With a nod, Scott smiled. “Ah, now that’s more like it, lieutenant.” Turning to Jan, he flashed the boyish smile that Jan had fallen in love with so many years before. “Now, dear, you were saying.”

“Well,” Jan started, but not before giving Nathan a wink, “as I was trying to say, since my interview with Governor Thomas, everyone in Washington is running around like headless chickens.”

“Oh, great,” Nathan moaned. “From nasty, disgusting insects to freshly decapitated poultry. Gee, I can’t wait to hear what our discussion over dessert is going to be.”

“You hush,” Jan snarled as she gave her stepson a gentle tap on the arm, “or there’ll be no dessert for you.” Then she turned her attention back to Scott, who was more interested in scraping a little extra sauce from the bowl than in what his wife was saying. “As I was saying,” Jan continued, “everyone connected with the investigation of GO Thomas and the administration is busy seeking cover.”

Looking up from his plate, Nathan smiled. “Everyone, that is, except you, Mom. I’ve seen your face on the news every half hour, on the half hour.”

This caused Jan to smile. Yes, she thought to herself, this one story had managed to catapult her back into the national spotlight for the moment. It had, in the twinkling of an eye, brought her an offer from her old boss at World News Network back in Washington, D.C., to go up to Boise and head the team they were sending out into what he referred to as fly over country.

“You’re the perfect person for this one, Jan,” he told her over the phone. “You’re now seen as a westerner, so you have that perspective down pat. You’re also nationally known, so you’ve got instant credibility. Besides, I think this Thomas guy likes you.”

That GO Thomas had been more than accommodating to her throughout the fifteen minute interview was noted by everyone who reviewed the tape. There was even some talk by those who were now her competition that she and Thomas had scripted the entire event. Were it not for her impeccable reputation for integrity, much of what transpired in the studio of a local Denver TV station would never have drawn the national attention her piece was still commanding.

Of course, none of those who were trying desperately to explain away Jan’s extraordinary interview with GO Thomas suspected the real reason this man of great wealth and power had catered so readily to a TV personality. Only a handful of people within GO’s own inner circle knew of his weakness for independent, tough-minded women. To GO, Jan was as close to his ideal woman as he could imagine. She was determined without being pushy. Confident, yet lacking all appearance of arrogance. Beautiful, yet approachable, almost longing to be touched. That she was happily married didn’t much matter to a man who reminded all around him of his own peculiar spin on the teachings of their Savior, Jesus Christ. “Forgiveness without sin,” he liked to explain after failing to meet his own high standards, “is meaningless.”