A Calamity of Souls

DuBose talks to Craig Baker. Although he refuses to give her any information, he is sympathetic. DuBose asks what kind of law he practices, and he pointedly tells her that he is a divorce lawyer.

On her way back to the office, DuBose stops at a church. She hesitates outside. She formerly considered herself Catholic, but slowly stopped going to church as an adult and now is unsure of her faith. However, she finally chooses to go in and kneels in a pew to pray.

She is interrupted by a priest, Father Matthew, who asks her what she is doing. He tells her that she is not a member and shouldn’t be there. However, he is stopped by another priest, Father Kelly, who tells him that he should be going to a meeting. Father Matthew makes a comment about making sure that DuBose doesn’t steal anything, then leaves.

Bothered by Father Matthew’s overt racism, DuBose goes to leave, but Father Kelly stops her. The two have a conversation about God and the Golden Rule. Father Kelly is insistent that he respects everyone and treats them well, regardless of the color of their skin. He believes that his teaching—and the work that DuBose is doing in the courtroom—will be the key to educating the younger generations about respect and equality.

DuBose is hesitant at first during the conversation, noting how sitting around and waiting for the older people to die off is not a solution to their problem. However, she agrees with Father Kelly that “demonstrating love and tolerance and empathy are far superior to” hate (277).

Back at the office, DuBose calls Janice Evans and leaves a message. She goes over her notes for the trial and considers how to get the search warrant for Jerome’s house thrown out. She has no intention of putting Jerome on the stand to say where the money comes from.

Donny shows up to give her an update on the case. He tells her that Tyler Dobbs was in debt for several thousand dollars from gambling; however, after he spoke with the police and gave his statement, his debt went away. He also says that Sam is extremely sick and was hoping to go to Switzerland for care, but that it would cost $20,000, which is why he needed his inheritance.

The man who everyone saw leaving the house a few weeks prior to the Randolphs death was Anthony Richards, a psychologist. Sam had sent him there to make the claim that his parents were “incompetent” so he could make decisions about their home.

At the end of their conversation, DuBose apologizes for judging Donny the first time they met. However, Donny tells DuBose that he is glad she is here to help Jack.

A few minutes after Donny leaves, Jack comes home. Lucy died during her surgery.

In court, DuBose asks for a one-month extension in lieu of what happened to Lucy. Ambrose rules that he will not allow the proceedings to be disrupted, as that is exactly what the people who hurt Lucy and shot at DuBose want.

DuBose and Battle briefly talk. He tells DuBose that he “respect[s] the hell out of” her and that she is one of the best lawyers he’s ever seen (286). When she points out that he still would never socialize publicly with her, he hesitates, claiming that it would cost him his reputation and even his safety and that of his family. DuBose interrupts him, citing what Hilly said—that “if you let the bully win he never goes away. He owns you” (286).

Dubose attends Lucy’s funeral and is surprised that Battle is there as well. After, Jack invites Dubose back to his parents’ house for a gathering. She declines, but he insists, saying that he considers her a “friend.”

At his parents’ house, DuBose is the only Black person there, and does her best to remain off to the side. Miss Jessup knocks on the door and gives Jack a music box with Lucy’s favorite song. She reveals that she watched Lucy when she was a year old, a surprise to Jack.

Hilly invites Miss Jessup inside. They spend the rest of the afternoon telling stories together, Jack’s family along with Miss Jessup and DuBose.

Later, alone with his parents, Jack expresses his surprise that Miss Jessup watched Lucy when she was little. His parents reveal that, after Lucy’s birth, Hilly spent time in a psychiatric hospital getting care for her mental health.

On the drive to Miss Jessup’s, Jack asks why he never knew that she cared for Lucy. Miss Jessup says that he never asked, but at the same time, she never shared. She compares herself to Hilly in that they never really got to know each other. She comments how she “don’t get along with white folks [because she’s] too old and seen too much” (294).

As she gets out of the car, Jack apologizes to her for never getting to know her or asking about her life. She pats his hand and tells him to take care of himself and DuBose.

After spending the day collecting sworn statements from their witnesses, Jack and DuBose go to sleep in his home. Jack is woken in the middle of the night by Queenie, as his home and office are on fire.

