Sycamore Row - John Grisham

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A month after the verdict, Ancil Hubbard sat low in the passenger’s seat of Lucien’s old Porsche and gazed through the window at the rolling hills of Ford County. Of the land, he remembered nothing. The first thirteen years of his life had been spent in those parts, but he had worked hard for the past fifty to forget them. Nothing looked familiar. He had been released on a bond arranged by Jake and others, and he had been cajoled south by his pal Lucien. Just one last visit. You might be surprised. Thin gray hair was sprouting again and partially covered the ugly scar across the back of his head. He wore jeans and sandals, same as Lucien. They turned onto a county road and approached Seth’s home. There was a “For Sale” sign in the front yard. Lucien said, “That’s where Seth lived. You want to stop?” “No.” They turned again onto a gravel road and drove deeper into the woods. “Recognize any of this?” Lucien asked. “Not really.” The woods thinned and they came to a clearing. Ahead were cars parked haphazardly and people milling about, including some children. Smoke rose from a charcoal grill. Farther on, they approached overgrown rubble and ruins, all choked with kudzu. Ancil raised a hand and said, “Stop. Here.” They got out. Some of the others were nearby and walking over to say hello, but Ancil did not see them. He was looking away, far in the distance. He began walking toward the sycamore tree where they had found his brother. The others followed quietly; some were left behind. With Lucien trailing closely, Ancil walked a hundred yards or so to the tree, then stopped and looked around. He pointed to a small hill covered with oaks and elms and said, “We were up there, Seth and me, hiding in the woods. It seemed farther away back then. They brought him here, under this tree. There were more trees back then. A whole row of five or six, in a perfect line, along the creek here. Now there’s only one.” “There was a tornado here in sixty-eight,” Lucien said from behind him. “This is where we found Seth,” Ozzie said. He was standing next to Lucien. “Is it the same tree?” Jake asked. He was standing next to Ozzie. Ancil heard their voices and looked at their faces, but he did not see them. He was in a daze, in another time and place. He said, “I can’t say for sure, but I think so. All the trees were the same, a perfect row. We fished right over there,” he said, pointing again. “Seth and me. Right over there.” He exhaled heavily and seemed to grimace, then he closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened them, he said, “It was so awful.” Lucien said, “Ancil, Sylvester’s granddaughter is here. Would you like to meet her?” He took a deep breath and snapped out of his dream. He turned abruptly and said, “I’d be delighted.” Lettie walked over and offered a hand, a hand Ancil ignored. Instead, he gently took her shoulders and squeezed tightly. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry.” After a few seconds, she unwrapped herself and said, “Enough of that, Ancil. The past is the past. Let’s say it’s over. I want you to meet my kids and grandkids.”
“I’d be delighted.” He was then introduced to Portia, Carla, Ozzie, Harry Rex, and to the rest of Lettie’s family. Then he met Herschel Hubbard, his nephew, for the first time. They all talked at once as they left the tree and headed for the picnic.
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This book is a work of fiction. Nam
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Contents Cover Title Page Copyright
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1 They found Seth Hubbard in the ge
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Touching nothing, he backed away an
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2 Jake Brigance stared at the brigh
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shift and whose primary responsibil
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Dell was an old tart with the quick
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indictment. Secretly, Jake hoped Ma
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she left; now, though, he almost mi
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in knowing I will not be there to s
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She did as he instructed, and when
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“They’ll make all sorts of clai
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4 The drive from central Memphis to
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Lettie carefully poured the coffee
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minutes of near silence, they lost
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suicide. The second was addressed n
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5 By noon Monday the entire bar ass
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Jake said, “Tell me about Seth Hu
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“My client wants me to wait until
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and her husband rarely made things
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6 The parking lot of the Irish Road
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pretending to mourn at $200 an hour
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disbelief, then pointed to the park
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“I just got home and you’re rea
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“It’s very important, Ms. Lang,
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ead the two-page will. Slowly, her
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“You have a filthy mind. I love i
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8 Russell Amburgh hid behind a news
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good hurricane season, lots of dama
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was out of his mind. You can’t ma
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fictionalized, but through it all t
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seen liquor in the house; Seth didn
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the picnic table. An hour earlier,
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in ten years. And your family, with
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10 Three well-dressed lawyers from
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in different circles. As the favore
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everyone who crossed him and defend
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“Sure. I’d fight over a lot les
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11 A nosy paralegal sniffing throug
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Herschel was sitting behind the whe
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estate here and there. One of my jo
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“No comment, Dumas,” Jake said,
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the law than you do anyway. And, I
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Judge Atlee said, “Before we get
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“Skole, Your Honor. Skole, Rumky,
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people in the courtroom. Even Judge
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out of state. Otherwise, everyone i
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stairwell shook. Roxy called after
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To Jake, it was significant that Ha
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“No. My job is to protect the wil
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contest. Hell, we got three trials
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14 The Berring Lumber Company was a
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“That was my job. We talked every
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Kamila said, “He got pretty aggre
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“But why?” she managed to ask.
