Misinterpreting the pause, her grandmother said, "Saundra knows what's going on. You can tell us both."

"There isn't all that much to tell." She slipped into a chair. Veronica was instantly on her lap, staring at her mistress.

Dana briefly described the visit, but that was enough to upset Ellie Jo. "He's hiding something," she said. "Isn't it always the case, the man with the most to hide is the one who turns to G.o.d?"

"I don't think it was that way, Gram."

"Of course you don't. You've just found your long-lost father. You want to believe him."

"No," Dana said with some force. "He wasn't there for my mother, and he's never been there for me. That makes me predisposed to distrust him. But Hugh is right. He didn't know we were coming-didn't even know I existed-and his answers still made sense."

Frail hands gripping the table, Ellie Jo pushed herself to her feet. "Men are scoundrels." She turned and nearly fell.

Veronica jumped off Dana's lap.

"Gram-"

"Oprah's on," she said, releasing the edge of the table and hobbling toward the door. "You should watch her, Dana Jo. You'd learn about the lies people tell." Veronica followed her out.

Dana stared after them, before meeting Saundra's gaze. "Is she all right?"

"Touchy," Saundra said gently. "And weak. I've suggested she see her doctor, but she says she saw him for her foot and they didn't find any other problem."

"That was an emergency room visit," Dana remarked. "They didn't look at anything but her foot."

"Which begs the question of what caused the fall. It could just be age, Dana. Equilibrium goes the way of flexibility. And now that cast can't be helping any."

"About her general health-do you think there's cause for worry?"

"Yes," Saundra said. Her eyes were sad, her smile kind. "Do I think she'll admit that? No. The best you can do is to have her internist demand a visit when she returns to the orthopedist. Would that work?"

"I'll make it work."

Saundra looked down at the teacups. "And I do agree with you about your daddy. There's always the possibility that he had the story of his sister waiting, if he was trying to conceal his heritage. And it's also possible that his family found the second cousin to donate bone marrow without an extensive search. But he is a priest. I'd be p.r.o.ne to believe him."

Dana was grateful for the support. "That leaves me back at square one."

"Yes, ma'am, it does," Saundra said in a way that made Dana wonder if she knew something Dana didn't.

"I take it this isn't the first time you've had tea with Ellie Jo."

"No, ma'am. We've been doing it most every afternoon since she hurt her foot."

"What do you talk about?"

"Now, if I told you that, I'd be betraying a friend."

"Is it so private?"

"All talk between old ladies is private. Talk is one of the few things left to us as we age. We lose so much else."

"Like?"

"Energy. Strength. Health. Money. Independence."

"You're independent."

"Uh-huh. For now. Another ten years and I might just be needing someone to feed me my oatmeal, or read me my books, or make sure I don't wander out of the house and get lost."

"Exactly," Dana said, reaching across the table to take Saundra's hands. "What if Ellie Jo slides further downhill? What if distraction becomes confusion and she loses her memory? Then I'll never know the truth about Lizzie's roots."

"That's a.s.suming Ellie Jo knows the truth. Are you sure she does?"

"No." Dana sat back. "What do you think?"

Saundra was silent for a minute, her eyes troubled. Finally she said, "I think not."

Hugh called his parents' house, knowing that his mother would answer the phone, and told her what they had learned in Albany.

"A priest?" she asked, sounding delighted.

"Very Catholic," Hugh reported. "Very Caucasian."

"And you're sure?"

"He was right there in the rectory, wearing his collar and called Father Jack by the parish secretary."

"I meant are you sure about the Caucasian part? If he isn't the source of the baby's color, who is?"

"I don't know. But at least we've ruled out the father's side of Dana's family. More importantly, Dad's spent the last five years a.s.suming the man was a lowlife. Now it turns out he's a priest."

"I'm pleased for Dana. Your father will be, too. Here. Let me get him."

"No, Mom. Just give him the message."

"But this is something you should tell him yourself."

"I don't yet have the answer he wants."

"Hugh."

"Not yet, Mom."

But it was only a few minutes later that the phone rang, and when he picked up, he heard his father's furious voice. But Eaton wasn't ranting about Dana.

"What in the h.e.l.l are you doing to Stan Hutchinson?"

It took Hugh a minute to shift gears. "Drummond called you?"

"Not me," Eaton spit out. "Not first, at least. First he called my brother to say that you were hara.s.sing the senator and to remind him that there are bills pending in Congress that could directly impact the business. Then he called me, but only after Brad called to tell me you were out of control and that I needed to rein you in. Drummond was more affable, but the bottom line was the same. He said he was calling out of respect for me as a fellow member of the University Club. He wanted me to know that my son was playing with fire."

