The Best Laid Plans (26 page)

Marianne Gorman offered Dana a chair. "It's about my brother, isn't it? He was murdered. I know it." "Who killed him?" Marianne Gorman looked away. "I don't know." "Did Frank Longergan come here to see you?" The woman's eyes narrowed. "He tricked me. I told him where he could find my brother and " Her eyes filled with tears. "Now Carl is dead." "What did Lonergan want to talk to your brother about?" "He said he was from the IRS." Dana sat there watching her. "Would you mind if I did a brief television interview with you? You can just say a few words about your brother's murder and how you feel about the crime in this city." Marianne Gorman nodded. "I guess that will be all right." "Thank you." Dana went to the front door, opened it, and waved to Vernon Mills. He picked up his camera equipment and started toward the house, followed by Andrew Wright. "I've never done this kind of thing before," Marianne said. "There's nothing to be nervous about. It will only take a few minutes." Vernon entered the living room with the camera. "Where do you want to shoot this?" "We'll do it here, in the living room." She nodded toward a corner. "You can put the camera there." Vernon placed the camera, then walked back to Dana He pinned a lavaliere microphone on each woman's jacket. "You can turn it on whenever you're ready." He set it down on a table Marianne Gorman said, "No! Wait a minute! I'm sorry. I I can't do this." "Why?" Dana asked. "It's ... it's dangerous. Could could I talk to you alone?" "Yes." Dana looked at Vernon and Wright. "Leave the camera where it is. I'll call you." Vernon nodded, "We'll be in the van." Dana turned to Marianne Gorman. "Why is it dangerous for you to be on television?" Marianne said reluctantly, "I don't want them to see me." "You don't want who to see you?" Marianne swallowed. "Carl did something he... he shouldn't have done. He was killed because of it. And the men who killed him will try to kill me." She was trembling. "What did Carl do?" "Oh, my God," Marianne moaned. "I begged him not to." "Not to what?" Dana persisted. "He he wrote a blackmail letter." Dana looked at her in surprise. "A blackmail letter?" "Yes. Believe me, Carl was a good man. It's just that he liked he had expensive tastes, and on his salary, he couldn't afford to live the way he wanted to. I couldn't stop him. He was murdered because of that letter. I know it. They found him, and now they know where I am. I'm going to be killed." She was sobbing. "I I don't know what to do."

"Tell me about the letter." Marianne Gorman took a deep breath. "My brother was going away on a vacation. He had forgotten a jacket that he wanted to take with him, and he went back to the hotel. He got his jacket and was back in his car in the garage when the private elevator door to the Imperial Suite opened. Carl told me he saw a man get out He was surprised to see him there. He was even more surprised when the man walked back to the elevator and wiped off his fingerprints. Carl couldn't figure out what was going on. Then the the next day, he read about that poor girl's murder, and he knew that this man had killed her." She hesitated. "That's when he sent the letter to the White House." Dana said slowly, "The White House?" "Yes." "Who did he send the letter to?" "The man he saw in the garage. You know the one with the eye patch. Peter Tager."

Twenty-Two.

Through the walls of the office, he could hear the sound of traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue, outside the White House, and he became aware again of his surroundings. He reviewed everything that was happening, and he was satisfied that he was safe. Oliver Russell was going to be arrested for murders he hadn't committed, and Melvin Wicks, the vice president, would become president. Senator Davis would have no problem controlling Vice President Wicks. And there's nothing to link me to any of the deaths, Tager thought. There was a prayer meeting that evening, and Peter Tager was looking forward to it. The group enjoyed hearing him talk about religion and power.

Peter Tager had become interested in girls when he was fourteen. God had given him an extraordinarily strong libido, and Peter had thought that the loss of his eye would make him unattractive to the opposite sex. Instead, girls found his eye patch intriguing. In addition, God had given Peter the gift of persuasion, and he was able to charm diffident young girls into the backseats of cars, into barns, and into beds. Unfortunately, he had gotten one of them pregnant and had been forced to marry her. She bore him two children. His family could have become an onerous burden, tying him down. But it turned out to be a marvelous cover for his extracurricular activities. He had seriously thought of going into the ministry, but then he had met Senator Todd Davis, and his life had changed. He had found a new and bigger forum Politics.

