“Okay,” I say dully. “Thanks.”
When I set down the phone, I realize Annie is scared to death.
“What happened, Daddy? Your face looks white.”
I sit beside her on the sofa and put my arm around her. “Somebody I work with just got hurt. Don’t be afraid. He’s all right. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“Who was it?”
“A reporter. You’ve never met him, but he’s a really good man.” Despite my reassurances, the realization that somebody tried to kill Henry tonight has shaken me to the core. I hug Annie, then stand so that she won’t feel my anxiety. “I’m going to have to make some calls, Boo. Maybe you should go in the kitchen and fix that ice cream.”
Annie stays put. “You said you didn’t want ice cream.”
“I said I didn’t need it. I’ll eat some when I’m done with my calls.”
“I’d rather stay here. I’ll just keep doing my homework.”
Sure you will. “Okay. But don’t let this stuff upset you.”
As I dial my parents’ house, Annie nods and puts on a brave face, but she’s faking. Ever since my wife’s death, my daughter has been unable to witness me losing any degree of control without freaking out. In the first months after Sarah’s death, Annie literally couldn’t leave my side. She had to be touching me, even in sleep, or she would experience night terrors. The road from that place to where we are now has been a long one, and Caitlin—along with the move back to Natchez and proximity to my parents—did much to bring us down it. Sudden crises like this one sometimes trigger severe anxiety in Annie, but unless I’m going to wait for my mother to drive over here, my choices are to keep her with me or banish her into a separate room, where she’ll feel even more anxious.
“Hello?” says my mother. “Penn?”
“Mom, is everything okay there?”
“Yes, I think so. Your father’s sleeping. Today was just too much for him, I think.”
“Is the cop still outside?”
“Yes, I’ve seen him several times, walking around the house.”
“I’m going to have Chief Logan send a squad car over to stand guard.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“Yes. Henry Sexton was just stabbed and beaten.”
“Oh my God.”
“You and Dad stay inside. Don’t go out for any reason. I’ll call back in a while. I need to talk to Dad before tomorrow.”
“All right. But—”
She tries to go on, but I beg off and call Chief Logan, who’s just heard of the attack on Henry. He’s happy to send a squad car to my parents’ house, and says he’s sending one to mine as well. I thank him and hang up, then glance at Annie, who’s pretending to work. A protective instinct of almost frightening intensity swells within me as I watch her, but I force my fingers to text Caitlin at the newspaper.
Henry Sexton just assaulted outside the Beacon. In bad shape. In Mercy Hospital ER. Nothing u can do there for now. My home line will be busy. Perps stole some of Henry’s files. Come here if u need to talk. Sorry.
As soon as the “Message Sent” confirmation appears, I call Drew Elliott, a local internist and one of my father’s younger partners. I dial his cell phone to circumvent the answering machine that, along with his wife, screens his home calls.
“Hey, Penn. Been a while. Tom okay?”
“I think so. Do you have privileges at the Ferriday hospital?”
“I do, actually. Why?”
“A good friend of mine was just stabbed and beaten. He’s over there in the ER. I just told Sheriff Walker Dennis you were his doctor.”
“You what?”
“Dad treated him when he was a boy, but now he doesn’t have a doctor. But he needs help, and I’m asking you to see him, as a favor to me.”
“He’s in the Ferriday ER, you say?”
“Yeah. It’s Henry Sexton, the reporter.”
Drew takes a few seconds with this. “The guy who writes those stories about the KKK?”
“Yep.”
Drew grunts like a man getting to his feet. “Okay, I’m on my way. I’ll give you a call as soon as I’ve assessed him.”
“Thanks. Do whatever you think is necessary. I don’t know if he has insurance, but I’ll cover any costs he can’t pay.”
“I hear you. Let me get going.”
“Just a second, Drew. How did Dad seem to you at the clinic today?”
I hear Drew breathing as he walks. “Same as ever, I guess, considering. I didn’t see that much of him. I rarely do, unless I make a point to walk down to his end of the office for a consult. That murder mess isn’t really going to trial, is it?”
“I hope not, but it could. I’ll tell you about that another time.”
“Okay. I’ll let you know how Henry is.”
Before I have time to second-guess myself, I hang up and call Information for the number of the New Orleans field office of the FBI. Using the automatic connect option, I watch Annie as I await the first ring. She’s still watching me so intently that I wonder if she’s blinked even once.
“FBI,” says a female voice. “New Orleans Field Office.”
“I’m trying to reach Special Agent John Kaiser. The situation is urgent. My name is Penn Cage.”
“Agent Kaiser is not in the building, sir.”
“Can you get him a message? This could be life or death.”
“What was your name again?”
“Penn Cage. I’m the mayor of Natchez, Mississippi. Three men just tried to kill one of Agent Kaiser’s confidential informants. Please take my telephone number.”
After she does, I decide to make sure my message gets through. “Tell Agent Kaiser I’m the Mississippi lawyer who forced the resignation of Director John Portman in 1998.”
I’m pretty sure I hear a gulp at the other end of the line.
“Do you have that?”
“Yes, sir.”
As soon as I hang up, I rise and start pacing, trying to think of the most efficient moves I can make while I wait for Kaiser’s callback, which could take hours.
“Life or death?” Annie echoes. “Is your friend going to die?”
“I hope not, Boo. But he’s hurt pretty bad.”