Martha Jackson's house, Selma, Alabama 11.30am 17th February 2003
Doggett and Reyes are in Martha's front room listening to her account of the death of her son
"My Marty would never take his own life we brought him up to be a good Christian boy, he knew it was a sin," she says
"Was he being subjected to racial abuse?" asks Doggett.
"Yes but it was nothing new, he's stood up to racists before now and won" she smiles sadly. "We named him after Martin Luther King, we always taught him that the colour of your skin doesn't make you any less of a man, stand up for what you believe to be right, treat everyone as an equal" her voice trails off.
"Sounds like he was a credit to you ma'am" says Doggett, Martha looks at him with new respect, she'd tarred him with the same brush as all the other white southern men she'd met before.
"That's what makes this story about him killing himself so unbelievable, he was so well liked by everyone, he had white friends as well as black, he was transferred to Fort Belvedere six months ago and that's when the abuse started. Then he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and some of the company decided that black boys should not be promoted over white ones, after that my Marty was dead. I still say he was murdered because he was promoted over some white boys, but no one wants to listen to me" Martha replies.
"We'll get to the bottom of it" promises Doggett, he can't help but feel sorry for Martha as he does with anyone who loses a son, but what make's it doubly bad for him is that the Marines, for whom he was so proud serve is turning out to be rotten to the core. Reyes is overwhelmed by the feelings of sympathy and anger coming from him, Martha notices her going a little pale.
"Are you feeling ok Agent Reyes?" she asks, Reyes nods
"Yes I'm ok honest, just tired" Doggett looks at her quizzically. She smiles weakly and shrugs.
"Uh Martha you do know that the family of Joshua Kendrick have accused your family of being involved in his death don't you" says Doggett apologetically.
"Yes I know the police came here the other day to ask me about it" she replies "and I'll tell you what I told them, I have no idea what happened to him".
"It's...just that..." he struggles with the words
"What Agent Doggett means is that, we know Deputy Director Kersh is a friend of yours and he asked us specifically to investigate this for him because he believed Voodoo was involved" puts in Reyes.
"Ah he told you about what I said at the funeral, my Great Granny practised the 'old ways' but not me, she always told me that if you believed an injustice had been done to you, the spirits would seek justice. A life for a life, but my Marty's spirit did not kill him, even as a ghost Marty would not kill anyone for revenge. Great Granny's spirits were the ones who took his life not my Marty, I don't practice Voodoo, I never have, maybe his own conscious killed him, maybe his soul couldn't live with the guilt, stranger things have happened" Martha says.
Reyes is struck by the feeling that there is another presence in the room, a gentle presence filled with sorrow for Martha's suffering, she is sure it is Martha's son, she opens her mind, she can feel a desire for justice not revenge and an overwhelming sense of love for his mother, tears well in her eyes.
"Monica are you sure you're ok" Doggett puts his hand on her shoulder, she is brought out of it sharply
"Yes, yes I'm fine honest" she replies "he wants justice, Marty, that's why he's still here, he can't find peace until justice is served" she smiles at Martha "I get these feelings...vibes...my boss calls them 'the Force'...".
"No, Monica not this again, give it a rest can't you" Doggett whispers
"I'm sorry it's...something I've always been able to do" she gives an apologetic smile, Doggett's mobile starts to ring and he looks at the number.
"Ah at last, excuse me but I've been waiting for this call" he leaves to take the call, Martha watches him go
"You hold on to that man honey, there's not many of his kind left in these parts," she says to Monica, Monica is not really listening.
"I know, he's a good man...what...oh... no it's nothing like that we have a professional relationship" she blusters, going pink in the cheeks, Martha looks at her and smiles.
"If you say so honey, now how about some tea and you can tell me about these feelings of yours" Monica smiles back at her, glad that Martha is willing to listen to her even if she doesn't necessarily believe her.
Out in Martha's front garden Doggett is finishing his conversation
"Ok Lieutenant Rabb thanks for your help I'll see you in a couple of days then, yes I'll look forward to it, goodbye" he notices the people staring at him, suspicion in the eyes of the black people, hate in the eyes of the white people, he shivers, disturbed he goes back into Martha's house.
"That was Lieutenant Harmon Rabb, the investigating JAG officer, he'll meet with us in a couple of days, let us know what he knows" he tells Reyes.
Samuel Kendrick's Home, Memphis, Tennessee, 3.30pm 18th February 2003
Doggett and Reyes are listening to Samuel Kendrick's account of the death of his son; it is very different to their visit to Martha Jackson.
"Ah'm telling you it was them damn Negro's who killed ma boy, they should never have let that Jackson boy into Able Company, they shouldn't have let any of them Negro's into the Marines. Ma Great Great Granddaddy fought and died in the Civil War to preserve the southern way of life and now look, them damn negro's are everywhere, the Senate, Congress. Why even the Secretary of State it's not right, in my day the Marines were for white boys, there was no negro's in ma company, there was none of them in the Marines and that's the way it should stay". They let Samuel rant on; Doggett is beginning to feel slightly sick at the old man's hatred.
"Mr. Kendrick" begins Reyes "we've checked the autopsy report on your son, the results were inconclusive, asphyxiation or he choked they're not sure, how come you are so certain that he was murdered by Lieutenant Commander Jackson's family".
"It has to be them, revenge, they wanted revenge because the Courts Martial cleared ma boy of being involved in his death, they can't accept that he committed suicide they want it to be murder" Samuel retorts.
"But Mr. Kendrick the police report showed no sign of forced entry and the autopsy showed no signs of strangulation, no finger marks, no bruises, the police think it was natural causes" says Doggett.
"They put a curse on him, Voodoo they're good at that" he replies, Doggett has had enough of this man he gets up to leave
"Ok Mr. Kendrick, we'll be in touch later" he says, Reyes gets up to follow him.
"By the way Agent Doggett, what's a southern boy like you doing taking their side" asks Samuel, Doggett is disgusted at this
"I suppose I've been living in the north too long and I don't take anyone's side" he leaves before he says something he shouldn't, Reyes runs to catch up with him.
"John wait" she calls, he stops and waits for her to catch up with him
"What the hell's going on Monica, is it like this all over the South now, all this hatred being stirred up again, I felt it back at Martha's place, I lived through it once back in the Sixties I don't want to have to go through it again" he says.
"It's been building up for a while, the Klan's numbers have been increasing, lynchings have been taking place, not just blacks but Jews, Hispanics and Asians too. It's like someone is playing on old fears and prejudices and its working, the whole of the South is going to explode just like it did in the Sixties" Reyes replies, Doggett shakes his head.
"Is this the devils work? Or have I been away from my home for too long, my dad's been saying it's like we've gone back in time" he says, Monica sighs.
"I'd have to say the devil's behind it, playing on old fears and prejudices and he's picked the right place to do it, the previous generation lived through the civil rights movement and ours have lived with the results, there's a lot of bad feeling out there" she replies, Doggett gets in the car.
"Come on, the sooner we solve this case the sooner we can go home," he says.
