The Trial of Dr. Kate (36 page)

They left the café and went next door. Rebecca sat in a leather chair and stared into space. Jake and Shenandoah sat at the desk.

At just under three hours, Deputy Masterson opened the door to Jake’s office and said, “Jury’s back, Jake. Best come on.”

* * *

They entered the courtroom in single file, Jake leading them. Judge Grant walked in just as Thelonious and Baxter took their seats. He called order and turned to the jury. “Have you elected a foreman?”

One of the truck drivers stood. “Yes, sir, that would be me.”

“And have you reached a verdict?”

The man nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Would the defendant stand?”

Dr. Kate rose slowly from her chair and steadied herself against the table. Her face was chalk white. Jake got out of his chair, stood at her side, and held her by the elbow.

The bailiff walked across the courtroom and took a slip of paper from the foreman. Without looking at it, he handed it to Judge Grant. The judge opened the paper, glanced at it, and handed it to the bailiff, who took it back to the truck driver.

Judge Grant asked the foreman, “In the charge of murder in the first degree, how do you find the defendant?”

The man, a raw-boned fellow with big, rough hands, looked at Dr. Kate and swallowed hard. His whole body seemed to tense up. After a deep breath, he said, “We had a hard time with this, Judge. Different opinions, if you know what I mean.” Then the man looked directly at Dr. Katherine Marlow. “I’m sorry, Dr. Kate,” he said. “We found you guilty.”

Dr. Kate slumped into her chair, an expression of utter disbelief on her face. Jake Watson stood stone-faced, and Rebecca lowered her head to the table, her shoulders shaking.

Shenandoah felt as if someone had hit her with a sledgehammer. She hung her head and let the tears flow, her whole body trembling. She was devastated. She simply wasn’t emotionally prepared for a guilty verdict.

An immediate rustling sound echoed off the tall ceiling as spectators began to move out of their seats.

Judge Grant’s face flushed, and he brought his gavel down hard. “Order in the court! Deputy Masterson, restore order. Stop it, you people! This court is not adjourned.”

Getting no response, Judge Grant stood shaking his head and dropped his gavel on the bench. He threw up his hands, stepped down from the elevated platform, and followed the bailiff out of the courtroom.

Thelonious and Baxter stuffed papers into their briefcases and walked past the defense table. Baxter had a smile on his face, but Thelonious just nodded to Jake.

Shenandoah approached the defense table to say something to Kate, but by the time she got there, the deputy was leading Kate out the back door of the courtroom. Rebecca and Jake sat staring into space.

“I’m sorry, Jake. What happens now?” Shenandoah asked.

The older man shook his head. “There’re no grounds for an appeal. All I can do is try to get a reduced sentence. The judge may want to give her twenty years, but I’m hoping for four to eight with good behavior. I’ve got some plans to get Kate’s license reinstated once she gets out of prison.”

Rebecca walked around the table, her eyes red and moist, her cheeks wet. She placed her arms around Shenandoah and held her tightly, her damp face pressed against Shenandoah’s. Shenandoah stroked the back of Rebecca’s head and said, “I’m so sorry.”

They stayed in that embrace for a few moments, and then Rebecca pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Good luck, Shenandoah. Stay in touch. We’ll all get through this. We have to.”

Shenandoah nodded and left the room. She’d decided to see Kate the following morning, but had no idea what she would say to her. Thelonious was stepping into the Cadillac just as Shenandoah walked through the door into the sunlight.

She drove to the clinic and told Jazz and Nurse Little the news. Both started to cry and fled the room. She searched until she found Mr. Applebee, and as they drove to Army’s garage, the bulldog placed his huge head on Shenandoah’s leg and whimpered. Shenandoah placed her hand on the dog and rubbed his ears. “It’s okay, big fellow. I’ll take care of you.”

Shenandoah had bought a collar and leash for the dog, and when they got to the garage, she let Mr. Applebee jump down to the pavement. When they walked into the big work room, it was eerily silent. She felt a pang of utter emptiness when she realized that Bobby wouldn’t be there. Suddenly, the door to Army’s office slammed shut, and Trudy Underwood came running toward Shenandoah with tears flooding her eyes and mascara smudging her cheeks. Her hair was a mess of tangles, and she held an envelope in her hand. When she saw Shenandoah, she started to sob. Shenandoah had to quickly move out of her way, or Trudy would have knocked her down.

