 Recorded books presents A Griot Audio Production of Blood on the Leaves by Jeff Stetson. This unabridged recording is narrated by Dion Graham and directed by Tiana Kennedy. Griot Audio celebrates the best in contemporary African-American fiction and non-fiction. This book is copyrighted 2004 by Jeff Stetson, Elysia Paul Productions, Incorporated. This recording is copyrighted 2005 by Recorded Books. James Reynolds, Mississippi's only Black District attorney, must play a deadly game of cat and mouse as he prosecutes the most wrenching case of his career. His professional success so far has been almost enough to ease the pain of growing up during brutal segregation and ease the unexplained nightmares he's had since childhood. But now, Reynolds must confront the past and walk a dangerous line between duty and revenge. And now, Blood on the Leaves. Prologue. The terror returned. Except this time, the color of the flesh to be burned wasn't black. The moonlight guided the stranger as he worked among the shadows of a forest that bore witness to his crime. Soon the night would rescind its protection, leaving him to face the sunrise alone. He marveled at the awesome power of the past. He'd never felt this alive, which terrified him. For he knew in his heart he'd lost the desire to seek forgiveness and, with it, his capacity to forgive. If that was the price to pay for justice, he'd accept his punishment. And now, at a long last, so would the man bound against the fallen tree. He studied the poorly drawn map of sweat, dirt and blood intersecting the man's tormented face, then carefully tested the strips of sheet that bound his hands and feet. He poured liquid on the twisted body and could tell from the man's whimpering that it stung. The faded electrical tape over the man's mouth muffled his cries, but couldn't conceal the pain in his eyes. In a different time and place, that pain would have mattered, but not tonight, not ever again. He understood that retribution made one simple demand, to travel at its own pace down the path paved by others. He wondered if he was fully prepared for the journey. Then he lit the match, and with a simple flick of his finger, the body erupted into flames. The smell of burning flesh sickened him. He wanted to scream almost as much as he needed to watch. He stepped back to get a better look at the future, and con- Sample complete. Ready to continue?