Wish You Well(97)

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."