“I know how you convinced yourself you could win a case for premeditated murder. You believe Lincoln Turner is my father’s illegitimate son, by Viola.”

The line goes silent.

“If that’s your case, Shad, you’d better slow down. Because Tom Cage is not that man’s father. Dad just told me he’s willing to take a DNA test, at your pleasure. I’m sure Lincoln spun you a heartbreaking story, but there are some biographical details of which he’s blissfully unaware—the first being that his mother was gang-raped by ex–Ku Klux Klansmen just before she fled Natchez. And not once, but twice, a few days apart. Henry Sexton believes one of those men is Lincoln Turner’s father.”

“What does Henry Sexton have to do with this?”

“He’s an expert on the Double Eagle group. So, before you call a press conference making charges about my father and his 1960s love child, I’d verify my soon-to-be-disbarred client’s story. You don’t want to be charged with defamation and false arrest.”

“He’s not my client. I’m the district attorney.”

“Call it what you will. But if you arrest Dad in the morning, you’ll be stepping into serious trouble. Don’t let Lincoln Turner and Sheriff Byrd drag you into something you’ll regret.”

The phone stays silent, but I know Shad is thinking furiously. Rather than push him further, I let him stew in his anxieties awhile.

“What do you expect me to do with this?” he asks finally. “Throw out a murder case based on a phone call from the mayor?”

“It shouldn’t even be a murder case. Not against my father, anyway.”

“Penn, listen. This thing has taken on a life of its own. Lincoln’s pushing every political hot button he can in this town. You know I’ve got to deal with my own community in a case like this.”

“Your community wouldn’t even know about this if you weren’t stirring it up.”

“You’re wrong! Black deputies worked that crime scene, man. Plus, Billy Byrd’s not about to lay off without proof that Dr. Cage wasn’t involved.”

“Everybody’s pushing this thing but you, huh? I don’t buy it, Shad.”

“Your father hasn’t even tried to defend himself! What are people supposed to make of that?”

There’s no denying this problem. “I know that looks bad. But this is a complex situation.”

“Not from where I sit. You have the luxury of dealing in theories; I’m stuck with what I can prove. I’ve got your father’s fingerprints on morphine vials and a horse-sized syringe. I’ve got a suicide pact between your father and the victim, and the victim’s sister puts him at the scene just prior to death. Lincoln’s paternity angle is just the cherry on top.”