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Excerpt From So Shine Before Men

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    As he reached the eight stone steps up to Senator Calvin's front door, Stan Harwood checked his watch. He had measured the distance carefully, the twelve hundred plus strides, but neglected to consider the uphill walk, costing him half a minute more than he had calculated.

    Standing on the sidewalk of diagonally-laid bricks, he paused to inspect the house again . . . the freshly painted iron handrails, their curves ending at matching quaint, obsolete bootscrapes; the worn brick at the first floor bearing vestiges of where ivy had been pulled away; the dark green shutters and coach lamps; the width of the house-double or triple that of surrounding ones-so that the residence was more mansion than townhouse.

    Pulling his necktie tight, he wiped the corners of his mouth, took a deep breath, and firmly pushed the brass doorbell. Ellie greeted Harwood politely, and ushered him through the foyer to the library at the foot of the marble stairs.

    "Make yourself comfortable, Mr. Harwood. Senator Calvin will be right with you." She excused herself and softly closed the library door. He was glad to have a moment alone. For the middle of September, it was unseasonably warm in Washington, and a patina of sweat covered his brow. Also, he appreciated having a couple of minutes to study the room.

 


Comments

"Great bad guys, great heroes,
and lots of grey area between
on real humans - trying to do the
right thing, it seems, but bogged
down by life, ethics, conflicts, that
kind of stuff. Anyway, this is a
MUST READ."
-Arthur Taylor

"I love political thrillers but have
gotten tired of the light weight
writing that usually floods the
category. I found this book
to be very stimulating and
satisfying.Keep'em comin'
Mr. Terry."
-Marc A Diaz

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