Wish You Well(107)

she didn't know she was sitting on an ocean of gas?"

"Objection!" Goode said.

Cotton steamed right on. "Mr. Wheeler, you knew Jimmy Skinner died in that mine

explosion. And you had to know the gas played some role in it. Why didn't you come

forward and tell the truth then?"

Wheeler fidgeted with his hat. "I was told not to."

"And who told you not to?"

"Mr. Hugh Miller, company vice president."

Everyone in the courtroom looked at Miller. Cotton stared at Miller when he asked his

next questions.

"You have any children, Mr. Wheeler?"

Wheeler looked surprised, but answered: "Three."

"They all doing well? Healthy?"

Wheeler's gaze dropped to his lap before he responded. "Yes."

"You're a lucky man."



Goode was addressing the jury with his closing argument.

"Now, we've heard far more evidence than is necessary for you to find that Louisa Mae

Cardinal is mentally unfit. In fact, her own lawyer, Mr. Longfellow, has conceded that

she is. Now, all this talk about gas and explosions and such, well what does it really have

to do with this case? If Southern Valley was somehow involved in Mr. Skinner's death,

then his survivors may be entitled to damages."

"He doesn't have any survivors," said Cotton.

Goode chose to ignore this. "Now, Mr. Longfellow asks whether my client is an

appropriate party to be buying land up here. Fact is, folks, Southern Valley has big plans

for your town. Good jobs, bring prosperity back to you all."

He got real close to the jury, their best friend. "The question is, should Southern Valley

be allowed to 'enrich' all of your lives as well as Miss Cardinal's? I think the answer to

that is obvious."

Goode sat down. And Cotton came at the jury. He moved slowly, his bearing confident

but not threatening. His hands were in his pockets, and he rested one of his scuffed shoes

on the lower rail of the jury box. When he spoke, his voice leaned more southern than

New England, and every single juror except George Davis hunched forward so as not to

miss anything the man said. They had watched Cotton Longfellow bloody the nose of

what they assumed was one of the finest lawyers from the great city of Richmond. And

he had made humble a company that was as close to a monarch as one could get in a

country of democracy. Now they undoubtedly wanted to see if the man could finish it.

"Let me give you good folks the legal side of the case first. And it's not complicated at

all. In fact it's like a good bird dog, it points straight and true in one direction, and one

direction only." He took one hand from his pocket and, like a good hound, pointed right

at Hugh Miller as he spoke. "The reckless actions of Southern Valley killed Jimmy

Skinner, you folks can have no doubts about that. Southern Valley's not even disputing it.

They were illegally on Louisa Mae's property. They posted no warnings that the mine

was filled with explosive gas. They allowed innocent people to enter that mine when they

knew it was deadly. It could've been any of you. And they did not come forward with the

truth because they knew they were in the wrong. And now they seek to use the tragedy of

Louisa Mae's stroke as a way to take her land. The law clearly says one cannot profit

from one's misdeeds. Well, if what Southern Valley did does not qualify as a misdeed,

then nothing on this earth ever would." His voice up to this point had been slow and

steady. Now it rose one delicate notch, but he kept his finger pointed at Hugh Miller.

"One day God will hold them accountable for killing an innocent young man. But it's

your job to see that they are punished today."

Cotton looked at each and every juror, stopping on George Davis; he spoke directly to

him. "Now, let's get to the nonlegal part of this business, for I think that's where the

struggle you folks are going through lies. Southern Valley has come in here swinging

bags full of money in front of you, telling you that it's the savior of the whole town. But

that's what the lumber folks told you. They're going to be here forever. Remember? So

why were all the lumber camps on rails? How much more temporary can you get? And

where are they now? Last time I checked, Kentucky was not part of the Commonwealth

of Virginia."

He looked over at Miller. "And the coal companies told you the same thing. And what

did they do? They came and took everything they wanted and left you with nothing

except hollowed-out mountains, family with the black lung and dreams replaced with

nightmares. And now Southern Valley's singing that same old tune with gas. It's just one

more needle in the mountain's hide. Just one more thing to suck out, leaving nothing!"