Native Son Part 43

"A fifth of a gallon."

"Who paid for it?"

"I did."

"Did that money come from the treasury of the Communist Party?"

"No!"

"Don't they allow you a budget for recruiting expenses?"

"No!"

"How much was drunk before you bought the fifth of rum?"

"We had a few beers."

"How many?"

"I don't know."

"You don't remember much about what happened that night, do you?"

"I'm telling you all I remember."

"All you remember?" you remember?"

"Yes."

"Is it possible that you don't remember some things?"

"I'm telling you all I remember."

"Were you too drunk to remember everything that happened?"

"No."

"You knew what you were doing?"

"Yes."

"You deliberately left the girl in that condition?"

"She was in no condition condition!"

"Just how drunk was she after the beers and rum?"

"She seemed to know what she was doing."

"Did you have any fears about her being able to defend herself?"

"No."

"Did you care?"

"Of course, I did."

"You thought that whatever would happen would be all right?"

"I thought she was all right."

"Just tell me, Mr. Erlone, how drunk was Miss Dalton?"

"Well, she was a little high, if you know what I mean."

"Feeling good?"

"Yes; you could say that."

"Receptive?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Were you satisfied when you left her?"

"What do you mean?"

"You had enjoyed her company?"

"Why, yes."

"And after enjoying a woman like that, isn't there a let-down?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"It was late, wasn't it, Mr. Erlone? You wanted to go home?"

"Yes."

"You did not want to remain with her any longer?"

"No; I was tired."

"So you left her to the Negro?"

"I left her in the car. I didn't leave her to anybody."

"But the Negro was in the car?"

"Yes."

"And she got in the front seat with him?"

"Yes."

"And you did not try to stop her?"

"No."

"And all three of you had been drinking?"

"Yes."

"And you were satisfied to leave her like that, with a drunken Negro?"

"What do you mean mean?"

"You had no fear for her?"

"Why, no."

"You felt that she, being drunk, would be as satisfied with anyone else as she had been with you?"

"No; no.... Not that way. You're leading...."

"Just answer the questions. Had Miss Dalton, to your knowledge, ever had s.e.x relations with a Negro before?"

"No."

"Did you think that that would be as good a time as any for her to learn?"

"No; no...."

"Didn't you promise to contact the Negro to see if he was grateful enough to join the Communist Party?"

"I didn't say I'd contact him."

"Didn't you tell him you'd contact him within two or three days?"

"No."

"Mr. Erlone, are you sure you didn't say that?"

"Oh, yes! But it was not with the construction you are putting upon it...."

"Mr. Erlone, were you surprised when you heard of the death of Miss Dalton?"

"Yes. At first I was too stunned to believe it. I thought surely there was some mistake."

"You hadn't expected that drunken Negro to go that far, had you?"

"I hadn't expected anything."

"But you told that Negro to read those Communist pamphlets, didn't you?"

"I gave them to him."

"You told him to read read them?" them?"

"Yes."

"But you didn't expect him to go so far as to rape and kill the girl?"

"I didn't expect anything in that direction at all."

"That's all, Mr. Erlone."

Bigger watched Jan go back to his seat. He knew how Jan felt. He knew what the man had been trying to do in asking the questions. He was not the only object of hate here. What did the Reds want that made the coroner hate Jan so?

"Will Mr. Henry Dalton please come forward?" the coroner asked.

Bigger listened as Mr. Dalton told how the Dalton family always hired Negro boys as chauffeurs, especially when those Negro boys were handicapped by poverty, lack of education, misfortune, or bodily injury. Mr. Dalton said that this was to give them a chance to support their families and go to school. He told how Bigger had come to the house, how timid and frightened he had acted, and how moved and touched the family had been for him. He told how he had not thought that Bigger had had anything to do with the disappearance of Mary, and how he had told Britten not to question him. He then told of receiving the kidnap note, and of how shocked he had been when he was informed that Bigger had fled his home, thereby indicating his guilt.

When the coroner's questioning was over, Bigger heard Max ask, "May I direct a few questions?"

"Certainly. Go right ahead," the coroner said.

Max went forward and stood directly in front of Mr. Dalton.

"You are the president of the Dalton Real Estate Company, are you not?"

"Yes."

"Your company owns the building in which the Thomas family has lived for the past three years, does it not?"

"Well, no. My company owns the stock in a company that owns the house."

"I see. What is the name of that that company?" company?"

"The South Side Real Estate Company."

"Now, Mr. Dalton, the Thomas family paid you...."

"Not to me me! They pay rent to the South Side Real Estate Company."

"You own the controlling stock in the Dalton Real Estate Company, don't you?"

"Why, yes."