Sycamore Row - John Grisham

heart pine to a flooring company in Texas. Squire had negotiated the deal, and was
surprised to learn that his boss then called the company and negotiated another deal at
a lower price. Back and forth they went throughout that Thursday morning. Both men
were upset, both convinced they were right, but at some point Squire realized that Seth
was not himself. Arlene Trotter was out of the office and missed the conflict. At one
point, Squire entered Seth’s office and found him with his head in his hands, claiming to
be dizzy and nauseous. They spoke later and Seth had forgotten the details of the
contract. He claimed Squire had negotiated a price that was too low, and they argued
again. By the time Seth left around 3:00 p.m. the deal was done and Berring would
eventually lose about $10,000. To Squire’s recollection, it was the largest loss on any
customer contract Seth was ever involved in.
He described his boss as being disoriented and erratic. The following morning he sold
the timberland in South Carolina for a substantial loss.
Jake was well aware that Wade Lanier was pushing hard now and trying to get the
case to the jury before the weekend. Jake needed to stall, so on cross-examination he
pulled out the Berring financials and walked Squire through them. Nineteen eighty-eight
was the most profitable year of the last five, though revenues dipped in the last quarter,
after Seth’s death. As the jurors faded away, Jake and Squire talked about the company’s
performance, its contracts, strategies, costs, labor problems, plant depreciation. Twice
His Honor said, “Move along, Mr. Brigance,” but he didn’t push too hard. Mr. Brigance
was already unhappy with him.
After Dewayne Squire, Lanier called to the stand a Mr. Dewberry, a land broker who
specialized in farms and hunting clubs. He told the story of dealing with Seth in the days
before he died. Seth had been interested in buying five hundred acres in Tyler County
for a hunting club. He and Dewberry had been looking at land for the past five years,
but Seth would never pull the trigger. He finally paid for a one-year option on the five
hundred acres, then got sick and lost interest. As the option was about to expire, he
called Dewberry several times. Dewberry did not know Seth was dying, nor did he have
any idea he was on painkillers. One day Seth wanted to exercise the option; the next
day he did not. Several times he could not remember the price per acre, and on one
occasion forgot who he was talking to on the phone. His behavior became more and
more erratic.
On cross, Jake managed to stall even more. By late Thursday afternoon, the trial had
ground to a near halt, and Judge Atlee adjourned early.