Read Online Detective by Arthur Hailey - Free Book Online Page B

massive
electric charge brought death within
two minutes, though unconsciousness
was supposedly instant and painless.
There were doubts about the
painlessness, but they were
unresolvable because no one ever
survived to report on the
experience.
    Also inside the execution chamber,
within sight of the electric chair,
was a red telephone. Immediately
before an execution, the prison
warden spoke with the state governor
on that phone, seeking final
permission to proceed. Similarly,
the governor could call the warden,
even seconds
    64 Arthur Halley
    before the death control was thrown,
ordering a stay of execution,
perhaps on the basis of last-minute
evidence, a ruling from the U.S.
Supreme Court, or some other
judicial cause. It had happened, and
could even happen today.
    Though unwritten and unofficial,
there was a rule that every
execution was delayed by one
minute a precaution in case the red
phone rang a few seconds late. Thus
Doil's execution, though scheduled
for 7:00 A.M., would not take place
until 7:01.
    "This is it," Hambrick announced.
They had come to a sturdy wooden
door that he opened with a key.
Then, inside, he turned a switch,
illuminating a windowless, boxlike
room about twenty-four-feet square.
It was furnished with a plain wooden
desk and tilt-back chair, a heavy
metal chair bolted to the floor in
front of the desk, and a small table
to one side. Nothing else.
    "The super doesn't use this much,"
Hambrick said. "Only when we have
executions." He motioned to the
chair behind the desk. "That's where
you sit, Sergeant. I'll be back
soon."
    During the lieutenant's absence,
Ainslie switched on the recorder
concealed beneath his clothing.
    In less than five minutes Hambrick
was back, accompanied by two prison
guards who were leading and par-
tially supporting a figure whom
Ainslie recognized. Doil was wearing
leg irons and handcuffs, the latter
secured to a tightly strapped waist
belt. Behind the trio was Father Ray
Uxbridge.
    It was more than a year since
Ainslie had seen Elroy Doil; the
last occasion had been at the
sentencing following his trial. In
the meantime, the change had been
dramatic. At his trial and
sentencing he had been physically
robust, tall and powerful, with
matching aggressiveness; now he
seemed pitifully the reverse. He was
stooped,
    DETECTIVE 65
    with sagging shoulders, his body
thin, his face wan and gaunt. In
place of aggression, his eyes showed
nervous uncertainty. His head had
been shaved for the execution, and
the unnatural pink baldness added to
his desolate appearance. At the last
minute, conductive gel would be ap-
plied to his scalp, ready for the
electric chair's metal death cap.
    Father Uxbridge stepped forward; he
was in clerical garb, a breviary in
hand. A large, broad-shouldered man
with patrician features, he
projected a presence that Ainslie
remembered from previous encounters.
Ignoring Ainslie, he addressed Doil.
    "Mr. Doil, I am willing to stay
with you to provide God's comfort
for as long as these circumstances
allow, and I remind you again that
you are not required to make any
statement or answer questions."
    "Just a moment," Ainslie said,
springing up from the desk chair and
moving closer to the others. "Doil,
I've driven eight hours from Miami
because you asked to see me. Father
Uxbridge told me you had something
to say."
    Glancing down, Ainslie saw that
Doil's hands were clenched tightly
together, and that his wrists were
raw where the handcuffs had chafed.
He glanced at Hambrick and gestured.
"Can you take those off while we're
talking?"
    The lieutenant shook his head.
"Sorry, Sergeant, can't do it. Doil
has beat up three of our people since
he's been here. One had to be
hospitalized."
    Ainslie nodded. "Scratch that idea."
    As Ainslie spoke, Doil lifted his
head. Perhaps it had been the
preceding humane thought about the
handcuffs, or perhaps Ainslie's
voice, but for whatever reason, Doil
fell to his knees and would have
tumbled face forward if the guards
had not supported