Ninety minutes ago, Henry called and informed me that Special Agent John Kaiser had dispatched a car from the FBI’s New Orleans field office to collect the bones Kirk Boisseau discovered this morning. Kaiser refused to comment on his decision to take possession of Glenn Morehouse’s corpse, but he assured Henry that he intended to take unprecedented measures to bring the surviving Double Eagles to justice. Since I initiated Kirk’s dive, I felt I could report that much to Caitlin without breaking faith with Henry. But beyond that …

“You can’t hold me to a promise I made in ignorance!” she insists.

I lean back in my chair and let her reflect on the absurdity of her statement. “I’m more worried about Shad’s plans for Dad than I am about those bones.”

“Have you figured a way to expedite that DNA test?”

“The timing of that’s basically up to Shad, I’m afraid.”

“Are you going to tell Tom your worries about Shad trying to find a way to get his bail revoked?”

“Not until I can get him away from Mom. He was going home before heading to the office.”

“So what about the dogfighting photo?” she asks, jarring me back the present. “Isn’t it time to give Shad another look at it, so he can watch his career pass before his eyes?”

“He knows what I have, and that hasn’t stopped him. I’m missing something, and that worries me. Plus, using that image is the equivalent of going nuclear. There’s no way to predict what the ultimate result might be.”

She nods as though in agreement, but I can tell her thoughts aren’t really on my father’s problems. She’s thinking about the Double Eagles, and Henry Sexton’s secret knowledge.

“Go on,” I tell her. “Get it out.”

“Penn, a weekly paper simply can’t cover a case like this. It’s a matter of inadequate staff and resources. And this story’s too important now to let—”

“This story has always been important,” I cut in. “And Henry has always treated it that way, even when no other journalist in the country gave a damn about these murders.”

That dart went deep, but Caitlin knows I’m right. Still, I can’t deny her point. She leans forward, elbows on her knees, her green eyes bright with excitement. “The Beacon is a fine vehicle for providing historical perspective, for unearthing backstory and doing patient investigation. But this is breaking news. And the Examiner can’t ignore it.”

My internal radar goes on alert. Given the risk of libel inherent in this kind of story, Caitlin must figure Henry has reams of information that he hasn’t made public. She would probably perform sexual favors for a chance to break this story nationwide. She would for me, anyway.