Chapter 13
When Olympia regained consciousness, the CIA agents had left the room and were waiting in the hall, and Jennifer was with her. She gave her a glass of water while Olympia struggled for composure, and then John Pelham came back in to talk to her again, leaving the others outside in the hall. He apologized for the shocking information he had shared with her, but there was no doubt in his mind, after Alix’s suggestion to him. And it checked out through Clark’s offshore accounts and their underworld informants. It was almost certain that Alix was right, and they were going to do everything they could to add murder to the indictment, and get all the evidence they could to prove it. And Olympia had a right to know.
“Are you sure?” she asked him in a weak voice when Jennifer left the room again.
“Yes, I am. It will take us time to prove it, but we have a record of the transaction through one of his offshore accounts we found in addition to his Swiss accounts. And one of our reliable informants in the Middle East has confirmed it. It was not political. It was a personal hit, which is why the amount paid was so small. This is going to alter the case against him drastically. We’re talking about a murder trial now, as well as money laundering, tax evasion, and taking bribes. We’re going to hold the grand jury hearing tomorrow, with the two lobbyists who are going to testify against him.”
“And then you’ll arrest him?” she asked wanly, still feeling dizzy, almost as though Pelham had hit her. In fact, Tony Clark had. He had done the worst thing she could imagine. She felt sick.
“As soon as the grand jury gives us their verdict for an indictment, we’ll arrest him, I’d say by the next day. He won’t be aware of the proceedings until we do. And given what we know now, or believe, I don’t think you should see him again.” She realized now that he had all but admitted it to her when he left the house the last time. He had tried to make it sound as though Bill had abandoned her and betrayed her, but Tony had. He had betrayed them both, and paid to have Bill killed. He was a monster. She was still in a state of shock over what Pelham had told her, and she was deathly pale when he left a few minutes later.
When Jennifer came back into the room, Olympia told her, and the two women sat holding each other and crying. It was so unthinkable that Tony had wantonly destroyed the life of a good man who had so many people who loved him. And he justified it in his own mind and blamed Bill for what had happened and not himself.
Pelham called Alix at the network right before she left for the day. He told her in a subdued voice that her hunch had been right about Bill Foster’s death.
“We don’t have all the details yet, but we’re fairly certain it was a paid hit, and that Clark paid for the hit from an offshore account.” Alix felt sick as she listened.
“Does Mrs. Foster know yet?” Alix sounded horrified and couldn’t imagine how she would take it, or live with it after she knew. Losing him at all had been hard enough.
“We told her today.”
“How was she?”
“It was a shock. We’re moving ahead with the grand jury. I know you won’t say anything.” She had been totally honorable about it so far, and he respected her for it. “I’ll let you know when you can break the story.” It was the least he could do for her, since she had given him all her leads and information, including her final theory, which had proved to be accurate. Now they could all see the whole picture. Tony Clark had been willing to do anything to protect his future, including killing his future running mate and best friend. It was beyond sordid, even to a pro like John Pelham. And it was tragic considering all the people Clark had hurt.
Alix sat staring into space at her desk for a few minutes after she hung up, trying to absorb it, but it was almost too big and too ugly to understand, that anyone could be that evil and that heartless, and she couldn’t even imagine how Olympia must have felt when she heard it, or how she and her children would survive knowing what Clark had done. How did you recover from something like that? But at least Bill was already gone and had been for a long time. Somehow, it would have been even worse if he had just died.
Alix was still looking dazed when Ben came to find her. They had to pick Faye up at a friend’s. He had become their chauffeur, bodyguard, chef, host, and best friend, and Faye had stopped complaining about staying at his apartment. He was so kind to them that she wasn’t grousing about not being able to go home, and after what she’d been through, she liked sharing a bed with her mother. It made her feel like a little girl again. The wound on her head was healing nicely, and she had nightmares about the shooting, but she felt better than she had at first. It was going to take time, and she hadn’t made a decision yet about going back to school for the short time left, or whether she wanted to stay in New York. And she didn’t know about the fall.
“Are you okay?” Ben asked Alix, looking worried. “Something wrong? Is Faye okay?” She nodded and stared at him with a shocked expression.
“I was right.”
“About what?”
“Bill Foster. It was a hit. They think Clark paid for it from an offshore account. He obviously figured he wouldn’t get caught, and he didn’t till now.”
“Oh my God. Who told you?” Ben sounded stunned.
“Pelham. He just called.”
“How is that possible? And no one knew or suspected it?”
“Apparently not. They assumed it was random terrorism. They had no reason to suspect Clark, until now.”
“Jesus. He really is a sociopath. Does Foster’s wife know?”
“They just told her.”
“It must be like having him die all over again. Murdered by their closest friend. Whoa, this is going to be ugly when it comes out. Bribes, illegal oil deals, one senator murdering another. It doesn’t get much worse. The President is going to love this.”
