even sign her own name. Probably doesn't know what her name is." He eyed the jury with
a most commanding look. "Institutionalized," he said again in the projected voice of a
stage actor.
Goode asked a series of carefully crafted questions, and to each he got the answers he
wanted: Louisa Mae was undoubtedly mentally unfit, according to the esteemed expert
Dr. Luther Ross.
"No further questions," Goode finally said.
"Mr. Longfellow?" said Atkins. "I suspect you want to nave a go."
Cotton got up, took off his glasses, and dangled them by his side as he addressed the
witness.
"You say you've examined over two thousand people?"
"That's correct," Ross said with a lift of his chest.
"And how many did you find incompetent, sir?"
Ross's chest immediately deflated, for he clearly hadn't expected that inquiry. "Uh, well,
it's hard to say."
Cotton glanced at the jury and moved toward him. "No, it's really not. You just have to
say it. Let me help you a little. A hundred percent? Fifty percent?"
"Not a hundred percent."
"But not fifty?"
"No."
"Let's whittle it on down now. Eighty? Ninety? Ninety-five?"
Ross thought for a few moments. "Ninety-five percent sounds about right."
"Okay. Let me see now. I think that works out to be nineteen hundred out of two
thousand. Lord, that's a lot of crazy people, Dr. Ross."
The crowd laughed and Atkins banged his gavel, but a tiny smile escaped him as well.
Ross glared at him. "I just call 'em like I see 'em, lawyer."
"Dr. Ross, how many stroke victims have you examined to determine whether they're
mentally competent?"
"Uh, why, none that I can recall offhand."
Cotton paced back and forth in front of the witness, who kept his gaze on the attorney as
an even line of sweat appeared on Ross's brow. "I suppose with most of the people you
see, they have some mental disease. Here we have a stroke victim whose physical
incapacity may make it seem like she's not mentally fit even though she may very well
be." Cotton sought out and found Lou in the balcony. "I mean, just because one can't talk
or move doesn't mean one can't understand what's going on around her. She may well
see, hear, and understand everything. Everything!"
Cotton swung back and looked at his witness. "And given time she may very well fully
recover."
"The woman I saw was not likely to recover."
"Are you a medical doctor expert on stroke victims?" Cotton said in a sharp voice.
"Well, no. But—"
"Then I'd like an instruction from the bench for the jury to disregard that statement."
Atkins said to the cluster of men, "You are hereby instructed to take no notice whatsoever
of Dr. Ross saying that Miss Cardinal would not recover, for he is most assuredly not
competent to testify to that."
Atkins and Ross exchanged glares at the judge's choice of words, while Cotton put a hand
over his mouth to hide his grin.
Cotton continued. "Dr. Ross, you really can't tell us that today, or tomorrow, or the next
day, Louisa Mae Cardinal won't be perfectly capable of handling her own affairs, can
you?"
"The woman I examined—"
"Please answer the question I asked, sir."
"No."
"No, what?" Cotton added pleasantly, "For this fine jury."
A frustrated Ross crossed his arms. "No, I cannot say for sure that Miss Cardinal will not
recover today or tomorrow or the next day."
Goode heaved himself to his feet. "Your Honor, I see where counsel is going with this
and I think I have a resolution. As of right now Dr. Ross's testimony is that Miss Cardinal
is not competent. If she gets better, and we all hope she does, then the court-appointed
representative can be dismissed and she can handle her own affairs from then on."
Cotton said, "By then, she won't have any land left."
Goode seized upon this opening. "Well, then Miss Cardinal can surely take comfort in the
half a million dollars Southern Valley has offered for her property."
An enormous gasp went through the crowd at the mention of this ungodly sum. One man
almost toppled over the balcony rail before his neighbors pulled him back to safety. Both
dirty and clean-faced children looked at one another, eyes popping. And their mothers
and fathers were doing the exact same thing. The jurors too looked at one another in clear
astonishment. Yet George Davis just sat there staring straight ahead, not one emotion
showing on his features.
Goode continued quickly, "As I'm sure others can when the company makes similar
offers to them."