Sycamore Row - John Grisham

disbelief, then pointed to the parking lot. Both of them eased away from the cemetery.
They’d had enough of Seth Hubbard for one day. Their farewell was complete.
Twenty minutes later, at exactly 4:55 p.m., Jake jogged into the offices of the
Chancery Court clerk and smiled at Sara. “Where you been?” she snapped, waiting.
“It’s not even five o’clock,” he shot back as he zipped open his briefcase.
“Yes, but we stop working at four, on Tuesdays anyway. Five on Monday. Three on
Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday you’re lucky if we show up.” The woman talked
nonstop and had a quick tongue. After twenty years of daily give-and-take with a bunch
of lawyers, she had honed her retorts and one-liners.
Jake laid the papers on the counter in front of her and said, “I need to open the estate
of Mr. Seth Hubbard.”
“Testate or intestate?”
“Oh, he has a will, more than one. That’s where the fun’s coming from.”
“Didn’t he just kill himself?”
“You know damned well he just killed himself because you work in this courthouse
where rumors fly and gossip is created and nothing is secret.”
“I’m offended,” she said, stamping the petition. She flipped a few pages, smiled and
said, “Ooh, nice, a handwritten will. A boon to the legal profession.”
“You got it.”
“Who gets everything?”
“My lips are sealed.” As Jake bantered he pulled more papers from his briefcase.
“Well, Mr. Brigance, your lips may be sealed but this court file certainly is not.” She
stamped something dramatically and said, “It is now officially a public record, under the
laws of this great state, unless of course you have a written motion requesting the file to
be sealed.”
“I do not.”
“Oh good, so we can talk about all the dirt. There is some dirt, right?”
“Don’t know. I’m still digging. Look, Sara, I need a favor.”
“Anything you want, baby.”
“This is a race to the courthouse and I’ve just won. Sometime soon, perhaps tomorrow,
I expect two or three pompous-ass lawyers in dark suits to show up and hand over their
version of a petition to open Mr. Hubbard’s estate. More than likely they’ll be from
Tupelo. There’s another will, you see.”
“I love it.”
“So do I. Anyway, you’re not required to inform them they’ve just finished second, but
it might be fun to watch their faces. Whatta you think?”
“I can’t wait.”
“Great, show them the court file, have a laugh, then call me with a full report. But
please, bury this until tomorrow.”
“You got it, Jake. This could be fun.”
“Well, if things unfold the way I expect, this case could keep us amused for the next
year.”
As soon as he left, Sara read the handwritten will that was attached to Jake’s petition.