Simon Latch, a Virginia lawyer, earns most of his fees from bankruptcy work. Now, with his own practice barely staying afloat, he’s hoping for one big score. Placing bets at Chub’s Shop, the illegal local gambling spot, puts him further into the hole, and he’s days away from closing up shop himself. But his life is about to change when Ms. Eleanor Barnett, 85, a widow, asks Simon to draw up her will.
On the surface she seems like any other elderly client with a modest estate. Her home, assessed by the country for $280,000, is free of liens, and she drives a fifteen year old Lincoln, purchased years ago. But when she begins talked about her husband, Harry Korsak, things began to change. Harry worked for almost 40 years as a district sales rep for Coco-Cola in Atlanta and always took advantage of the company’s stock purchase policy, buying as much as he could. Thirty years later, he began selling Coke products to Wal-Mart and bought shares of that company, too.
Frugal by nature, Harry never sold any of his shares. He also never told his two sons about his stock portfolio. After his death, Harry left everything to Eleanor. When Simon asks how much the stocks are now worth, Eleanor, after receiving assurances that whatever she tells him remains confidential, estimates the portfolio at slightly more than $16 million.
Greed is definitely not good, but Simon, in his currently precarious financial situation, can’t help but see a windfall in his future. There are, of course, complications. Eleanor already has a will with Wally Thackerman, another lawyer in the town. Eleanor tells Simon she doesn’t trust Wally and wants a new will drawn up. Simon does’t trust Wally either, so much so that he advises Eleanor to keep the new will secret. Another complication: Harry’s sons, Eleanor’s stepsons, Clyde and Jerry, upset they were left out of their father’s will, are out to reclaim their inheritance. When Clyde shows up in town and beats up Wally, thinking he’s still Eleanor’s lawyer, Simon knows things could turn bad very fast.
Simon’s major hurdle, however, is uncovering whether Eleanor is telling the truth about her wealth. Trying to pry the information out of her involves taking her to lunch away from the office so they can chat. She’s asked Simon to call her Letty and she obviously trusts him. But whenever he asks her for more information about her financial situation she clams up. When she finally coughs up the name of her financial advisor, Buddy Brown in Atlanta, he sheds no new light on then situation except to say Letty is “well taken care of.” Simon has yet to present Letty with a bill for his services and she never offers to pick up a check, helping to max out his credit cards.
Simon’s personal life has also taken a hit. He and Paula have three children, teenagers Buck and Danny, who spend most of their time online, and the youngest, Janie, still daddy’s girl. Paula has filed for divorce and Simon is now sleeping in his office. The breakup will further strain his resources, although he’s determined to take care of his kids.
What Netty’s estate is worth, however, becomes moot when she’s in an automobile accident and, after a week in the hospital, passes away. The original ruling, that her death was caused by pneumonia, is overruled after an anonymous call to the police claims she was murdered. Simon becomes the prime suspect and now must fight to save his own life.
Grisham does what he does best, describing the courtroom scenes that make even dry legalese exciting. Simon hires a skilled criminal attorney, Raymond Lassiter, who agrees to take the case pro bono because of all the publicity. Simon realizes early on that he must save himself and find whoever killed Letty. Otherwise, he might be spending the rest of his life in prison.
One quibble: the ending is wrapped up a bit too fast, not reporting on how the other characters in Simon’s drama fare once the real killer is unmasked.
The Widow
John Grisham
Top photo: Bigstock
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