The instant the words left Director Quinn's mouth, Chief Sinclair felt the great, leaden stone he had been carrying inside his chest all afternoon finally slide off and thud onto the gravel at his feet.
So that was that. Governor Lawson and Secretary Bell had clashed in person, and from the way the announcement had just been delivered, it was perfectly clear which of the two had emerged with the higher ground beneath his shoes. Secretary Bell had carried the day.
A small, private prayer of gratitude rose unbidden in Chief Sinclair's throat. Thank his lucky stars, in that long, suffocating minute on the phone, folded. If he had bowed even an inch toward Governor Lawson's proposal, he would now be staring down the prospect of having offended Secretary Bell, and that, he understood very cle