“It’s going to a secret grand jury hearing tomorrow. They’ll get a warrant after that.” She stood up then. They had to pick up Faye, and they were late.
Alix didn’t say anything in the car. She couldn’t, she was too upset and shocked. She had come up with the theory, but she had hoped it wasn’t true. She wished it weren’t, for Olympia’s sake. She had been through enough.
Faye noticed how quiet her mother was on the way to Ben’s house. “Are you okay, Mom?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Bad day at work?” She worried about her.
“Sort of.” She couldn’t talk, or fake it. She was lost in thought.
Ben tried to fill in the gaps in the conversation, but he was shocked too. They fumbled around his kitchen when they got home, and finally decided to order pizza, and when it came Alix couldn’t eat. All she could think about was Olympia and how she must feel. She hoped she wasn’t alone and had someone with her. She would have liked to call her, to offer her some support, but didn’t know her well enough to do so, about something this huge. This was a private moment that no one else could share, except her children, who had been robbed of the father they loved by someone they knew and loved too.
Alix went to their room after dinner and lay down on the bed, and Faye came in a little while later to check on her.
“Are you feeling sick?” Faye asked gently.
“Kind of.” She didn’t want to explain it. “We covered a bad story today, or at least I found out about it. I know the people involved, slightly, and I feel terrible about it.”
“What kind of story? Like at Duke?” Faye’s eyes were sad when she said it. “A shooting?”
“Actually it was a murder, six years ago. They only found out today who did it. The victim had a nice wife and two kids your age at the time. Their best friend paid for the hit. Sometimes the human race really lets you down,” Alix said sadly, and Faye nodded.
“I kind of feel that way after what happened at school. I just don’t understand it.” And then a minute later she sighed and looked at her mother. “I’ve decided to go back, Mom. It’ll be hard. But there’s only a little time left anyway. I can figure out wha
t I want to do after that. Maybe I’ll do a semester abroad next year, in France. I’ll see how I feel, after I go back.” Alix’s heart fluttered a little when she heard her daughter say she might do a semester abroad, but it might be good for her. And she thought it was right that she wanted to return to school now. They were opening again the following week, and it was almost summer break.
“I’ll go with you and settle you in,” Alix promised. She wanted to make sure that Faye was up to it and that it wouldn’t be too traumatic for her, but Alix thought she could handle it, she was a strong girl. They had discussed it a lot, and she would have counseling at school.
They talked quietly for a little while, lying on the bed, and then Alix went to the kitchen for a cup of tea, and ran into Ben putting dishes in the dishwasher. It almost felt like a family being there, even though they were only friends. She told him that Faye had decided to go back to school.
“I think it’s the right decision,” he said seriously.
“So do I, but it will be hard while she’s there.” He nodded.
“The kids can console each other. You have to get through the tough times in life, you can’t go around them or run away. I think she’s smart to make the decision, and be brave.” He smiled at Faye when she walked in, helped herself to a bottle of water, and went back to their room, which now seemed comfortable and familiar.
They had all been through their tough times, Alix when she had Faye as barely more than a child herself, and her husband’s accidental death right after, Ben when he lost his son, and now Faye after the shooting. No one was exempt at any age. And Alix couldn’t help thinking that now Olympia Foster and her children would be facing tough times again, reliving the death of their father, and the betrayal by their most trusted friend. Alix felt deeply sorry for them.
She and Ben sat at the kitchen table for a while and talked about it, before they went to bed.
“When are you taking Faye to Duke?” he asked her.
“Not this weekend, the one after. The semester’s almost over.”
“I’ll come with you if you want, if Faye won’t consider it an intrusion.” He wanted to be respectful of them both, and give them space if they needed it, and time alone, but he wanted to be there to offer support too, to the degree that he could.
“She likes you, I’m sure she’d be happy if you came.” And this time, they could fly, which would be a lot easier than the drive from New Orleans had been.
Ben followed Alix to her room and said good night to her in the hall. It reminded him of the night she had been convinced that Clark had killed Foster and he thought she was crazy. As it turned out, she wasn’t crazy at all. Clark was. And a terrible man, beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.
When Alix walked into the guest room, Faye was asleep, and looked like a little girl in her pink pajamas with her hair in a braid. She still had a bandage on the wound, although it was closed now. Alix slid into bed and put her arms around her daughter, and was grateful again that she was alive. It was all she needed. Nothing else mattered.
—
After Pelham’s visit to her, Olympia spent a quiet evening when Jennifer left for the day. She had offered to stay, but Olympia wanted to be alone. She wanted to think about what had happened, and how she was going to tell her children. It was going to be a huge shock to them, but they had a right to know. She didn’t know whether to tell them now, or after Tony was arrested. And in the end, she decided to wait. She didn’t feel up to talking to them tonight and giving them the support they needed. She wanted to feel stronger when she called them. It had been a terrible blow.
She hardly slept that night, and she was glad that Tony didn’t call her late, as he often did. She knew he was busy preparing for the Senate hearings the next day, and she was relieved not to hear his voice. There was nothing left to say. She never wanted to speak to him again. Now that she knew the truth, she just couldn’t.