Jack rushes downstairs and gets to DuBose, who is unconscious. He pulls her outside and revives her, then goes back inside several times to retrieve their files. The last time he comes, DuBose and Queenie are gone.

He finds them around the corner, being held at gunpoint by Deputy Taliaferro and the man whose ear Jack shot off. The second man makes a comment about killing Lucy, causing Jack to charge at him before being knocked down by Taliaferro.

The men then turn on DuBose and prepare to kill her. Before they can, they are both knocked unconscious. Surprised, DuBose opens her eyes and finds Jack’s brother, Jefferson, standing over the men.

Back at Jack’s parents’ house, Jeff informs them that he got a lawyer in Canada; he can no longer be charged for deserting the Army, and is back to stay. Jack informs his parents that Taliaferro and the other man were arrested for arson and attempted murder, and that the other man will be charged with killing Lucy.

Jack and DuBose consider what to do before Hilly insists that they move into her home. She lets DuBose sleep in Lucy’s room and use the garage as an office, telling DuBose she can take whatever clothes she needs from Hilly.

The next day, as Jack and DuBose are setting up the office, Donny and Shirley show up. They insist on taking Jack and DuBose shopping for new clothes, pay for everything, and get DuBose a new haircut for court.

As Shirley goes to leave, she pulls DuBose aside. Shirley tells her that she has built a successful business and worked hard to get where it is, but none of it would be possible if it weren’t for the work DuBose has been doing. She tearfully thanks DuBose.

Jeff and his father talk. Frank apologizes for never responding to Jeff’s letter. He explains that he did not understand at first and was angry, but now he thinks that his son is brave for leaving a war he knew wasn’t “right.” The two amicably shake hands.

Jack and DuBose sit and look over their evidence. They are going to try to show that Sam had motive—he needed money—and use him to supply the “reasonable doubt” necessary to Jerome’s innocence. They want to show that Sam knew his parents were getting a divorce and need to place him at the house that day, hopefully with the blue convertible that Jerome saw. They agree to try to talk to Janice Evans and Craig Baker one last time.

On the first day of the trial, both sides go through jury selection. DuBose is bothered by the fact that all of the potential jurors are white and male. Ambrose assures her that there was no other choice.

DuBose and Jack alternate questioning the potential jurors. On a few occasions they prove that the juror is racially biased and get them dismissed on cause. Ultimately, they are unsure of many of the jurors.

Jack finally gets in touch with Janice Evans. However, she refuses to testify for fear of being arrested for performing abortions.

Jack then visits Craig Baker. After talking with Craig about what he can and cannot reveal, the two decide that Craig can testify in court that he specializes in divorce and that Anne Randolph was his client.

That night, as Jack and DuBose work on the case, Hilly brings them dinner. She tells DuBose to be careful of Ambrose, implying that he is trying to be as fair as possible so that there is no cause for the trial to be thrown out. However, she says that she knows “when white folks are trying to pretend they’re not racist because [she’s] done it [her]self” (320).

Hilly tells them a story from her childhood. She was delivered by the man from the farm next to her family’s farm, a Black man named Isaac Taylor. Growing up, she was best friends with Isaac’s son, Joshua. However, after she moved to Virginia, she “started seeing color, because everyone around [her] was seeing it, too” (321).

The next day, Battle gives his opening statement to the court. He says that the prosecution will show that Jerome and Pearl planned the murder together, killed the Randolphs, then Jerome changed his clothes while Pearl called the police from a payphone nearby. He says that the defense will argue that Jerome would not have stayed; however, Battle says that he did so to cast off suspicion.

Jack gives the opening statement for the defense. He stresses to the jury the importance of “doubt” and the fact that the prosecution is required to leave none. He also tells them that they will see very little physical evidence, especially as to Pearl’s guilt—instead, they will get a lot of speculation.

Raymond LeRoy is called to the stand first. On cross-examination, Jack questions him about his and his partner’s abuse of Jerome during the arrest. LeRoy initially says that he didn’t hear what his partner said or remember how badly he beat Jerome up. However, after Jack reminds him he is under oath and reads off Jerome’s injuries, LeRoy admits that his partner provoked and then beat Jerome.

