The Quiet Game

I look at Livy, who seems to be undergoing some sort of delayed shock reaction. Then at Ray Presley, the man who engineered the murder of Del Payton and the living death of Ike Ransom… who killed Ike in the end and probably killed Ruby Flowers. Who raped the girl I loved at eighteen, dooming us to lose each other forever.

"Agreed," I say softly.

The off-duty cops are still rapping and yelling at the door. Leo crosses the study, opens it, and waves the officers in. Two uniforms step into the room, guns drawn.

"You're a little late, boys," Leo says, pointing at the body behind the desk. "He got past you."

The cops gape at the corpse on the floor. Without his John Deere cap Presley looks like a hundred-year-old man with three eyes.

"Goddamn," says one of the cops in an awed voice. "Ain't that Ray Presley?"

"I'll be damned if it ain't," says his partner. "You were right, Judge."

"It's a good thing I was ready for him," Leo says. "He got off a shot, hit me in the gristle. But I nailed him. You'd better call the chief, Billy, so we can get this mess straightened out. I've got to be in court tomorrow."

The cop called Billy starts around the desk to examine Ray more closely, but Leo says: "Why don't you use the hall phone?"

Billy stops. "Sure thing, Judge."

"When you're done talking to the chief, y'all come back and drag this piece of trash out of here for me."

Billy bites his lip. "Well… it's a crime scene, Judge. We can't move anything. You know that."

"It's more of a crime to have this bastard bleeding all over my Bokara rug."

"Um," says Billy's partner, the one who stopped Livy and me outside. "Is your daughter okay?"

"She's fine," says Leo, though Livy is standing like a statue near the door. "A little squeamish. All the blood, you know."

An absurd laugh escapes my lips. Livy is about as squeamish as a fur trapper.

After Billy and his partner leave the study, Leo walks back behind his desk and sits in his chair. "Penn," he says, using my Christian name for the first time in two decades. "I was wrong to blame you all those years for what happened to Livy. I see that now."

"That's why you went after my father?" I ask, making sure. "Because of me?"

He nods. "I was wrong to do that too. It's a hard thing to accept after all this time. I guess Livy bears the ultimate responsibility." He gives me a fatherly look. "You call your girl at the newspaper and tell her to run that apology. We'll end this thing like gentlemen, and save the town a hell of a lot of misery."

"I might do that," I say quietly. "If you were a gentleman."

His eyes narrow.

"But since you're an amoral, hypocritical, heartless bastard, I won't. Tomorrow you're going to be indicted for capital murder in the death of Del Payton."

I turn away from him and walk toward the door.

"Goodbye," I say, touching Livy's hand. "Don't think twice about Presley. You did the world a favor. I'll tell it just the way your dad wants it." I squeeze her hand, then pause and kiss her lightly on the cheek.

She says nothing at first, but as I move away she says, "Penn, I can't let you take that file."

"What?" Leo says, his voice instantly alive with suspicion. "What file?"

"I showed him your safe. I was angry. Penn, please give me the envelope. I can't help you destroy my father. Not like that. Not after all that's happened."

I reach for the doorknob, wondering how far she'll go to stop me.

"She won't shoot you, Cage. But I will."

I don't know if he'd shoot me in the back or not. But I have a daughter waiting for me at home. And I will not bet our future on the honor of Leonidas Marston.

Turning to face him, I untuck my shirt, slip the Hoover file out of my pants, and toss it toward him. There's a flutter of papers as the letters scatter across the desk and floor. I start to leave, but then I bend down and lift the fallen wine bottle from the Bokara. It survived the impact with Presley's skull, though most of the wine has spilled out. Glancing back at Livy, I invert the bottle and pour the remaining wine onto the desk, splashing the red fluid across Hoover's personal missives to Leo.

"Pretend it's our lost bottle," I tell her. "You two were made for each other."

I reach for the brass knob, open the door, and walk out into the hall. The last thing I hear is Leo's voice floating after me:

"See you in court."

CHAPTER 39

An hour before jury selection in the slander trial of Penn Cage, the police blocked motor-vehicle access to the streets surrounding the Natchez courthouse. The television vans had already been let through, at least eight, despite the fact that only crews from CNN and the black-owned Jackson station would be allowed inside the courtroom.