I couldn’t rejoice at Arch’s good luck. I kept thinking of the look that had passed over Vanessa’s face when Arch made those remarks about the rights of the unborn, and the words she’d said to me and the kiss we’d shared. Was it true that Arch didn’t know? I had no idea. I doubted knowing would have changed anything. If Baird had supported the other side of the Benvenuto controversy, Arch would have argued for science and reason and organ donation and cast aspersions on Baird’s fidelity to the code of medical ethics.

Arch must have sensed my disgust. Or maybe I just looked tired.

“You should take the night off,” he said.

We were leaving in less than an hour for a rally in Chattanooga. There were lots of evangelicals and Catholics registered to vote there.

“I’m fine,” I said.

“It’s okay,” Arch said. “I can take Marcus. I bet he’s never stayed in a hotel like the Chattanoogan. We’ll give him your room and let him order a shitload of room service. He’ll love it.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Absolutely,” Arch said. “Get some rest.”

He didn’t need to twist my arm. I left without speaking to anyone. I drove home in silence. When I went into my house, I walked straight into my bedroom without even turning on a single light and fell face-forward onto the bed. I woke a few hours later to a knock on the door. It was Vanessa.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

She didn’t say a word. She just walked right past me, straight to my bedroom. By the time I’d shut and locked the door, she was already slipping out of her clothes.

fifteen

Arch was too preoccupied with his lunch meeting even to ask how I’d spent my night off. He immersed himself in the endless phone calls and the tension of a manic race sliding toward at least a temporary conclusion, buoyed by the growing promise of victory.

At the end of the day, we were huddled in the campaign office, drinking coffee and listening to Goldberg read off the agenda, when my BlackBerry buzzed. Jamie Haltom’s name and number appeared on the screen.

“Hey,” I said. “What’s going on?”

“I need you to get over here as soon as you can,” he said. “It’s important.” He didn’t sound drunk.

“Who is it?” Arch asked.

I put my hand over the receiver.

“Fucking Jamie,” I said.

No one seemed able anymore to speak of Jamie without prefacing his name with some profanity.

“Get rid of him,” Goldberg said.

“I can’t talk,” I said.

“You need to come over here,” Jamie said. “To the restaurant. Now.”

“What for?”

“Just do it, would you? This is no joke.”

“Don’t fuck with me, Jamie,” I said.

“Trust me, I’m not fucking with you.”