Unreasonably upset, I find myself on my feet. “So that’s it? This is your cross to bear alone?”

“I’m afraid it is. I’ve got a path to walk, and there’s no turning off it. Not yet, anyway.”

“Why won’t you let me walk it with you?”

“Will you be in court tomorrow if they arrest me?”

“You know I will,” I say grudgingly.

He turns up his palms. “Then I won’t be alone, will I?”

“You’re not the only one who’s going to pay for this martyr act! Annie’s scared out of her wits, and God only knows what this is doing to Mom.”

He nods, his lips tight. “I realize the next few days may be tough. But I’ve given this a lot of thought. If the state chooses to jail me for my silence, then so be it.”

I pace away from his desk, then back, trying to put my incredulity into words. “How long can you survive in jail? A week? A month?”

Dad looks to his right, where a bust of Abraham Lincoln stands beside his window. “You know, few people remember that Lincoln offered Robert E. Lee command of a Union army when the war began. Lee wanted to hold the Union together. His family’s sympathies lay with the Union. But he was a Virginian, and in the end, he couldn’t take up arms against his home state. He tried to sit out the war, and they wouldn’t let him. He knew it would end in defeat for the South, but he fought to the limit of his abilities in spite of that. He fought with honor and brilliance, despite the wrongness of his cause.”

What is he trying to tell me? “What’s your point, Dad?”

“Fate doesn’t let men choose their wars. Or even their battles, sometimes. But one resolute man can sometimes accomplish remarkable things against overwhelming odds.”

Why is he speaking in code? Did my father commit some great evil in the past to protect our family? Or keep silent about one? Or is he doing that now?

“Dad … this afternoon, when I asked you about the videotape missing from the camera Henry left at Viola’s place, your reaction made me think you might have it. Or know where it is.”

He studies me in silence for a few seconds. “I don’t think anybody’s going to find that tape. I wouldn’t worry about it, if I were you.”

Jesus. “Has somebody threatened our family? Please tell me. Is that why you’re walking willingly into this buzz saw?”

He stares at me a long time before answering. “Not overtly, no.”

“But a threat is implicit in the situation. Look, if that’s it, we can handle this. We can protect ourselves against Royal and the Eagles. Don’t let any threat dictate your actions.”