Patricia Cornwell sues former financial management firm over missing millions Lawyers for Anchin and Snapper deny Cornwell's claims. During opening statements at the trial, attorney James Campbell described Cornwell as "a demanding client" who "tends to push off responsibility and assign blame when things go off track." "I do what I do when and how I do it," she allegedly wrote in an email to Snapper read by Campbell to the jury. Anchin and Snapper claim there is no money missing from Cornwell's accounts, that any investment losses were caused by the financial and housing crisis at the time, and that the fees they charged her were reasonable for the services they provided, including everything from business management to bringing Cornwell's clothes to the tailor to arranging care for her mother. Where did the money go? Ms. Cornwell and Dr. Gruber spent the money," Campbell said. You have to consider the large lifestyles involved, the spending habits, impulsive buying. Cornwell, who is expected to testify during the trial, says in the lawsuit that Anchin borrowed money in her name for real estate investment ventures without telling her. She said she also found checks written for expenses she never authorised, including a $5,000 check for a bat mitzvah gift to Snapper's daughter from Cornwell. Cornwell said one of Anchin's primary functions in 2006 was to ensure that locations were arranged where she could write without distraction while her home was undergoing reconstruction. She said Snapper leased a series of expensive apartments, including one at Trump Tower in New York, that she had to leave long before leases expired because of construction, privacy or other issues. In the lawsuit, Cornwell openly acknowledges her struggles with bipolar disorder, an illness she said has contributed to her belief that she needs other people to manage her business affairs and investments. She said Anchin was aware of her illness. "This case is, at its core, about trust," her lawyer, Joan Lukey, told the jury. There is no amount of money that is enough to properly compensate her for what Anchin, Block and Anchin did. Cornwell, a former newspaper reporter, also worked for the chief medical examiner's office in Virginia before her first novel in the Scarpetta series was published in the early 1990s. During the course of her career, she has sold more than 100 million books. The Boston trial is expected to last about a month.