Sycamore Row (Jake Brigance, #2)

by John Grisham

other lawyers broke off into small pockets of conversation as they repacked their briefcases and prepared to leave. The Hubbard heirs clung together and tried to avoid glaring at the blacks who were after their money. Jake ducked through a side door and was headed for the back stairs when Mr. Pate, the ancient courtroom deputy, called, “Say, Jake, Judge Atlee wants to see you.” In the small cramped room where lawyers gathered for coffee and judges held their off-the-record meetings, Judge Atlee was removing his robe. “Close the door,” he said when Jake walked in. The judge was no raconteur, no teller of tall legal tales, no jokester. There was little bullshit and rarely was there humor, though, as a judge, he had an audience eager to laugh at anything. “Have a seat, Jake,” he said, and both sat at a small desk. “What

evidently the only news in the county. A bold headline announced, BATTLE LINES DRAWN OVER HUBBARD WILL, and Dumas kicked off the lead story in his finest tabloid fashion: “A courtroom full of expectant heirs and their eager lawyers squared off yesterday in front of Chancellor Reuben Atlee as the opening shots were fired in what promises to be an epic battle for the fortune of the late Seth Hubbard, who hung himself on October 2.” A photographer had been busy. In the center of the front page was a large photo of

medications that he’d been hit with over the

much.” “You have to care. It’s your job. It’s a big trial.

phone,” Roxy announced through the intercom. Jake took a deep breath and said, “Okay.” He stared at the blinking light and racked his brain for any

Sure you do. Buckley had spent most of his adult life trying to convince folks that his wife’s family’s

trial should last less than a week. We would normally suggest 25 percent of any settlement, but that looks highly unlikely, in my opinion.” “Why not?” “It’s all or nothing, one will or the other. No room for compromise.” Ian considered this but didn’t fully grasp it. The sandwiches arrived and they spent a few minutes arranging the food on their plates. Lanier said, “We’re in, but only if both Ramona and Herschel sign on. We—” “So you prefer a third of fourteen million as opposed to a third of only seven,” Ian interrupted in a half-baked attempt to add a little humor. But it fell flat. Lanier ignored it and took a bite; he didn’t smile very often anyway. He swallowed and said, “You got it. I can win this case, but I’m not going to have some jackass from Memphis looking over my shoulder, getting in the way, and alienating the jury. Plus, Ian, you gotta understand that we, my partners and I, are extremely busy. We’ve vowed to stop taking new cases. My partners

another round of war stories about some of his greatest cases and trials. It was an obnoxious habit most

temptation and kept going. “And you’re right, if we’re taking the case, we want both heirs, not only you. It’s the same amount of work; actually, it’s less work for us because we won’t waste time dealing with that boy from Memphis.” “I’ll see what I can do,” Ian said. “We’ll bill you each month for the expenses, and there’ll be some, mainly expert witnesses.” “How much?” “We’ve worked up a litigation budget. Fifty thousand should cover the expenses.” Lanier glanced around, though no other diner could possibly

weren’t really that welcome. It was hidden at the end of a long asphalt drive, unseen from Highway 21 and less than a mile from the Tyler County line. Once inside and just past the main gate, office buildings were to the left and acres of raw timber were to the right. Straight ahead was a series of semi-attached buildings where the pine and hardwoods were cleaned, sized, cut, and treated before being stored in warehouses. A parking lot to the right was filled with well-worn pickup trucks, a sign that business was booming; folks had jobs, which were

Seth kept good records of everything, and as he got sicker

lawyers. There were records for Seth’s home place on Simpson Road;

condo in a high-rise near Destin, Florida; and several parcels of what appeared at first glance to be raw land. The second box was labeled “Timber Contracts.” The third was “Bank—Brokerage,” and Jake’s interest rose somewhat. A Merrill Lynch portfolio in an Atlanta office had a balance of almost $7 million. A bond fund at UBS in Zurich was valued at just over $3 million. A cash account at the Royal Bank of Canada on the island of Grand Cayman had $6.5 million. But all three of these rather exotic and exciting

Dewayne

have no idea who the guy is and we’ll probably never see him again. I’ll try and find out, but we may never

rumored Seth liked the ladies.” “I’ve heard those rumors, but he never touched me, never came on. If Seth Hubbard had five girlfriends, you’d never know it.” “Were you

to visit clients. At the moment, he had four at Parchman and three locked away in the federal system. He and Carla parked near an administration

