THE TRIAL Homework Richard is flesh and blood to me. He doesn’t creep me out because I read about him and his murder; he creeps me out because I met him, because I was there. That murdered man put his hand on my shoulder. But who’s Vincent? The McGees have cut me off, so I’ll need to start my homework elsewhere. Vincent wasn’t a public figure like Richard, but he had his archive, too. The Criminal History of Vincent McGee The Rankin County circuit clerk’s office is a peaceful place to spend some time. The staff members, all female, glide around gracefully and quietly, like it’s a nunnery. Leather-bound marriage records, winding back to the early 1800s, fill up one wall of the office. A black guy in a prison jumpsuit wanders through. None of the office nuns bat an eyelash, so I assume he’s not on the lam, it’s some rehabilitation thing. Open in front of me is a red folder that contains the criminal history of Vincent McGee.
