The Pelican Brief

Later that night, Grantham leaves Darby’s hotel room to check on Cleve. He is already thinking about joining Darby in her escape out of the country, but knows that he does not have enough money to last abroad for long. Plus, she has not invited him to join her. Cleve brings Sarge’s warning that people working at the White House mention Grantham very often—Grantham could be in danger. After a nap, Grantham gets a call from Morgan’s widow, who reveals that Morgan bought a large life insurance policy shortly before his death. The widow has found a key to a lockbox in her husband’s desk. Grantham goes to collect the key from her.

Edwin Sneller gets backup and searches for Grantham and Darby. He feels as though the search is hopeless, but orders his men to surveil the newspaper office in case Grantham returns.

Darby and Grantham drive through busy traffic to the bank where Morgan had a secret lockbox. Pretending to be Beverly Morgan, Darby enters the bank with the key while Grantham waits outside. Darby buries her nerves and passes the security checks. In the vault, she collects the box and takes it into a small private room. Inside, she finds an envelope and a video tape. She takes both and rushes out of the bank to the car. As Grantham drives away, Darby reads the contents of the envelope: an affidavit in which Curtis Morgan details everything he knows about Mattiece, the lawsuit, the strange billings processes, and a memo he found in his boss’s office analyzing which Supreme Court Justices pose the biggest threat to Mattiece’s case. Morgan knew that he was being followed, especially after Rosenberg and Jensen were killed. Grantham and Darby rush back to the newspaper office to watch the tape, passing by the entrance where a man with a gun carefully watches them.

Darby, Grantham, the editorial team, and the in-house lawyer watch the tape in the newspaper office. On the screen, Morgan acknowledges that if anyone is watching the tape, then he is “probably dead” (352). He reads the affidavit and then expands on a few details, naming people who might have known about the lawsuit. Morgan hopes that whoever views his tape will use it to “nail Mattiece and his sleazy lawyers” (354). Everyone agrees to publish the story, so Grantham writes in the conference room while Darby assists him. During a break, she glimpses out of the window and notices that a man has been staring at the entrance to the newspaper building for more than an hour. She decides to keep an eye on the suspicious man and turns back to the writing process.

As the editors work on the story for hours, Darby watches the man through the window. When he is joined by Stump, the man who chased Darby through New Orleans, Darby feels less safe. The others adjust the story and plan their approach to the White House, the FBI, and the law firm for comment. When Darby tells Grantham what she has seen outside, he calls for security. The story edges closer to publication, so Grantham calls the FBI for comment. He speaks to Voyles, who offers to come to the office to provide context for the story. In the meantime, Grantham calls the White House and speaks directly to Coal. Coal “emphatically denies” (366) Grantham’s accusations that the President ordered the FBI to drop the pelican brief investigation.

Voyles arrives in the newspaper office, struggling to appear humble as he reads Grantham’s article. Grantham calls the law firm. The lawyers threaten to sue the newspaper but, as Grantham reveals the scope of his story, the lawyers fall silent. After the call, Voyles enters the room. Darby sees no sign of the suspicious men out the window. Voyles outlines his official comments, confirming many elements of the FBI’s investigations into the pelican brief and the death of Verheek. The FBI now hopes to arrest Mattiece, but can’t locate him. Speaking off the record, Voyles also confirms that the President told the FBI to drop the investigation into the pelican brief. Voyles has an audio tape of their conversation, but he will only release it if “the President first denies this” (372). If this happens, Voyles will also issue a grand jury subpoena against Coal.

Voyles asks to talk alone with Darby. She agrees but asks Grantham to stay. Voyles asks about Verheek and reveals that his killer was likely Khamel, who was then killed by a “contract operative hired independently by the CIA” (376) who has since contacted Darby. Some of the men who have been following Darby have been ordered to protect her, rather than harm her. The CIA already knew about Mattiece, so they were able to move quicker than the FBI. Darby appreciates these answers, but finds herself with more questions. She would rather just leave, as she is tired of everything. She asks about the suspicious men outside the building; Voyles does not think they are CIA and offers Darby his help in getting out of the country on the proviso that he be allowed to contact her through Grantham in case of an emergency. Darby agrees. As the story inches closer to publication, the editors reveal that the President called the owner of the newspaper, begging for the story to be killed. The owner declined. Likewise, the law firm tried and failed to file an injunction against the newspaper. The newspaper publishes the story.

Darby and Grantham leave Washington on Voyles’s jet. Once they are in the air, they discuss Voyles as Darby lays her feet across Grantham’s lap. She thinks about Callahan and her growing affection for Grantham. Grantham wonders what will happen when the entire country reads his story; he plans to watch it break on TV with the editorial team. The story will make Grantham famous. Darby tells the pilot to head to the Atlanta airport, where she plans to get lost in the crowd and catch a flight somewhere unknown. Wherever she ends up, she will contact Grantham.

The law firm plans their response. The guiltiest of them linger in an office drinking whisky. They have heard that Mattiece is acting strangely in a hotel room and refuses to talk to them, and that he has called off the team following Darby. The lawyers’ “screaming ended hours ago” (386); now, they are all quietly resigned to their fate. Some will flee the country, while others will retire. The rest do not know what they will do. One man commits suicide in his office.

Near midnight, Voyles arrives at Coal’s house with a copy of the newspaper containing Grantham’s story. Voyles smugly tells Coal that he will return soon to issue a subpoena. Coal takes the newspaper inside.

Grantham and the editors gather in the newspaper office. As the night turns into morning, more people join them. News channels begin to report the story. The White House officially denies taking any dirty money from Mattiece, but claims to welcome a full investigation into the matter. Grantham knows that his work has only just begun.

After eight days on sunny beaches, Darby begins to feel better. She moves from one Caribbean island to another, learning how to leave her paranoia behind as well as taking the chance to properly mourn Callahan’s death. Eventually, Grantham joins her and they begin a romantic relationship. As they stroll along the beach, he tells her that he grew sick of writing stories every day, that Coal quit to take the blame on behalf of the President, that the lawyers have been indicted, and that the President is almost certain to lose the election though unlikely to be arrested. Darby asks Grantham how long he will stay for her. They agree to “take it a month at a time” (397).