“No,” Cardwell said, so softly that Jake barely heard it.

“No?”

Waving Jake back to his little ladderback chair, Cardwell said, “You should keep this to yourself, Jake.”

“But I thought…”

With a sigh and his strange little smile, Cardwell said, “You thought I was after Arlan’s scalp. Well, I am. But not like this.”

Jake sat there, dumbfounded.

“What good would it do?” Cardwell asked. “You could embarrass Sinclair and humiliate his wife. You could hand Tomlinson a smear he could use against Leeds, I suppose. But would that change Sinclair’s opposition to Tomlinson?” With a shake of his head Cardwell answered his own question. “No, it would simply cement his position, force him to stand with Leeds. And the senator might even appear as something of a humanitarian, helping a man who has a problem with a sick wife.”

“But … I thought…”

Shaking his head gently, Cardwell went on, “It wouldn’t change anything, Jake, except to dirty up the campaign. Slinging mud is a nasty thing to do.”

“I suppose it is,” Jake admitted.

Patting Jake’s knee, Cardwell brightened a bit as he said, “I’d like to catch Arlan with his pants down. I’d love to show the world what a womanizing SOB the man can be. But not this. This is below the belt.”

“So I should keep this to myself?” Jake asked.

“If it would help Tomlinson’s campaign, I’d say go ahead and tell the man. But this won’t help. It might even make Leeds look a little better.”

Jake felt as if his head were spinning. Politics, he thought. It’s so damned convoluted.

Abruptly, Cardwell asked, “So what’s going on with the campaign? How’s Tomlinson really doing?”

Jake waggled one hand. “Dant’s been a big surprise. Tomlinson’s people keep telling him that Dant’s backing is very narrow, just the ultraconservatives, but they’re worried that it might be enough to snatch the primary away from us. If those crazies come out and vote in a solid block they could carry the election and leave Tomlinson out in the cold. Voter turnout in the primaries is usually pretty low. A strong, determined bloc of fanatics could beat us.”

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Cardwell murmured, “And give Leeds a much easier opponent in the general election.”

Jake nodded. “That’s right.”

“And MHD? What’s happening with the MHD program?”

“The work’s proceeding, mostly out in Lignite. Tomlinson’s people are trying to get the chairman of the National Association of Electric Utilities to meet with him and endorse MHD.”

“That’s good,” Cardwell said softly. “An endorsement could be helpful.”

Jake recognized the pensive expression on Lev’s face. “But…?”

“But some active undertaking would be even better.”

“Active undertaking?”

“An endorsement is merely lip service,” Cardwell explained. “You should try to get the Utilities Association to do something concrete to show they’re behind MHD.”