The hell of it was that Crowder had hit the target at dead center. He did want to protect Claire. Although he was angry enough to strangle her himself, he didn't want to incarcerate her. But if she was guilty, he'd have no choice. He'd have to put her in prison for the rest of her life, without benefit of suspension, probation, or parole.

"Christ."

He dug the heels of his hands into his eyesockets and propped his elbows on his desk. It was in that vanquished posture that Joshua Wilde found him moments later.

Cassidy looked up when he heard the tentative knock on his office door. Josh stood hesitantly on the threshold. "The secretary said to come on in."

"What do you want?" Cassidy snarled.

"Are you still in charge of my father's murder case?"

"That's what the Times Picayune reported this morning. Come in. But I warn you that I'm in a pissy mood, so if you're here to jack me around, do yourself a favor and leave now."

"I didn't come to jack you around."

"Sit down." The younger man took a chair across the desk from him.

Cassidy nodded toward the front of the building. "Why aren't you down there lending support?"

Ever since his return from Rosesharon, each time Cassidy entered the building, he had to push his way through picket lines declaring him incompetent. It was a vocal and hostile crowd that paraded hour after hour, singing their theme song, and brandishing contentious pickets whenever they caught sight of him.

"That's my stepmother's latest brainstorm," Josh said of the well organized protest demonstration.

"I thought she just got out of the hospital."

"She did, but she dug right in. She's not going to give you a minute's peace until you convict a killer."

"She's not the only one," Cassidy muttered to himself. "Why don't you advise her to put a stop to that nonsense outside? It's serving no real purpose."

"It's getting her on the six-o'clock news. That's what she's after."

"It's only a matter of time before it turns ugly. Some pretty mean characters have business in this building, you know. Somebody's bound to get hurt. Surely Ariel doesn't want any adverse publicity."

"She'd figure a way to swing it to her advantage."

"She didn't fare too well with her picketers at French Silk. The Laurents made you look like goons."

"The way Claire Laurent turned that situation around made Ariel mad as hell." His snickering expression turned thoughtful. "She's an interesting lady. Most people would have resorted to mudslinging. She's got class. I admire her moxie."

Yeah, Cassidy thought dismally. You gotta admire her moxie.

"Anyway, back to Ariel," Josh said. "She doesn't listen to any advice from me. In fact, she doesn't listen to anyone's advice. Once she makes up her mind to do something, she's relentless, unstoppable."

"Are we talking about your stepmother or General Patton?"

"Believe me, Cassidy, you don't know her like I do. She's gone crazy, especially ... especially since my father was killed."

Josh's eyes became shifty and skittered away from Cassidy's gaze, giving him a surge of hope. His no-fail instinct was telling him that he was on the brink of a breakthrough. It was tough to carry off, but he pretended to be unimpressed with what he'd heard so far. He raised his hand, indicating that Josh should continue.

"I'm sure you've heard about Ariel's pregnancy."

"Are congratulations in order?"

"You mean am I the father?" Josh shook his head. "She says Daddy was. That's why I'm here." Suddenly he came to his feet and began pacing along the edge of Cassidy's desk.

"Why don't you just relax and tell me what's eating you." Cassidy assumed a confidant's voice, the kind he hoped would inspire trust and give the late preacher's cowardly son courage.

"I lied to you," Josh blurted.

"About what?"

"About that night. About Ariel and me being together the whole time. The truth is ... she ... she left my suite and went back to theirs."

"When?"

"Earlier. Around midnight."

"For how long?"

"Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes."

"Did she speak to your father?"

"I don't know. Swear to God."

"Never mind God. Swear it to me."

Josh wet his lips. "I swear to you I don't know."

"Okay. Go on."

"She trumped up this excuse that she went looking for a piece of sheet music. She says Daddy was asleep. I didn't think anything of it until the following morning. She asked me not to mention that time lapse to you or to the police."

Cassidy's heart was thumping, but he knew better than to let his hopes soar on the word of a man who had already admitted to one crucial lie. This was only hearsay. It would never hold up in court. He still had no real evidence against the widow. However, this would give his investigation new focus and take the heat off Claire. After days of famine, this seemed like a bountiful harvest.

He asked, "Why'd you agree to lie about it, Josh?"

"I honestly didn't think it made any difference. Ariel was almost hysterical when she discovered his body. It was so, you know, bloody. I didn't think she could have had anything to do with the murder."

"What do you think now?"

Josh stopped pacing. Standing at the edge of Cassidy's desk, he faced him. "Now, I think she did."

Cassidy was afraid to swallow, to blink, afraid that the merest motion would shatter Joshua Wilde's fragile statement and it would disintegrate, that it would no longer be real. "What changed your mind?"

Josh was a man at war with himself. At least that's the impression he gave. He wiped his damp palms on his pants legs. "Contrary to what Ariel's saying to the media, she's unhappy about this pregnancy. In fact, she's livid over it. She plans to stage a miscarriage, which will serve a dual purpose-get rid of the baby and win more sympathizers."

Playing along, Cassidy registered shock. "She sounds like a monster."

"You don't know the half of it, Mr. Cassidy. She envisions herself a megastar, wielding influence over millions of people. You ought to hear the plans she has for the Prayer and Praise Hour. Outlandish stuff. For a start, she wants the pulpit to become a political forum for candidates who share her views on current issues. She's already extended invitations to several guest speakers. She's ambitious and shrewd, and determined not to let anything or anyone stand in her way. She's gone off the deep end, lost all touch with reality."

