“Must be. I don’t know how Kaiser swung that, but he’s clearly jumping on this case in a big way. Let’s see how fast he moves on the bones.”

The reporter nods thoughtfully. “Can I mention your name when I call him?”

“You can tell him I’m involved, but for now you should stay point man with the Bureau. I’ll check out Kaiser as soon as I can.”

Anxiety clouds Henry’s eyes again. “What was all that about the meth stuff? Asking Dennis to bust the Knoxes? I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Just a test. I wanted to see how much pushback I’d get.”

“And?”

“Don’t know yet. Walker’s one of those country boys who’s hard to read.”

Henry looks like he’s about to crawl out of skin from excitement. “I hate to ask, but did you speak to your father last night? About the photo with Brody Royal, all that?”

“I did, but there were no great revelations. Dr. Robb shot that photo on a deep-sea fishing trip off Biloxi that lasted five hours. My father hated Royal. He did overhear some drunk talk about the JFK assassination, but let’s save that for another time. I keep thinking about what you said about Pooky Wilson’s friend, the one you call ‘Huggy Bear.’ You said he could put Brody Royal away for the murder of Albert Norris. Why has it been so hard to identify him?”

Henry’s eyes cloud again. “Albert opened his store in 1949. When he died, it had been open fifteen years. During that time, he employed or trained between forty and fifty young men. And that doesn’t count the musicians who hung out there for extended periods. I’ve busted my ass to track them all down, and I’ve been amazed to learn how many of them are dead. But I still haven’t managed to find him.”

“But didn’t you say he visited the deathbed of Wilson’s mother? Surely some family member remembers him?”

“Mrs. Wilson didn’t have much family. One home health nurse remembered a black man in his sixties who came for a short visit, but she didn’t hear his name, and he wasn’t there for long. He was wearing a black baseball cap. I’m thinking that might be my man.”

“Well, keep looking. The sooner we can apply pressure to Royal and the Eagles, the sooner we can make one of them give up Viola’s killer.”

Henry says nothing, but I can read his response in his eyes: Is that our main priority here?

Whatever Henry may think, it’s certainly my priority. “Keep your eyes open. Walker Dennis is no coward. If he’s scared, there’s a reason for it.”

“You, too.”