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.
23
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.
24
“What’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.