Breaking Matthew (19 page)

“Um, well…Young Henry, Ruby’s brother, had been cut along the neck and was bleeding badly.”

“And was his life in danger?”

Dr. Fisher frowned. “Well, I suppose at the time it seemed rather serious—”

“Yes or no, please, Doctor. Was his life in danger?”

“Yes.”

Mr. Garrett turned and faced the spectators, rocking on his heels in anticipation. “And can you please tell us exactly how Henry Graves was injured?”

Dr. Fisher looked over at Ruby, his eyes pleading for forgiveness. Instinctively my heart sank, even before he answered. “Henry was injured because Ruby had thrown a knife at him.”

Mr. Garret took a moment to soak in the collective gasp he’d been expecting. Then he turned and headed for the jury box. “Can you please repeat that?”

Dr. Fisher sighed. “From what I understand, Henry was teasing her, and Ruby threw a knife at him.”

Each and every one of the men on the jury turned and looked at Ruby as if he was finally convinced of her guilt. Rage flooded over me, and all I wanted to do was rush up to the stand and tell them that she hadn’t done this, to explain everything until they saw the truth. But I couldn’t. 

Mr. Garrett rested, and Dr. Fisher left the stand, his shoulders sagging as if he now bore a heavy load. Ruby watched him leave, and as he passed by the table, I caught the gentle look of understanding she gave him. It stabbed me right in the gut. Maybe I could be recalled to the stand. Maybe I could still stop this horrible train wreck from happening. I leaned forward to tap Mr. Oliver on the shoulder, hoping to convince him to let me testify again.

On the table, I saw several lines of notes between him and Ruby on his yellow pad.

Is this true?

Yes.

How could he have found out about it?

James.

Mrs. Graves held her head up high and scanned the gallery with a defiant glare as Mr. Oliver approached her for questioning. I’d never felt such solidarity as I did in that moment as she dared anyone in that courtroom to say a bad word about her daughter.

“Can you describe the incident that occurred in your home between Ruby and Henry when they were children?” Mr. Oliver asked.

“Yes, sir. It’s true, Ruby had a temper when she was younger, but that’s true of many children. And she did throw that knife at Henry. He’d been teasing her, and she lost her temper. She didn’t mean to hurt him, and as soon as it happened she felt just awful. I never saw anything like the turnaround I saw in her from that day on.”

“How so?” Mr. Oliver asked.

“She was much more self-controlled. I don’t reckon I ever saw her lose her temper like that again. Now, she could be impulsive, and downright pig-headed at times, but she never lost control again.”

I glanced at the jury throughout Mrs. Graves’s testimony. It didn’t appear to help much. Most of them had set their face to a frown and weren’t about to budge. When Mr. Garrett stood to question her, I was certain things could only get worse.

“Now, Mrs. Graves, were you aware that your daughter was taking food to a Negro woman in the woods of Mr. Calhoun’s property?”

“I knew she was taking food to a needy family.”

“Yes, but did you know that the woman was a Negro?”

Mrs. Graves sighed like she was dealing with an argumentative child. “No. I wasn’t aware of that part.”

“When you did become aware of it, what did you say to her? Were you supportive?”

“I was afraid for her.”

“Did you tell her it would be best if she stopped going down there?”

“Yes, I did. I was concerned for her safety. And rightly so.”

“And how about now?” Mr. Garrett asked.

Mrs. Graves shifted in her seat. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“How do you feel about Ruby going off to Colony every month to visit her Negro friends?”

A blush crept into Mrs. Graves’s cheeks, and she glanced over at Ruby. “I reckon I’m still afraid for her safety. As much from the white sheets as from anyone she might meet in that town.”

In the end, Mrs. Graves didn’t do much harm, but she didn’t appear to do much good either. I was convinced the only way to save Ruby at this point was to tell the jury everything about what really happened in that barn, even if it meant she would never speak to me again. After Mr. Garrett took his seat, I tapped his shoulder. He leaned back, and I whispered to him about recalling me to the stand.

He glanced at Ruby, who shook her head. Mr. Oliver frowned at me. “I can’t do it, son. I’m sorry.”

I fell against the back of the pew and sulked as Mr. Oliver rose and requested a continuance to the following day since Ruby’s testimony was last, and would most likely take longer than we had remaining in the day. The judge agreed, and dismissed everyone. I was fuming by this point, and couldn’t stand to be in that courtroom one moment more. So without a word to anybody, I got out of there as quick as I could, seeking the sanctuary of my car.

