The Professor by Robert Bailey Page B
Authors: Robert Bailey
Tags: LEGAL, Suspense, Thrillers, Crime, Mystery, Private Investigators, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, Conspiracies, Thrillers & Suspense, Spies & Politics
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go after ’em. Don’t you think it’s time for Jameson ‘Big Cat’ Tyler to face Bocephus Haynes?” He let Tom go and laughed, pointing at Musso. “I’d treat him the same way that bulldog would.”
As if on cue, Musso let out his patented throat-clearing sound.
“Yeaaaah,” Bocephus said, turning to Tom and trying to make the same sound in his own throat. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
Bocephus Aurulius Haynes was born and raised in Pulaski, Tennessee, which is about forty-five minutes northwest of Hazel Green. His father had died young, and Bo had grown up working on a farm, just like Tom. Also like Tom, Bo had a taste and a talent for football. The local town leaders of Pulaski had wanted Bo to wear orange and play for the Vols, but Bo had never been much for doing what other folks wanted him to do. In 1978 he signed a scholarship with Alabama. A year later, against Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, Bo saw playing time on the Man’s last national championship team. His junior year, Bo was a preseason All-American, but he blew his knee out in the first game of the season. Though he returned for his senior year and played on the Man’s last team, he was never quite the same.
During Bo’s rehab, the Man had asked Tom to talk to Bo about his future. Bo had no clue what he wanted to do, still reeling from the reality that his knee would prevent him from playing in the NFL. For a semester, Tom asked Bo to follow him through trial team practices and got him a job as an intern in the Tuscaloosa DA’s office. Once he got a sniff of the law, Bo was hooked. Though his LSAT scores and grades weren’t great, they were solid. And with recommendations from the Professor and the Man, Bocephus Haynes was admitted to law school in 1982.
The rest, as they say, is history. Bo graduated in the top ten percent of his law school class and was the bell cow on Tom’s 1985 national championship trial team, making him the only student in Alabama history to have won national championships for both the Man and Tom. He had offers from every prestigious law firm in the state and even clerked a summer for Jones & Butler, working for a hotshot young partner named Jameson Tyler.
But the lure of the big firms had no impact on Bo. There was only one place Bo wanted to practice law, and he returned to Pulaski and hung up a shingle three months after graduation. Tom had never gotten the full story of why Bo wanted so badly to return home. When he asked him once, Bo had just shrugged and said, “Unfinished business.”
Regardless of the reasons, twenty-four years later Bocephus Haynes was the most feared plaintiff’s lawyer south of Nashville. But despite his amazing trial record—only one loss to go with countless victories—Bo had never forgotten where h e ’ d come from. Or who had made his success possible.
Over the years Bo had called Tom several times a year and had stayed at Tom’s house on football weekends. Tom had been to Bo’s wedding, and Bo had been a pallbearer at Julie’s funeral, the only former student Tom had asked. For years Bo had always told Tom the same thing: “If things ever get bad for you, if you ever need anything, I want you to do something for me. After you’ve prayed to God and talked to Jesus, you come see Bocephus.”
Tom had laughed at the punch line, but now here he was. And Bo had done him one better.
Bocephus had come to see him.
It took the whole weekend to make the place livable. While Bo mowed the grass—he had to make two full turns around the massive yard to get it done—Tom cleaned out the house and contacted the utilities company to get the heat turned on. They also hiked out onto the farm a ways, and Bo cut down a tree for firewood. It had been years since Tom had walked the farm, and he was amazed at how grown up a lot of the brush had gotten. They had seen several deer and also heard the unmistakable squeal of a bobcat, which caused even Bocephus to raise his eyebrows.
On
As if on cue, Musso let out his patented throat-clearing sound.
“Yeaaaah,” Bocephus said, turning to Tom and trying to make the same sound in his own throat. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
Bocephus Aurulius Haynes was born and raised in Pulaski, Tennessee, which is about forty-five minutes northwest of Hazel Green. His father had died young, and Bo had grown up working on a farm, just like Tom. Also like Tom, Bo had a taste and a talent for football. The local town leaders of Pulaski had wanted Bo to wear orange and play for the Vols, but Bo had never been much for doing what other folks wanted him to do. In 1978 he signed a scholarship with Alabama. A year later, against Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, Bo saw playing time on the Man’s last national championship team. His junior year, Bo was a preseason All-American, but he blew his knee out in the first game of the season. Though he returned for his senior year and played on the Man’s last team, he was never quite the same.
During Bo’s rehab, the Man had asked Tom to talk to Bo about his future. Bo had no clue what he wanted to do, still reeling from the reality that his knee would prevent him from playing in the NFL. For a semester, Tom asked Bo to follow him through trial team practices and got him a job as an intern in the Tuscaloosa DA’s office. Once he got a sniff of the law, Bo was hooked. Though his LSAT scores and grades weren’t great, they were solid. And with recommendations from the Professor and the Man, Bocephus Haynes was admitted to law school in 1982.
The rest, as they say, is history. Bo graduated in the top ten percent of his law school class and was the bell cow on Tom’s 1985 national championship trial team, making him the only student in Alabama history to have won national championships for both the Man and Tom. He had offers from every prestigious law firm in the state and even clerked a summer for Jones & Butler, working for a hotshot young partner named Jameson Tyler.
But the lure of the big firms had no impact on Bo. There was only one place Bo wanted to practice law, and he returned to Pulaski and hung up a shingle three months after graduation. Tom had never gotten the full story of why Bo wanted so badly to return home. When he asked him once, Bo had just shrugged and said, “Unfinished business.”
Regardless of the reasons, twenty-four years later Bocephus Haynes was the most feared plaintiff’s lawyer south of Nashville. But despite his amazing trial record—only one loss to go with countless victories—Bo had never forgotten where h e ’ d come from. Or who had made his success possible.
Over the years Bo had called Tom several times a year and had stayed at Tom’s house on football weekends. Tom had been to Bo’s wedding, and Bo had been a pallbearer at Julie’s funeral, the only former student Tom had asked. For years Bo had always told Tom the same thing: “If things ever get bad for you, if you ever need anything, I want you to do something for me. After you’ve prayed to God and talked to Jesus, you come see Bocephus.”
Tom had laughed at the punch line, but now here he was. And Bo had done him one better.
Bocephus had come to see him.
It took the whole weekend to make the place livable. While Bo mowed the grass—he had to make two full turns around the massive yard to get it done—Tom cleaned out the house and contacted the utilities company to get the heat turned on. They also hiked out onto the farm a ways, and Bo cut down a tree for firewood. It had been years since Tom had walked the farm, and he was amazed at how grown up a lot of the brush had gotten. They had seen several deer and also heard the unmistakable squeal of a bobcat, which caused even Bocephus to raise his eyebrows.
On
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