Resumo de The Client - John Grisham

The Client

Written in Grisham?s inimitable style, The Client, a story woven around eleven-year-old Mark Sway, provides nail biting excitement by mixing the resoluteness of a child, the resourcefulness of a lawyer, the ruthlessness of the Mafia and the relentlessness of the law enforcers.

The story begins in Memphis with Mark clandestinely smoking in the woods with his eight year old brother Ricky. Mark is street smart, intelligent and mature beyond his age.

While in the woods, Mark and Ricky witness the gruesome death of Jerome Clifford, a New Orleans lawyer, who shoots himself to death with a gun. However, before committing suicide, Jerome, in a drunken fit, discloses to Mark the reason why he has to end his life. Little does Mark know that this disclosure would change his life forever in a matter of seven days.

The awful secret that Jerome shares with Mark is that, his client Barry Muldanno, a Mafia mobster, had murdered a United States Senator, Boyd Boyette, and buried the body below Jerome?s boat, under the garage in his house. Fear of the Mob forces Jerome to end his life. Mark realizes that his life too is now in danger and decides not to reveal the secret to anyone.

Traumatized by the death, Ricky goes into shock. He is admitted in St.Peter?s hospital where Mark and his mother Dianne temporarily make their home. Sergeant Hardy of the Memphis police department interrogates Mark. He fails to extract the truth out of Mark, but keeps the pressure on.

Following the orders of Roy Foltrigg, United Sates Attorney in New Orleans, the FBI start their interrogation. Mark, relentlessly persecuted by so many people, decides to find himself a lawyer who can protect his rights. He finds one in Reggie Love. Reggie, impressed by Mark?s indomitable spirit takes up his case, for a retainer of one dollar.

Mark takes Reggie into confidence, but doesn?t disclose where the body is; she doesn?t force him to do so either. Reggie successfully protects Mark from the onslaughts of the FBI. The Memphis press distorts the facts, making Mark seem guilty of cold-blooded killing. When the Mafia learns about Mark, they decide to go after him, with instructions that the kid should be killed, if necessary. They send a goon who threatens to kill Mark and his family members, and Dianne is sacked by her company.

Overwhelmed, Mark breaks down in Reggie?s office and tells her of the threat from the Mafia. Reggie restores Dianne?s job, arranges security for Ricky and takes Mark away to her mother?s house where he spends a quiet night. Then all hell breaks loose. The Sways? trailer is set on fire by the Mob, and Foltrigg decides to force the issue since he needs to produce the body of Boyette for nailing Barry.

Mark is taken into custody based on a petition filed in the Memphis Juvenile Court alleging Mark to be a delinquent who has obstructed law. But Mark is fortunate in having a Judge, Harry Roosevelt, who is sympathetic towards him during the hearing.

However, when Mark refuses to talk about Boyette and Muldanno on account of compromising the safety of himself and his family members, the Judge is forced to send Mark back to the detention center.

Foltrigg now decides to subpoena Mark to face the grand jury at the New Orleans Court where Mark has to tell the truth, or be imprisoned. The subpoena is served on Mark, Dianne and Reggie in such a devious manner that neither Reggie nor the Judge could have thwarted it.

Bereft of all help in this battle, Mark fakes illness and escapes from detention. Reggie and Mark, now on the run, drive down to New Orleans to check whether the body is really where Jerome had said it was. They hope that if the body isn?t there, the Mafia, realizing that Mark had had no knowledge of the murder, will stop hounding Mark and his family. If the body is there, Reggie will let the authorities know about it, but make sure that Mark and his family get witness protection..

When Mark and Reggie arrive at Jerome?s garage, they find the Mafia busy digging the body out from under the boat. Mark?s presence of mind and courage prevents the Mafia from removing the body, forcing them to scoot for the time being.

Reggie hides Mark in a motel and calls the Feds. She offers a deal that she will reveal where the body is only after the FBI gives Mark and his family witness protection. Once the deal is struck, Reggie allows the cops to meet Mark, whom they now look upon with admiration for what he had achieved single- handedly. Ricky and Dianne are removed from the hospital before the Mafia can reach them and taken to New Orleans where they join Mark. Relief floods Mark?s heart; his ordeal is finally over.

Mark who has all along been forced to be such an ?adult? turns into the little boy that he actually is; when he realizes that Reggie will no longer be with him he sobs openly, as little boys do. Reggie is also moved to tears, because in these seven days she has come to love mark dearly.

The aircraft takes off carrying Mark and his family away to safety; Reggie turns to the Feds and tells them at last where the dead body is.

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