As Paul walked with Bobbie-Jo along the Mile, the other guards followed them and Paul said, "Dean, pull Delacroix's card, take him to the infirmary, see if those fingers are broken."
"Yes sir," Dean replied.
That poor man had to have broken fingers if he were in that much pain, Bobbie-Jo thought to herself.
"Of course they're broken," Brutal stated as everyone went into an office, "I heard the damn bones crack!"
Harry mumbled about Percy yelling and Paul replied, "How could I miss it, Harry? The whole prison heard." Bobbie-Jo nodded in agreement as she and her father each took a seat.
"Goddamn Percy," Brutal cursed as he also took a seat, "Probably have to answer a signal off the mile."
Paul muttered, "I'll chew my food if I have to." He changed the subject as he said, "Alright, now I wanna hear about this new inmate – aside from how big he is, okay?"
Brutal gave a funny expression and chuckled, "Monstrous big."
Bobbie-Jo decided to play along and added, "Bigger than King Kong!"
"BJ, this isn't a game," Paul reminded his "nephew." BJ immediately turned serious.
"Oh, he seems big enough!" Dean said as he was sorting through some files, "Is he retarded, you figure?"
"Mmm-hmmm," Paul replied as he picked up a clipboard, "Looks like they sent us an imbecile to execute."
Bobbie-Jo rolled her eyes in annoyance; she didn't like listening to people, especially her own father, use slurs for stupid people.
"Imbecile or not," Harry stated to Paul, "He deserves to fry for what he done." He handed Paul a folder and said, "Read the book, colonel."
Bobbie-Jo gave her father a nervous look, because she knew there was something in that folder that was awful.
Later on, Paul and Bobbie-Jo were sitting on some bleachers outside. Paul had opened up the folder – John Coffey's case file, and read the case while his daughter watched with amazed eyes.
We are then given a scene that took place many days earlier in a rural part of Louisiana. On a farm, a woman could be heard screaming in terror. The farmer fled his barn to check on the source of the scream and hurried inside his house. "What?" he cried out, "For God's sake, what?"
"The girls!" his wife cried, "The girls are gone!"
These people were the parents of the two little girls John was convicted of raping and killing; they ran towards the back door where their son pointed to something and cried, "Look! Look, there's blood!" Sure enough, there was some splattered blood upon the floor.
"Oh my god!" The father gasped as he saw a blood trail leaving his porch.
Moments later, the father and son were loading guns as the father cried out, "Goddammit, woman, get on that phone now! Tell them we had a mess! Man's sake – we had a mess!"
The mother hurried to the phone and turned the dial. "Central? Are you on the line?" she asked with terror, "Oh god, please! Somebody took my little girls!"
In the meantime, the father and son ran out of the house with their guns in their hands.
Later on, there was a search party for the two little girls. In a field, the father desperately called out, "KATIE! CORA!" When there was no response, the party hastily kept on running, searching for any clues as to what happened.
After what seemed like a long time, the father of the two missing girls found a bloodied rag doll lying on the banks of a creek. Then, everyone in the search party heard some far-off screaming and crying. They all looked forward and noticed a familiar large, black man cradling two small bodies in his arms. John was sitting behind a giant log with blood all over his clothing, and he was crying over the bodies of the two missing girls.
The search party immediately ran over to John, and most of the men pointed their guns at him. The girls' father ran up to John and repeatedly punched him in the face until two other men pulled him away as he cursed and yelled at John. The son called for his father, and the two shared a hug of heartbreak over the dead little girls.
John, meanwhile, kept crying and panting over the two bloody corpses and finally said to the sheriff, "I couldn't help it. I tried to take it back, but it was too late!"
Showing no sympathy, the sheriff pointed his gun at John and said, "Boy, you're under arrest for murder!" He spat in John's face as the scene closed.
Back at the prison yard, Paul and Bobbie-Jo were still looking over the case file when a voice asked, "May I interrupt?"
The father and daughter in disguise looked to see that Hal was watching them. "Oh, Mr. Moores," Bobbie-Jo said, "My, uh, uncle and I didn't see you!"
"I'm just about done," Paul told Hal as he finished up with the case file. Hal went to the bleachers and took a seat beside Paul. "Hey, how's that pretty gal of yours?" Paul asked the warden.
