This time when the back door opens, the courtroom doesn’t fill with federal marshals but with FBI agents. I can tell from their suits. Kaiser gets up from a seat about halfway back in the gallery and confers with the lead agent, then four men surround and escort Will Devine into the courtroom. Contrary to how he’s looked when I’ve seen him—brandishing a shotgun in my face—Devine now appears as a mild, balding man with an oxygen mask on his face. One of the FBI agents rolls a trolley behind him with a green metal tank on it. But what draws the eyes of everyone in the courtroom is the bulletproof vest Devine is wearing.

“Quentin?” I murmur, turning and searching the court for Devine’s family. I see no sign of Deke, Nita, or Will Junior.

“He’s having some health issues,” Quentin says. “But he’s here.”

“Where’s his family?”

“Already in protective custody. Now sit down and pray that we’re lucky.”

A Double Eagle is about to testify in court. I guess fifty thousand dollars buys more than I thought it did. “Lucky how?”

“That he’ll testify against Snake Knox. Thinking about it is one thing. Doing it is another. Now, go sit down.”

As I crab-walk back to my seat, an FBI agent commandeers a seat next to an older man who looks like he might be one of the more obscure Double Eagles. The young man being displaced argues in a muted voice, but the agent makes it clear that the guy is leaving his chair, one way or another. The old man beside the agent watches this like an airline passenger watching a stranger being thrown off a plane.

“Who the hell is the guy with the oxygen mask?” Rusty whispers. “Jesse James’s long-lost grandson?”

“Close. He’s a Double Eagle. One of the first bunch.”

Rusty suddenly realizes that I must have had something to do with this. “Jesus, Penn. Quentin’s about to make history.”

“Let’s just hope he gets Dad off. I’ll settle for that.”

“Look at this shit, buddy.”

Four very tense FBI agents have taken up stations along the walls of the courtroom, one at the back door, and another beside the witness stand. Their weapons aren’t showing, but no one has any doubt that they’re armed.

Glancing up and behind me to the balcony, I see Serenity leaning forward, against the rail. When she sees me looking up at her, she makes a fist and gives it a subtle pump of triumph.

As I turn back toward the bar, Quentin rolls up to the lectern and says, “Mr. Devine, are you able to remove your mask for a few minutes?”

Devine looks reluctant, but after taking two deep breaths, he slides the clear mask to one side.

“Thank you, sir. I’ll try to be brief.”

Devine blinks his watery blue eyes but says nothing.