She took a deep breath and flipped a page. Beautiful women rarely appeared at parole hearings, which

around the case?” “He’s the local counsel for Sistrunk.” “Hitler and Mussolini. They trying to offend every single person in Ford County?” “Apparently so.” “And it will be a jury trial, right?” The lawyer answered, “Oh yes. Seems like everyone wants a jury trial, including Judge Atlee.” “Why Judge Atlee?” “It’s simple. Takes the monkey off his back. He doesn’t have to make the decision. You’re gonna have big

prosecutor in a criminal case—his old turf—or the plaintiff in a civil case. This table was close to the jury box so

totally ignored the lawyers on the other

matters.” “You figured wrong, Mr. Buckley, and you assumed you and your Memphis co-counsel could march in here and take control of the proponents’

tenth time. “We got lawyers,” Ozzie fired back.

headline alone was worth it for Sistrunk: PROMINENT MEMPHIS LAWYER JAILED IN MISSISSIPPI. In addition

rude. She had gone to Parchman last weekend, to see Marvis, and he had told her about Jake’s visit. She talked about him for a

quickly and she stopped to wipe them. “My mother is not a whore, Jake, she is a great woman who

buses, and if he needed to vanish, which was always a possibility, he would pay cash for a Greyhound ticket and flash a fake driver’s license. Or hitchhike, something

“The courtroom is owned by the taxpayers,” Jake had told Portia. “So act like you own the place.” She was trying, but she was still a nervous wreck. She was expecting tension, maybe harsh words, an atmosphere pervaded by competition and distrust. What

corporations, have no interest in being concise. As long as they can keep the conversation close to a person, issue, or thing remotely connected to the lawsuit, then they can peck away for hours. However, Jake had also explained that the Hubbard case was different because the only lawyer working by the hour was him. The others were there on a prayer and a percentage. If the handwritten will were to be invalidated, the money would revert to the family under the prior will, and all those lawyers would take a cut. Since the other lawyers had no guarantee they would be paid,

room where Lucien joined them.

everything has to be fully disclosed and every witness has to be available for a deposition. Think

holidays. For the past two years, they had struggled to decorate their rental and bring it alive for the holidays. Hanna helped tremendously. Having a child around the house kept everyone’s spirits up. Lanier moved into a sensitive area. Slowly, skillfully, he probed into Lettie’s duties around the house when Mr. Hubbard was sick with the chemo and radiation and confined to his bed. Lettie explained that a home-health-care agency sent nurses over to tend to him, but these women were not good, not considerate enough, and

quite rude. She didn’t blame him. He ran them off and had fights with the agency. Eventually, Lettie

acting.

appeared to be clearheaded, certainly able to drive if he’d wanted, and she knew little about

Spending five consecutive days in

the more he respected Lanier. He would be

would be

collectors have their way, we’ll be lucky if half of it’s left.” Jake said, “That’s right, according to the accountants.” “So we’re down

layer of wrinkles that seem too much for a woman of only forty-two. I’m an expert on drunks because I’m close to Lucien Wilbanks.” “Herschel says she’s a lush who’s been threatening to leave Ian for years,” Stillman said, and Jake was impressed with his candor. “Now, she can’t

interesting. This second tract of eighty acres was purchased in 1930 by Cleon Hubbard. It was sold

They were born at home, with midwives and such, and nobody bothered with record keeping. But the

“Granted. It’s only a theory, but we’re

kids and lived together for forty years, but never tied the knot, legally anyway.” “That

booze in the house, and she wanted desperately to keep it that way. In the den, Simeon hugged his kids—

warmth on display was being driven by greed and the desire to get closer to Lettie, but Simeon let it go. For a few hours anyway, just enjoy the moment. If only Marvis could be there. Lettie arranged two tables end to end in the dining room. The ladies then covered

I’m so sorry for my mistakes and the misery I’ve caused to my family and friends. I’ll get out one day

Carla insisted it meant a necktie at the

graying beard, and perfectly charming, especially to Carla. Jake had to admit to some level of envy. Willie was only a few years older yet he had already made a million bucks. He was single, known to enjoy the ladies, and gave the impression of a man who’d

family Bible on a shelf with the kitchen cookbooks. They confronted