“Well . . . the day Mama died, Vee and me was settin’ with her body, and Vee just started talking. About things, you know. The future, what was gonna happen to the family, like that. And she told me then that Dr. Tom Cage was Lincoln’s true father.”

A low murmur swells, like hornets waking in the ground.

“How did you feel about that?”

“Oh, believed it the second I heard it. I was shocked, because I’d never suspected they were going together at the time. But I knew she was telling the truth. I knew she’d loved and admired Dr. Cage. I just didn’t think they would ever have crossed that line. Neither of them.”

“Did your sister tell you anything else that day?”

“She begged me not to tell her husband about Dr. Tom.”

“You mean Junius Jelks?”

“Yes, sir. Junius had a bad temper, and he was drinking pretty heavy at that time. He’d been in and out of prison, so he could be a hard man. Sweet, sometimes, but I knew why Vee was scared.”

“Do you think Viola was afraid that Junius Jelks would hurt Lincoln, who was a full-grown man by then?”

“Not physically. But he might say something to hurt him. Junius knew just how to hurt people with words. No, I think Vee was more afraid that Junius—or even Lincoln, if he found out about his real father—would do something to mess up Dr. Cage’s life back here. That was the last thing Viola wanted. She knew she’d sinned, having that affair. And even though Dr. Cage was the one married, Viola felt the guilt for it. She couldn’t have lived with destroying a family.”

“I see. Well, on that day your mother died, did Viola also tell you whether or not Dr. Cage knew he was Lincoln’s father?”

All this is patent hearsay, of course—not even admissible under exceptions—but without Quentin objecting, Cora’s story seems to carry the weight of a deathbed confession. After a seemingly endless pause, Shad says, “Miss Cora?”

“Yes, sir. On that day, Viola told me that Dr. Cage had been sending her money every month since she left Natchez.”

“Are you saying that Tom Cage had been sending your sister money for twenty-eight years?” Shad asks as though astounded.

“Yes, sir.”