Jennifer saw that she looked exhausted the next day but didn’t comment. The catalogs had come in from NYU and Columbia, and Olympia flipped through them, trying not to think of the grand jury hearing that was happening that day and what the verdict was going to be. She saw that there were several classes she might be interested in. She couldn’t wait to tell Darcy about them the next time they spoke, when things calmed down again. But before that, she knew that she’d have to tell them about Tony, and what he had done. She dreaded sharing it with them, and their reaction. They would be devastated, and so would Bill’s father.
And much to her horror, Tony called her that night. He was the last person she wanted to talk to. But she forced herself to take the call so he didn’t suspect anything. It was agony talking to him and made her feel even sicker. He told her the Senate hearing had gone well that day, and he’d had dinner at the White House with the President in the private quarters. The First Lady was away on an official trip, and they’d had some business to attend to. He sounded very self-important when he said it, and Olympia felt dizzy.
“And what did you do today?” he asked, in a condescending tone. “Are you working on the book again?”
“Not really. I’ve been looking into law school classes, as a kind of refresher. It was Charles’s idea when I saw him, and I think I’ll do it.” It was something to say, and Tony sounded shocked.
“Why would you bother? You’re not going to practice law again, are you? Why would you?”
“I might,” she said vaguely, desperate to get off the phone. “How’s Megan feeling?” she asked, to change the subject.
“She’s starting to have morning sickness,” he said, in an unsympathetic tone, “but she wanted another baby, so she’ll have to put up with it.” Olympia couldn’t help thinking that she was going to feel a lot sicker when she heard that her husband would be going to prison for all that he had done, including murder. She wanted to feel sorry for her, but she didn’t. He had fooled Megan too, but Olympia wasn’t convinced she loved him either, and thought she had ulterior motives of her own.
“I was going to try to come up and see you this weekend,” he said breezily, “but I don’t think I can. I’ve got too much homework to do. The President has a new project he wants my help with. I’ll come up next week.” She was noncommittal, and hoped he wouldn’t be going anywhere the following week except jail.
And then they hung up after he told her he loved her, and she felt nauseous as she sat staring at the phone in her hand. She wondered if the grand jury had reached a decision, what the two lobbyists had said in their testimony, and if they had convinced the grand jury of his guilt sufficiently so he would be indicted and stand trial. John Pelham had said he didn’t think it would come to that yet. Tony would have to resign, and probably plead guilty to a deal. And with murder added, it would be a huge scandal. The CIA was going to be presenting evidence at the hearing, with the caveat that there would be more later, and they were adding what they knew of Bill Foster’s murder, and Tony’s presumed involvement in it.
She lay awake most of the night, thinking about him, and waiting to hear from Pelham in the morning, but he didn’t call, and she didn’t want to call him. She was well aware that she had to be patient and wait for news. The wheels of justice turned slowly, but she also knew they would get him in the end. Tony’s life, as he knew it, was over.
Chapter 14
John Pelham waited to call Olympia until they had the indictment. The grand jury had taken their time and made a careful decision. He was being indicted for taking bribes, receiving illegal payments from the Saudis on oil deals for at least a dozen years, tax evasion, money laundering for his offshore accounts, and being responsible for the murder of Senator William Foster. There were so many charges against him that it took them two full days to hear all the evidence, and a third to pronounce their verdict. Tony was to be given the opportunity to resign, and if he didn’t, then he would be impeached by the House of Representatives, and the impeachment itself would be conducted by the Senate. It was a complicated proced
ure, and the President had to be advised before they arrested him. There were rules about it that had never been implemented before, and then the President would have to appoint a new Vice President. The ripple effect around the whole situation was huge.
Officer Pelham had the signed warrant on his desk from a federal judge, when he called Olympia Foster and told her they were going to arrest him that night. The Director of National Intelligence had been advised as well. He had followed the case every step of the way.
“Has he called you?” Pelham asked her about Tony.
“Every day,” she said unhappily, “but he was too busy to come up. He’s been in Senate hearings all week.”
“I would prefer it if you didn’t take his call, if he calls you tonight. He might hear something in your voice. We want this to go as smoothly and quietly as possible,” although he knew the entire country would be in an uproar by the next day once the news was out. And he had promised to advise Alix immediately after they made the arrest. He wanted to give her a jump-start on the story. She deserved it. She had done everything she could to help them, without leaking any part of it on the news.
Olympia thanked him for the call and wished him luck, and waited to hear that the deed was done. And then she would have to call her children, at whatever hour, so they didn’t hear it first on the morning news. She was worried about them. And it was a long night, another one. There was no news from John Pelham until seven o’clock the next morning, and when he called her, he was tired and tense, and she could hear it. His night had been even longer and harder than hers, and she was sure that arresting Tony had been unpleasant.
Dangerous Games Page 19
