Free The Inner Sanctum by Stephen Frey Page B

was careful not to allow irritation to leak into his tone. This was a beauty contest, and they could kick him out of the show at any time, so he would mind his manners. Swallowing his pride was a small price to pay for admission into this circle. "The trend is excellent. We have significant momentum. I believe by this time next month, for all intents and purposes, Walker's Senate seat will be mine. His campaign will be dead in the water. The November election will be only a formality."
    "You and your campaign staff have performed admirably, Elbridge." The chairman sensed Coleman's slight vexation. "We do have momentum. We simply want to make certain it is maintained at its current level. We must finish strong. We all have a great deal riding on this."
    "Of course." Coleman nodded deferentially to the chairman. He appreciated the compliment regarding his and his staff's performance. He hesitated, looking at each of the members in turn before speaking again. "We are running very strong and Malcolm Walker is running scared. That's the bottom line."
    "Fine, fine." The chairman was obviously pleased. "And you have plenty of money left, Elbridge?"
    "My campaign treasurer assures me that the after-tax proceeds from the initial public offering of Coleman Technology will be more than sufficient to fund the remainder of the campaign. And, of course, forty percent of the stock remains in my name. We could liquidate some of that in a private sale at any time if we need more money for the campaign."
    "Very good," the chairman said. Everything was proceeding as planned. "That will be all."
    Coleman recognized his cue to exit. He stood up, nodded respectfully at each of the members, and walked toward the door.
    "Elbridge," the chairman called quietly.
    "Yes?" Coleman hesitated for a moment.
    "Please tell your guide to use the Potomac exit."
    "All right." He turned, moved through the door, and was gone.
    The chairman swiveled around to face the others. "I think we should feel very good about Mr. Coleman's campaign. As we all know, there are never any sure things in life, but this would appear to be as close to a lock as possible. We have two other campaigns in preliminary stages out West, but I don't think we'll ultimately need them."
    "We should turn up the heat on the other front too," a voice broke in quickly. "We need to make absolutely certain we win this election. We've set this thing up and spent a great deal of money on it--let's use it."
    The chairman nodded. "I agree. I've waited on that because it's our ace in the hole and I didn't want to use it too early. But I think you're right. It's time. We're close enough to the election now that Walker wouldn't be able to mount an effective counteroffensive. I'll take care of it myself."
    "Thank you," said the member who had made the suggestion, acknowledging the chairman's assistance.
    "There is something you need to know." The chairman's voice became serious. The others recognized the tone and were instantly uneasy. "We've had a small security leak." All eyes were suddenly riveted to the chairman's. "As you are aware, two nights ago we took care of our problem at the IRS. Gordon Roth silenced Neil Robinson. Permanently. As it turns out, Robinson's suspicions about Elbridge Coleman's campaign were even more accurate than we had originally believed. We should be elated that Robinson is now out of the picture." The chairman paused. "Unfortunately, Robinson was more resourceful than we had anticipated." The man knew this little missile was going to cause a nuclear explosion. "I think Robinson was actually able to pass his suspicions about Coleman on to someone after Roth killed him."
    "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" one of the others asked. "How could Robinson pass on suspicions after he was killed?"
    "A few days ago, perhaps in response to Mr. Roth's repeated telephone contact, Robinson prepared a short memorandum briefly referencing his suspicions about an unidentified U.S. Senate