Shenandoah found Army in his office tallying a long list of numbers on an adding machine. A cigarette dangled from his mouth, a swirl of blue smoke surrounding his head.

“What’s up with Trudy?”

“All this mess with Kate finally got to me. I’ve put up with Trudy for years because she’s Lillie’s sister. You do that for family—at least I think you should. I just can’t deal with it anymore. I gave her some money and told her to get out of the house. I’m fed up with her.”

“What’ll happen to her?”

“I told her to leave town, to go down to Nashville where no one knows her. Try to get a good education, and then maybe she might come back after all this has died down.”

“Think she will?”

“Who knows?”

Shenandoah slumped into the chair next to Army’s desk and said, “If I smoked, I’d want a cigarette now. They convicted Kate.”

“I was afraid they would. Old Jake’s a good lawyer, but the cards were stacked against him. How long you reckon she’ll have to serve?”

“Jake’s hoping for no more than an eight-year term. The judge won’t sentence her until next week. I still can’t believe that Kate could have done it.”

Army looked away and took a drag on his cigarette. There was something in Army’s eyes that bothered Shenandoah.

“Army,” she said. “Do you know something the rest of us don’t?”

Spinning his chair around to face Shenandoah, Army said, “I want Kate to go to her grave thinking she didn’t do it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It won’t go out that door?”

“No.”

“Kate did it,” Army said. “She just doesn’t remember.”

“You’re sure?”

“I was there.”

Shenandoah leaned over, held her head in both hands, and gave a mournful sigh. “Jesus, Army, what are you saying?”

“Kate injected the barbiturate.”

“For God’s sake, tell me what happened.”

* * *

On the morning of March 23, 1952, Dr. Kate Marlow parked her station wagon in front of Lillian Johnson’s house and carried her black doctor’s bag up the sidewalk to the front porch. Dr. Kate made house calls to the Johnson home three or four times a week, so she went directly to the door, knocked once, and walked in.

Dr. Kate found Lillian in the bedroom at the back of the house. She was alone, and a warm March breeze blew the sheer lace curtains in and out of the screenless open window. The bare limbs of the big maple tree next to the house swayed back and forth in a rhythmic, mesmerizing fashion.

Lillian sat quietly in her wheelchair. Her blonde hair, streaked with perspiration, lay plastered to her skull. The pallor of her angular face gave her the appearance of a child’s doll. She looked up as Dr. Kate walked in.

“You’ve got to help me, Kate. Please!”

The bathroom door opened, and Lillian’s husband stepped into the room.

“What are you doing here, Army? I thought you’d be at the garage by now,” Dr. Kate said.

“Sit on the bed, Kate. We want to talk to you,” Army said.

Dr. Kate fought to keep her eyes open as she sank, exhausted, onto the bed. She pulled her shoulders back and faced the husband and wife. “What?”

Lillian pulled a syringe filled with an amber solution out of her robe and held it up. “I’ve filled it with Seconal. Please give it to me.”

A confused expression passed over the doctor’s face. “Seconal?”

“I’ve been saving capsules for a year. Army dissolved them in some water a few minutes ago. My veins are in terrible shape. Neither of us knows how to do it, anyway. You’ve got to, Kate. Please!”

“I know you’re against it, but you’ve got to help us,” Army said. “Lillie can’t stand the pain, and I can’t stand seeing her suffer. Please, Kate.”

“I’ve been over this a hundred times. I don’t believe in euthanasia. As a doctor, all I can do is try to ease your suffering,” Dr. Kate said.

Lillian’s lower lip began to tremble, and tears welled up in her eyes. She was taking rapid, deep breaths. Her husband moved to her side and placed his arm around her shoulder, pulling her to him. Army’s eyes were red and puffy. Lillian lay her head on his chest and sobbed.

As she watched them, Dr. Kate buried her face in both hands and started to cry, her whole body shaking. She rocked back and forth on the edge of the bed for several moments.

Finally, she rose and knelt beside the wheelchair. She took the syringe from Lillian, placed a tourniquet around her patient’s right arm above the elbow, and inserted the needle. She pulled back on the plunger, saw blood, and then pushed it in with the side of her index finger until the glass cylinder was empty. As she pulled the needle out of the vein, the syringe fell from her hand to the floor.

Tears slid down Lillian’s smooth cheeks, and with her last breath she said, “Thank you.” Then she slumped back into the chair, and Army held her to his chest and stroked her cheek, tears streaming from his eyes. Dr. Kate untied the tourniquet, slipped it into her bag, and left the room without uttering a word.

