Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Williams is in jail, kept separated from other prisoners in the “pod,” a cell for homosexuals. From this cell, Williams continues to run his antiques business with the help of Barry Thomas, his shopkeeper. Over the phone, Williams persuades his buyers that he is conducting business from the comfort of his own home, although the disruptions from inmates makes this challenging. Williams is still confident, saying that he continues to use his “mental messages” on the justices of the Supreme Court, to “get them to see things [his] way” (297). Despite his bleak surroundings and his grim outlook, he still thinks he will succeed, just as the little birds who can uproot the foundations of a house by dropping chinaberry seeds near a house: “I’ve seen it happen. Chinaberry trees grow very rapidly, and they will tear up the foundations of a house. That’s how I intend to undo all the work Spencer Lawton has done to put me here” (298).

While Chapter 22 opens with “the gala parties were over” (291), this chapter shows that incarceration has not stopped Williams and focuses on a party at the Mercer House that Williams arranges from jail for his mother to thank his supporters.