“Then let me ask you this,” Stone said. “If Willingham has a choice between the second spot on the ticket and nothing, which way do you think he would jump?”

Meriwether stared at him but said nothing.

“Oh,” Stone said, “one more thing: Otero told someone I trust a couple of hours ago that he would not accept the second spot on any ticket.”

“Oh, shit,” Meriwether said, half to himself. He picked up a phone. “I’ve got to call Kate. And, Ann, would you see if you can get Dick Collins over here right now?”

“Sure, Sam.” She went to another phone.

—

KATE WAS ALREADY in the room when Governor Collins arrived.

“Kate, Dick,” Meriwether said, “Stone has some information that you should hear.”

Stone told them what he had just told Meriwether.

Kate looked shocked. “I really thought that Otero wanted to run on the ticket with me,” she said.

“Did he ever tell you that?” Collins asked.

“No, but he asked me outright if I was going to choose a running mate before the balloting was done. I told him no, that I wouldn’t trade the slot for delegates.”

“Did he tell you that if you asked him, he wouldn’t accept the slot on the ticket?”

“No, he didn’t. It appears that Pete Otero is more ambitious than I thought.”

“Do you think that Willingham would jump to Otero for the second spot on the ticket?” Collins asked.

“Stone,” Meriwether said, “ask them the question you asked me.”

Stone took a deep breath: “If Willingham were placed in a situation where he had to choose between the vice presidency or nothing, which way do you think he would jump?”

“Oh, shit,” Collins replied.

Meriwether laughed. “Funny, that’s exactly what I said.”

“All right, then,” Dick Collins said. “There are two things you can do, Kate.”

“What are they?”

“The first is to call Willingham now and offer him the second spot on the ticket in return for his ballots.”

“What’s the other thing?”

“Well, if you don’t want to offer it to him, you have to get enough of the undecided California delegates to go with you on the first ballot.”

“How many do we have now?” Kate asked.

“Fifteen.”

“And how many more undecided California delegates are there?”

“Twenty-six.”

“So we need twenty-four of them, is that correct?”

“That is correct.”

“All right,” Kate said, “I want to tell you all something: I decided who I want for a running mate a few days ago. It’s not Pete Otero. And it’s certainly not Mark Willingham.”

“Then who is it?” Meriwether asked, looking baffled.

“It’s the governor of the great state of California,” she replied.

Meriwether broke into a big smile. “I can live with that,” he said.

“Dick,” Kate said, “can you live with that?”

Collins looked at each of them separately, Kate last. “It would be my great pleasure and a great honor,” he replied.