As I drove, I went over all the testimony of the day, trying to find a shred of hope that Ruby wouldn’t be found guilty. But it seemed like everything had worked against her. I pounded my hand into my steering wheel, yelled curses at God for abandoning her, and prayed with all my might He would still work things out for her

By the time I pulled up in front of the Graves farm, I was worked up so bad, I could hardly think straight. Slamming my door shut, I stomped around the yard, kicking up rocks and throwing sticks to get out all the pent-up frustration inside me.

A few minutes later, Roy approached me from the barn. “You look like you’re fit to be tied. I take it things didn’t go well?”

“Not at all,” I said. But then something clicked in my head. There was a solution standing right in front of me. “Say, you still willing to get Ruby out of here? Take her somewhere safe she can hide out for a while?”

Roy’s eyebrows shot up, and he scratched at his beard. “That bad, huh?” He glanced around like someone might be listening. “Come with me.”

I followed him into the barn, where he called out to his brothers to come join us. They’d turned the barn into their own little hideout, setting a slab of wood on an upturned wagon wheel to use as a card table, and fashioning beds out of hay bales. The four of them gathered around the table, rubbing sleep out of their eyes like they’d been up all night.

“What’s going on?” Eddie asked.

“Matthew here says the trial ain’t going so good,” Roy said. “Wants to know if we can help Ruby hide out or something.”

Eddie rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, you know, we pitched that idea a few days back, but Lizzy wouldn’t have none of it.”

“Lizzy don’t ever speak to us much anyway,” Franklin said. “I say we do it.”

Roy put his hands up. “Now hold on just a minute. What exactly are we talking about here?We’d like to help, honest. But Ruby don’t seem like she wants to take this road. And we ain’t in the business of kidnapping folks.”

He was right about that for sure. Knowing Ruby, that was exactly what was going to have to be done. “Well, for argument’s sake, let’s say I can get Ruby on board. What would we need to do? What does running from the law entail?”

Eddie leaned forward on his knees. “For beating a murder charge? Name change for sure. Change of appearance; cutting her hair or something. Moving up north or out west. She’d have to hide out for a while till things cooled off. Then hit the road. A lot to go through for a girl her age and no experience with such things.”

“Not if I’m with her,” I said.

Chapter Eighteen

Matthew

By the time everyone arrived back at the Graves farm, I’d left the barn and was chopping wood at the back of the house. The sky was dark and fat spots of rain were beginning to fall. I welcomed the damp coolness on the back of my shirt as I swung the ax, and swung again. Ruby’s uncles continued to discuss possibilities, while I satisfied my anger by envisioning all those people who’d stood against Ruby—Cass, Father, Mr. Adams at the paper, Mr. Garrett. I saw their faces as I swung away, and it appeased my anger, but it didn’t calm my nerves.

Ruby didn’t say anything to me. Asa came out to check on me, but left me to do my killing on my own for a while. When I’d exhausted myself and came inside, Ruby was asleep on the sofa, and Mrs. Graves was preparing supper. I looked around for something else I could do, some measure of help I could give, but I found nothing. So I went outside to draw water from the well and wash up.

As we took our seats around the table for supper, Ruby didn’t even look at me. She kept her head down as we all took hold of our hands, and Asa prayed over the meal. “Heavenly Father, we thank You for all the blessings You’ve bestowed upon us, especially this meal. Please allow it to nourish our bodies, just as You nourish our souls. We ask Your favor as we face the days ahead, and peace in knowing that we are safe in Your hands.”

There was anything but peace in my spirit. God seemed to have no interest in keeping Ruby from going to prison, which I could not understand at all. I’d prayed for understanding, prayed for His help, but He didn’t speak to me like He did to Ruby. I was at a total loss.

None of us spoke much during the meal, and I noticed Ruby pushed her food around the plate more than anything. Within a few minutes, she declared herself full.

“You’ve hardly eaten a thing,” her mother said. “You need to keep your strength up.”

“I’m all right,” she said. “Just tired, and not very hungry. Please excuse me.”

She left the table without even cleaning up her plate, something I’d never seen her do, and headed straight out the door without another word.

“I’m going to go talk to her,” I said, leaving my plate as well. I hoped Mrs. Graves would forgive me this one time.

Ruby was making her way toward the path into the woods, and I ran to catch up with her. “Where are you going?” I asked as I caught her near the edge.

“Just for a short walk,” she said, her gaze bouncing from one thing to the next, but never falling on me.

“In the rain?”

She looked down the path and then back at the house. “I suppose. It’s only a little drizzle.”

She folded her arms over her chest and started down the path. The sun hung low in the sky, casting a rose-colored glow beneath the clouds. As soon as we entered the shade of the trees, the temperature dropped. She pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders.

