Originally published in “A Woman’s Eye,” edited by Sara Paretsky (1991) and republished in “Shoveling Smoke: Selected Mystery Stories by Margaret Maron”, Crippen & Landru (1997).

“When I first began to contemplate a new series, Sara Paretsky asked if I’d contribute a story to her anthology. I’d had the germ of this plot for years but could never seem to bring it into focus. It wasn’t a Sigrid Harald situation, but what if I gave it to a young Southern attorney? Or what if it were a district court judge? Or an attorney running for judge? Before I knew it, Deborah Knott strolled into my head and began telling this story. I shall always be grateful to Sara for giving me a chance to “test-drive” Deborah’s first-person voice before tackling Bootlegger’s Daughter.”