he always?"

"sir, may i ask you if there could have possibly been two other men on the premises?"

"no sir, there were no others."

"cross!" skyler said.

"mr. simpson," barry said, rising to his feet, "if you are a hundred and two or three, is it possible that you dreamed all this stuff up?"

"i think not, mr. wells, it would be difficult to dream up a bullet hole in your chest."

"the son-of-a-bitch is crazy, damn, he's sentencing them to the gas chamber," pork pie said.

"thank you mr. simpson, you're dismissed," jeeter said.

simpson got down and walked briskly back to his chair. "he's a charming man, mr. skyler," simpson said.

"sit down buzz and shut up, i can't hear."

skyler coughed and started to speak. "ladies and gentlemen, i had a final witness, ms. carlee mccord, i waive the right to call her at this point. she has sworn affidavit which is no different from mr. anderson, or mr. simpson, and i have nothing else for this grand jury that wouldn't be repetitious. i thank you for your indulgence." he nodded at the jury. "any last words, mr. wells?"

"yes, i'd like to thank everyone for coming, and my boys have done nothing wrong, i trust all this made up stuff will make you realize how cruel these people are, and you will acquit my clients."

the jury was dismissed, and after a half an hour they returned with a guilty verdict. redbone and goodie were escorted downstairs.

"may we see you in quarters, mr. wells?" jeeter asked.

"damn, you looked good up there buzz." pork said.

"why, thank you mr. anderson," he replied.

"what now?" i asked.

"we've got to git back, angel, think i've got the horse thing straightened out with everyone, including willow."

"that's great, pork, it really is."

pork pie put his arm around my neck. "baby, you're the greatest, you know that?" he said.

"thanks pork, what was that all about?"

"just because you are, angel." i smiled. gee, driving down buttermilk lane looked so peaceful. i walked over to the trailer and petted andy's babe's head, he whinnied so softly.

"take care of yourself, buddy," i whispered. i went in and fell on the love seat. the boys came in a few minutes later. god, i hated to see them go. "pork pie?"

"yeah, angel?"

"oh, nothing," i said. "eh, what if someone comes for the scope again?" i asked.

"give 'em the mothafucker," he said. "hell, it ain't worth getting hurt over."

"i believe mr. crabb's security will take care of all that, madam," simpson said. "it's really a good system."

"oh, shit, well then, there's nothing to worry about," i said.

"you kin come back to louisville with us, babe," pork acknowledged.

"no thanks, i'd prefer to lay here in my river shack and wait for something else to happen."

"oh carlee, dry up, and we got to go, right now." they loaded up and got in the semi, the trailer attached.

"please call us if there's any more trouble miss," simpson said.

"i will, you all be careful," i smiled and said. i blew andy's babe a kiss as they pulled out. i went back inside and poured a glass of strawberry hill, and sat down on the love seat. those guys, god, how much i love them, not perfect, but practically.

"what happened, uncle jeeter?" barry asked.

"shit barry, how in the hell did you think it would turn out?" skyler asked.

"well, different from that, i guess," he answered.

"son, i ought to start disbarment proceedings on you," jeeter said. "anyone who comes to a court of law that unprepared ain't got no business practicing law.!"

"well, i'm sorry uncle jeeter, i did my best."

"you fuckin' think that yelling and screaming at the prosecuting attorney would help?"

"no sir," barry said, hanging his head.

"barry, why didn't you talk with me, or your uncle about this before you started?" skyler asked.

"i didn't think about doing that, mr. arnold."

"we maybe could have helped you, after all we've been doing this a lot longer than you."

"mr. arnold, those guys made fun of me, said i was wet behind the ears," barry sniffed.

"so?" jeeter asked.

"they wouldn't hardly tell me anything."

"then why in the hell didn't you just tell them that you weren't gonna defend them, barry?"

"i... i didn't know i could do that, uncle."

"that's your whole problem, boy, you don't know shit!" jeeter shouted. "let me tell you this, boy, resign from heron and johnson's defence, i don't want you defending anyone in my court room again! is that plain enough?"

"well, yes sir, i guess it is."

"now go on, git!" and barry left.

"i can't say i liked that at all, jeeter," skyler said. "besides, you're the one who wanted heron and johnson out of commission, what if had hired clarence darrel?"

jeeter smiled. "well, they didn't get him, did they?"

"don't be so hard on the boy, jeeter, he has to learn somewhere."

"you don't learn the law through trial and error, skyler, not in my court room anyway! there'll be hell enough when i see my sister."

"now jeeter, there wasn't a defence in a hundred miles that could have got these boys off, you know that," skyler said calmly. "hell, it was only a grand jury investigation anyway."

"he's looking for a job, skyler, da's office got any openings?"