The Trees

Ed and Jim knock on Charlene’s door. At first, she doesn’t believe that they are detectives. She tells them that a Black man killed her husband, and she is within her rights to shoot them for being on her property. They ask her a few questions about her husband and his associations with people. Then they ask to speak to Granny C, though Charlene warns them that since the murder, she’s been incomprehensible. When they speak to Granny C, she convulses and attempts to apologize over and over.

Delroy calls Sheriff Jetty from his personal car outside of Charlene’s house. He lets the Sheriff know that Jim and Ed have just left Charlene’s house. He assures Sheriff Jetty that the men didn’t see him because he’s reading a newspaper. Sheriff Jetty points out that no one reads newspapers anymore.

Jim and Ed go back to Dinah. Jim flirts with Gertrude some more and asks her if she’s Black. Though she may look white, she confirms that she is Black. Jim and Ed make reservations to stay at a local motel. They notice Digby in another booth; they saw him follow them from Charlene’s house. They ask Gertrude about Sheriff Jetty. She tells them that the sheriff tries not to be racist, though often he can’t help it. A television above the counter at the diner is turned on CNN. CNN reports that a man was found beaten to death in Brighton Park, Chicago. They identify the man as Lester William Milan, and that he died with barbed wire wrapped around him. Jim and Ed note the similarities between Lester’s death and the deaths they’re investigating.

Digby gives his report to Sheriff Jetty. He has little to report except for Ed and Jim going to the diner then going to the motel. Sheriff Jetty instructs Digby to stake out the motel for the night. Harriet tells Jetty that the whole town is talking about a Black ghost on the loose. Jetty tells her that he hates his job, the town, and everyone he works with.

Jim and Ed ask the motel desk manager where they can go to hear Black music. He directs them to an unnamed juke joint in the Black neighborhood of Money commonly called “the Bottom.” At the juke joint, Jim and Ed ask the bartender if anyone in the Black community has reported a missing person or a murder. The bartender tells them that the people in the bar are celebrating the murders of the racist white men, and that they call the mysterious missing body of the dead Black man the “Black Angel.” Jim and Ed show people in the bar the photo of the dead Black man, but nobody recognizes him. They ask about Junior Junior and Wheat. The bartender tells them that nobody liked Junior Junior, not even the white people in town. Junior Junior had been known to steal pigs, especially from the Black neighborhood. Ed and Jim learn that Wheat and Junior Junior’s fathers were the ones who killed Emmett Till. Junior Junior’s father was a known Ku Klux Klan member who likely lynched more Black men and boys. They also learn that Granny C is Carolyn Bryant.

Charlene and Daisy meet with the mortician, Otis Easy. Otis tries to sell Daisy an $8,000 package for Junior Junior’s funeral. She only has $1,000 to spend and agrees to buy the “pauper’s coffin.”

Sheriff Jetty eats breakfast with his wife, Agnes. Delroy stops by. He tells the sheriff about Ed and Jim’s trip to The Bottom. Delroy fell asleep on guard and woke up to a note on his windshield from Ed and Jim letting him know that they returned to their motel. Sheriff Jetty wants Delroy and the other officers to patrol The Bottom and search for the missing Black man.

At the motel, Jim and Ed compare photographs of a dead Emmett Till with the photographs of the missing dead Black man. They are startled by the similarities.

Granny C is home alone, in grief over the passing of her only child. She has long felt guilty about accusing Emmett Till and abetting his murder, but she wishes her son hadn’t paid for it. She senses a presence in the house with her. She locks herself up in Charlene’s bedroom with a gun. Strange sounds come from around the house, and the doorknob to the bedroom rattles. Sheriff Jetty arrives at the house.

Granny C tells Sheriff Jetty that the spirit of Emmett Till has returned to avenge his death on her family. She believes that the body of the dead Black man they found in her bathroom was Emmett Till. Jetty tries to comfort her and believes she’s imagining things. Before he leaves, he promises to look around the house for Emmett Till because Granny C is afraid of being left on her own.