“Are you cold?” I asked.

She shook her head.

I continued beside her, unable to bear the silence, but unable to form the words I so badly wanted to say. “I know you’re angry with me for telling Mr. Oliver your secret, but I can’t apologize. I can’t stand you being angry with me either. So you’re going to have to find a way to forgive me, even though I’m not sorry.”

She still said nothing, pushing my frustration to near madness.

“Ruby, talk to me.”

“You broke your promise,” she finally said. “I shouldn’t have trusted you.”

It killed me to hear her say that. I’d worked so hard to earn back her trust. “I’m sorry I hurt you. But please try to understand. I just…I can’t lose you.”

She stopped walking and looked up at me with indignant eyes. “That’s the most ridiculous thing you could’ve said.
Lose
me? I’m not yours to lose. If anything, you should be more concerned about losing your fiancée.”

“My what?” I stepped back, completely taken off guard. “What are you talking about?”

“I saw Vanessa, and her ring. You gave up a job and a home in Nashville, and now your family is falling apart. You shouldn’t even be here. You should be at your parents’ house, working things out with them. You’ve sacrificed everything. For what? Because you felt guilty? Because you
owed
me something from five years ago?”

“No! This is crazy. I…I’m not engaged. I broke it off with Vanessa over a week ago. How did she—? I don’t understand. I’m not marrying Vanessa. And I don’t want a life in Nashville. I’m here for
you
. Not because I owe you anything, even though I do.” I stepped closer and reached for her face, unable to stop myself any longer. “I owe you more than I could ever repay, Ruby. But that’s not why I’m here.”

I hesitated, afraid to say what I’d wanted to for days now. Her eyes teared up, and she covered my hands with hers. “So, you’re not getting married?”

“No.” I rested my forehead on hers. “I could never marry anyone else. I love you, Ruby. Only you.” I lifted her face to mine and looked into the most beautiful eyes I’d ever known. “Can’t you see that? With all your talent for seeing the needs of others, for seeing right through me…How could you not see how much I love you?”

“But Vanessa said—”

“She’s hurt, and she lied to you. I’m sorry about that. I wish I’d known she was there. But I promise you: I’m not sacrificing some imaginary future you’ve concocted. I would gladly give you every dime to my name. I’d walk away from my family in a heartbeat. All I want is to be with you.”

I touched my lips to hers, my whole body aching with joy when her lips moved with mine. I was gone, for good. Completely ruined. I pulled back and looked down into her eyes. “Ruby, I won’t lose you. There’s still time to fix this mess. Just get on the stand tomorrow and tell the truth.”

“I’d be sentencing Samuel to death. Maybe even Hannah, if they couldn’t get their hands on him. I can’t do that.”

“Then let’s run away. Your uncles can help us. We’ll leave tonight, and we can make a new life for ourselves. Just you and me.”

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me again. “I love you too. I do. But—”

“No, no. No ‘but’. Just say yes. Choose me.” I kissed her again. “Choose me, Ruby. We can go to Texas or California. Start over. I’ll be with you forever.”

“I believe you,” she said, stepping back and taking my hand in hers. “But it’s crazy. And if we got caught…and my mother would just die…”

“Forget everyone else!” My voice shot up louder than I’d meant it to. “We can make it work.”

“You’d be miserable. When would we ever see our families again?”

“I’d be with you. I’d be the happiest man in the world. And believe me, as long as we were together, and you were safe, I wouldn’t care if I ever saw my family again.”

“You don’t mean that. What about Mary? Your mother?”

I had to admit, I’d miss Mary and Mother, but I couldn’t even think about them when it seemed that this might be my last chance to save Ruby. She was so close to agreeing. Saving her was all that mattered.

“Listen to me,” I said. “I don’t care about everything I’d leave behind. Don’t you get that? I just need you.”

“No, Matthew. You need to listen to yourself. I’m not all you need. We have to trust God, that He’ll work everything out for our good. Just because things seem bleak now, doesn’t mean our faith should waiver. I know this is hard for you, because you want to make things happen just as you think they should. But God has a bigger plan for both of us. More than just loving each other.” She reached for my face, touching my cheek so gently. “Don’t give up your faith to be with me. In the end, it won’t be worth the cost.”

I pulled her to me once more, wishing I could stand there forever holding her against me. Some part of me knew she was right, because she was always right. But I couldn’t accept it. All I could do was hope and pray that God would stand up for her in that courtroom, that He would use her words to work in the hearts of those men on the jury. I hoped that Ruby’s faith was enough for both us, because all I could find in my heart was fear.

