Someone Wishes to Speak to You (14 page)

The whip was quickly put back into its place in the hall stand, while Jarman managed to grab the arm of the retreating Mathew again and pull him roughly from the staircase, marching him to the hotel’s front entrance. At the same time, two armed policemen from the sheriff’s office burst into the lobby and, after calling Jarman by his Christian name, asked him whether the man he was firmly holding by the arm was the culprit he had called them about. Before Mathew realised what was happening, he found that his wrists were manacled behind his back and he was being almost dragged upstairs by one of the policemen. Jarman used his pass key to throw open the bedroom door, revealing a startled Lucienne standing by the window.

‘Get out of this room now, get your things and leave this hotel within the next ten minutes,’ he snarled at Lucienne. ‘Then get your car off my property before I have it impounded.’ Lucienne almost fled down the corridor in terror. ‘If you ever want to see your nigger-loving boyfriend again, you can find him in police custody at the local sheriff’s office on the north
side of Lake Tobesofkee. He’s about to be charged with physical assault.’

Before the police took Mathew from the hotel, his handcuffs were removed for a short time so that he could pack his bag and leave it to be collected from the hotel lobby by Lucienne. However, after Mathew was jostled down the staircase, across the lobby and into the car park, he refused to get into the police car until he saw Lucienne leave the hotel safely and get into their hire car. At the same time, he saw a group of rather hostile-looking new arrivals talking to the now gleeful-looking Jarman by the hotel’s front entrance. Mathew considered that these were doubtless all members of the ‘fraternity’ Jarman had been expecting that morning, who were in all probability fully paid-up members of the local KKK. The distasteful scene was concluded when the gathering of local rednecks all started to clap and whistle as the police car, with Mathew seated in the back with his right hand manacled to a policeman, drove out of the hotel’s car park closely followed by a tearful Lucienne.

Mathew suffered three hours of confinement in a small, oven-hot, windowless cell at the police station before he was taken before the local sheriff. He clearly repeated his account of the events that had led up to him slapping Jarman’s face and informed the sheriff that it was of the utmost importance for him to be able to make contact with his friend Dr Murray Cohen, the chairman of the city’s Anti-Racial Discrimination Board, a request that visibly worried the sheriff. Mathew had to wait a further three-quarters of an hour before he was given permission to phone Dr Cohen.

‘So perhaps you could tell me what it was that made you choose the Lakeside Inn as a little weekend retreat for you and your African girlfriend?’ asked the sheriff, a hulking bully of a man, before Dr Cohen’s arrival. ‘Surely you must have been aware from past publicity that my friend, Mr Jed Jarman, led one of the main factions in opposition to the Democrats’
Civil Rights Campaign prior to the passing of the Civil Rights Act?’

‘No, I’ve never been to Macon before and I’ve never heard of the Lakeside Inn. I called the local tourist office and was told that the inn was the best place to stay, so I went ahead and booked two rooms. They didn’t ask the colour of our skin.’

‘But surely you knew that during Jed Jarman’s opposition to the act, how he always maintained a strictly “White’s Only” policy for his hotel? He wrote several articles at the time which highlighted how . . . um . . . inappropriate it was for white Anglo-Saxon protestants to engage in immoral behaviour, which of course is fully in keeping with the teachings of the KKK. You had no idea, huh?’

‘No,’ replied Mathew wearily. He could guess what was coming next.

‘Well, I would like to ask you whether, as a friend of Dr Cohen’s, it was your intention to provoke Mr Jarman by arriving at his hotel with an African girlfriend, then inviting her into your bedroom with the intention of sleeping with her?’

‘I refute this allegation entirely! I categorically deny that I knew anything about Jarman’s abhorrent racist attitude prior to our arrival. What’s more, I find it grossly deplorable that anyone can hold these outdated and discriminative opinions, especially in view of the Civil Rights Act . . .’

‘Don’t you say another word, or you may find that you are facing charges for character defamation as well as physical assault. Let’s just say that everybody is entitled to their own personal views on such matters – the Lakeside Inn was a very bad choice for you.’

