Ray was now certain that the cash had been collected since 1991, the year the Judge was voted out of office. Claudia was around until the year before, and she knew nothing of the money. It had not come from graft1 and it had not come gambling2.
Nor had it come from skillful investing on the sly, because Ray found not a single record of the Judge ever buying or selling a stock or a bond. The accountant hired by Harry3 Rex to reconstruct the records and put together the final tax return had found nothing either. He said that the Judge's trail was easy to follow because everything had been run through the First National Bank of Clanton.
That's what you think, Ray thought to himself.
There were almost forty boxes of old, useless files scattered4 throughout the house. The cleaning service had gathered and stacked them in the Judge's study and in the dining room. It took a few hours but he finally found what he was looking for. Two of the boxes held the notes and research - the "trial files" as the Judge had always referred to them - of the cases he'd heard as a special chancellor5 since his defeat in 1991.
During a trial the Judge wrote nonstop on yellow legal pads. He noted6 dates, times, relevant facts, anything that would aid him in reaching a final opinion in the case. Often he would interject a question to a witness and he frequently used his notes to correct the attorneys. Ray had heard him quip more than once, in chambers7 of course, that the notetaking helped him stay awake. During a lengthy8 trial, he would fill twenty legal pads with his notes.
Because he was a lawyer before he was a judge, he had acquired the lifelong habit of filing and keeping everything. A trial file consisted of his notes, copies of cases the attorneys relied on, copies of code sections, statutes9, even pleadings that were not put with the official court file. As the years passed, the trial files became even more useless, and now they filled forty boxes.
According to his tax returns, since 1993, he had picked up income trying cases as a special chancellor, cases no one else wanted to hear. It was not uncommon10 in the rural areas to have a dispute too hot for an elected judge. One side would file a motion asking the judge to recuse himself, and he would go through the routine of grappling with the issue while proclaiming his ability to be fair and impartial11 regardless of the facts or litigants12, then reluctantly step down and hand it off to an old pal13 from another part of the state. The special chancellor would ride in without the baggage of any prior knowledge and without one eye on reelection and hear the case.
In some jurisdictions15, special chancellors16 were used to relieve crowded dockets. Occasionally, they would sit in for an ailing17 judge.
Almost all were retired18 themselves. The state paid them fifty dollars an hour, plus expenses.
In 1992, the year after his defeat, Judge Atlee had earned nothing extra. In 1993, he'd been paid $5,800. The busiest year - 1996 - he'd reported $16,300. Last year, 1999, he was paid $8,760, but he'd been ill most of the time.
The grand total in earnings19 as a special chancellor was $56,590, over a six-year period, and all earnings had been reported on his tax returns.
Ray wanted to know what kinds of cases Judge Atlee had heard in his last years. Harry Rex had mentioned one - the sensational20 divorce trial of a sitting governor. That trial file was three inches thick and included clippings from the Jackson newspaper with photos of the governor, his soon to be ex-wife, and a woman thought to be his current flame. The trial lasted two weeks, and Judge Atlee, according to his notes, seemed to enjoy it tremendously.
There was an annexation21 case near Hattiesburg that lasted for two weeks and had irritated everyone involved. The city was growing westward22 and eyeing some prime industrial sites. Lawsuits23 got filed and two years later Judge Atlee gathered everyone together for a trial. There were also newspaper articles, but after an hour of review Ray was bored with the whole mess. He couldn't imagine presiding over it for a month.
But at least there was money involved in it.
Judge Atlee spent eight days in 1995 holding court in the small town of Kosciusko, two hours away, but from his files it looked as though nothing of consequence went to trial.
There was a horrendous24 tanker25 truck collision in Tishomingo County in 1994. Five teenagers were trapped in a car and burned to death. Since they were minors26, Chancery Court had jurisdiction14. One sitting chancellor was related to one of the victims. The other chancellor was dying of brain cancer. Judge Atlee got the call and presided over a trial that lasted two days before it was settled for $7,400,000. One third went to the attorneys for the teenagers, the rest to their families.
Ray set the file on the Judge's sofa, next to the annexation case. He was sitting on the floor of the study, the newly polished floor, under the vigilant27 gaze of General Forrest. He had a vague idea of what he was doing, but no real plan on how to proceed. Go through the files, pick out the ones that involved money, see where the trail might lead.
The cash he'd found hidden less than ten feet away had come from somewhere.
His cell phone rang. It was a Charlottesville alarm company with a recorded message that a break-in was in progress at his apartment. He jumped to his feet and talked to himself while the message finished. The same call would simultaneously29 go to the police and to Corey Crawford. Seconds later, Crawford called him. "I'm on the way there," he said, and sounded like he was running. It was almost nine-thirty, CST. Ten-thirty in Charlottesville.
Ray paced through the house, thoroughly30 helpless. Fifteen minutes passed before Crawford called him again. "I'm here," he said. "With the police. Somebody jammed the door downstairs, then jammed the one to the den28. That set off the alarm. They didn't have much time. Where do we check?"
"There's nothing particularly valuable there," Ray said, trying to guess what a thief might want. No cash, jewelry31, art, hunting rifles, gold, or silver.
