Sycamore Row

small table where the exhibits were kept. He picked up two sheets of paper and looked at Ramona. “This is the will your father wrote the day before he died. It’s in evidence and the jury has already seen it. In paragraph six, your father writes, and I quote: ‘I have two children—Herschel Hubbard and Ramona Hubbard Dafoe—and they have children, though I don’t know how many because I haven’t seen them in some time.’ End quote.”
    Jake placed the will back on the table and asked, “By the way, how old is Will?”
    “Fourteen.”
    “And how old is Leigh Ann?”
    “Twelve.”
    “So it’s been twelve years since you had a child?”
    “Yes, that’s very true.”
    “And your own father didn’t know if you’d had any more kids?”
    “You can’t believe that will, Mr. Brigance. My daddy wasn’t in his right mind when he wrote that.”
    “I guess that’s up to the jury. No further questions.” Jake sat down and got a note from Quince Lundy that read, “Brilliant. You killed her.” At that moment in the trial, in his career, in his life for that matter, Jake needed a boost. He leaned over and whispered, “Thank you.”
    Wade Lanier stood and said, “Your Honor, the contestants call Mr. Ian Dafoe, husband of Ramona Hubbard.” Ian slinked to the stand, no doubt primed and ready to fabricate another trip down memory lane. Halfway through his testimony, Quince Lundy slipped over another note. It read, “These people are trying way too hard to convince the jury. Don’t think it’s working.”
    Jake nodded as he looked for an opening, a stray word that he might seize and turn against the witness. In the wake of his wife’s over-the-top drama, Ian came across as harmlessly dull. He gave many of the same answers, but without the emotion.
    Through sources and back channels, Jake, Harry Rex, and Lucien had picked up some dirt on Ian. His marriage had been on the rocks for some time. He preferred to stay away from home and blamed his absences on business. He ran the women hard. His wife drank too much. And, some of his deals were in trouble.
    On cross, Jake’s first question was, “You say you’re a commercial real estate developer, right?”
    “That’s correct.”
    “Do you own all or part of a company called KLD Biloxi Group?”
    “I do.”
    “And is that company attempting to renovate the Gulf Coast Mall in Biloxi, Mississippi?”
    “It is.”
    “Would you say that company is financially sound?”
    “Depends on how you define ‘financially sound.’ ”
    “Okay, let’s define it like this: Two months ago, was your company, KLD Biloxi Group, sued by the First Gulf Bank for the nonpayment of a $2 million line of credit?” Jake was holding and waving some papers clipped together. He had the proof.
    “Yes, but there’s a lot more to the story.”
    “I didn’t ask for more. Was your company also sued last month by a New Orleans bank known as Picayune Trust for $2.6 million?”
    Ian took a deep breath and finally said, “Yes, but these cases are still pending, and we countersued.”
    “Thank you. Nothing further.”
    Ian stepped down at 4:45, and for a moment Judge Atlee considered recessing until Thursday morning. Wade Lanier offered to help by saying, “Judge, we can put on a witness that won’t take long.”
    If Jake had an inkling of what was coming, he would have stalled some more with Ian, burned some clock, and dodged another ambush, at least until the next day. As it turned out, however, the jury left for the night with an even lower opinion of Seth Hubbard and his proclivities.
    Lanier said, “We call Julina Kidd.”
    Jake immediately recognized the name as one of the forty-five Lanier had dumped on his desk two weeks earlier. Jake had tried twice to phone her, but got nowhere. She was fetched from a witness room and led to the stand by a bailiff. Per Wade Lanier’s rather clear and firm instructions, she wore a cheap, blue dress that was similar to what Lettie had on. Nothing tight, nothing sexy, nothing to show off a figure that usually commanded a second look. No jewelry, nothing fancy. She tried her best to look plain, though that would have been impossible.
    The message was subtle: if Seth would chase this attractive black woman, then he would also chase Lettie.
    She took the stand and smiled nervously at the jury. Lanier walked her through some preliminaries, then got right to the point. He handed her some paperwork and asked, “Can you please identify