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.