“That’s why I want you to meet him. I want your opinion. Bobby Junior is a senior at Brown, and there’s a daterape accusation against him by a girl student. She turned him in to the administration, and, when she wasn’t happy with the level of support she got, she added his name to a list of alleged date rapists on the ladies’ room wall in her dormitory. Bobby denies everything, and he seems credible. No criminal charges have been filed, yet, but if they are, and, if we feel he’s innocent, I want to go on the offensive—sue the girl for defamation, sue the university for allowing his name to remain painted on a bathroom wall, really blast them. And we’ll call in a top gun to defend him.

“On the other hand, if he’s really guilty, I’ll insist that he abjectly apologize to the girl and the administration, and try to avoid criminal proceedings and keep him in school. That would certainly be cheaper for his father, but Bob Senior is willing to do what it takes to defend the boy if he’s innocent.”

“What does the father think about the boy’s guilt or innocence?”

“Oddly, he doesn’t seem to have an opinion. I think that, what with the work it’s taken to build his business, he hasn’t spent a hell of a lot of time with the boy, and they’ve grown apart. We can’t solve that problem for them, but I hope we can give Bob Senior good advice on how to proceed.”

“I’ll be glad to meet the boy.”

“As a cop, you must have gained some insight over the years as to whether an accused man is guilty or not—I don’t mean reading the evidence, I mean reading the man.”

“I think I have. It doesn’t always work, of course. I’ve been fooled before; so has every cop.”

“I want you to question the boy, pull out all the stops, see if you can shake his story.”

“You want him cross-examined, as if I were representing the girl?”

“I want him questioned, as if he were a suspect.”

The phone on Eggers’s desk rang. “Yes? Send him in.” He hung up and turned to Stone. “Ready?”

“You be the good cop,” Stone said.

“Right.”

Bobby Keene was a large young man, whose neck was wider than the top of his head. Stone thought there had been a handsome face in that head once, before the boy had discovered weight training.

“Bobby, how are you?” Eggers said, sticking out a hand.

“I’m very well, Mr. Eggers,” Bobby said earnestly.

“Bobby, I want you to meet another lawyer who’s helping us out with your case. This is Stone Barrington; Stone’s had a lot of experience in this sort of thing, and I think he’ll be able to help us a lot.”