“Thank you.” Decker opened one of the brass doors and shut it softly. The teacup in his hand gave him the perfect excuse. Quickly, he walked down the hallway, passing the entertainment/piano room and then the living room, on to the other side of the house, where his journey ended with another pair of brass double doors. Decker rang the buzzer and a moment later he was allowed to walk into a cavernous kitchen. It held black-and-white lacquer cabinetry—smooth doors without handles. There was an eight-burner Wolf range in the center with a slab of metal suspended from the ceiling to act as an exhaust vent/hood. Even in the off position, the range emitted a sizeable amount of heat. The countertops were fashioned from jet-black granite and were completely empty—devoid of any appliance, breadbox, canisters for flour or sugar, flowers, knickknacks, cookbooks, or anything a human being might use in the process of cooking—except for a block of steel-handled knives. About as homey as the county morgue.

George stood in front of a stainless-steel sink, rinsing out the teapot. Slowly, his bent, arthritic hands turned the china over and over. He spoke with his eyes on the water. “He wasn’t all bad.”

“I’m sure he wasn’t,” Decker said. “There’s always other sides.”

“He had it tough. A tough father, a bad mother. He had it tough, Darrell did.”

“How long have you been working for Mr. Holt?”

“Sixty years.”

Philip Holt looked to be in his early fifties. Decker said, “You worked for Mr. Holt’s father, then?”

“Yes, sir. Ezekial Holt. A smart man, Mr. Holt was. And a good man, but he had his problems. He spoiled that boy rotten. Both him and his mama—Inez. They spoiled that boy.”

“Spoiled Darrell?”

“No, spoiled Philip. When Philip married that woman, Inez was tore up from limb to limb. She could tell that that woman was no good from day one. But Philip wouldn’t listen to his mama. Philip…he just saw what he wanted to see.”

“Did Philip have words with his parents about the woman…what was her name?”

“Dorothy. Everyone called her Dolly Sue.”

“What happened after Philip married Dolly Sue?”

“He had words with both his mama and his papa. Both were against the marriage. The woman was bad from day one.”

“Promiscuous,” Decker said.

“She liked all the boys—and had them, too. Her with her pretty blue eyes and corn silk hair. Acting all flirty. Talking with that Southern talk. Philip couldn’t help himself.”

Blue eyes, blond hair, Southern talk. Decker said, “She was white.”