Free Swift Justice: The Southern Way by R.P. Wolff Page A

Sheriff pressed both of his hands on the table and moved his face closer to Leon’s. “I think it was you and your fuckin’ brothers.”
    “Sir, I’m telling you it wasn’t. Look, I was working earlier during the day, and Lucky and his guys kidnapped me. My brothers didn’t know that I was kidnapped. They weren’t around. I forgot to tell you about that. Lucky captured me at the construction site. No one saw that.”
    Leon was thinking of shutting his mouth from now on because the cops were twisting things he said.
    “So, let me get your fuckin’ story straight,” said the Sheriff. “You were supposedly kidnapped by Lucky at the construction site. They take you to the woods and were trying to hang you. Then out of nowhere, a mystery person shoots them all up—but not you. He gives you the keys, and he flees the area. You use the keys to release yourself and come here, eventually.”
    Leon was pleased that the Sheriff, at least, had listened to his story. He decided that he would keep talking. “Yes, that’s exactly how it happened.”
    “You’re so full of shit!” yelled the Sheriff. “Junior, get his ass out of here. Take him back to his cell. Bring me one of his stupid brothers.”
    ~~~~
    The Sheriff remained at the police station all morning questioning the suspects and fielding numerous phone calls. Word had traveled fast, and the whole town practically knew about the murders. People were scared that a race riot was starting. They were concerned that the Negroes were going to shoot up the whole neighborhood.
    The Sheriff tried to calm the people down. He assured them that they would take swift action and arrest the people responsible for the crimes.
    The Sheriff was disrupted as two new visitors walked briskly to the counter. It was a state trooper and some stranger, a short stocky man, that the Sheriff did not recognized. The Sheriff was not expecting a state trooper.
    The Sheriff asked them, “What can I do for you, boys?”
    “I am Howard Goldstein. I am an attorney for the ACLU, which stands for the American Civil Liberties Union. I’m here to see my client, Leon Brooks. I believe you have him here.”
    The Sheriff was startled that Leon had already obtained an out-of-town attorney so quickly. How did he arrange that? The Sheriff wondered. And then what was the state trooper doing there? This day was getting worse by the minute, thought the Sheriff.
    The Sheriff paused before he responded. “Really, how do you know he is locked up here?”
    “Never mind how I know. Again, I need to speak to my client.”
    “Your client is in a lot of trouble, and you can’t speak to him right now.”
    “Excuse me? I am his attorney. Are you refusing for a person from speaking to his attorney? Am I understanding that right?”
    “Yeah, you’re understanding that fuckin’ right. You can’t speak to him. He’s fuckin’ killed some people.” The Sheriff wanted to smack the Jew lawyer. He could tell that he was Jewish, with his name ending in “stein.”
    “So have you arrested him?”
    The Sheriff hesitated, as he wasn’t sure how to answer this question. He hadn’t formally booked him in yet, but he had certainly detained him. “Yes, we have arrested him.”
    “Did you press charges?”
    Again, the Sheriff felt like smacking Goldstein, but the imposing state trooper was hovering around. “No, we did not press charges.”
    “I am demanding that I speak to my client, Leon Brooks.”
    The Sheriff had enough. “First of all, motherfucker, you don’t demand anything in this county. I am the sheriff in this county, and you don’t fuckin’ come in here and tell me what to do. You don’t bring your Jew ass over here and think you can boss me around with your fancy talking.”
    Goldstein was undeterred. “Look, I am telling you right now that I am not leaving here until I speak to my client, Leon Brooks. Now, he has his rights under the United States Constitution to have counsel. And the fact that