Devine shook his head, and then something occurred to him. Something maybe crazy, and then again maybe not.Do you pick the bikinis to wear, or does Cowl? Shell be fine, Ted, Jess said. When I found it tied up to my dock next morning. A voice coming over a callbox said,Yes? The agent ran out of Stones office and through the storage room, the exercise room, and the kitchen, to the back door, where he checked the lock, then he turned around and worked his way more slowly along the path he had followed, emerging once again into Stones office. No, you wouldnt, Stone said. Youd be halfway through your steak by now. No, and Ill take a polygraph on that if you want. Yes, Father. At this time of night. I dont think I can provide you an alibi, Travis. Ive wracked my brain, but I honestly cant remember seeing you all of Thursday night. You’re sure you were here? You made some considerable effort to see that your shadowing was unnoticed? And that included Devine, until a message dropped into his personal mailbox. I can have a crazy wife in a nut house and nobody minds. I think it even gets me a few votes. It wouldnt have perhaps ten years ago, but it does now. But I cant divorce her and marry someone else and lead a normal life because that would be desertion and senators dont desert their crazywives. Not yet. Vanessa, please; its just a shotgun. The one you used to pry open the door? She stood, put on her heels, and said,Give me a few minutes to freshen up. Devine said quickly,Jill, this is Michelle Montgomery, shes a friend from— Thenyou can chuck it, Michelle. Well, Greenleafs been around a long time and he takes one look at what these guys have come up with and he says to em that theyre fuckin’ crazy. Now Greenleaf’s the one who led the fight for me in the Council meeting, although it wasn’t much of a fight, so they don’t even try tobuy him off. They don’t even try to argue with him. They just smile politely at him and let him have his say and on the way home that night his car is forced over to the curb and somebody beats the shit out of Ted Greenleaf and the next day he resigns from the Council board and puts it in writing. He has to put it in writing on account of he’s in the hospital with his fuckin’ jaws wired shut. You gettin’ the picture?.