Bledsoe insists that he is innocent and that he didn’t cook up any conspiracy with Paul.”

After this exchange, Dick visibly relaxes. Paul has obviously professed his innocence, but until now, Dick couldn’t be positive that Class hasn’t confessed to me that he murdered Willie and implicated Paul. For the next hour we talk generally about the case, and I use the opportunity to ask about the connections after the murder between Class and Paul, who, as expected, minimizes them.

“Before he was arrested, I didn’t even know Oldham had hired Class,” he says, “to help him with the restaurant. Talk to Oldham-he’ll tell you. I own the restaurant, but I treat him like an independent contractor, so I won’t have to worry with a bunch of niggers getting drunk out there and shooting each other and then suing the deep pocket.

Oldham can hire anybody he wants. I guess I saw Class out there a couple of times in the last few months but I don’t remember if I even spoke to him or not. I didn’t give a shit.

Class had worked for me years ago, and he had enough sense to deliver appliances and install them, so I figured he could make change and slice barbecue, and I didn’t worry about it. My deal with Oldham was that he pay me five hundred dollars every month, and as long as he did that, I didn’t care what he did.”

Do Dick or I believe this? I doubt it. I try to remember what Butterfield told me: Bledsoe had claimed he didn’t know Paul owned Oldham’s.

Dick explains that in the file there is a statement from Henry Oldham in which he denies being told by Paul to hire Class, but Oldham admits that Paul made several trips to get barbecue during the time around the date of the murder.

Turning to face me on the couch Paul says, “That’s no big deal. Henry makes the best barbecue in the best part of the state, and hell, yeah.