John Grisham The Testament

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.For some reason,Bright had never purchased a briefcase.He'd finished tenth in his class innight school.They went straight for the widest gap, and as they were taking their seatsBright began the noisy process of removing his raincoat.The ragged hem of itbrushed against the neck of one of Hark's nameless associates, an earnestyoung man already bothered by Bright's body odor. If you don't mind! he said sharply, swinging a backhand toward Bright, andmissing.The words cracked through the tense and edgy air.Heads jerked around thetables as important documents were instantly ignored.Everybody hatedeverybody, Sorry! Bright responded with great sarcasm.Two deputies movedforward to intervene if necessary.But the raincoat found a place under thetable without farther incident, and Bright finally managed to seat himself,next to Libbigail, with Spike sitting on the other side stroking his beard andstaring at Troy Junior as if he'd love to slap him.Few people in the courtroom expected the brief skirmish to be the last amongthePhelans.You die with eleven billion, and people care about your last will andtestament.Especially if there's a chance that one of the world's great fortunes is aboutto be fed to the vultures.The tabloids were there, along with the localpapers and all the important financial magazines.The three rows Wycliff haddesignated for the press were full by62nine-thirty.The journalists had a delightful time watching the Phelans gatherin front of them.Three artists worked feverishly; the panorama before themwas rich with inspiration.The punk with the green hair received more than hisshare of sketches.Josh Stafford made his appearance at nine-fifty.Tip Durban was with him,along with two other members of the firm and a couple of paralegals to roundout the team.Stern and somber-faced, they took seats at their table, a ratherspacious one compared to the cramped quarters holding all the Phelans and alltheir lawyers.Josh placed a single thick file in front of him, and all eyesPage 72ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlwere immediately upon it.Inside was what appeared to be a document, almosttwo inches thick and very similar to what old Troy had signed on video justnineteen days earlier.They couldn't help staring at it.Everyone but Ramble.Virginia law allowedheirs to receive early distributions if the estate was liquid and there was noconcern about the payment of debts and taxes.Estimates from the Phelanlawyers ranged from a low of ten million per heir, all the way to Bright'sguess of fifty million.Bright in his entire life had never seen fiftythousand.At ten the deputies locked the doors, and upon some unseen cue Judge Wycliffemerged from an opening behind the bench, and the room was silent.He easedinto the chair, his crisp robe settling around him, and smiled. Goodmorning, he said into the microphone.Everyone smiled back.To his great satisfaction, the room was filled tocapacity.Aquick deputy count revealed eight armed and ready.He studied the Phelans;there were no gaps left.Some of their lawyers were practically touching oneanother. Are all of the parties present? he asked.Heads shook from around thetables. I need to identify everyone, he said, reaching for papers. The firstpetition was filed by Rex Phelan. Before the words settled, Hark Gettys wason his feet, clearing his throat. Your Honor, I'm Hark Gettys, he boomed toward the bench. And I representMr.Rex Phelan. Thank you.You may keep your seat.He went around the tables, methodically taking names of the heirs and thelawyers.All the lawyers.The reporters scribbled them as fast as the Judge.Six heirsin all, three ex-wives.Everyone was present. Twenty-two lawyers, Wycliff mumbled to himself. Do you have the will, Mr.Stafford? he asked.Josh stood, holding a different file. I do. Would you please take the witness stand?Josh made his way around the tables and past the court reporter to the witnessstand, where he raised his right hand and swore to tell the truth. You represented Troy Phelan? Wycliff asked. I did.For a number of years. Did you prepare a will for him? I prepared several [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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