In the beginning, there had been no problems with his secret relationships. Then a friend had given him a drug called Ecstasy, and Peter had shared it with Lisa Burnette, a fellow church member in Frankfort. Something had gone wrong, and she had died. They found her body in the Kentucky River. The next unfortunate incident had occurred when Miriam Friedland, Oliver Russell's secretary, had had a bad reaction and lapsed into a coma. Not my fault, Peter Tager thought. It had not harmed him. Miriam had obviously been on too many other drugs Then, of course, there was poor Chloe Houston. He had run into her in a corridor of the White House where she was looking for a rest room She had recognized him instantly and was impressed. "You're Peter Tager! I see you on television all the time." "Well, I'm delighted Can I help you with something?" "I was looking for a ladies' room.

She was young and very pretty. "There are no public rest rooms in the White House, miss." "Oh, dear." He said conspiratorially, "I think I can help you out. Come with me." He had led her upstairs to a private bathroom and waited outside for her. When she came out, he asked, "Are you just visiting Washington?" "Yes." "Why don't you let me show you the real Washington? Would you like that?" He could feel that she was attracted to him. "I I certainly would if it isn't too much trouble.

"For someone as pretty as you? No trouble at all. We'll start with dinner tonight." She smiled. "That sounds exciting." "I promise you it will be. Now, you mustn't tell anyone we're meeting. It's our secret." "I won't. I promise." "I have a high-level meeting with the Russian government at the Monroe Arms Hotel tonight." He could see that she was impressed. "We can have dinner at the Imperial Suite there, afterward. Why don't you meet me there about seven o'clock?" She looked at him and nodded excitedly. "All right." He had explained to her what she had to do to get inside the suite. "There won't be any problem. Just call me to let me know you're there." And she had.

In the beginning, Chloe Houston had been reluctant. When Peter took her in his arms, she said, "Don't. I I'm a virgin." That made him all the more excited. "I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do," he assured her. "We'll just sit and talk." "Are you disappointed?" He squeezed her hand. "Not at all, my dear." He took out a bottle of liquid Ecstasy and poured some into two glasses. "What is that?" Chloe asked. "It's an energy booster. Cheers." He raised his glass in a toast and watched as she finished the liquid in her glass. "It's good," Chloe said. They had spent the next half hour talking, and Peter had waited as the drug began to work. Finally, he moved next to Chloe and put his arms around her, and this time there was no resistance. "Get undressed," he said. "Yes."

Peter's eyes followed her into the bathroom, and he began to undress Chloe came out a few minutes later, naked, and he became excited at the sight of her young, nubile body. She was beautiful. Chloe got into bed beside him, and they made love. She was inexperienced, but the fact that she was a virgin gave Peter the extra excitement that he needed. In the middle of a sentence, Chloe had sat up in bed, suddenly dizzy. "Are you all right, my dear?" "I I'm fine. I just feel a little " She held on to the side of the bed for a moment. "I'll be right back." She got up. And as Peter watched, Chloe stumbled, fell, and smashed her head against the sharp corner of the iron table "Chloe!" He leaped out of bed and hurried to her side. "Chloe!" He could feel no pulse. Oh, God, he thought. How could you do this to me? It wasn't my fault. She slipped. He looked around. They mustn't trace me to this suite. He had quickly gotten dressed, gone into the bathroom, moistened a towel, and begun polishing the surfaces of every place he might have touched. He picked up Chloe's purse, looked around to make sure there were no signs that he had been there, and took the elevator down to the garage. The last thing he had done was to wipe his fingerprints off the elevator buttons. When Paul Yerby had surfaced as a threat, Tager had used his connections to dispose of him There was no way anyone could connect Tager to Chloe's death.

And then the blackmail letter had come. Carl Gorman, the hotel clerk, had seen him. Peter had sent Sime to get rid of Gorman, telling him that it was to protect the president. That should have been the end of the problem. But Frank Lonergan had started asking questions, and it had been necessary to dispose of him, too. Now there was another nosy reporter to deal with. So there were only two threats left: Marianne Gorman and Dana Evans. And Sime was on his way to kill them both.

Twenty-Three.

