“I do.” Given the past enmity between Shad and me, this would normally be no surprise, but considering the leverage I have over him—

“This looks bad for your father, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. Do you intend to report this in the Beacon?”

“Not until I have a much better idea of what’s going on.”

I look at Henry from the corner of my eye. “A lot of reporters would.”

He shakes his head firmly. “Your father took care of my daddy right up to the day he died. Some days, Dr. Cage listened to Mama cry for an hour in his office. Not many doctors would do that. None, these days. I owed you this, Penn. Or him, I reckon.”

I lay my hand on his forearm and squeeze it. “Thank you, buddy.”

“What does Doc say about all this? Off the record.”

“He told me to mind my own business.”

“Huh.” Henry pooches out his lower lip. “Well … I’m sure Doc knows what he’s doing.”

“Don’t count on it. When it comes to the law, he’s about as naïve as a seventh grader. He believes the law is about justice.”

Henry shakes his head slowly. “It ought to be, but it ain’t. I’ve sure learned that these past few years.” He looks over at the door of the public library, where a heavy woman with three small children tries to herd them up the steps. “I hate to say this, Penn, but I need to go. Do you want me to drop you back where we were?”

“You don’t need Shad to see you doing that. I’ll run from here.”

Henry takes the computer from my lap and sets it on the backseat. “I appreciate it. Good luck to you.”

As I jog back toward the courthouse, Henry puts the Explorer in gear and roars past me, making for the river.

SHADRACH JOHNSON NORMALLY SITS behind his antebellum-period desk with the condescension of an Arab potentate. Today, however, his customary arrogance is tempered by a watchfulness I’ve rarely seen in him. Shad’s wary demeanor can only be explained by his awareness that I have the power to destroy his political career, and I see no reason to let him forget that during this conversation.

“Before we begin,” he says, “I want us to be clear about something.”

“What’s that?”

“We both know two months ago, you had a certain photograph in your possession. A photograph with me in it.”