Southern Men: Ballad of a Texas Rose by Carla Kane Page B

I’ve been very, very busy. I’m sorry, I have to get back.’
    Harvey’s face turned stony again as he buried whatever emotions he was feeling beneath his cowboy exterior once more. ‘I understand,’ he said. ‘Knock em cold in there Clara. I know you will.’
    ‘Goodbye Harvey,’ Clara said and turned to walk back to the courtroom. The half hour was up and it was showtime yet again.
    But as the case started up, she couldn’t stop thinking about him – so it was a good thing the Texxon lawyers had nothing to work with in their defense. If Harvey knew how much he’d potentially endangered the case just by putting himself back in her thoughts… Hell, maybe he’d be pleased about it.
    ‘If you can’t dispute the veracity of these documents,’ Judge McKennedy said, addressing Cooper’s lead lawyer, ‘then the case is over. You have failed to clear Mr. Cooper of the charges brought against him. I have no choice but find him, and by extension the whole of Texxon oil, guilty of all charges. In light of the decade-long struggle of the people of Prudence, I award damages of five hundred million dollars to be distributed evenly amongst the townspeople.’
    The lawyer’s face fell. Clara looked back at Mary Booka and the people of Prudence and grinned. They couldn’t believe it. It was finally over.
    Ace Cooper rose from his chair. The man was livid. ‘No!’ he barked, ‘God damn it, no! I demand a retrial! You’re finished Moses McKennedy, you and that little Jew cunt from New York. You done in this state boy! You done!’
    Clara brought her hand over her mouth, not so much out of shock but to hide the smile that was slowly emerging there. She knew Ace Cooper was a snake, but now the rest of the world was getting a chance to see the man’s true colors too. It was too good to be true. And hell, she’d heard a lot worse in her time. She was a New Yorker.
    Moses McKennedy spun towards the defendant like the fury of God himself. ‘What the damn hell did you say to me!’ he demanded, ‘you watch your mouth Ace Cooper or I’ll hold you in contempt of court. Now you’re in a lot of trouble as it is, don’t make this any worse on yourself, you hear me?’
    Cooper’s lawyer rose frantically to his client’s defense. The poor bastard was sweating from the stress of the thing. ‘Ah of course your honor,’ he said, ‘Mr. Cooper has been under a lot of stress these past few months. He of courses apologizes profusely for losing his temper like that.’ Ace sat back down, muttering angrily to himself as his lawyer tried to calm him down. Judge McKennedy continued to stare at him with those furious dark eyes before leaving the courtroom.
    Clara looked over at Bobby Cooper just in time to catch his eye. She gave a little smile but he’d already looked away again. If his people ever found out he’d been the leak then his life would be over. That was his cross to bear.
    Suddenly Clara felt very sad. She scanned the faces in the crowd – searching for Harvey’s, even if she wasn’t quite willing to admit that to herself. He wasn’t there.
    ‘Clara!’ It was Mary, she approached the lawyer and threw her arms around her in delighted embrace.
    Clara laughed, patting the older woman’s back as they hugged. She’d knocked the breath out of her.
    ‘I can’t believe it,’ Mary said, ‘I just can’t believe it.’
    ‘It’s finally over,’ Clara said, ‘justice has prevailed.’
    Outside the courtroom, a whole gaggle of reporters had gathered to catch the main players as they left. They gave Ace Cooper a seriously hard time as he fought his way towards his limo and then they reset themselves to pounce on the people of Prudence. Mary and the other townspeople left and Clara was just about to follow them, when the huge figure of Moses McKennedy approached her.
    ‘Miss Silverman,’ he said, ‘excellent work, if I may say so myself. Especially for a yankee .’ He smiled, almost imperceptibly and then held out