"Get back to the murder."

Josh resumed his seat. He linked his fingers between his knees and stared at them as he spoke. "My daddy was a tyrant. He played God over everybody, including Ariel and me. Especially Ariel and me. He teased her about her tendency to gain weight until she developed an eating disorder."

"The newspapers hinted that she'd been diagnosed bulimic, but it was never confirmed by the hospital staff in Kansas City."

"It's true. And this baby, she sees it as just another of Daddy's cruel jokes. See, it's like he's still got control over her. I think she knew she was pregnant long before that night she collapsed. I think she was furious with Daddy for forcing a child on her when she'd made it clear to him that she didn't want one. I think she killed him over it."

Cassidy decided to play devil's advocate by shooting holes in Josh's allegations, the way a defense attorney would shoot holes in a case no better corroborated than this. "It works in theory, Josh, but it's still circumstantial. Did you hear your father and Ariel arguing over this pregnancy?"

"No. I didn't know she was pregnant until the night she was rushed to the emergency room."

"Did you hear her threaten to kill your father?"

"No."

"Ever?"

"No. He wouldn't have tolerated that kind of talk."

"Does you stepmother own a gun?"

"No. At least not to my knowledge. But her brother is a convict."

Cassidy had uncovered that in his preliminary investigation. "According to prison records, Ariel hasn't had any contact with her brother for years, not even a postcard. I doubt he could have procured a weapon for her without somebody finding out."

Josh shrugged. "That was just a guess. She could have gotten a gun on the sly and disposed of it where it wouldn't be found."

"Maybe," Cassidy said noncommittally.

"Think of the wounds. A man gets a woman pregnant. She's furious with him for saddling her with an unwanted child. She shoots his balls off. Doesn't that make sense?"

Cassidy squinted one eye as though considering the viability of the hypothesis. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I have to tell you, Josh, it's shallow."

"I thought you'd be more excited," he said morosely.

"When she left your suite that night, was Ariel wearing shoes?"

"Shoes? No. She was barefoot, I think. She had taken off her shoes when we made love. I don't think she put them back on. Why?"

"We're still checking on some carpet fibers found in your father's bedroom." He paused for a moment. "Did either you or Ariel rent a car while you were here?"

"I did. I like having my own transportation."

"You drove around New Orleans?"

"Plenty. Every day. I rented a convertible and enjoyed driving with the top down."

That information could easily be checked out. "Did Ariel ever accompany you on these drives?"

"Once, I think. Twice maybe. Why?"

"Are you still sleeping with her?"

"No. Not for weeks now."

"What happened?"

Josh glanced up at him, then away. "I don't know. She got so carried away with being the leader of the ministry, there never seemed to be time. Or she'd be tired and cranky. Or I'd fuss at her about throwing up and she'd get mad. Now that I know about the baby..."

"What?"

"Well, I wouldn't feel right making love to her while she's carrying my stepbrother."

Cassidy leaned forward. "Do you see the irony in that, Josh? It was okay to screw your father's wife while he was alive, but now that he's dead and she's pregnant with his baby, you've gone squeamish."

Josh turned defensive. "That's how I feel."

"Okay." Cassidy leaned back in his chair. "For the moment, let's pretend it happened like this. Ready? Ariel left your company, returned to the suite she shared with your father, killed him with a gun no one knew she possessed and which hasn't been recovered, then came back for round two in bed with you, correctly assuming that you'd be her alibi."

"That's how I see it."

Cassidy smacked his lips with consternation. "What I'm having trouble with is your motivation for telling me this now."

"The lie has been on my conscience."

"Conscience?" Cassidy repeated skeptically.

Again, Josh took umbrage. "I might be an adulterer. I admit to cuckolding my own father. But I'm not going to share a murder rap with Ariel."

Indecisively, he gnawed on his lower lip. "Okay, it's more than conscience, Mr. Cassidy. You might not believe this, but I'm afraid of her."

Cassidy snorted.

Josh exclaimed. "It's true. Before all this, I knew she was ambitious and shrewd, but she's gone way overboard. She's ruthless. Mean. She stops at nothing to get her way. If somebody crosses her over the least little thing, she fires him. No mercy. No discussion. Zap," he said, smacking his fist against his opposite palm. "He's expunged."

He stared down at his shaky hands. "It's as though I've had blinders on. Maybe I was so focused on my father, I didn't see Ariel as she really is until now. I think she's capable of doing just about anything to protect her interests. I think she's unbalanced. Dangerously unbalanced."

Cassidy subjected him to a long, thoughtful stare, then stood, signaling an end to the interview. "Thanks, Josh." He extended his right hand. The young man shook it, looking bewildered.

"That's it? I thought you'd have a million questions to ask me."

"There'll be plenty later. I'm going to work on this immediately. In the meantime, act normally around your stepmother. Go about your business as usual. Don't do or say anything that might tip her that you've been to see me. Let her continue thinking that I eliminated her as a suspect weeks ago." Cassidy looked at Josh solemnly. "I know this wasn't easy for you."

"No, it wasn't. For years Ariel and I took refuge from my father in each other. I guess you could say we were codependent. We shared a common misery and relied on each other to make it bearable. Since his death, we haven't needed each other to exact petty revenge. Hating him was the only attraction that had drawn us together.

"I believe that Ariel has serious psychological problems that date back to her impoverished childhood. I get mad at her, but mostly I fear her. Still," he added, shaking his head sadly, "I can't let her get away with murder."