“No. Because they never tell me a damn thing, yet they expect me to give them everything I’ve spent my life uncovering. I’m doing their jobs for them, and—by God, it’s just not right.”

Sherry stared into her coffee cup for a while, then laid a hand on his forearm and squeezed it softly. “What if you get hurt because of that stubbornness of yours? That’s not right, either. I love you, and I need you.”

Henry acknowledged her concern with a nod, but he knew he wouldn’t change his mind. “That’s a risk I’ve taken from the beginning. It’s just something I’ve got to do.”

“What if Jamie gets hurt, Henry? What then? These men you write about have used bombs. They’ve shot blindly into houses. I remember that stuff from when I was a little girl.”

They’ve done a lot worse than that, he thought. “I don’t think that’s going to happen, Sher. But even if I gave everything to the FBI, they wouldn’t send us a protective detail tonight. That’s not how they work.”

“So it’s you against the world?”

“No. I have Penn Cage helping me now.”

She made a sour face. “Oh, Penn Cage. What can he do?”

“Penn knows a lot of people. When he tried the Del Payton case, he fought the director of the FBI, and he won.”

Sherry lowered her voice to a whisper. “Then why does he send one old colored man to guard us when people are dying left and right? He’s rich—he can afford to get you a real bodyguard. I’m sorry, Henry, but how do you know he’s not trying to steal your story for that Caitlin Masters he lives with?”

Henry shook his head resentfully. “He’s not doing that. Penn’s just trying to help his father.”

“Who may have murdered one of his own patients, according to the reports I heard at the hospital. His own nurse!”

“You know better than that. You’re talking about Tom Cage, for God’s sake.”

Sherry laid a hand over one of his. “All I know is, they’re from the high side of the river. They’ve got money. They’re different from us, and I don’t think you can afford to—”

“I get the message,” Henry snapped, pulling his hand from beneath hers. “But I believe they’re honorable men, as honorable as any I’ve ever known, and I trust them.”

She shrugged to show how little appreciated she felt. “Well, I hope you’re right. That’s all I can say.”

“Time will tell. I need to get back to work. I’ve got some calls to make.”

Sherry huffed and went back to check on his mother.