* * *

Shenandoah sat with her chin on her chest, shaking her head. “Jesus, I can’t believe this. She was in an alcoholic blackout that whole day. I honestly don’t think she knows she did it. What about the syringe? Why did you leave it there?”

“Kate and I were both so upset that we just didn’t think straight. Hell, I couldn’t even stay in the room. I wandered around aimlessly in my truck for a couple of hours and then went to the garage. I knew Trudy would find her. I was a coward. What can I say?”

“I’m sorry, Army,” Shenandoah said. “I know this has been a nightmare for you. I’ve got one more question. I think you owe me this one. Was anything going on between you and Kate?”

“Kate and I have been best friends since grade school and we went steady awhile in high school. But Lillie was my true love, the only woman I’ve ever loved or will ever love. I miss her so much that it’s killing me. I don’t sleep worth a shit. I can’t eat. I don’t think I’ll ever get over losing her.”

Shenandoah looked Army in the eye and said, “They say time heals all. I hope it does. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.”

“You’ll keep this between us?”

“Yes. I’ll swear on a stack of Bibles.”

Army slipped a cigarette into his mouth and held the pack out to Shenandoah. “Have a smoke. It’ll calm your nerves.”

Shenandoah shook her head.

They sat in silence, Army taking slow drags on his cigarette and Shenandoah staring into space, trying to come to grips with what she’d just learned.

Several seconds passed, and then Shenandoah asked, “Have you heard anything about Bobby’s wreck?”

Army placed the cigarette on the top of the desk with the ash hanging off. “He had a blowout going around that bad curve at Chestnut Mound. Rolled the hot rod down a damn steep hill and landed upside down against a big maple tree. I took a wrecker down there this morning and pulled it out.”

“Did he have a load, or was he on his way to Nashville?”

“The car was clean, or they’d have a warrant out for him. Me, too, probably.”

“You see him this morning?”

“Yeah. He looks like hell, but I think he’s feeling better. You taking his mom and Wally down?”

“I’m going to get them now.”

“That Hattie Mae’s dog?”

“Yeah, you heard?”

“I kind of liked the old girl. A little eccentric, but most of us are, don’t you think?”

Shenandoah smiled. “Most interesting people are. Might be a little that way myself.”

“Okay, lady, best be on your way. Watch that curve at Chestnut Mound.”

* * *

Shenandoah arrived at Bobby’s house about six and found his mother and Wally waiting on the front porch. Wally ran to the car and began banging on the door. Mr. Applebee cringed, moved toward Shenandoah, and gave a low growl. Shenandoah scratched the dog’s head. “It’s okay, old boy. You’re going to have to get used to Wally.”

“See Daddy! See Daddy!”

Mrs. Johnson picked him up and opened the door. When she saw Mr. Applebee, she said, “You can’t take that dog into the hospital. They’ll throw you out on your ear.”

Paraphrasing Hattie Mae, Shenandoah said, “Where I go, Mr. Applebee goes.”

Wally kept up a constant babble until they got to Chestnut Mound, and then he passed out in his grandmother’s arms. When they passed the guardrail Bobby had crashed through the night before, Shenandoah felt nauseated.

Shenandoah parked the Bel Air on Twenty-first Avenue. Mrs. Johnson, Wally, Mr. Applebee, and Shenandoah walked up the Garland Avenue sidewalk toward the entrance of Vanderbilt Hospital. Mr. Applebee stayed right at Shenandoah’s feet, just as he had always done with Hattie Mae.

Mrs. Johnson swept Wally up in her arms and held him on her hip. Turning back to Shenandoah, she said, “I don’t know what makes you think you can get this child and that dog into this hospital.”

“I’ll think of something.”

Suddenly, Shenandoah remembered her canvas duffel bag in the trunk of the car. Mr. Applebee would fit in it with room to spare. She ran back to the car with Mr. Applebee beside her. She removed the canvas bag and placed the dog inside, leaving the zipper partially closed so that he would have air. She picked the bag up and remembered how heavy the dog was. She had to hold the bag against her leg in order to control the weight. She walked stiff legged back to where Mrs. Johnson stood waiting for her.

When Shenandoah had been in Bobby’s room the night before, she had noticed it was close to the pediatric ward. Mrs. Johnson could carry Wally, and she would carry the duffel bag. If anyone stopped them, they would say they were taking Wally to the pediatric ward.