"Melinda's not so well, Paul," Hal answered, "Not so well at all."
Bobbie-Jo remembered what her father told her about the warden's wife and shook her head with sympathy. "I'm sorry, sir," she said.
"More headaches?" Paul asked.
Hal nodded and stated, "Got laid up with another one yesterday. Worst one yet; I'll be taking her over to Vicksburg the next day for tests. Headaches are raising, who knows what else? She is scared to death." He then held his head up, wanting to change the subject, but added, "First to tell so many."
"But there's something they can see on the x-ray?" Paul asked before stating, "Maybe it's something they can fix?"
"Maybe," Hal repeated as he pulled some paper out from his jacket. Bobbie-Jo wondered what he was going to do next. He showed the paper to Paul and said, "This just came in – the DOE for Arlen Bitterbuck."
BJ then remembered about the inmate Arlen Bitterbuck, who was going to be executed soon.
Paul, meanwhile, looked at the paper and then looked at Paul, asking, "You didn't come all the way here just to hand me a DOE?"
Hal changed the subject and stated, "I had angry call from the State Capitol about twenty minutes ago. Is it true you ordered Percy Wetmore off the block?"
"It is," Paul said, remembering how he had made Percy leave the block when John arrived.
"Well, I'm sure you have reason, Paul," Hal continued, "But like it or not, the wife of the governor of this state only has one nephew, and his name happens to be Percy Wetmore."
Paul shook his head with understanding while Bobbie-Jo looked away from her father with disgust. It was perfectly clear that she wasn't very happy working with a spoiled brat like Percy.
"Little Percy calls his aunt and squeals like a schoolroom sissy," Paul muttered to the warden, "He also mentioned he assaulted a prisoner this morning at sheer impeachments? Broke three fingers of Eduard Delacroix's left hand?"
Hal shook his head and said, "I didn't hear that part. I'm sure she didn't add that."
"That man is mean, and careless, and stupid – that's a bad combination in a place like this. Sooner or later, he's gonna get somebody hurt or worse!"
"I agree," said BJ with a frown, "He's basically a spoiled brat who never grew up!"
"Hey, mind your tongue, boy," Paul reprimanded his "nephew."
"Stick with me, Paul," Hal said, "It may not be much longer. I have it on good authority that Percy has an application for Briar Ridge."
Paul's face lit up. "Briar Ridge?" he asked, "The mental hospital?"
"Administration job," Hal added, "Better pay."
Good, Bobbie-Jo thought to herself with a smirk.
"Hmmm. Then why is he still here?" Paul asked the warden.
"Yeah," added Bobbie-Jo, "Why?"
Hal just looked away as Paul asked, "He didn't get that application, did he?" Bobbie-Jo made a disappointed frown. "Hell, with his connections, he can have any state job he wants," Paul added.
Bobbie-Jo rolled her eyes and said, "I dunno. I think he wants something else before he makes a decision. What do you think, Uncle Paul?"
"You know what I think?" Paul asked the warden and BJ, "I think he just wants to see one cook up close."
Bobbie-Jo gave her father a puzzled look while Hal looked on and saw Arlen Bitterbuck walking around while smoking a cigarette as a guard watched him. "Well, he'll get his chance, then," Hal told Paul, "Won't he? Maybe then he'd be satisfied and move on?"
"I hope so," Bobbie-Jo said softly.
"In the meantime," Hal told Paul, "You'll keep the peace."
"Of course," said Paul, "Of course."
Hal gave a small smile as he started to get back on his feet. "Thank you, Paul," he said. He turned to BJ and told him, "And thank you, young man for helping your uncle out."
As Hal walked away, Bobbie-Jo smiled, and Paul called out, "Hal! You give Melinda my love, okay?" He shook his head and said hopefully, "I'm sure that x-ray'll turn out to be nothing at all."
"Good luck," Hal smiled before walking away.
"I hope she gets well soon, too," Bobbie-Jo said with a small smile.
Paul then turned his attention back to John Coffey's case file. He looked at the death warrant paper and studied it closely; the execution was set for July 10, and the location was none other than Cold Mountain State Penitentiary.