“I stuck by my sister. I told Junius that Lincoln had been fathered by a black man in that one-night stand. And Lincoln was always pretty dark-skinned, so Junius couldn’t be sure. Vee was terrified of what he might do to Lincoln if he really thought he’d been tricked into raising a boy with Klan blood in him . . . Junius couldn’t abide that.” There’s a pause, then Cora says: “I wish now that I’d just told Junius the truth about Dr. Cage right off, because what he told Lincoln in the end caused him terrible pain. But Lincoln can tell you about that better than I can.”

“And he will,” Shad promises the jury. “But before you step down, tell us this, if you will. Why would Viola fall back on the Klan rape rather than admit Lincoln had been fathered by a reputable white doctor? Did she do that only to protect Tom Cage?”

“For God’s sake,” I mutter. Any prelaw student would know to object at this point. Cora Revels cannot read minds and consequently cannot testify to what her sister might have been thinking when she made any given decision. But the hissing silence of the cell connection tells me that Quentin Avery is sitting as mute and motionless as an Easter Island statue.

“I’ve thought about that a lot,” Cora says. “Maybe you got to be a woman to understand this, but . . . as bad as that rape story was, one thing would have torn up Junius Jelks even more than that.”

“What’s that, Miss Cora?”

“Knowing there was a white man somewhere that Viola had loved in a way she could never love him. And if Viola had said Dr. Cage’s name out loud just once, Junius would have seen the truth in her eyes. He was quick that way. So she buried it down deep, deep as she could, and told a terrible lie that was partway true.”

Several seconds of silence follow this. Then Shad speaks in a mournful tone. “That’s a hard story to listen to, Miss Cora. You look worn out. I’m going to let you go in just a minute. But first tell us this. Did Junius Jelks never hear that rape rumor himself?”

“No, sir. He never spent much time in Natchez.”

“Lots of black folks moved up to Chicago from here during those years.”

“Yes, but they didn’t want to tell such a terrible tale on Vee, and nobody knew for sure it had happened. The Klan might have spread that tale just to get Jimmy, which they did. No black folks wanted to help the Klan spread lies.”

“Except maybe the person who sent Mr. Jelks the Killed in Action notice of James Turner?”

“Yes, sir. Could be.”