At the diner, Ed and Jim discuss the photographs. Jim jokingly proposes that a vigilante is setting up the murders. He asks Gertrude if there is someone in town they can speak to, someone who knows the gossip and history of the town. Ed clarifies that they’re looking for a witch or root doctor (a traditional medicine person in Black communities in the South). Gertrude tells them they need to meet Mama Z.

Reverend Fondle and 10 other white men meet up at a Ku Klux Klan meeting. Reverend Fondle warns that some sort of Black uprising is underway. The Klan plan a cross burning on Smithson’s Field, visible to the Black community living in the Bottom. They don’t know what to do about the two Black detectives. One of the members, Donald, asks why Reverend Fondle has overseen their Klan’s chapter for so many years. He suggests it’s time for a reelection. They vote and agree to hold a reelection for Grand Kleagle.

Gertrude shows Ed and Jim the way to Mama Z’s house. Mama Z is Gertrude’s great-grandmother. Mama Z listens in on the police radio scanner and so already knows all about Ed and Jim. She knows what they’re investigating and what everyone’s been saying. Mama Z shows them her files. She’s been keeping a record of every lynching in the United States since 1913; she includes police shootings as part of this record. Mama Z recommends that Ed and Jim speak to Betty Smith, whose older brother Lamar was murdered in public for being a civil rights activist.

Sheriff Jetty watches the cross burn, but it burns out quickly. His own father had been a member of the Klan, but Sheriff Jetty isn’t. He finds it pathetic how weak the fire and the cross are, and how everyone in town knows who the Klan members are.

After Charlene puts her children to bed, she joins the radio interactions between truck drivers. Her code name on the radio is Hot Mama Yeller. She has long participated in these radio chats because she likes truckers. She transfers to the private channel for erotic talks with the truckers.

Granny C, alone in her bedroom, sees who she believes to be Emmett Till dead and beaten in a chair in her bedroom. Granny C dies in her bed due to the shock.

Ed and Jim are called by the Sheriff to meet him at Charlene Bryant’s house. They inspect Granny C’s bedroom, where Granny C and “Emmett Till” lay dead. Ed and Jim confirm the deaths. The next step is to fingerprint and ID the dead Black man and put him in a bag.

Damon Nathan Thruff is an assistant professor at the University of Chicago. At 27 years old, he already has two PhDs and has published three books on cellular regeneration. His friend Gertrude calls him from Money, Mississippi, telling him about the recent murders and the mystery of the dead Black man. She tells him to come to Money right away.

FBI agent Herberta Hind (nicknamed Herbie) is sent to Money to provide support in the investigation of the murders. Her supervisor tells her to be careful because she’s a Black woman going into a majority white community.

Ed, Jim, and Sheriff Jetty meet with Reverend Fondle. The body of the dead Black man is still in the morgue. The Reverend Fondle couldn’t find any reason for Granny C’s death. They agree that it’s likely she was scared to death.

Damon arrives in Mississippi. Gertrude meets him at the airport. She tells him that weird things have been going on, and that she believes he’s the only one who can truly get to the bottom of it.

Ed and Jim return to Mississippi State Police headquarters to meet Special Agent Herberta Hind. They’ve brought the body of the dead Black man back with them to be analyzed by the medical examiner. Ed and Jim tell Herbie that the officers in Money believe that the Black man was the one who killed the white people, but that it seems impossible to them that a man could kill another man while being dead himself.

Helvetica Quip is the state medical examiner. She reports that the dead Black man’s body has been embalmed; there is no blood in his body. Helvetica samples the man’s DNA to identify him. The man is registered for carjacking and kidnapping 12 years earlier in Illinois. His name was Robert Hemphill, and he died in prison. His body had been donated to science. Ed asks to confirm that the body is not the body of Emmett Till. Helvetia confirms the body is not Emmett Till.

Reverend Fondle watches television with his wife Fancel. She tells him about the town rumor that the mysterious dead man is Emmett Till.