“Was Lance involved in the killing?”
“No, no, no,” Hugh said as he shook his head, an honest reaction. “He was here in prison and knew nothing about it. And it was not supposed to be a killing.”
“Tell that to my mother, Hugh. And my brother and sisters.”
Hugh closed his eyes and frowned, his first pained expression. He mumbled, “Miss Agnes. When I was a kid I thought she was the most beautiful woman in Biloxi.”
“She was. Still is.”
“Does she want me dead?”
“No, but she’s nicer than the rest of us.”
“So, the family’s split?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Really? Sure feels like it’s my business. It’s my neck on the chopping block, right? So am I supposed to be begging for my life here, Keith? You have the king’s power, up or down, life or death, off with my head or just let me keep it. Is that why you stopped by before the main event? You want me to grovel?”
“No. Did Lance take care of Henry Taylor?”
“I don’t know. Believe it or not, Keith, I don’t get a lot of gossip from the Coast here on the Row, and I’ve had other more pressing matters on my mind. But no, it would not surprise me if Lance took care of Henry Taylor. That’s the way our world works. That’s the code.”
“And the code said it was time to get rid of Jesse Rudy.”
“No, wrong again. The code said it was time to teach him a lesson, not to hurt him. That’s why we chose to bomb the courthouse, a rather brazen attack on the system. Taylor blew it.”
“Well, I for one am glad he’s dead.”
“That makes at least two of us.”
Keith glanced at his watch. There were voices in the hall. A helicopter hummed in the distance. Somewhere, a clock was ticking.
Keith asked, “Will Lance be here tonight?”
“No. He wanted to be with me till the end, but I refused to approve him. I can’t stand the thought of either of my parents watching me die like this.”
“I’m not going to watch either. I gotta go.”
“Look, Keith, I, uh, I’m at the end, okay, and I’m cool with it. I’ve spent time with the priest, said my prayers, all that. I’ve been here for eight years and if you or the governor granted clemency, then I would get off death row and go live out there in the general population for the rest of my life. Think about that, Keith. You and I are thirty-eight years old, not even halfway there yet. I don’t want to spend the next forty years in this awful place. That would be worse than dying. Don’t beat yourself up. Let’s pull the plug and get it over with.”
Keith nodded and saw a tear trickle down Hugh’s left cheek.
Hugh said, “But look, Keith, there’s one thing. You gotta believe me when I say I didn’t intend to kill Jesse Rudy. Please. I would never harm anyone in your family. Please believe me, Keith.”
It was impossible not to believe him.
Hugh went on, “I’m a dead man, Keith. Why would I keep lying? Please tell Miss Agnes and the rest of the family that I didn’t intend to do it.”
“I’ll do that.”
“And you believe me?”
“Yes, Hugh, I believe you.”
Hugh wiped both eyes with the back of a sleeve. He gritted his teeth and struggled to regain his composure. After a long pause he mumbled, “Thank you, Keith. It’ll always be my fault. I put everything in motion, but I swear there was no plan to harm Jesse. I’m so sorry.”