I reluctantly took one from my purse and handed it to Moses. The old man wiped his eyes and put his head in his hands. There was nothing to do but watch. Moses’ shoulders shook slightly from the sobs. He sniffled several times.
“Mr. Jones, maybe we should come back later,” Zach said.
Moses raised his face. His eyes were bloodshot.
“I be tired,” he said. “I been rowing this boat way too long. Time to pull it up on the bank and lighten my load.”
“What do you mean?” Zach asked.
Moses turned to me. “Do you believe I done hurt that little girl, missy?”
The old man’s face didn’t look sinister, but how could I trust my eyes?
“I don’t know.”
“Row my boat,” he replied softly. “All I done, is row my boat. That be the whole truth. He give me a shiny silver dollar, but I throwed it in the river.”
“Who?” Zach asked.
“He gave me that dollar, and talk about that little girl,” Moses said with a faraway look in his eyes. “But it make me scared.”
“Who gave it to you?” Zach persisted.
Moses refocused his eyes on Zach. “Ol’ Mr Carpenter, the big boss man, he give it to me. He be toting a wicked-looking gun.”
I looked at Zach. “Joe Carpenter?”
Moses turned to me and shook his head. “No, missy. Ol’ Mr. Carpenter, he be dead and in the water hisself.”
Zach pushed his chair away from the table. “Okay, that’s enough. Mr. Jones, I need to apologize to you. I let my curiosity get the best of me and asked you questions that don’t have anything to do with your trespassing case. Ms. Taylor and I are here to discuss the hearing in front of Judge Cannon tomorrow. You’ll have to plead guilty or not guilty. I need your permission to work out a plea bargain with the district attorney’s office. If I can get you out of jail for time served followed by a reasonable period of probation and the return of your boat, does that interest you?”
“I be listening,” Moses replied. “You be the lawyers.”
Zach looked at me before he answered. “I’ll interpret that as your agreement for us to negotiate a better plea bargain; however, you’ll make the final decision tomorrow.”
Moses stared at me for a few seconds. I waited for him to speak.
“Yes, missy,” he said. “You be thinking about all Moses done told you. That other tall girl. She listen, but I think you be knowing more than she do. Taking a green pill, that don’t change the past.”
Zach rose to his feet. “We’ll see you in the courtroom tomorrow,” he said to the old man.
I watched the deputy return Moses to the cell block.
“Who is the ‘other tall girl’?” Zach asked when Moses was gone.
“Probably a mental health worker who prescribed medication. Detective Branson knew Moses needed professional help.”
A deputy led us back to the main entrance.
“Should we talk to Mr. Carpenter about this?” I asked as we left the building.
“And ask why his family name was linked by an insane old man to the death of the Prescott girl?” Zach replied. “That kind of conversation might shorten your stay as a summer clerk.”
“No, I want to ask his opinion of whether it’s right to get Moses out of jail on probation when he may be guilty of murder.”
WE PHONED MAGGIE SMITH from Zach’s office. The assistant district attorney wouldn’t be available until the morning.
“What do we do in the meantime?” I asked.
Zach pulled on his ponytail. “Wait.”
“I know what I’m going to do,” I said. “Find out more about the Prescott girl’s death.”
“Are you sure that’s smart? Our job is to represent him in a trespassing case. The rest of it is probably a fantasy of random information swirled together in his mind. We don’t even know there was a murder investigation.”
“Mrs. Fairmont wasn’t confused when she mentioned it.”
“And could be remembering a rumor. On something like this, it’s best to be skeptical. I’m not sure I’m going to let you—”
“Investigate it at all?” I interrupted sharply.
“Calm down,” Zach answered.
I imagined steam coming out of my ears. After a few moments, Zach spoke. “We’ll get on the phone to the district attorney’s office first thing in the morning about a plea bargain on the trespassing case. After that’s taken care of, you can decide if you want to talk some more with Moses about the faces in the water or let him slip back into the marsh. If you still want to check it out, I won’t stop you.”