Sycamore Row - John Grisham

high school diplomas.”
“Seth Hubbard was a dropout,” Jake said.
“True, and I’ll bet he was never asked to evaluate conflicting medical testimony. My
point is, Jake, we must guard against overwhelming our jury with too much expert
opinion.”
“I understand, and if I were on the other side I would call plenty of experts in an
effort to plant doubt. Confuse the jurors, give them a reason to suspect Seth was not
thinking clearly. Wouldn’t you, Judge?”
“Let’s not discuss trial strategy, Jake. I don’t like to be earwigged. It is against the
rules, you know?” He said this with a smile but his point was well made.
There was a long, heavy pause in the conversation as they sipped their drinks and
savored the quiet. Finally, the judge said, “You haven’t been paid in six weeks.”
“I brought the paperwork.”
“How many hours?”
“Two hundred and ten.”
“So, something north of thirty thousand?”
“Yes sir.”
“Sounds reasonable. I know you’re working very hard, Jake, and I’m happy to
approve your fees. But I do have a slight concern, if you’ll allow me to meddle in your
business.”
At this point, nothing Jake could say would stop the meddling. If the judge liked you,
then he felt it necessary to offer unsolicited advice on a wide range of subjects. You
were expected to consider yourself lucky to be so favored. “Go right ahead,” Jake said as
he braced himself.
A rattle of the ice, another sip, then, “Now, and in the near future, you will be well
paid for your work and no one will begrudge it. As you’ve said, this mess was caused by
Seth Hubbard, and he knew it was coming. So be it. However, I doubt the wisdom of you
giving the impression you’re suddenly in the money. Ms. Lang moved her family to
town, into the Sappington house, which as we know is nothing special and has gone
unsold for a reason, but nonetheless it’s not in Lowtown. It’s on our side of the tracks.
There’s been grumbling about this. It looks bad. A lot of folks think she’s already tapped
into the money, and there is resentment. Now there’s talk that you have your eye on the
Hocutt House. Don’t ask how I know; it’s a small town. Such a move at this time would
get a lot of attention, and none of it favorable.”
Jake was speechless. As he gazed at the highest gable of the Hocutt House in the
distance, he tried in vain to think of who told whom and how the word leaked. Willie
Traynor swore him to secrecy because he, Willie, did not want to be pestered by other
buyers. Harry Rex was a confidant of both Jake and Willie, and though he loved to
spread gossip maliciously, he would never rat out inside information like this. “We’re
only dreaming, Judge,” Jake managed to say. “It’s out of my range and I’m still tied up
in litigation. But thanks.”
Thanks for meddling once again, Judge. Though, as Jake breathed deeply and let the
anger pass, he admitted to himself that he and Carla had had the same conversation.