“Money, that was the big question, particularly how it compared to his other offers. If it isn’t enough, thought Mitch, then it was nice to meet you fellas. If the pay is attractive, then we can discuss families and marriages and football and churches.”

Mitch is able to pick and choose from job offers in the last few months of law school, and the driving force in making that decision is the benefits that he and his wife will enjoy from the firm they choose. Mitch’s attitude toward choosing a job is expressed by his impatience with the partners at Bendini, Lambert & Locke.

“’Two members of the firm, Marty Kozinski and Joe Hodge, were killed today. We were very close to them.”

On Mitch and Abby’s arrival in Memphis, they learn of the deaths of two of the firm’s associates. This event is the first red flag that Mitch takes seriously, and it leads to actions that will reveal the danger the firm poses for Mitch and Abby.

“Mitch nodded and knew for certain he had never been within a hundred yards of Nathan Locke. He would have remembered. It was the eyes, the cold black eyes with layers of black wrinkles around them. Great eyes. Unforgettable eyes. His hair was white and thin on top with thickets around the ears, and the whiteness contrasted sharply with the rest of his face. When he spoke, the eyes narrowed and the black pupils glowed fiercely. Sinister eyes. Knowing eyes.”

The first time Mitch meets Nathan Locke, one of the named partners of the firm, he is unsettled by his eyes. Mitch finds Nathan cold and sinister. Later in the novel, Mitch learns that Nathan grew up on the streets of Chicago where he was a member of the Morolto family, underscoring the darkness Mitch feels in him.