Sycamore Row

beyond that, he somehow managed to keep track of Esther and Lois, and then Lettie. Some fifty years later, he called Lettie and offered her the job; she did not call him. He planned it all, folks. He was brilliant. I admire Seth because of his courage. He knew he was dying, yet he refused to do what would have been expected. He chose a far more controversial route. He knew his reputation would be tarnished, that his family would curse his name, but he didn’t care. He did what he thought was right.”
    Jake stepped over and picked up the handwritten will. “And lastly, I admire Seth because of his sense of justice. With this handwritten will, he is trying to fix a wrong inflicted upon the Rinds family by hisfather decades ago. It falls upon you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, to help Seth correct that injustice. Thank you.”
    Jake slowly returned to his seat, and, as he did, glanced at the spectators. Sitting on the back row, smiling and nodding, was Lucien Wilbanks.
    Three minutes and twenty seconds, Harry Rex said to himself as he punched the timer on his watch.
    Judge Atlee said, “Mr. Lanier.”
    Wade was limping worse than usual as he made his way to the podium. He and his clients were watching helplessly as the money slipped away yet again. They had had it in the bag. As recently as eight o’clock that morning, they had been mentally spending it.
    Wade had little to say at this urgent moment. History had suddenly and unexpectedly reared up and crushed him. However, he was a veteran who’d been in tough spots before. He began, “One of the most important tools a lawyer has in the courtroom is the chance to cross-examine opposing witnesses. The lawyer almost always gets the opportunity to do this, but occasionally, like now, that opportunity is not available. And it’s very frustrating. I feel handcuffed. I’d love to have Ancil here, to ask him some questions. For example, I’d say, ‘Now, Ancil, isn’t it true that you are now in the custody of the Juneau police?’ And, ‘Now, Ancil, isn’t it true you’re under arrest for cocaine distribution and escape from custody?’ And, ‘Now, Ancil, isn’t it true that you’re wanted by the authorities in at least four states for such things as obtaining goods under false pretenses, grand larceny, and nonpayment of child support?’ And, ‘Tell the jury, Ancil, why you haven’t filed a tax return in the past twenty years.’ And, the big one: ‘Isn’t it true, Ancil, that you’re all set to collect a million bucks if Seth’s handwritten will is declared valid?’
    “But I can’t do that, ladies and gentlemen, because he is not here. All I can do is caution you. I caution you that everything you’ve just seen and heard from Ancil might not be all that it purports to be.
    “For a moment, let’s take Ancil out of the picture. I want you jurors to go back to last night. Remember what you were thinking last night? You left here after hearing some powerful testimony. First, by doctors with unimpeachable credentials, experts who’ve worked with cancer patients and understand the extent to which powerful pain medications disrupt one’s ability to think clearly.” Lanier then went through summaries of the testimonies of Drs. Swaney and Niehoff. It was a closing argument and much leeway was given for the art of persuasion,but Lanier slanted things so perversely that Jake was compelled to stand and say, “Your Honor, I object. I don’t believe that’s what Dr. Niehoff said.”
    “Sustained,” Judge Atlee said rudely. “Mr. Lanier, I’ll ask you to stick to the facts.”
    Stung, Lanier rambled on about what these fine doctors had said. They had taken the stand only yesterday. It was not necessary to replay such recent testimony. Wade Lanier was stumbling now, and off his game. For the first time since the opening bell, Jake thought he looked lost. When he couldn’t think of anything, he said, repeatedly, “Seth Hubbard lacked testamentary capacity.”
    He brought up the 1987 will, and much to Jake’s delight, and much to the jurors’ dismay, he fleshed it out once more. “Three point one million dollars wasted, just like that,” he said, snapping his fingers. He described a tax ploy known as the generation-skipping trust, and just when Juror Number Ten, Debbie Lacker, was about to nod off, he said again, “Three point one million dollars wasted, just like that,” and snapped his fingers loudly.
    It was a cardinal sin to bore jurors