"Playing with fire? Like I'm a little boy?"

"You have no idea the kind of trouble Hutchinson can cause. The man is powerful, and he's vindictive."

"To hear him speak on the Senate floor, you'd think he's a saint."

"What he says is one thing. What he does is another. He could ruin your uncle, and he could ruin me."

"Ruin you? How?"

"Socially. He could make things uncomfortable for us, both on the Vineyard and here. And he could hurt the publicity on my book."

"You think he has the publishing world in his pocket? You give him too much credit."

"You give him too little," Eaton charged. "What are you doing, Hugh?"

"Apparently, touching a raw nerve."

"By accusing Hutch of fathering some pathetic girl's child?"

"She isn't pathetic," Hugh said firmly. "Nor is the boy. He's a sweet kid who needs help."

"Why from Hutch?"

"Because he's Hutch's son."

"Can you prove that?"

"Circ.u.mstantially. I'd need a DNA test to prove it conclusively."

"Like you proved Dana didn't have an affair? Your mother tells me that her father's family is true Irish Catholic. If Ellie Jo has no African heritage, who will you look at next? Us?"

Without answering, Hugh hung up the phone.

Chapter 20.

Hugh got to his office Friday morning half an hour ahead of Daniel Drummond. Drinking a fresh cup of coffee, he read through the latest evidence Lakey had gathered. By the time Drummond arrived, he was well into his day.

Drummond, on the other hand, looked like he had just rolled out of bed.

"Coffee?" Hugh asked politely.

The other grunted. "Only if it's strong. Cream, three sugars."

Hugh fixed it in a mug decorated with the name of the firm. He gestured Drummond to the sofa. Drummond took the single armchair instead, the one Hugh normally sat in.

In other circ.u.mstances, Hugh might have kept it casual, but if Drummond was making a statement, Hugh would, too. Folder in hand, he took the leather chair behind his desk.

"Thanks for coming, Dan. The situation is urgent."

"You keep saying that, but for whom? My client or yours?"

"Given that yours is up for reelection in two months, both."

"The senator has no serious opposition."

"That could change if certain information comes out."

"Is this extortion, then? It's early September. A frivolous charge now would garner publicity that might not be resolved until after the election."

Hugh leaned forward. "The timing has to do with an accident that happened two weeks ago. The child is four. He was playing on his front lawn when a car jumped the curb and hit him. The driver was an elderly man who had a heart attack. He was p.r.o.nounced dead at the scene. All parties were uninsured. Given a choice, the mother would never be approaching your client. She doesn't want any more to do with him than he does with her. But the injuries aren't minor."

Drummond yawned. "What are they?"

"There's a fracture to the spine between the pelvis and the rib cage. The fracture extends through the growth plates on the right side, which means the child will have asymmetric growth without future surgeries. It's a very specialized field."

Drummond drank more coffee. His voice was flat. "No hospital will deny that kind of surgery to a kid."

"Correct, but they're going to put the mother in debt for the rest of her life. She works as a waitress and falls into that no-man's-land where she earns too much to be covered but not enough to pay the bills. They're already starting to hound her for payment. The boy's about to be discharged, which means she'll have to miss work to take care of him, which means even less money coming in. Add to that the fact that the best doctor to treat his condition is in St. Louis, which means she may have to give up her job."

"This is Boston. We have the best doctors in the country right here."

"Not for this. I've checked it out. The best center for this kind of problem is at Wash U."

Drummond made a face. "Why does she need the best person? Won't the second best do?"

Hugh smiled. "For many people, yes. For a boy whose father is your client, absolutely not. Hutchinson's son deserves nothing less than the best. I'm sure Hutch would agree."

"Oh, he would. If this were his son. I'd put money on the fact that it's not."

"You'd lose. The evidence is compelling."

"What evidence?"

"I have six witnesses willing to testify that your man was at the tavern on the night in question and that he was waited on by my client. I have two witnesses, one of them a Ph.D., willing to testify that a car matching the description of your client's was later parked at the motel in question. I have receipts from the car service as well as the motel."

"So she had an affair with the chauffeur."

Hugh shook his head. "There's a surveillance tape." Lakey had done a good job. "Five years back, surveillance tapes weren't as common as they are now, but this particular motel had suffered a rash of thefts, hence the videocam. The tape's grainy, but there's no mistaking the senator."

"Do you know how easily tapes can be altered?"