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suspect. He ran a ten-man litigatio
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too few square feet. Now, though, t
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“I think so.” Benjy dealt black
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so much, and with such authority, t
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the window. They rode in silence un
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panel. He was brash, loud, smart, f
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mother had been blown away by a saw
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jury also ruled against nasty littl
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17 The usual white-collar crowd gat
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The lawyer calmly said, “Ethics a
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went to court. “I hear he’s got
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closed his eyes and heard the voice
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taken. He shook hands with Wade Lan
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client can get a fair trial. This i
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They looped twice around the square
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was blatantly obvious they were the
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Jake welcomed her into his office.
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Jake nodded and smiled. This woman
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had been a long time since he viewe
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Portia said. “It’s a lot easier
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20 Ancil Hubbard was no longer Anci
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start slingin’ all your racist sh
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“In due course,” Jake said. “
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office, one of three empty ones ups
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corrected Jake in open court on two
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Hubbard is Wednesday, his sister Th
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When everyone was in place and some
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Lanier introduced himself with a sa
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Some come and go.” Jake glared at
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incident when a friend or business
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Death by deposition continued on We
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23 Leaving the courthouse in a hurr
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“I suppose. Herschel and Ramona c
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and I think he paid something like
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24 On the morning of Christmas Eve,
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“What’s the point here, Lucien?
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To be fair, there were some Langs i
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might just know how to throw one. T
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25 For those contesting the handwri
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for pursuing Lettie, but was met wi
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typewriters, law books, and more fi
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26 On the last Friday in January, R
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adviser had already worn thin. Luci
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“And these are the guys from D.C.
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Such a conspicuous purchase would n
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He produced some paperwork, and the
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worked the front while his sister h
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28 On Monday, February 20, Judge At
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courtroom, but there were advantage
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Judge Atlee relit his pipe with a m
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“I’m not his lawyer, okay? Neve
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“Chuck Bennett, but I didn’t wa
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“I have no idea. Probably one app
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since Hubbard died. And now this. N
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30 Early Thursday morning Simeon La
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nonetheless serious rules was one t
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Lang’s daughter,” he said, and
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He owned two furniture factories in
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settlement. He has a strategy to fo
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32 Eight days after the Roston trag
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“Saturday is your day off. I’m
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dean was waiting on us at school, t
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case so screwed up it’ll never ge
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me he was no longer counsel of reco
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notoriously clannish and sensitive
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was napping, Lettie gently shook hi
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facing me in Chancery Court, in thi
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everywhere. There are gaps in every
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35 Two weeks before the scheduled s
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clients with the greatest interests
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on, “Now, and listen to me, I wil
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They went through all ninety-seven
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oughly $1.5 million. It took the po
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“No, Lucien, I’m more concerned
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awake. He assumed he was an officer
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37 Jake walked into the Coffee Shop
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Mr. Eli Rady, had filed four lawsui
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“I’m always sober in the mornin
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ack was cramping and Lonny tried to
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“Where’s Mr. Willie going to li
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In six months, he’d gone through
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enough. They drove to a fish shack
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pot, flirting with the clerks who k
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ickering for later.” After the re
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So far, his firm had either spent o
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Jake said, “Judge, I’d like to
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40 Lucien shuffled the deck and def
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“I did,” Lonny said. “Tell me
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“Should I tell Judge Atlee?” Ha
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41 In his defense of Carl Lee Haile
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this?’ However, it is not your re
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was rich, and she also knew his rel
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Funeral Instructions: I want a simp
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holographic will, thus entitled to
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42 The detective was leaving the ho
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eight doses a day of Demerol, at a
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“Not to my knowledge. There was n
Page 307 and 308: 10:00 p.m. Jake asked the easy ques
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Page 311 and 312: windows, arranged magazines, even w
Page 313 and 314: “About a year, then she moved awa
Page 315 and 316: here, Wade. Judge, this is a clear
Page 317 and 318: Fritz said, “Seventy-five hundred
Page 319 and 320: “Don’t bet on it. You can’t l
Page 321 and 322: Lettie stared at him, dumbfounded.
Page 323 and 324: her deposition back in December and
Page 325 and 326: “Twelve.” “So it’s been twe
Page 327 and 328: as a witness until two weeks ago, i
Page 329 and 330: “We’ll see. Maybe it’s not ov
Page 331 and 332: airport lounges, all of which he no
Page 333 and 334: victims. He was well acquainted wit
Page 335 and 336: emember all the white families she
Page 337 and 338: 46 After butting heads with the Mem
Page 339 and 340: not a single way to get it in.”
Page 341 and 342: awake and eager to witness this une
Page 343 and 344: or so away, and she was yelling and
Page 345 and 346: And we were certain the sheriff wou
Page 347 and 348: 47 The jurors filed silently out of
Page 349 and 350: “I’m afraid to ask,” Jake sai
Page 351 and 352: thought he looked lost. When he cou
Page 353 and 354: “Are you okay?” Jake whispered
Page 355 and 356: sipped wine by Harry Rex’s pool a
Page 357: admitted to college will qualify fo
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Sycamore Row - John Grisham

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