“Would you say every word of that under oath in front of a judge?” I asked.

“I’ll stand right beside you in any courtroom in Tennessee,” Dale said.

“I’m through keeping my mouth shut.”

The lead guard took two quick steps past Dale and shoved open the heavy glass door to the parking lot.

“We’ve got orders to escort you off the property right now, Mr.

Sullivan,” he said.

Twenty minutes later I walked into the bank branch at the strip mall on Commerce Drive.

Brenda spotted me through the glass of her office, got up from her chair, and locked the door behind me as soon as I stepped in.