"I do thank you, Chet," Mary-Ellen said. "You've helped me to see myself—everything—in a new light."
"My pleasure."
"Not entirely yours."
"I ... feel kind of funny about it, though,"he admitted.
"Christ, it's almost like incest!"
She smiled at him. "I know."
"It was a one-time thing. I mean, I don't think either one of us could . . . well, plan something like that."
They were at the door now. Gently she disengaged from him. "No, it was a surprise. A once-in-a-lifetime, wonderful surprise. If we tried to repeat it, it wouldn't work."
Nodding, "No, I guess it wouldn't."
"But it was good."
"Damned good. Thanks, Mary-Ellen. You've chased away a devil that's been haunting me for a long time." 256
"Then I'm glad." They kissed, swiftly, almost shyly, and he left.
The door burst open as if it had been kicked and Neal McGrath's bulk filled the doorway.
Kinsman looked up from his apartment's desk. The clock at his elbow said 10 P.M. He had spent the day in the Pentagon, ignoring McGrath's committee hearings, working with the Secretary of Defense's staff on the briefings they were giving at the White House.
"You sonofabitch!" McGrath growled.
He slammed the door shut and took two strides into the shabby room. His tall, rangy body seemed to radiate fury.
"You bastard!" McGrath's fists were doubled, white- knuckled, "You screwed my wife."
"While you were screwing your girlfriend."
McGrath took another step toward him, raising his fists.
Kinsman stopped him with a pointed finger. "Hold on, Neal, You're bigger, but I've trained harder. All you're going to do is get yourself hurt."
