Chapter 14“Forest Green” was the name of the color gracing the walls of the City of Carbondale’s courthouse. It was a more attractive—though less accurate—name than “Gangrene Green.” The paint scheme complemented the benches and desks, which were made out of some type of hard wood that had been varnished repeatedly over the years and left to darken until it turned black. This cheerful furniture was reflected in the brown speckled floor tile that had been waxed and polished to a dull, scratchy sheen.
At nine o’clock on a Tuesday morning, a shaft of bright light from the large, old windows—that didn’t open anymore—spotlighted a pair of scuffed, brown, penniless penny loafers on the tiles. Sticking out of the loafers were two pasty white ankles, which led to two inches of cadaverous calv
