“To my office. I wanted to think about everything Viola had told me. I didn’t want to go home to do that. I also had a camcorder at my office that I could use to watch the videotape. When I got there, I watched the recording in its entirety, which was only a few minutes of footage.”

“And what did it contain?”

“About what I expected. Some information relating to her brother’s murder, to her own rapes, and also information about my history with Viola.”

“Did you erase the tape at that time?”

“No. I wanted to. But I didn’t feel I had the right. I wanted to discuss it with Viola later, to be sure she understood what could happen if she gave that information to a reporter. At that point I thought Viola would have several more days, perhaps even weeks, to make another tape, one that might be less damaging to me personally but still accomplish what she wanted to with Henry Sexton.”

“She never got to make another tape, did she?”

Dad bites his lip and winces. “No.”

“But you ultimately did erase that tape?”

“Yes. After a murder charge was filed against me, I decided it would be foolish to keep something like that around.”

“How do you feel about erasing that tape now?”

“I’ve wished a thousand times that I never did it. So much pain would have been saved had I not.”

Quentin nods slowly. “How long did you stay at your office, Doctor?”

“Till about five thirty a.m.”

“Cora Revels testified that you called her about five twenty, which we now know was eighteen minutes before her sister’s death.”

“That’s true. I called her cell and asked how Viola was doing. Cora told me she’d fallen asleep at the neighbor’s house, but that she would go home to check on Viola. I asked her to call me back if there were any problems.”

“Do you recall anything else about that conversation?”

“I had a feeling that Cora was worried Viola might have ended her life, with or without my help. I think Cora knew what Viola had been planning, up to a point. But she never raised the issue with me.”

“Did Cora call you back?”

“No. I assumed that Viola was still sedated when Cora got home, so I went home and slept for about two hours, then showered and went to work as usual.”

“How did you learn Viola had died?”

“My son called me about nine a.m. and informed me. He told me that the district attorney had telephoned him and was considering charges of assisted suicide.”

“How did you feel about that?”

“I was stunned to hear that Viola had died, and more shocked that I hadn’t been called about it.”

“Did you know the cause of death at that point?”