As I sat on the pew, exhausted from a sleepless night and waiting for Ruby to take the stand, it felt like I was sitting on a pincushion. I didn’t know how I was going to be able to sit still through her testimony. I hadn’t tried to convince Ruby again of either telling the truth or making a run for it. She’d made up her mind, so I tried to keep my focus on praying for her.

Father sat in the back of the courtroom once again, this time with Mother beside him. It pained me to see her looking so upset, but I didn’t go to them. I also spotted Vanessa this time, just behind Mother and Father. I planned to confront her about her lies, but that would have to wait. I couldn’t think of anyone else but Ruby.

When the clerk called Ruby’s name, it seemed like everyone in the building went completely still. Here was what they’d all been waiting for, a chance to hear from the one person who’d actually been in the barn when Chester Calhoun died. The courtroom was even more packed that day than it had been the previous, with folks lining the walls and spilling into the hallway outside. Even Judge Woods had looked around in surprise as he’d called court in session.

Ruby took her seat, closed her eyes for the briefest moment, and moved her lips in what was most likely a prayer. Then she placed her hand on the Bible and swore to tell the whole truth. Everything in me wished she meant it.

“Miss Graves,” Mr. Oliver said, standing just in front of her. “There have been many accusations laid against you from this witness stand. I’d like to take you through each one, and give you the opportunity to respond. Let’s begin with your brother’s injury when you were a child. How old were you at the time?”

“I was ten.” Her voice was steady, calm. She didn’t seem fazed in the slightest by being in front of all those people.

“And did you, in fact, throw a knife at your brother?”

“Yes, I did. I was washing up the dishes after dinner. He’d been picking on me, and I got angry at him. I had it my hand ’cause I was washing it, and I threw it. I don’t think I actually meant to strike him. But it did. And I felt horrible about it.”

“Have you ever physically attacked anyone in your life, other than that one moment of anger?”

“No, sir. I learned a valuable lesson that day about controlling my temper. I gave it up to God, and asked Him to take it from me. From then on, I never lost control of my temper again.”

One of the men on the jury, a black-haired man near the back gave a slight nod. I clung to that small grain of hope. How could anyone listen to Ruby for more than five minutes and not see that she wasn’t capable of murder?

Mr. Oliver walked toward the jury box. “And how about the incident at the soup kitchen? Were you stealing cans of food?”

“No, sir. I spoke with Mrs. Doyle, who had invited me to work there each Saturday, and I explained to her that I knew of a family in desperate need of help. I asked her about the extra jars of food in the pantry, and she agreed to let me take them to the family in need. The incident Brother Cass is referring to happened on a Saturday when Mrs. Doyle wasn’t there. He jumped to the conclusion that I was stealing, and never let me explain otherwise.”

“Very well. Now let’s get to the events that took place in the fall of 1931. It’s your claim that Chester Calhoun attacked and savagely beat you. Can you describe that event to the jury please?”

Ruby swallowed. Although she seemed outwardly calm, I noticed a slight tremor to her fingertips. “It was a Saturday afternoon, and I’d gone down into the woods behind the fields at the Calhoun place. I was walking down the path when I heard something behind me. I turned around and Chester was standing on the path.”

“Now, had you had any dealings with Chester up to this point?”

“Only a little. He was in charge of all the workers and sharecroppers, so he oversaw my work most days.”

“Did you ever witness him being cruel to other workers?”

“Yes. Especially the colored workers. I gave a dead chicken to a colored boy once, and Chester tried to beat him for it. Accused the boy of stealing, and told me he’d be watching me.”

“Did he ever show any signs of aggression toward you after that?”

“Not until the day I saw him in the woods.”

“And what happened when you saw him?”

Ruby fidgeted in her seat. I could see she was working out how to tell the truth and leave out Hannah and Samuel at the same time. “He told me I shouldn’t be helping colored folks, that he was going to have to teach me a lesson. And that it was better that lesson come from him than from a bunch of men in white robes coming after my whole family.”

Mr. Oliver fell silent. He must not have been expecting that answer. Several seconds passed before he continued. “Then what happened?”

“He came at me. I tried to run, but I stumbled. He kicked me. In the ribs, in the head. He swore at me while he kicked me. Called me awful names I’d rather not repeat.” Ruby’s face flushed pink, and from what I could tell, hers wasn’t the only one.

Mr. Oliver cleared his throat and shifted his weight. “Why didn’t you report the attack to the police?”

“’Cause I knew nothing would happen to him, and I was afraid if he attacked me again, he’d kill me.”

I took a quick survey of the jury. Most of them looked on Ruby with sympathy. Maybe it was working. Maybe God was answering my prayers.