tiful children. Like all the Colleton County Lees, his
hair is prematurely white which goes very nicely with his
piercing blue eyes and fair skin.
After firmly reminding myself that I was a married
woman now (“
pragmatist said tartly), I put aside those memories of
past regrets and concentrated on his testimony as to the
financial holdings of Harris Farms.
In front of me was a thick sheaf of records that de-
60
HARD ROW
tailed the checks deposited and the withdrawals made
from the three accounts that the bank handled.
In clear, direct testimony, Dent explained for the rec-
ord precisely how these statements had been generated,
the technology used, the validity and accuracy of the
data. This was not the first time he had come to court
with such testimony and I was no more inclined to dis-
trust his expertise than was my cousin Reid.
The Harrises may have started with a single thirty-
acre farm here in the county, but their tomatoes now
grew in huge fields that sprawled from Cotton Grove
to the other side of New Bern. Yet, despite the amount
of money trundling in and out of their accounts, the
Harrises ran what was still basically a mom-and-pop or-
ganization. Yes, there was a layer of accountants and
clerks to track expenses and taxes; overseers who di-
rected the planting, cultivation, and harvesting out on
the land; mechanics who kept the equipment in good
repair; managers who kept the migrant camps up to fed-
eral standards; and marketing personnel, too, but Harris
Farms was a limited liability company, which meant that
the Harrises owned all the “shares.” Mr. Harris was said
to be a hands-on farmer who still got on a tractor oc-
casionally or rode out to the fields himself.
The gross take from fresh produce they’d sold to the
grocery chain was astonishing, but my eyes really widened
when I saw the size of the check from a major cannery
for the bulk of last year’s tomato crop. Maybe Haywood
was right. Maybe my brothers could do with garden peas
what the Harrises had done with tomatoes.
“Thank you, Mr. Lee,” Pete Taylor said when the
banker finished speaking.
61
MARGARET MARON
“No questions,” said Reid.
Next came testimony from their chief accountant,
then Reid asked for a recess to see if he could contact
his client.
