The Pelican Brief

Darby explains how she came to learn about Mattiece’s involvement in the lawsuit while Grantham takes notes and records the conversation. She knows that the lawsuit will proceed through several appeals and will probably reach the Supreme Court within 3-5 years. Rosenberg and Jensen often ruled in favor of environmental issues. By removing them now, the oil companies can be certain that a Republican President will appoint Supreme Court Justices who will rule in their favor. The assassinations may cost tens of millions of dollars, but Mattiece stands to make billions. Furthermore, a series of shell companies completely hide his involvement in the suit. Darby offers Grantham a version of the pelican brief which she has rewritten from memory, in which are the names of many of Mattiece’s companies. The brief also contains a photograph of Mattiece shaking hands with the President, “grinning at each other like best friends” (239). As Darby mentions the names of law firms that may be working for Mattiece, Grantham realizes that Garcia may work for one of them. Garcia could confirm everything contained in the pelican brief, though Darby feels reticent about dragging an unwilling party into their dangerous situation. Darby is too exhausted to continue the conversation, so they agree to resume in the morning. Before she goes to bed, she asks Grantham to stay on the sofa. He agrees.

Grantham guards a door in the newspaper office, not allowing anyone inside. The executive editor and Grantham’s editor discuss Grantham’s story and grill Grantham on every detail, including the millions of dollars donated by Mattiece to the President. The story is incredible, but they need to verify the information before publication. Grantham plans to find Garcia but refuses to give the editors any information about Darby, as per the deal he made with her. They all agree that the story is huge and extremely dangerous.

A police car pulls Grantham over as he drives away from the office. Just as Grantham begins to worry, he notices that the police officer is Sarge’s son Cleve. Cleve passes along a message on Sarge’s behalf because “Sarge can’t talk anymore” (250). Grantham’s name is being mentioned often in the White House because he scares them. Grantham tells Cleve to remind his father to remain safe.

The men who surveilled Darby in New Orleans meet in Washington. They have lost track of her, but they are hearing news from sources that Mattiece is arranging to kill many people. Unfazed by the threats of violence, they discuss their plans to find Darby in New York.

Darby searches employee records at the legal firms where Garcia might work, suddenly realizing that under normal circumstances, she would be in a law class. She misses her old life, even the bits she disliked. Darby leaves the library and walks through Central Park while thinking about whether she should leave the country. She calls Grantham and confirms that she will travel to Washington to see him. He is struggling verify the pelican brief’s facts. Grantham tells Darby not to call him at home, as he is worried that someone might be listening. She is still not sure whether she trusts Grantham. As she sits in a restaurant, she spots one of the men who chased her through New Orleans. He does not spot her.

Croft spots Garcia outside a law firm’s office. He follows Garcia to a restaurant and then calls Grantham. Grantham arrives, waits for Garcia in an elevator, and decides to approach the potential source. He follows Garcia into the legal firm’s offices, bamboozles a secretary, finds Garcia’s office, and learns that the man’s real name is David M. Underwood. They are alone, so Grantham steps into the office and introduces himself. Underwood denies any knowledge of Garcia and his sincerity convinces Grantham, who leaves. Back the newspaper, Grantham curses, realizing his amateur mistake. Grantham tells Croft to keep looking for Garcia.

A barebones story about Callahan and Verheek’s murders has appeared in a New Orleans newspaper. Other newspapers will run similar stories. Grantham’s editors pressure Grantham to verify his claims so that they can run the full story themselves. They want to publish what they have to claim credit for breaking the story, while Grantham would prefer to uncover the entire conspiracy first. They demand Grantham finish as quickly as possible.

Barr reads the pelican brief in the back of a limousine while Coal watches. They agree that the President has problems if the brief is true, especially if he told Voyles to back off the investigation. Barr points out that, if people are dying, then the brief is likely correct. Coal tells Barr to try to contact Mattiece, who lives in an unknown foreign location. Coal has some ideas on how to control the damage, though doing so will destroy their relationship with Mattiece, whom they will have to portray as a “madman” (266). Coal tells Barr to convince Mattiece to stop.

Grantham speeds down a street, having prearranged for Cleve to deliberately pull him over for a clandestine conversation. The wrong police office pulls him over and gives him a ticket. Cleve arrives on the scene too late to save Grantham from the ticket but agrees to ask Sarge whether people in the White House are talking about any other reporters.

Darby moves to a new hotel, taking a complicated route designed to avoid detection. She watches for her pursuers, whom she has nicknamed Stump and Thin Man. She exits her train and takes a cab to the airport.

The President and Coal meet with Attorney General Richard Horton, who advises that they begin investigating the pelican brief at once. Coal and the President worry about any news leaking to the public and damaging the President’s reelection campaign. Despite Horton’s better judgment, he agrees to delay any investigation by a week. Coal also reveals a plan to nominate environmentalists as replacement Justices to protect the President against the pelican brief’s allegations.

The newspaper team speculates how to describe Mattiece’s involvement in the assassinations without miring themselves in legal trouble, though Grantham asks for more time to verify every detail of his story. Darby contacts Grantham after arriving in Washington. She gives Grantham a complicated set of instructions on how to meet her at a restaurant without being followed. Over dinner, they make small talk and try to relax, but Darby’s eyes dart around the room. Darby talks about other strange deaths tied to the pelican brief.

The next morning, Grantham checks rival newspapers for any sign that they have beaten him to the Mattiece story. They have not. He meets with his editor to discuss how to find Garcia. If they cannot, they will go find Mattiece’s other lawyers. Darby has asked not to be mentioned in the story because she will flee the country for her safety. When Grantham returns to his hotel room, he becomes convinced that someone else has been inside. He runs out to find Darby, who is researching in a local law library before returning to her hotel.

Barr travels to meet Mattiece. He calls Coal partway through his complicated, secretive journey. Barr admits that his team has lost track of Grantham. He suspects that Mattiece might kill Grantham.

Grantham finds Darby and tells her that his hotel room may have been compromised. She blames him for the lapse in security. The next day, they search for Garcia by talking to students who may have clerked at the law firms. They show the students the photograph of Garcia, but no one recognizes the unknown lawyer. After lunch, Grantham discovers that one of the students contacted the law firm—a student dropout now at a rehab clinic. Darby sneaks into the clinic while Grantham distracts the receptionist. She finds the patient, who tells her that Garcia’s real name is something like "Charles Morgan" and that he works in the oil and gas department. Darby is caught on the way out, but the young patient lies on her behalf and helps her escape. Checking their notes, Grantham and Darby find that a Curtis Morgan matches the description. As they speed away from the clinic, they are followed.