"We had a bottle of wine. We ate fish. He was in a good humor. He teased me about coming back to the firm," David said.

Keith's folks nodded and smiled sadly.

"But did he say anything?" Anne pressed.

Was she asking about Pearl Jenner's allegations in the Times! She couldn't be.

"At the time nothing seemed that important," he said, trying to keep the conversation light. "We were just friends catching up on what we'd been doing. He asked about some trials that I'd had. It was just lawyer talk…"

"I don't know how you could say that," Anne said, not bothering to disguise her sarcasm.

"Anne," Matt implored his daughter, but she ignored him.

"I talked to him that day too, you know." Her voice had shifted into something hard and edgy. Her eyes stayed steady on David as she waited for him to respond. How much did Anne know? Was she, like David, worried about her brother's reputation? All he knew was that he didn't want to talk about these things in front of Keith's parents.

"My brother was in anguish. His girlfriend had just died…" Anne began to cry.

His girlfriend? Keith hadn't mentioned anything about that. Could David have misread the evening? No, not if what the Times said was true.

"We haven't thanked you for calling that night," Keith's mother said. "It meant a lot to us that it was a friend and not the police. I don't think I could have taken that."

"If the situation had been reversed, I'm sure Keith would have done the same for me."

"Do you think so?" Anne asked.

"Of course I do."

"What I mean is, do you think the situation could have been reversed?"

"Anne," Matt Baxter gently pleaded with his daughter.

Anne took an angry swipe at her tears, then turned impatiently to her father. "What is it, Dad? Do you want me to forget that my brother died because of this man? Well, I'm not going to forget that. I don't think anyone here-except for maybe you and Mom-is going to forget that."

Hearing those words, David felt his gut tighten. Was this how people would think of him from now on?

"Excuse me."

They all looked up to see Special Agent Eddie Wiley, sounding extremely official. "Mr. Stark, I need for you to step this way."

David rose. He kept eye contact with Anne but spoke to her parents. "Again, I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am." He tipped his head, broke away from Anne's hard gaze, and followed Eddie into the cabana.

"Thanks," he said.

"No thanks required. You looked like you needed rescuing."

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"You're going to have to learn how to deal with shit like that." When David regarded him in puzzlement, Eddie explained, "With people asking questions that they really don't want the answers to."

"And?"

"Shine them on."

David frowned. "Could I do that? Could you?"

"It's part of the job."

"Maybe yours…"

Eddie didn't respond. He didn't have to. They both knew how many deaths the Rising Phoenix had brought to David's job. "Eddie, can you do something for me?"

"You know I can."

"I want to meet alone with Keith's sister."

"What? In the fucking greenhouse or something? I don't think so."

"I have to explain to her about that night."

"No, you don't."

"I want…" David took a step toward the cabana's French doors, but Eddie moved to block his way.

"Haven't you heard what I've been saying? You can't let guilt run you, man." Eddie lowered his voice. "Believe me, I know."

For the second time in about as many minutes David was in a standoff. And, for the second time, he was rescued by a familiar voice.

"Ah, David, there you are," Miles called out from the French doors. "I've been looking for you. Phil and I want you to take a walk with us." He cocked his head to Eddie. "Is that all right with you? We'll stay on the property. I'll tell you what. We'll even stay down here on the lower terrace. Just give me a few minutes of privacy with my former colleague."

Eddie stood his ground a moment longer, then stepped aside. David and Miles threaded their way through the crowd and walked out along the terrace.

"It's been a rough few days," Miles said. "How are you holding up?" David stared down into the canyon below him, where sumac and other scrub brush served as a counterpoint to the luxury and refinement of the Stout grounds.

Since David didn't seem willing to answer, Miles said, "It was a bad break. You need to know that none of us blames you." David snorted. "I think Keith's sister does."

"What does she know? She wasn't there." Miles closed his eyes and tilted his face up to the sun. "Why did you and Keith get together anyway?"

"It was nothing really, just dinner." Here again was another half-truth, but he just didn't want to cover this material again. "Did he talk about work, the firm?"

"I suppose." David shrugged. "We talked a little about Tartan and Knight."

"He was working with me on the acquisition. We've been working on the deal for a year. The firm's been consumed with it."

Miles loved to discuss business. David, relieved by the change in focus, accommodated him. "From what I've read, I'm surprised Knight would sell."

"It came as a surprise to me too when I got the call from Henry saying he wanted to sell and did I think Tartan would be interested. Of course, Randall Craig was interested and made an offer right away. That was a year ago."

"You must be slipping," David needled good-naturedly. "It wasn't me. It was that damn Henry Knight. He's one strange bird. He doesn't like to use attorneys, and he only hires accountants on an as-needed basis."

"Is he covering up something?"

"No, he's just eccentric. But look, eccentric or not, he built his company himself. He was already rich. Soon he'll be filthy rich."

David had a father who sounded a lot like Henry Knight, so he knew that eccentricity could be charming and irritating at the same time. David also knew from his experiences at the U.S. Attorney's Office that such men were not immune to the temptations of crime. Instead of committing a crime himself, had Keith found some problem in the Knight records? Was there a mistake in the deal? Is that what had so worried him? Or had he discovered some irregularities, something that might involve a federal investigation? If so, why not tell Miles? Or, if it was really bad, why not go straight to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, or the SEC himself?