“Sandy’s a neighbor of Glenn’s sister,” Sonny said. “She lives at the head of the gravel road that runs over to Wilma’s place. She’s Duke Williams’s widow. Reliable.”

“And Wilma wasn’t at the house,” Snake repeated. “Glenn sent her on an errand so he could meet Sexton without her there.”

“That’s pure supposition,” Billy observed.

“Huh?”

“For all you know, Henry was staking out that road on his own hook, and when he saw the sister leave, he ambushed poor old Glenn.”

“You’ve got a point,” Sonny admitted.

“Bullshit,” Snake hissed. “Henry’s never spoke a word to Glenn in his life before today, far as I know. And he’s had a thousand chances. I’ll lay you a hundred to one Glenn called him. And if Glenn spills what he knows, you can kiss all this good-bye.” Snake waved his arms around to take in their opulent surroundings. “Jimmy Buffett won’t be out on the deck playing ‘Margaritaville’ while you rub some LSU cheerleader’s ass. You’ll be sweatin’ in your bunk under a big buck nigger in Angola.”

Billy took a deep breath and tried to rein in his temper. Opening his desk drawer, he took out a tin of Copenhagen and stuffed a pinch under his bottom lip. The two old men watched as he let the glass-infused snuff abrade his lip and release calming nicotine into his blood. “And you’re so sure that you’re willing to kill your childhood buddy without giving him a chance to tell his side?”

“Oh, I’ll give him a chance,” Snake said. “Just before I slice his cods off.”

“Why would Glenn betray you guys after all these years? He did some killing himself, didn’t he?”

“Damn straight,” said Snake. “Worse than that.”

Billy knew Snake’s taste for sadism all too well; he didn’t want any details.

“Glenn drowned an FBI informant in acid,” Sonny said. “Out at the Triton plant.”

Billy shook his head in amazement. “And you really think he would admit that to a reporter?”

Snake cut his eyes at Sonny, and Billy saw some meaning pass between the two older men. Then Snake said, “When a man starts feeling death’s cold breath on the back of his neck, that sets him thinking. The sins he’s been carryin’ suddenly seem to weigh twice as much as before.”

“You speaking from experience?” Billy asked skeptically.

“Kiss my ass, boy. It takes some intestinal fortitude to walk tall all the way to the grave. And Glenn was always short in that department. If Frank was there to give orders, Glenn would beat his way through a brick wall with nothing but his fists. But leave him alone, you was liable to find him huddled in the corner crying about the dark. He’s like a big baby.”

“Sonny?” Billy prompted.