It was fortunate that Dr Cohen arrived at the sheriff’s office when he did, as it was very much thanks to the doctor’s quiet diplomacy and a number of his references to his chairmanship of Macon’s ARDB, his friendship with the city’s
mayor and many of Macon’s other leading citizens that he had been able to redirect the majority of the sheriff’s hostility toward Mathew and gain his release. This had only been accomplished after the doctor had agreed to pay a preliminary sum of $1000 bail, as well as to be held responsible for Mathew’s return to Macon in the probable event of a court appearance.

After Mathew’s wrists were released from the tightness of the handcuffs, a photographer was called into the sheriff’s office to take a series of mugshots of him, for which he had to hold a small blackboard with a police reference number and his name recorded in white. Mathew was also instructed to fill in a copious amount of forms to provide the sheriff’s office with as many details about himself as possible. These ranged from the reason for him and his ‘African girlfriend’ being in Macon for the weekend; recording his residential address and contact numbers in Atlanta; the name and department of the university that he was studying at and providing full green card and passport details. He was also asked to provide his place and date of birth, home address, and the names of both parents – information he was reluctant to give the sheriff – although he was careful not to include the fact that his father was an English baronet.

Finally, before he was allowed to leave the sheriff’s office, he had to sign a police charge sheet to record that he admitted having slapped Jed Jarman’s face and, as a consequence, was aware that the Jarman had charged him with physical assault.

‘So, Mr Duncan,’ said the sheriff in an imperious tone, ‘at a date to be decided upon, you will be receiving a formal summons to appear before a Bibb County Magistrate Court (Civil Division) hearing – I recommend that you instruct an attorney to act as a lawyer for your defence.’

On leaving the sheriff’s office, Mathew joined a tearful but relieved Lucienne, waiting by their car.

‘Oh Mathew, thank goodness!’ She threw her arms around
his neck and held him tight. ‘I followed you here, I didn’t know where else to go, and I was so worried what they might do to you. Thank you Dr Cohen, for helping us, I don’t know what we’d have done without you!’

‘That’s my pleasure, Lucienne. It’s terrible you’ve been caught up in this ridiculous situation. Why don’t you both come over to my house, freshen up and have something to eat before your drive back to Atlanta?’

‘I certainly won’t turn that down,’ replied Mathew. ‘Being on the inside of a police cell is not an experience I’d care to repeat.’

‘It’ll give us a chance to discuss the best strategy to adopt to try and stop the assault case coming to trial.’ They jumped into their cars and left the sheriff’s office behind as swiftly as possible.

Once they were back at Dr Cohen’s house, Mathew and Lucienne gratefully sat down to rest and discuss the morning’s bizarre turn of events. ‘I can’t get over how hostile the sheriff was,’ said Mathew. ‘He was clearly a friend of Jarman’s. I’ve never met such a blatant racist as Jed Jarman – what with that group of jeering rednecks, it wouldn’t surprise me if he wasn’t the staunchest member, if not the leader, of the local Ku Klux Klan.’

‘There’s certainly been a number of recent cases that have come to light where the KKK is known to have forged alliances with police departments in the Deep South. It’s because of these very situations that the ARDB are trying to do everything possible to expose these irregularities – we aim to prosecute those found to be contravening the terms of the 1964 Civil Rights Act so that the message gets across loud and clear.’

‘Macon is lucky to have you,’ said Lucienne. ‘Let’s hope attitudes start to change to put an end to this awful hatred.’

Before they left Dr Cohen’s house, he advised Mathew that it would be prudent to delay writing to Macon’s mayor and the Tourism Advisory Council until the police matter was satisfactorily resolved.

Mathew and Lucienne were both stunned by the traumas of the weekend and only exchanged a few thoughts on their drive back to Atlanta. Mathew was particularly concerned about the possibility of being involved in a court case where he was accused of an assault and what would happen should any news get back to his family and friends in the UK. When he dropped Lucienne off at her flat, he turned down her invitation to go in and, after giving her an affectionate hug and kiss, he told her that he had to explain to Osman Hill what had happened as soon as possible, before Dr Cohen made contact with him. ‘I’ll call you on Monday evening,’ he promised, holding her hands tightly. ‘That should give me long enough to get in touch with Dr Cohen again, and hopefully to map out the best way forward.’