"TV, stereo, microwave, everything's here," Crawford said. "They scattered books and magazines, knocked over the table by the kitchen phone, but they were in a hurry. Anything in particular?"
"No, nothing I can think of." Ray could hear a police radio squawking in the background.
"How many bedrooms?" Crawford asked as he moved through the apartment.
"Two, mine is on the right."
"All the closet doors are open. They were looking for something. Any idea what?"
"No," Ray answered.
"No sign of entry in the other bedroom," Crawford reported, then began talking with two cops. "Hang on," he told Ray, who was standing32 in the front door, looking through the screen, motionless and trying to think of the fastest way home.
The cops and Crawford decided33 it was a quick strike by a pretty good thief who got surprised by the alarm. He jammed the two doors with minimal34 damage, realized there was an alarm, raced through the place looking for something in particular, and when he didn't find it he kicked a few things for the hell of it and fled. He or they – could’ve been more than one.
"You need to be here to tell the police if anything is missing and to do a report," Crawford said.
"I'll be there tomorrow," Ray said. "Can you secure the place tonight?"
"Yeah, we'll think of something."
"Call me after the cops leave."
He sat on the front steps and listened to the crickets while yearning35 to be at Chaney's Self-Storage, sitting in the dark with one of the Judge's guns, ready to blast away at anyone who came near him. Fifteen hours away by car. Three and a half by private plane. He called Fog Newton and there was no answer.
His phone startled him again. "I'm still in the apartment," Crawford said.
"I don't think this is random," Ray said.
"You mentioned some valuables, some family stuff, at Chaney's Self-Storage."
"Yeah. Any chance you could watch the place tonight?"
"They got security out there, guards and cameras, not a bad outfit36." Crawford sounded tired and not enthusiastic about napping in a car all night.
"Can you do it?"
"I can't get in the place. You have to be a customer."
"Watch the entrance."
Crawford grunted37 and breathed deeply. "Yeah, I'll check on it, maybe call a guy in to watch it."
"Thanks. I'll call you when I get to town tomorrow."
He called Chaney's and there was no answer. He waited five minutes, called again, counted fourteen rings then heard a voice.
"Chaney's, security, Murray speaking."
He very politely explained who he was and what he wanted. He was leasing three units and there was a bit of concern because someone had vandalized his downtown apartment, and could Mr. Murray please pay special attention to 14B, 37F, and 18R. No problem, said Mr. Murray, who sounded as if he was yawning into the phone.
Just a little jumpy, Ray explained. "No problem," mumbled38 Mr. Murray.
IT TOOK one hour and two drinks for the edginess39 to relent. He was no closer to Charlottesville. There was the urge to hop40 in the rental41 car and race through the night, but it passed. He preferred to sleep and try to find an airplane in the morning. Sleep, ] though, was impossible, so he returned to the trial files.
The Judge had once said he knew little about zoning law because there was so little zoning in Mississippi, and virtually none in the six counties of the 25th Chancery District. But somehow someone had cajoled him into hearing a bitterly fought zoning case in the city of Columbus. The trial lasted for six days, and when it was over an anonymous42 phone caller threatened to shoot the Judge, according to his notes.
Threats were not uncommon, and he'd been known to carry a pistol in his briefcase43 over the years. It was rumored44 that Claudia carried one too. You'd rather have the Judge shooting at you than his court reporter, ran the conventional wisdom.
The zoning case almost put Ray to sleep. But then he found a gap, the black hole he'd been digging for, and he forgot about sleep.
According to his tax records, the Judge was paid $8,110 in January 1999 to hear a case in the 27th Chancery District. The 27th comprised two counties on the Gulf45 Coast, a part of the state the Judge cared little for. The fact that he would voluntarily go there for a period of days struck Ray as quite odd.
Odder still was the absence of a trial file. He searched the two boxes and found nothing related to a case on the coast, and with his curiosity barely under control he plowed46 through the other thirty-eight or so. He forgot about his apartment and the self-storage and whether or not Mr. Murray was awake or even alive, and he almost forgot about the money.
A trial file was missing.
收听单词发音 |
1
graft
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| n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接 | |
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gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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lengthy
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| adj.漫长的，冗长的 | |
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statutes
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| 成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程 | |
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uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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litigants
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| n.诉讼当事人( litigant的名词复数 ) | |
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pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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jurisdiction
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| n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权 | |
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jurisdictions
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| 司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围 | |
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chancellors
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| 大臣( chancellor的名词复数 )； （某些美国大学的）校长； （德国或奥地利的）总理； （英国大学的）名誉校长 | |
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ailing
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| v.生病 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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sensational
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| adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的 | |
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annexation
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| n.吞并，合并 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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lawsuits
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| n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 ) | |
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horrendous
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| adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的 | |
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tanker
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| n.油轮 | |
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minors
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| n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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jewelry
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| n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝 | |
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32
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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minimal
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| adj.尽可能少的，最小的 | |
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yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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37
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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edginess
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| n.刀口锐利，急躁 | |
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40
hop
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| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
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41
rental
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| n.租赁，出租，出租业 | |
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42
anonymous
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| adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的 | |
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briefcase
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| n.手提箱，公事皮包 | |
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44
rumored
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| adj.传说的，谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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45
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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46
plowed
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| v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过 | |
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