In the Heat of the Night

“Because Chief Gillespie doesn’t have sufficient confidence in my opinion to let his prisoner go.”
    “Who is it?” Grace Endicott asked. “Anyone we know?”
    “Yes, you know him, Mrs. Endicott. It’s Officer Wood; he was up here with me the last time I called.”
    DuenaMantoli suddenly sat bolt upright. “Do you mean the fairly big man who was so nice to me the day...”
    “That’s the man, Miss Mantoli.”
    “He’s accused”—she hesitated and then forced herself to say the words—“of killing my father?”
    “That and more,” Tibbs replied, “and while no one appears to agree with me at the moment, I am personally sure that he’s innocent.”
    “If that’s the case, why don’t you prove it?” Endicott asked.
    When Tibbs looked up, there was a subdued fire in his eyes. Endicott was startled to see the slender Negro show such a sign of inner vitality. “That is exactly what I am trying to do,” he said, “and that is why I am asking you these questions.”
    Endicott stood up and walked over to the window. There was quiet in the room until he spoke.
    “Will Gillespie let you prove it?” he asked, without looking around.
    “My job right now,” Tibbs answered evenly, “is to protect him from his own mistakes. Sam Wood is one of them. After I do that, I will deliver the person who caused all this to him in such a manner that even he will finally know the truth. Then I’m going home, where I have the right to walk down the sidewalk.”
    Endicott turned around. “From the time we left here, Mr. Tibbs, I saw no one and I don’t believe Maestro Mantoli did, either. That is, up until the time I left him at the door of his hotel. Then I wished him good night and came back here. There is no one, to my knowledge, who can prove what I say, but that is what happened.”
    “Thank you,” Tibbs replied. “Now I want to ask you a very few more questions and I ask that you be particularly careful with the answers. A great deal depends on them. First, I have been told Mr. Mantoli often carried large sums of money. Do you know if he was doing so...the last time you saw him?”
    “I have no idea. Actually Enrico did not carry what you would call large sums of money. Sometimes he had several hundred dollars on his person, but nothing beyond that, to my knowlege.”
    “Was he in any way an impulsive person?”
    “That’s hard to answer,” Endicott said.
    “I think I can say he was,” Duena said unexpectedly. “He sometimes made up his mind on the spur of the minute on things, but he was usually right when he did. If you mean did he have a bad temper, the answer to that is no.”
    Tibbs addressed his next question to her. “Miss Mantoli, was your father the sort of man who made friends easily?”
    “Everyone liked him,” Duena replied.
    In that grim moment, everyone in the room realized at the same time that there had been one person who did not. But no one voiced the thought.
    “One last question,” Tibbs said, addressing himself to the girl. “If I had had the honor of meeting your father, do you think he would have liked me?”
    The girl lifted her chin and accepted the challenge. Yes, I am sure of it. I have never known anyone so free of prejudice.”
    Tibbs rose to his feet. “Thank you. Whether you realize it or not, you have been a great help to me. In a little while I believe you will know why.”
    “That’s good to know,” Endicott said.
    Then the girl stood up. “I want to go down to the city,” she announced. “Perhaps Mr. Tibbs will be kind enough to take me.”
    “My car is very modest,” Tibbs said, “but you are welcome.”
    Please wait for me a moment,” she requested, and left without further explanation.
    When she returned and they stood at the doorway ready to leave, George Endicott rubbed his chin in thought for a moment. “How will you get back?” he asked.
    “If I don’t get a convenient ride, I’ll call you,” she promised.
    “Do you think you will be safe enough?”
    “If I feel I need any help, I’ll ask Mr. Tibbs.” Tibbs ushered the girl into his temporary car, climbed in, and started the engine. In the brief time that she had excused herself, she had changed her dress and put on an especially feminine hat. Tibbs thought her quite devastating, but more than that, he sensed she had a firm purpose in mind. There was a set to her jaw, which she did not relax until they were well inside the city.
    “Where would you like to go?” Tibbs