Two weeks after Philip d'Autremont is acquitted of his wife's murder, it's time for him and his partner and lawyer, Charles Barnett, to start building their life together. But it turns out that not everyone in Atlanta is as ready to leave the trial in the past as Charles and Philip, and a surprise attack leaves Charles in the hospital and Philip's arm in a sling.<br><br>With thoughts of their own mortality fresh in their minds, Charles and Philip make a decision that will change their lives forever. Future plans and home renovations take their minds off the attacks, but the danger isn't over yet: the people behind the attacks are still at large, and they weren't acting alone.

Tribulation

“Good evening. We’re coming to you tonight from Sacramento, California, where my guests are Philip d’Autremont and Charles Barnett, both of whom have been very much in the news this month.” He continued with a précis of the murder and subsequent trial, then turned his attention to Philip.


“I’ll begin with you, Philip, if I may. This must have been a long and somewhat gruesome ordeal for you.”


Philip said, “Well, it was certainly no picnic. And I, for one, am more than glad that the experience is well and truly behind me.”


“When did you first learn of your wife’s murder?”


“I heard it on the radio in my car,” Philip said. “I’d been out of town for a long weekend and had tuned into a local Atlanta station when I was about an hour north of Atlanta late that Monday afternoon.”


This, of course, was a bit of misdirection, but we didn’t want anyone snooping around Savannah, where he’d actually been, so it was the story that Philip and I had agreed would serve.


Chapter 10