Sycamore Row - John Grisham

Lanier picked up a document and said, “Your Honor, I have here Exhibit C-5, which
has already been stipulated to and admitted.”
Judge Atlee said, “Proceed.”
Lanier handed the document to Arlene and said, “Could you please identify that?”
“Yes sir. It’s the contract Seth signed on Friday morning, selling the three tracts of
land in South Carolina.”
“And how much was Seth to receive?”
“A total of $810,000.”
“Eight ten. Now, Ms. Trotter, how much did Seth pay for this timberland?”
She paused for a moment, glanced nervously at the jurors, and said, “You have the
paperwork, Mr. Lanier.”
“Of course.” Lanier produced three more exhibits, all of which had been marked and
admitted beforehand. There were no surprises here; Jake and Lanier had haggled over
the exhibits and documents for weeks. Judge Atlee had long since ruled them admissible.
Arlene slowly reviewed the exhibits as the courtroom waited. Finally, she said, “Mr.
Hubbard purchased this land in 1985 and paid a total of one point one million.”
Lanier scribbled this down as if it were new. Peering over his reading glasses, with his
eyebrows arched in disbelief, he said, “A loss of $300,000!”
“Apparently so.”
“And this was only twenty-four hours before he made his handwritten will?”
Jake was on his feet. “Objection, Your Honor. Calls for speculation on the part of the
witness. Counsel can save it for his closing argument.”
“Sustained.”
Lanier ignored the commotion and zeroed in on the witness. “Any idea, Ms. Trotter,
why Seth would do such a bad deal?”
Jake rose again. “Objection, Your Honor. More speculation.”
“Sustained.”
“Was he thinking clearly, Ms. Trotter?”
“Objection.”
“Sustained.”
Lanier paused and flipped a page of notes. “Now, Ms. Trotter, who was in charge of
cleaning the office building where you and Seth worked?”
“A man named Monk.”
“Okay, tell us about Monk.”
“He’s a longtime employee at the lumber yard, sort of a general helper who does all
sorts of odd jobs, mainly cleaning. He also paints, fixes everything, even washed Mr.
Hubbard’s vehicles.”
“How often does Monk clean the offices?”
“Every Monday and Thursday morning, from nine until eleven, without fail, for many
years now.”
“Did he clean the offices on Thursday, September 29, of last year?”
“He did.”
“Has Lettie Lang ever cleaned the offices?”