“Chief,” Vardaman said, nodding. “Chief. Come on, now. Let’s just get to talking a little bit. This fella on the other side could upset the whole damn thing. He’s an outsider. From goddamn California. And he wants to come down to Mississippi and tell us how Mississippians need to do business. I don’t care for outsiders.”

For the first time, Chief Robbie smiled. He nodded. “My people never did,” he said. “Now we just want a seat at the table.”

“You’ll have one.”

“And we want to grow,” he said. “Beyond the Rez. Out of the goddamn Delta. Sorry, Ray.”

Ray shrugged, showing no offense was taken. He set down his scotch and waited for Vardaman to put it all in perspective.

“My people have worked out an extended gift-giving plan that would last us into election day,” Vardaman said. “I would be tickled to death if we might look over the details before our lunch.”

*   *   *

“I’ll give you a few days with Wes Taggart before his sorry ass is wanted up in Oxford for his first appearance there,” Lillie Virgil said. “What he did to Boom was plain fucked up and we want him to answer for that more than anything. But Judge Biggers might have a different feeling about those racketeering and drug running charges at Sutpen’s. That man sure can get crotchety about stuff like that.”

Quinn nodded. Smoke twirled into the scattering blades of an overhead fan as he looked up at Lillie seated atop his desk. “Can I buy you dinner at the new Chinese place on the Square? Their General Tso’s chicken isn’t half bad.”

“Appreciate it,” Lillie said. “But I promised Rose I’d pick her up at school. She’s stayed the last two nights with a friend. Hard to explain to a seven-year-old exactly what a U.S. Marshal does.”

“Before you go—’’

“No,” Lillie said. “You may not splatter the walls with Wes Taggart.”

“I can’t find a file,” Quinn said. “From back when my uncle was sheriff.”

“What are you looking for?”

Quinn nodded. “Brandon Taylor.”

“Christ Almighty,” Lillie said. “How the hell did that come up? From Maggie?”

“Maggie had questions,” Quinn said. “I looked around for the report and couldn’t find a thing. And then today a woman from New York came to see me about looking into the case.”

“I understand Maggie,” Lillie said. “I know she and the Taylor boy were friendly. But why the hell does someone from New York give two shits about some old suicide?”

“You know the Taylor family.”

“’Fraid I do.”

“They can’t let it go,” Quinn said. “And I think Shaina Taylor reached out to these people to reopen the investigation as a podcast.”

“They have anything?” Lillie said. “Other than a lot of questions from the Taylors?”