c mind with the
effort to protect the nation."

"You want favorable publicity if and when this matter makes headlines?"

"Is that too much to ask?"

Brent Taber suddenly seemed lost and, in truth, he was wondering why in
hell he'd approached Crane in this way. He felt ashamed for even
considering the possibility of bending to the will of a windbag like
Crane. _Good Lord_, he thought, _I must be tired. I was on the point of
playing the jellyfish._

Abruptly his voice sharpened. "I'm sorry, I can't promise you that."

"Taber, you're a fool! I'll get it anyhow. I told you I'd break you if
you got in my way, and you've been almost discredited already. Don't you
know when to quit?"

"Maybe that's my trouble, Senator. Maybe I'm bull-headed. Anyhow, right
or wrong, I'll play out this string to the end. Good day--and I hope you
enjoy your new offices."

* * * * *

An hour later, back at his own phone, Taber got a second call from
Callahan. "There's another one."

"Another one? I don't follow you."

"A photographer from New York City. He's being real cagey, this one, but
I know the breed. The kind that's so stupid-clever he outsmarts
himself."

"What's he after?"

"Sounds to me like he wants the same thing as the Senator."

"Hmmm," Taber mused. "Those are mighty popular cadavers, aren't they,
Callahan?"

"I'm blessed if they aren't."

"All right. You tell Mr. King--that is his name, isn't it?"

"You've got good eyesight--reading a blasted press card from clear
across town."

"I'm clairvoyant, Callahan. Tell you what you do--give me fifteen
minutes to make a phone call and then send him after the bodies."

"To the right place?"

"To the right place. And hold out for a good price. Get what the traffic
will bear. I'd say maybe fifty dollars. Allow yourself to be bribed real
good."

"I'll do that."

11

As with Rhoda Kane's mind, Les King's seemed to be divided into two
sections. One of these kept him in a state of perpetual uneasiness at
what the other was forcing him to do. He realized that venting your
frustrations against bureaucrats was one thing, but actively engaging in
dangerous snooping was quite another.

In the moments of uncertainty after John Dennis sent him to Washington,
D.C. with orders to get his hands on certain data, Les King bolstered
his courage by telling himself that, what the hell, he'd planned all
along to go right ahead and dig out the