environment . . . like I said, the thought of it just broke my heart. That’s why we want to raise Mimiourselves...there’s some things a small child shouldn’t be exposed to.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Maycomb. No further questions.” Judge Sanders nodded toward the table whereLily was sitting. “Mr. Dobson?”
Buzz rose and smiled at Ida. “I won’t take up much of your time, Mrs. Maycomb.” He was politeto the point of deference. Lily had to give old Buzz some credit for this tactic — in a small Southerntown, you weren’t going to win any points by being mean to somebody’s mama. “Could you tell us,please ma’am, what your daughter did for a living?”
Ida looked puzzled. “She taught at Atlanta State.”
“Yes.” Buzz glanced at his notes. “At the time of her death, she was a tenured associate professorof English, was she not?”
“Uh, I think so.” Ida’s hesitation didn’t surprise Lily. Ida had never taken much of an interest inCharlotte’s career. “But I don’t see what that has to do with the case.”
“Well, the way I see it, Charlotte’s achievements have quite a bit to do with the case. If shebecame a tenured associate professor at such a young age, it must have meant her colleagues thought shedid a good job. And she must have. Her teaching evaluations were high. She published numerous articlesand coauthored one published book. It seems to me that Charlotte’s career is somethin’ a mother couldreally be proud of.”
Ida was clearly baffled about where Buzz’s line of argument was heading. “Well, Charlotte alwayswas...book-smart.”
“It sounds like she was. And the reason I’m bringing this up is because, by giving her tenure, bypromoting her to the rank of associate professor, her colleagues were saying that Charlotte was of soundmind...that she knew what she was doing, that she was capable of making decisions. And if she was ofsound mind to make decisions at work, it seems like she’d also be of sound mind to make up her own willto decide who should get custody of her child in the event of her death. What do you think, Mrs.
Maycomb? Was your daughter of sound mind?”
“Like I said.” Ida squirmed in her seat. “Charlotte always was book-smart, but she didn’t have alick of common sense. And when she hooked up with that one” — she nodded at Lily — “any bit ofcommon sense she had went out the window.”
“You don’t like Mrs. McGilly, do you, Mrs. Maycomb?”
“Objection,” Hamilton interrupted. “Irrelevant.”
“Your Honor,” Buzz said, “if you’ll bear with me, I’ll show how Mrs. Maycomb’s and Mrs.
McGilly’s relationship pertains to the case.”