The following week started off well, with Osman Hill being very understanding about the horrific turn of events. He told Mathew that he would see whether he could be of any assistance in preventing the case from coming to trial. When Mathew phoned Dr Cohen, he was told that he had already made contact with a very bright African-American defence attorney who had done some voluntary legal work for the ARDB and who had offered to represent Mathew should the assault case go to court. Mathew felt incredibly grateful for this significant offer of legal assistance. The following day, he was able to send Dr Cohen a cheque for the US $1000 bail money that he had paid on his behalf.

On the Thursday morning, the unfortunate happenings of the previous weekend reared their ugly head. Dr Cohen called Mathew with news of some unfortunate developments.

‘I don’t want to worry you but it seems that a freelance investigatory journalist from Macon’s local press agency has got to hear of last Sunday’s debacle at the Lakeside Inn and the subsequent assault charge,’ he explained. ‘The sheriff
obviously provided the journalist with all the information that you gave, including your home address and the names of your parents. The journalist interviewed Jarman about the implied assault, who took the opportunity to provide some overblown fictional details about the type of improper orgy that had taken place in your bedroom with an African girl that you had “lured” from another room. The journalist also found out that you’re the son of a British nobleman who, within the next three months, is to submit his dissertation to his doctoral committee at Emory University. I’ve been told by a contact at the press agency that there’s a draft of the forthcoming article with the heading: “
In flagrante delicto
– Son of British noble engaged in immoral behaviour with black girl ends up with an assault charge”.’

The very thought of such a article arriving at Hartington Hall and being seen by his parents, and his university doctoral committee being informed about it, caused Mathew to enter a state of near panic. After quickly telling Lucienne what was going on and highlighting the many adverse ramifications should the article be published, he decided to return to Macon immediately. He needed to discuss with Dr Cohen and his attorney colleague what could possibly be done to prevent the publication of this almost libellous account of their stay at the Lakeside Inn. During his drive down to Macon, Mathew could not help reproaching himself and regretting the situation that he now found himself in. If only, in the early hours of Sunday morning while a thunderstorm had crashed in the heavens overhead, he had not succumbed to temptation and responded to Lucienne’s open arms to join her in his bed, which had culminated in him having made love to her.

During Mathew’s afternoon and evening meetings with Dr Cohen and the attorney, Otto Gwynne, they discussed all the potentials available to them in order to prevent the publication of the article, as well as how best to have the case of assault against him abandoned. Fortunately, a telephone call from
Otto Gwynne to the investigatory journalist had resulted in him agreeing to meet them on the Friday morning. As Dr Cohen was a senior member of Macon’s Cherry Blossom Lions Club, thereby having many important contacts within the community, he had been able to set up meetings with a Deputy Commissioner of Police and the Chairman of Macon’s Tourism Advisory Council for later on in the day.

The morning meeting with the freelance journalist had gone well after Otto had made it quite clear to him that should he go ahead and file his defamatory article, he would be sued for libel and the legal case against him would take him for every nickel he possessed. The chairman of the city’s Tourism Advisory Council, who was also a senior member of the local Lions Club, expressed his sympathy about the incident at the Lakeside Inn the previous weekend. He did seem to show particular concern about the dreadful conditions in Lucienne’s room and any adverse publicity if these became public. Dr Cohen told him that the state of affairs was soon to be recorded in Mathew’s letter of complaint to the mayor and the Deputy Police Commissioner, as well as an open-copy to be sent to him personally at the Tourism Advisory Council. Although the chairman had not been aware that any of Macon’s hotels still displayed such notices as ‘Whites Only’ on the doors of their bathrooms, he fully recognised that any publicity could well result in a major national news item and would be highly detrimental to his overall responsibilities in promoting Macon’s tourist trade.

As a result of the meeting, the chairman told Dr Cohen that providing Mathew withheld his official letters about the appalling conditions at the Lakeside Inn and the racist discrimination that he and his girlfriend had experienced, he would do everything in his power to persuade Jarman to withdraw his assault charge against Mathew. The meeting with the deputy commissioner had also proved to be a positive one, for once he heard first-hand about the Jarman’s attitude
and that of the sheriff at the Tobesofkee district police station, he understood the amount of adverse publicity that would arise should this be highlighted at a future Magistrate’s Court hearing.