Risky Undertaking by Mark de Castrique

private business interests that are all for it. We’re talking a lot of money potentially pouring into relatively poor counties.”
    Collins pressed his index finger in my chest. “But, if the Catawba can do it, what’s to stop another out-of-state tribe? I mean god damn it, Barry, what’s to keep the Apache or the Sioux from showing up on our doorstep?”
    â€œWhy wouldn’t the Catawba put this on their existing land?”
    â€œBecause South Carolina won’t give them live gaming rights. The Cherokee casino has established the North Carolina precedent for Indian gaming. People want real dealers, real roulette wheels, and real poker. Our covenant with the Cherokee has worked great, and the state gets a share of the revenue. But now?” He threw up his hands. “They’re going to kill the goose laying the golden eggs.”
    I understood the problem of how North Carolina could become an overbuilt haven of Indian gaming, but my murder case seemed irrelevant. “I don’t get the connection to Luther and Panther?”
    â€œDon’t you see? If Luther’s arrested, then people are going to draw up sides. There will be a lot of sympathy for a man whose mourning was turned into political theater. If Luther killed Panther in a turmoil of grief and rage, I predict a surge of support. Feelings that Jimmy Panther had it coming. Jimmy’s supporters will turn him into a Cherokee martyr and that only ratchets up emotions. When people are pushed to extremes, they take extreme action. If this becomes a Cherokee versus Gainesboro issue, it could resonate all the way to Raleigh.”
    Collins shook his head slowly. “I don’t want to see that happen. For Luther’s sake. The guy’s been my friend for nearly thirty years. He was one of the first people to welcome Corrine and me when we moved here from New Jersey to start our family. But I tell you, Barry, people are ready to exploit this whole tragic affair. None more so than his son Darren.”
    â€œDarren?”
    â€œYeah. He’s helping the Catawba Indians pursue their casino. I got word because he claims to have access to me. I don’t appreciate being used like that—by him or his Washington PR firm. Don’t think he won’t vilify the Cherokee if it serves his client.”
    I didn’t know what to say. If what Collins said was true, it wrapped a new layer around Darren’s involvement. Collins didn’t know Darren no longer worked at the PR firm, and until I knew more, I wasn’t about to tell him. Not while he was worked up in such an emotional state.
    â€œMack, you know Tommy Lee and I have to follow this wherever the evidence leads.”
    He put his hand on my shoulder. “I know. I’d just appreciate a heads-up if this is going to break bad for Luther. Don’t mistake me. I’m sympathetic to Luther, but I feel a responsibility to do what’s right for all the people in North Carolina.” He stepped back, reached in his suit coat, and handed me a card. “Here are all my contact numbers in Raleigh, and my cell’s on the back. I’ve got to go back to the legislature in the morning, but you call day or night.”
    He gave my shoulder a squeeze. “I owe you.” He smiled. “Who knows? Maybe I can get your uncle in front of that committee.”
    I thought about my conversation with Collins the entire drive to my cabin. His political concerns had appeared tangential to my investigation until he mentioned Darren Cransford. Now dots could be connected that weren’t coincidences but consequences. Mack Collins oversaw Indian and gaming legislation, Darren would know his father’s friend from his childhood, and the Catawba Indian forces would be seeking any influence in Raleigh they could find. But how did that connect to Panther?
    The discovery of the Cherokee burial site and Eurleen Cransford’s death had been the