Henry considered arguing further for appearance’s sake, but he didn’t have the time or the energy for a show. As long as he got out of the office with his PowerBook, he would have his own copy of the video file.

“Mr. Sexton,” Johnson said, “you’re a serious journalist, and I know you care about people. I’m going to ask you not to tell anyone about the existence of this tape. I feel pretty sure you won’t do it immediately in any case, because you write for a weekly paper and you don’t want Caitlin Masters at the Examiner getting the jump on you.”

Henry colored but said nothing.

“This case is very delicate,” Johnson continued. “I’m going to proceed with the utmost caution and deliberation. Do you understand?”

“You mean it involves the mayor’s father, and you don’t want your ass hanging out on a limb until you know you’re right.”

Shad raised his right hand and pointed at Henry. “Don’t fuck with me, Henry. I’m not a man you want for an enemy.”

Henry believed this, but he’d irritated more frightening people than Shadrach Johnson in his time. “Does the drive show an assisted suicide? Or a murder?”

Johnson turned the question back on him. “Do you know why anyone would want to murder Mrs. Turner?”

Henry swallowed hard, but he held his silence.

“Take your computer and go, Mr. Sexton. I may ask you to appear before a grand jury in the near future.”

There it was. All Henry had to do was pack his Mac into his briefcase and leave. Yet he stood rooted to the carpet, like a Cub Scout itching to confess a lie.

“What’s the matter?” Johnson asked.

“There’s something you should know,” Henry said awkwardly.

“What?”

“Members of the Double Eagle group threatened to kill Viola Turner if she ever returned to Natchez.”

Shad thought about this for a few moments. “When was this threat made?”

“Before she moved to Chicago.”

The DA looked confused. “You mean forty years ago?”

“That’s right. Mrs. Turner told me this during our second interview.”

“You’re talking about the Ku Klux Klan?”

“Not the Ku Klux Klan,” Henry said, making his annoyance plain. “The Double Eagles. They killed a lot of people, and they probably kidnapped and killed Mrs. Turner’s brother.”

Shad snorted. “Are you suggesting that some seventy-year-old men went over and killed Viola Turner at five o’clock this morning?”

“I’m just telling you what I know.”

“What was the basis of this threat?”

“I believe the Double Eagles knew—or at least believed—that Viola Turner possessed information that could have convicted them for her brother’s murder.” Henry stopped, then added, “There’s also some evidence that the Double Eagles gang-raped Viola Turner back in 1968.”

“Did Mrs. Turner tell you that?”