Джон Гришэм: The Testament

It was Josh. “It couldn’t have gone better,” he announced. “I stopped at twenty million, they want fifty.”

“Fifty?” Nate said in disbelief.

“Yeah, but they’re already spending the money. I’ll bet at least two of them are at the Mercedes dealer right now.”

“Who’ll spend it faster? Lawyers or clients?”

“I’d bet on the lawyers. Look, I just talked to Wycliff. The meeting is for Wednesday at three, in his office. We should wrap it up by then.”

“I can’t wait,” Nate said, and folded the phone. Time for a coffee break. They sat on the floor, backs to a wall, and sipped warm latte.

“They wanted fifty?” Phil asked. By now, he knew the details. Alone in the basement, the two had kept few secrets as they drifted through their labors. Conversation was more important than progress. Phil was clergy. Nate was a lawyer. Everything said was covered by some manner of confidential privilege.

“It’s a nice starting place,” Nate said. “But they’ll take a lot less.”

“You expect it to be settled?”

“Sure. We’ll meet on Wednesday with the Judge. He’ll apply more pressure. By then the lawyers and their clients will be counting the money.”

“So when do you leave?”

“Friday, I guess. You wanna come?”

“I can’t afford it.”

“Sure you can. My client will foot the bill. You can be my spiritual adviser for the trip. Money is no object.”

“It wouldn’t be right.”

“Come on, Phil. I’ll show you the Pantanal. You can meet my pals Jevy and Welly. We’ll go for a boat ride.”

“You haven’t made it sound very appealing.”

“It’s not dangerous. There’s quite a tourist business in the Pantanal. It’s a great ecological preserve. Seriously, Phil, if you’re interested I can make it happen.”

“I don’t have a passport,” he said, and sipped his coffee. “Plus I have so much work to do here.”

Nate would be gone for a week, and he somehow liked the fact that the basement would look the same when he returned.

“Mrs. Sinclair is expected to die any day now,” Phil said quietly. “I can’t be gone.”

The church had been waiting for Mrs. Sinclair to die for at least a month. Phil was fearful about a trip to Baltimore. Nate knew he would never leave the country.

“So you’re gonna see her again,” Phil said.

“Yes, I am.”

“Are you excited?”

“I don’t know. I look forward to seeing her, but I’m not sure she wants to see me. She’s very happy and wants no part of this world. She will resent more of the legal stuff.”

“Then why do it?”

“Because there’s nothing to lose. If she rejects the money again, we’re in the same position as now. The other side gets everything.”

“And that’s a disaster.”

“Yes. It would be difficult to find a group of people less equipped to handle serious money than the Phelan heirs. They’ll kill themselves with it.”

“Can’t you explain this to Rachel?”

“I tried. She has no interest in hearing it.”

“So she’s not going to change her mind?”

“No. Never.”

“And the trip down is a waste of time?”

“I’m afraid so. But at least we’ll try.”

With the exception of Ramble, all of the Phelan heirs insisted on being either in the courthouse or within a rock’s throw during the meeting. Each had a cell phone, as did each lawyer inside Wycliff’s office.

Much sleep had been lost by the clients and their lawyers.

How often does one become an instant millionaire? At least twice for the Phelan heirs, and they vowed to themselves that they would be much wiser this time around. They would never get another chance.

They walked the hallways of the courthouse, waiting. They smoked outside by the front doors. They kept warm in their cars in the parking lot, fidgeting. They checked their watches, tried to read newspapers, chatted nervously when they bumped into each other.

Nate and Josh sat on one side of the room. Josh of course wore an expensive dark suit. Nate wore a denim shirt with specks of white paint on the collar. No tie. Jeans and hiking boots rounded out his ensemble.

Wycliff first addressed the Phelan lawyers across the room. He informed them that he was not inclined to dismiss the answer of Rachel Lane, at least not at that time. There was too much at stake to cut her from the proceedings. Mr. O’Riley was doing a fine job of representing her interests; therefore the lawsuit would proceed as scheduled.

The purpose of the meeting was to explore settlement, something every judge wanted for every case. Wycliff was still enthralled with the vision of a long, nasty, high-profile trial, but he could never admit it. It was his duty to push, prod, and cajole the parties into a settlement.

Prodding and cajoling would not be necessary.

His Honor had reviewed all the pleadings and documents, and he’d watched every minute of every deposition. He recapped the evidence as he viewed things, and offered the grave conclusion to Hark, Bright, Langhorne, and Yancy that, in his learned opinion, they didn’t have much of a case.

They took it well. It came as no surprise. Money was on the table and they were anxious to get to it. Insult us all you want, they said to themselves, but let’s hurry along to the money.

On the other hand, Wycliff was saying, you never know what a jury will do. He spoke as if he empaneled juries every week, which he did not. And the lawyers knew it.

He asked Josh to recap the initial settlement conference of Monday, two days earlier. “I want to know exactly where we are,” he said.

Josh was brief. The bottom line was simple. The heirs wanted fifty million dollars each. Rachel, the sole major beneficiary, was offering twenty million only to settle, without admitting the other side had a valid case.

“That’s a substantial gap,” Wycliff observed.

Nate was bored but tried to appear sharp. These were high-powered settlement negotiations involving one of the greatest self-made fortunes in the world. Josh had scolded him for his appearance. He didn’t care. He kept himself interested by watching the faces of the lawyers across the room. They were an edgy bunch, not anxious or worried, but animated and desperate to learn how much they would be getting. Their eyes were keen and quick; their hand movements impulsive.

How much fun it would be to abruptly stand, announce Rachel wasn’t offering a dime to settle, and storm out of the room. They would sit in shock for a few seconds, then they would chase him like hungry dogs.

When Josh finished, Hark spoke for the group. He had notes and he’d spent time on his remarks. He got their attention by admitting that the development of their case had not followed the course they’d wanted. Their clients were not good witnesses. The current psychiatrists were not as solid as the first three. Snead was not reliable. He admitted all this, and his sincerity was admirable.

Instead of arguing legal theories, Hark dwelt on people. He talked about their clients, the Phelan children, and he admitted that on the surface they were not a sympathetic bunch. But once you got past the surface, and you got to know them the way their lawyers had, you realized they simply never had a chance. As children they were rich and spoiled, raised in privilege by nannies who came and went, thoroughly ignored by their father, who was either in Asia buying factories or living at the office with his latest secretary. Hark did not intend to disparage the dead, but Mr. Phelan was what he was. Their mothers were an odd collection, but they too had endured the hell of life with Troy.

The Phelan children had not been raised in normal families. They had not been taught the lessons most children learn from their parents. Their father was a great businessman whose approval they craved but never received. Their mothers busied themselves with clubs and causes and the art of shopping. Their father’s idea of providing his children with a proper start in life was simply to give each five million dollars when he or she turned twenty-one. This was much too late, and it was much too early. The money couldn’t provide the wisdom, guidance, and love they needed as children. And they had clearly proved that they weren’t ready for the responsibilities of new wealth.