THE MORNING AFTER I LEARN Sumpter’s name, I call the DA’s office, but they don’t pick up or return my call. I check in with the Boston Globe’s Todd Wallack, but he hasn’t even heard the rumblings about a development in the case. And when Wallack tries his own luck with the DA’s office, the press office denies any upcoming press conference. Instead, they want to know who’s spreading this misinformation. He doesn’t give my name.
I tell Boyd that I can’t get a straight answer about Monday. He says he doesn’t know the story, either, but he can’t stay on the phone to speculate. He has to race off to prepare for the weekend’s sermon. By an absolute coincidence of the Anglican liturgical calendar, he’ll be delivering a sermon called “Tell No Man,” about the episode in the Gospel where Jesus facilitates miracles and demands that witnesses don’t tell anybody.
“Things have changed since the Resurrection,” Boyd says. “There are obligations to tell everybody.”