Free The Appeal by John Grisham Page A

to the men’s room. The stalls were empty. He went to the far one, raised the lid, and vomited violently.
    His ninety thousand shares of Krane common had just decreased in value from about $4.5 million to around $2.5 million, and the collapse wasn’t over. He used the stock as collateral for all his toys—the small house in the Hamptons, the Porsche Carrera, half interest in a sailboat. Not to mention overhead items suchas private school tuition and golf club memberships. Bobby was now unofficially bankrupt.
    For the first time in his career, he understood why they jumped from buildings in 1929.
    __________
    T he Paytons had planned to drive to Bowmore together, but a last-minute visit to their office by their banker changed things. Wes decided to stay behind and deal with Huffy. Mary Grace took the Taurus and drove to her hometown.
    She went to Pine Grove, then to the church, where Jeannette Baker was waiting along with Pastor Denny Ott and a crowd of other victims represented by the Payton firm. They met privately in the fellowship hall and lunched on sandwiches, one of which was eaten by Jeannette herself, a rarity. She was composed, rested, happy to be away from the courthouse and all its proceedings.
    The shock of the verdict was beginning to wear off. The possibility of money changing hands lightened the mood, and it also prompted a flood of questions. Mary Grace was careful to downplay expectations. She detailed the arduous appeals ahead for the
Baker
verdict. She was not optimistic about a settlement, or a cleanup, or even the next trial. Frankly, she and Wes did not have the funds, nor the energy, to take on Krane in another long trial, though she did not share this with the group.
    She was confident and reassuring. Her clients wereat the right place; she and Wes had certainly proved that. There would soon be many lawyers sniffing around Bowmore, looking for Krane victims, making promises, offering money perhaps. And not just local lawyers, but the national tort boys who chased cases from coast to coast and often arrived at the crash sites before the fire trucks. Trust no one, she said softly but sternly. Krane will flood the area with investigators, snitches, informants, all looking for things that might be used against you one day in court. Don’t talk to reporters, because something said in jest could sound quite different in a trial. Don’t sign anything unless it’s first reviewed by the Paytons. Don’t talk to other lawyers.
    She gave them hope. The verdict was echoing through the judicial system. Government regulators had to take note. The chemical industry could no longer ignore them. Krane’s stock was crashing at that very moment, and when the stockholders lost enough money, they would demand changes.
    When she finished, Denny Ott led them in prayer. Mary Grace hugged her clients, wished them well, promised to see them again in a few days, then walked with Ott to the front of the church for her next appointment.
    The journalist’s name was Tip Shepard. He had arrived about a month earlier, and after many attempts had gained the confidence of Pastor Ott, who then introduced him to Wes and Mary Grace. Shepard was a freelancer with impressive credentials, several books tohis credit, and a Texas twang that neutralized some of Bowmore’s distrust of the media. The Paytons had refused to talk to him during the trial, for many reasons. Now that it was over, Mary Grace would do the first interview. If it went well, there might be another.
    __________
    “ M r. Kirkhead wants his money,” Huffy was saying. He was in Wes’s office, a makeshift room with unpainted Sheetrock walls, stained concrete floor, and Army-surplus furniture.
    “I’m sure he does,” Wes shot back. He was already irritated that his banker would arrive just hours after the verdict with signs of attitude. “Tell him to get in line.”
    “We’re way past due here, Wes, come on.”
    “Is Kirkhead stupid? Does he think that the jury