Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil Page #6

No, no, that's my Yorkie.

Would someone please

put the dogs in the garden?

I'll take care of the dog for you.

JIM:
Now, Geza,

you know I'll want top dollar.

As always.

PRISONER:

Shut up!

(PRISONER PUNCHES OTHER PRISONER)

Is this the Married Women's Card Club?

Yes.

Is anyone going to ring the doorbell?

Oh, heavens, no!

We have very strict rules.

The door opens precisely at 4.

You all look lovely.

Actually, Jim...

...suggested that I introduce you around.

But if we could just keep that

between us...

JOHN:
Why?

MRS. VAUGHN:
Just a minute.

MRS. VAUGHN:

Everything all right, ladies?

MRS. VAUGHN:

Good.

Jim was a true friend to me

over the years.

But most of these ladies

are still deciding...

...how they'll respond

to this current predicament.

You know...

...the incident.

I have work to do in the kitchen.

Would you like to take a seat?

- I don't play bridge.

- Oh, I don't mean play.

Men aren't allowed.

Especially single men.

But you could sit down and wait.

I'll be right back.

WOMAN:
It was a crime passionnel.

A lover's quarrel.

That may be, but I gather

it's going to be rather sticky for Jim.

WOMAN:

Really?

There's no gunpowder on that boy's hand.

He didn't fire the gun...

...as Jim claims.

And the location

of the bullet wounds...

Seems to be at odds with

Mr. Williams' scenario of self-defense.

How so?

One entered the chest.

The second bullet hit the boy in the back.

And the third, well,

the third bullet...

What do you think'll happen to Jim?

It's difficult to say.

Those who are happy Billy is no longer

burning rubber through the squares...

...are the exact people who think...

...that Jim picked a very unseemly way

to exit the closet...

...if you will.

With a bang.

Literally.

And then...

...there are the others.

Tell me about the others.

There's bound to be a certain

resentment about Jim killing that boy.

That boy in particular, I mean.

Why?

Billy was a very accomplished hustler.

By all accounts,

very good at his trade...

...and very much appreciated

by both men and women.

The trouble is...

...he hadn't finished

making the rounds, no.

Billy Hanson was known to be...

...a good time...

...but...

...a good time not yet had by all.

They're saying Jim Williams killed

the best piece of ass in Savannah.

- Is that true?

- I don't know.

You know about ass in Savannah.

What do you think?

Great God!

Good gossip's hard currency in this town.

Folks just paying their bills.

When the chips are down,

they'll be there for Jim. Trust me.

JOHN:
Rather hear your legal strategies.

SONNY:
Our game plan's still percolating.

JOHN:
We had a deal.

I've shared every bit of information...

SONNY:

Come along in.

SONNY:

Now, don't mind us.

SONNY:

Trial date.

Big game 3 weeks from now.

It's a shootout.

Both teams got one silver bullet.

Gunshot residue test, that's theirs.

No gunshot residue on Billy's hands

means he didn't fire.

Means Jim killed him in cold blood...

...mocked up the scene.

How you plan to counter that?

Gunshot residue test is unreliable.

It's inadmissable in some jurisdictions.

Finley's got Doc Poe. We will counter

with cutting-edge science...

...with an expert we got from up north.

They say the scene was contrived.

What do you say?

That's our silver bullet.

Shoddy police work.

Take a look at this.

JOHN:

Jesus! That's me!

Just like you said.

Ground zero.

Cops should never have let you in.

I kind of let myself in

through the back gate.

They shouldn't have let you get in.

(MAND Y SINGING)

Happy together

Unhappy together

And won 't it be fine

Days may be cloudy or sunny

We're in or we're out of the money

But I'm with you always

Come rain or

Shine

Joe Odom.

You're good.

I didn't know you sang.

MAND Y:
You never asked.

JOHN:
How you doing?

MAND Y:
Good, how are you?

JOHN:
Hi, Joe.

- You got another set?

- No, me and Joe's just sitting in.

Want to get a cup of coffee?

Business or pleasure?

Come on.

Normally, there'd be no problem.

The general rule is rich people get off.

Problem is, they're usually straight.

See, so it's a volatile issue.

- I'm not crazy?

- No. Neither is Sonny.

Jim's friends knew he was gay.

Secretly, they congratulated themselves

on being so cosmopolitan.

If they knew he was completely open with

his sexuality, they'd have shunned him.

Maybe the jury will too.

You think?

Of course, no one'll ever really know

what happened that night.

But Jim's told the story

a thousand times, never wavered.

You're quite the advocate.

What happened to

"Stick around and stay objective"?

Objectively, it's looking like

they'll hang him for his sexuality.

Something that would never happen

in New York, right?

Well, you said it, not me.

JOHN:

You don't seem like you're from here.

MAND Y:

I was born here, didn't like it...

...moved away.

Figured out the part

I didn't like was me.

So I worked on that,

and I moved back.

I got my first kiss right here.

Sammy Jenks.

Gave him a black eye.

JOHN:

You did? How hard?

Wow!

JOHN:

That's what love'll do.

I have trouble picturing what kind of

woman you'd take the trouble to marry.

JOHN:

First love situation.

We got married a week after graduating

college, if you can believe that.

So what happened?

JOHN:

You want to hear my sob story?

I think she thought

she was marrying Norman Mailer.

She thought I'd be famous.

After the book was published, she'd wake

up at the crack of dawn on Sunday...

...make coffee, cross her fingers...

...and look in that Sunday Times,

sure it was going to be a bestseller.

One Sunday, she didn't wake up early,

didn't make coffee...

...didn't cross her fingers...

...and I knew.

She left you

because your book wasn't a hit?

I don't know, Kelso.

It seems pretty shallow to me.

What about you and Joe Odom?

Me and Joe.

We're just friends.

We have a real musical relationship.

We're like the Steve and Eydie

of Savannah.

JOHN:

My God, it's quiet.

JOHN:

Too quiet.

MAND Y:
Joe'll be playing

at that bar until dawn.

I should probably go.

In case you're wondering,

this is the perfect time for a kiss.

Sammy Jenks warned me about you.

Good night.

Ladies and gentlemen,

you constitute our jury for this trial.

It's expected to last several days.

I'll let you go home for the evening...

...instruct you to be back

in the morning at 9:30 in the jury room.

If anybody tries to approach you

about this case...

...report it to me

the first thing in the morning.

You're excused for the evening.

JUDGE:

Mr. Driggers, let me speak to you.

Luther, listen.

This is a courtroom. Don't bring

those flies in here tomorrow.

And leave that vial of water,

or whatever that stuff is, at home.

Sam...

...you know, when we were in Georgia,

I know how you hated my bugs...

...and you know how I love them.

We're no longer at the university.

This is a courtroom.

I'm telling you to leave

all that foolishness at home.

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