Marianne Gorman repeated, "You know the one with the eye patch. Peter Tager." Dana was stunned. "Are you sure?" "Well, it's hard not to recognize someone who looks like that, isn't it?" "I need to use your phone." Dana hurried over to the telephone and dialed Matt Baker's number. His secretary answered. "Mr. Baker's office." "It's Dana I have to talk to him. It's urgent." "Hold on, please." A moment later, Matt Baker was on the line. "Dana is anything wrong?"

She took a deep breath. "Matt, I just found out who was with Chloe Houston when she died." "We know who it was. It was " "Peter Tager.

"What?" It was a shout. "I'm with the sister of Carl Gorman, the hotel clerk who was murdered. Carl Gorman saw Tager wiping his fingerprints off the elevator in the hotel garage the night Chloe Houston died. Gorman sent Tager a blackmail letter, and I think Tager had him murdered. I have a camera crew here. Do you want me to go on the air with this?" "Don't do anything right now!" Matt ordered "I'll handle it. Call me back in ten minutes." He slammed down the receiver and headed for the White Tower. Leslie was in her office "Leslie, you can't print " She turned and held up the mock-up of the headline: MURDER WARRANT SERVED ON PRESIDENT RUSSELL. "Look at this, Matt." Her voice was filled with exaltation. "Leslie I have news for you. There's " "This is all the news I need." She nodded smugly. "I told you you'd come back. You couldn't stay away, could you? This was just too big to walk away from, wasn't it, Matt? You need me. You'll always need me." He stood there, looking at her, wondering: What happened to turn her into this kind of woman? It's still not too late to save her. "Leslie "

"Don't be embarrassed because you made a mistake," Leslie said complacently. "What did you want to say?" Matt Baker looked at her for a long time. "I wanted to say goodbye, Leslie." She watched him turn and walk out the door.

Twenty-Three.

Wlat's going to happen to me?" Marianne Gorman asked. "Don't worry, Dana told her. "You'll be protected." She made a quick decision "Marianne, we're going to do a live interview, and I'll turn the tape of it over to the FBI. As soon as we finish the interview, I'll get you away from here." Outside, there was the sound of a car screaming to a stop. Marianne hurried over to the window. "Oh, my God!" Dana moved to her side. "What is it?" Sime Lombardo was getting out of the car. He looked at the house, then headed toward the door. Marianne stammered, "That's the the other man who was here asking about Carl, the day Carl was killed. I'm sure he had something to do with his murder."

Dana picked up the phone and hastily dialed a number.

"Mr. Hawkins's office."

"Nadine, I have to talk to him right away."

"He's not in. He should be back in about "

"Let me talk to Nate Erickson."

Nate Erickson, Hawkins's assistant, came on the phone. "Dana?"

"Nate I need help fast. I have a breaking news story. I want you to put me on live, immediately."

"I can't do that," Erickson protested. "Tom would have to authorize it."

"There's no time for that," Dana exploded.

Outside the window, Dana saw Sime Lombardo moving toward the front door.

In the news van, Vernon Mills looked at his watch. "Are we going to do this interview or not? I have a date."

Inside the house, Dana was saying, "It's a matter of life and death, Nate. You've got to put me on live. For God's sake, do it now!" She slammed the receiver down, stepped over to the television set, and turned it on Channel Six. A soap opera was in progress. An older man was talking to a young woman.

"You never really understood me, did you, Kristen?" "The truth is that I understand you too well. That's why I want a divorce, George." "Is there someone else?" Dana hurried into the bedroom and turned on the set there. Sime Lombardo was at the front door. He knocked. "Don't open it," Dana warned Marianne. Dana checked to make sure that her microphone was live. The knocking at the door became louder. "Let's get out of here," Marianne whispered. "The back " At that moment, the front door splintered open and Sime charged into the room. He closed the door behind him and looked at the two women. "Ladies. I see that I have both of you." Desperately, Dana glanced toward the television set. "If there is someone else, it's your fault, George." "Perhaps I am at fault, Kristen." Sime Lombardo took a .22 caliber semiautomatic pistol out of his pocket and started screwing a silencer onto the barrel. "No!" Dana said. "You can't " Sime raised the gun. "Shut up. Into the bedroom go on." Marianne mumbled, "Oh, my God!" "Listen ..." Dana said. "We can " "I told you to shut up. Now move." Dana looked at the television set.