Read The Last Clinic for Free Online Page B

which he knew very little about, nonetheless fascinated him—the how of it more than the why. He considered studying up on the shooting, looking up the transcript of the murder trials. He seemed to remember there being two trials decades apart. Somebody did a movie about one of them. Perhaps on one of his days in Jackson he’d go see Evers’ home, the site of the killing, and see if he couldn’t figure out how it was done. Was it really just a simple drive-by or something more sophisticated? Given the nature of his assignment, the irony of the situation sparked his curiosity.
    After thinking on it for a while, he dismissed the notion as foolish. There probably wasn’t much worth seeing. No doubt, some nondescript house in a black park of town with one of those idiotic markers that is always so hard to find. It would be a lot of trouble for not much in return. Why risk the exposure?
    He decided instead he could use his free time in Jackson to catch up on a couple of movies that he’d wanted to see. He did a search on his laptopto get a general idea of what movies would be playing when and where. This led him to JacksonClarionCrier.com , the website for the state’s largest paper. And there it was: REVEREND JAMES ALDRIDGE MURDERED.
    It was a weird coincidence to say the least. Especially the timing. He re-read the story, then re-read it two more times. He did a search on the murder, and found stories from six other online papers, as well as three TV station sites. He scoured every story looking for new details, but the facts were essentially the same in every article. It appeared to be a standard issue drive-by in the early morning hours. Three pops from a double barrel. It didn’t look like a contract, but then maybe it wasn’t supposed to.
    After pondering the matter for an hour or so, examining all the various angles, he concluded that the incident didn’t warrant a change in his plans. More than likely, it was politically inspired, connected with that anti-abortion bill the legislature was trying to pass. It was probably the work of an irate citizen, not someone with a connection to him or knowledge about his mission.
     He wasn’t due in Jackson until the middle of the month. There were three other assignments in the meantime, which was plenty to keep his mind occupied. He would simply follow the story as it unfolded, monitor the situation in the newspaper every day, take into account any new developments, and make sure he kept himself fully informed.
    Although there was nobody he could contact to ask, he was 90 percent sure that if there were any connections, they were, at best, tangential.
    All he needed to do was be cautious. And he knew how to do that.
     

6
 
A Little Bit of Heaven at Lulu’s.
 
 
 
    They were eating inside, in the nook; the windows were open to let in spring. They were looking out at the lap pool Lulu’s contractor husband Warren had built for her a year before the divorce. The magnolias, the dogwoods, and the azaleas that flanked the pool were in full early-April bloom.
    This was lunch, but it wasn’t just social for Darla. She needed information. Back in Philadelphia, she had snitches. Here in Jackson, she had gossips, her friend Lulu being the primary.
     “I tell people I’m the housekeeper,” said Lulu. “When they look at me funny, I tell them it’s because I got to keep the house both times I’ve been divorced.”
    Not a bad line , thought Darla. Now comes one of her tirades about Warren .
    “Of course, I gave that no-account Warren the best ten years of my life, and he never would let me have any children. He went off and got himself fixed the first year without telling me until after. He up and just climbed into bed one night with his privates all bandaged up. I didn’t know what to think. Then he said he just didn’t like kids. Didn’t want them around. It about broke my heart, but I stayed with him anyway.”
    Darla had heard the story before. She also knew Lulu