Sycamore Row - John Grisham

Memphis, a big city, and my mother pays her housekeeper four and a half an hour.”
Lettie just nodded because she had no response. She could have added that Mr. Seth
paid her in cash, and often added a little extra, and had loaned her $5,000 when her son
got in trouble and went to prison. That loan had been forgiven only four days earlier.
There was nothing in writing.
Herschel sipped his coffee in disapproval. Lettie stared at the floor. Out in the
driveway, two car doors slammed.
Ramona Hubbard Dafoe was crying before she cleared the front door. She embraced
her older brother on the porch, and he, to his credit, managed to seem sufficiently
moved: eyes tightly closed, lips pooched, forehead furrowed. A man in real misery.
Ramona wailed in what seemed to be authentic pain, though Herschel had his doubts.
Ramona moved on and was soon hugging Lettie, as if the two were the natural-born
children of the same kind and loving father. Herschel, meanwhile, was still on the porch
and greeting Ramona’s husband, a man he loathed and the loathing was mutual. Ian
Dafoe was a preppy from a family of bankers down in Jackson, the capital, the largest
city, home to at least half the assholes in Mississippi. The banks were long gone (bellyup)
but Ian would forever cling to the airs of a privileged boy, even though he had
married lower, and even though he was now hustling to make a buck like everyone else.
As they shook hands politely, Herschel glanced over his shoulder to check out their
vehicle. No surprise. A shiny, seemingly new white Mercedes sedan, the latest in a line
of same. Thanks to Ramona’s drinking and loose tongue, Herschel knew that dear Ian
leased his cars for thirty-six months and turned them in early. The payments caused a
bind on their finances, but that didn’t matter. It was far more important for Mr. and
Mrs. Dafoe to be seen around north Jackson in a proper vehicle.
They eventually gathered in the den and found seats. Lettie served them coffee and
colas, then dutifully slipped into the shadows, into the open door of a bedroom just
down the hall, a spot she often occupied when she listened to Mr. Seth on the phone in
the den. From there, she could hear everything. Ramona cried some more and went on
about how unbelievable everything was. The men just listened, agreeing, occasionally
uttering a syllable or two. They were soon interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.
Two ladies from the church arrived with a cake and a casserole, and they were not to be
denied. Lettie hustled around and took the food to the kitchen, and the ladies, without
the benefit of an invitation, plopped down in the den and commenced trolling for
gossip. They had seen their brother Seth just yesterday at church, and he had looked so
good. They knew about the lung cancer and all, but, heavens, he seemed to have
conquered it.
Herschel and the Dafoes offered nothing. Lettie listened from the shadows.
The church ladies were about to burst with all manner of inquiries: “How’d he do it?”
and “Did he leave a note?” and “Who gets the money?” and “Any chance of foul play?”
But, it was painfully clear such nosiness would not be well received. After twenty