Mountain Top(24)
“Nope. I think everything is going to be all right. Most of the guys back there are decent enough. They get into trouble on the outside when they start drinking or drugging.”
“Okay, but be on guard against the ones who are crazy all the time.”
“Yep.”
“And don’t try to force religion down anyone’s throat. It can be offensive and might be taken the wrong way.” Mike shifted the legal pad on the table. “I stopped by the district attorney’s office and met the prosecutor assigned to your case.”
“What did you find out?”
While Mike related his brief conversation with Melissa Hall, Sam listened closely, nodding several times and patting his stomach twice.
“Make sure she meets the choir director at your church,” he said when Mike finished. “That girl is a good singer, and her voice is going to be a key to unlocking his heart to Papa’s love and healing her heart from the pain of the past.”
“What?” Mike asked in surprise.
“While you talked about her, I could hear a woman singing. Then a big key came down from Glory—”
“And unlocked your jail cell,” Mike interrupted. “Are all our conversations going to be like this?”
Sam smiled then winced in pain. “Yep, so long as Papa turns on the spigot. When that’s happening, it would be foolish not to drink.”
“I’m not thirsty.”
“Maybe not, but you have a sharp mind, and you’ll remember everything I’m telling you. Papa can’t use folks who are lazy. You’re a hard worker.”
“And I’m going to work my way out of this situation as soon as possible. I’ll check the real estate records on your property, then file papers with the court to get your bail reduced to an amount that will let you post a property bond. How much is your mortgage?”
“Nothing. It’s paid for. The Bible says to let no debt remain outstanding except continuing debt to love one another. Muriel and I haven’t carried any debts for years.”
“If the people at the bank find out that’s what you believe, they’ll never cooperate with me.” Mike sat back in his chair. “One last item. Do you know a man named Lou Jasper?”
“Yep. Nice fellow who lives in the western part of the county. I met him a few years ago.”
“My former secretary says you took some money from him and lied to him.”
“I’m sorry to hear that’s what she thinks. Papa has a great call on that boy’s life. He’s a dreamer, too. I interpreted a few for him, but he was curious, not serious. When he had a dream that meant he had to forgive some people he didn’t like, he quit calling me.”
“Do you remember the dream?”
“Yep, but it wouldn’t be right for me to tell you.”
“Okay. Did he give you money?”
“He was real excited at first, and I think he wrote out a check for $150. I used the money to buy a secondhand washing machine for a widow woman who didn’t have one.”
“Why would his cousin say you’re a liar?”
“Maybe I made the mistake of telling him too much, too soon. The call on a person’s life may be great, but the path getting there is never smooth. There are lots of tests. It’s not automatic. Then, if a true word doesn’t happen, folks will blame the messenger when the fault lies closer to home.”
“Careful,” Mike said. “I believe in predestination.”
“I can’t argue that stuff. I just know what I’ve seen. You’ll have to figure out if it agrees with what you learned in preacher school. I don’t claim to be unfoolable.”
“You mean infallible.”
“That’s what I get for trying to use a fancy word. I’ve made mistakes.”
“But not with your bank account?”
“No. I’m sure about that one.”
Seven
MIKE LEFT THE TAX APPRAISER’S OFFICE WITH PROOF THAT SAM Miller’s hillside property was worth $65,000. He knew the actual market value was much more. If the eight-acre piece was combined with the parcel next door, it would create a nice tract for a developer who would tear down Sam’s house and plant at least a dozen larger homes in its place.
It was too early for lunch so Mike drove home. Peg and Judge were gone, but when he went upstairs he found Peg’s Bible open on her chair in the bedroom. A notebook lay facedown beside the Bible. Mike reached over to pick it up then stopped. It would be more fun letting Peg tell him what she discovered than to find out by snooping.
The household computer was in a small downstairs bedroom they’d turned into a study. Mike clicked open the word processing program. It took him fifteen minutes to properly format a one-page pleading notifying the court of his representation in the State of North Carolina v. Sam Miller. A Motion to Reduce Bond followed next. As he labored to make everything look professional, he hoped he wouldn’t have to type a brief or requests to charge the jury. By the time he’d added a certificate of service upon Melissa Hall and a fill-in-the-blank notice of hearing on the motion to reduce bond, it was almost noon. He printed out several copies of the pleadings.