Herman Till is then called to the stand and DuBose cross-examines him. She tries to ask him questions about the amount of blood that would have been in the room and the lack of blood on Jerome. Battle repeatedly objects, and Ambrose sustains his objections. DuBose finds a way around the objections the best she can, ultimately getting Till to admit that it would be unlikely for Jerome not to have blood on him. When Battle reexamines Till, he asks if Jerome changing his clothes would account for the lack of blood. DuBose objects on the grounds of speculation, the same objection that Ambrose had been sustaining. This time, Ambrose overrules the objection and allows Till to answer.

For the rest of the day, several more witnesses are called. Cora Robinson testifies that Jerome went into the Randolph house to use the bathroom without their knowledge. The Deputy who found the money in Jerome’s lean-to testifies to finding it, but DuBose gets him to admit that they have no idea where the money came from or how it got there.

As Jack and DuBose leave the courthouse, Jack tries to get DuBose to go out a side door, but she insists on going out to speak with the press. She is asked how the first day went and says that they still have to tell their side. Jack keeps trying to get her to leave, but she speaks to the crowd.

DuBose explains that she wants the United States to be united and move forward as one so that people of all races will be better off. Jack realizes that people in the crowd are agreeing with her, giving him a “fresh level of respect” for her (346).

That night, Hilly comes into DuBose’s room. She tells her the story of Joshua and shows her their photo together. She explains that she was truly in love with Joshua and wanted to be with him forever. When he went off to college, she did her best to stay in touch, but Joshua’s mother constantly tried to keep them apart.

When she moved to Virginia, she regularly attended church. After Lucy was born, she talked with the preacher about her guilt over Lucy and told him about Joshua. The preacher told her that Lucy’s developmental disabilities were a punishment from God for loving a Black man.

Hilly explains how society and Joshua’s mother forcing them apart, as well as believing that the preacher was right, caused her to grow angry at the world and believe in segregation. She says that DuBose and Jack give her hope for the world to be a better place.

The next day, Albert Custer, Pearl’s boss, takes the stand. He testifies that Pearl was not at work that Friday. While he talks, DuBose asks for Pearl’s permission to question him about the rape, but Pearl adamantly tells her no.

Tyler Dobbs testifies to the fact that Jerome told him he needed money and was causing problems for the Randolphs. When Jack cross-examines him, he forces Dobbs to admit that he had gambling debts and that he was instructed to lie for them to be paid off. He refuses to tell the court who paid off his debts. Jack has him taken into custody for perjury and his testimony struck from the record.

Jack cross-examines Sam Randolph and asks about his health and need for money. Battle objects on the grounds of relevancy, stating that they have the right to show that he is a possible suspect in his parents’ murder. DuBose actually wants him to sustain the objection, as it will prove that he is on the side of the prosecution and will give her legal grounds for an appeal due to his bias. However, before Ambrose can rule, Battle withdraws his objection, saving Ambrose.

Through cross-examination, Jack gets Sam to admit that he needed money for medical treatment and that he hired a psychiatrist to challenge his parents’ mental state.

Christine and her husband testify. Christine tells the court that she was there the day that Jerome and his family went to her parents’ house to swim, and that everyone was happy.

When Gordon testifies, he is visibly bothered by what he has to say, and repeatedly looks to Christine. He tells the court that Leslie told him that he was going to fire Jerome because he thought he was stealing from them.

After their testimony, the prosecution rests. DuBose immediately moves for dismissal, stating that the prosecution showed no true evidence throughout their case, and failed to show anything that relates Pearl to the crime other than speculation. Ambrose overrules her.

As Christine leaves the courthouse, she runs into Jeff, and the two briefly talk. They are interrupted by a man from the crowd, who slams Christine into her car for speaking positively about Jerome. Jeff throws the man to the ground and two more who try to attack Christine.

At home that night, Jack comments on an interview from DuBose that he heard on the radio. He tells her that he is bothered that she is trying to “litigate” in the press instead of focusing on the trial. She is adamant that it is likely they will lose the trial; getting support from the public will help on appeals. Jack is wary but understands her reasoning.

Jack and DuBose eat their dinner sitting on Penny Bridge, the bridge that divides what is largely considered the Black side of town from the white. They talk about their families and drink wine while they eat.