Chapter Sixteen
An inheritance from his deceased parents had allowed Chad Remington to buy a condo in downtown Portland within walking distance of police headquarters that he wouldn’t have been able to afford on his salary.
Chad was enjoying a pleasant dream in his king-size bed when the ringing of his phone woke him.
“Turn on Channel Six,” Audrey said as soon as he picked up.
“What?” Chad asked, still groggy from being jerked out of a deep sleep.
“Channel Six. Turn it on now!”
Chad groped for his remote and pointed it at the set in his bedroom. When he switched to Channel Six, he saw a familiar face and Marlys Valentine, the host of Wake Up, Portland.
“Our guest this morning is Congressman Tom Horan, who has an amazing story to tell everyone,” Marlys told the television audience.
“Thanks for having me on, Marlys.”
“It’s always a pleasure. So, I understand you had quite an adventure recently.”
“You don’t think…” Chad said to his partner.
“Yes,” Horan said, “but I wouldn’t call what happened to me an adventure. It was the most terrifying and unsettling event I have ever experienced.”
“Can you tell the audience and those watching at home what happened to you?”
Horan looked directly into the camera. Chad thought that the congressman was very nervous.
“This is difficult for me. As you know, Marlys, I’m running for a second term in the House of Representatives, and I’m absolutely certain that many voters are going to think I’m lying or—well, there’s no other word that is more appropriate—insane.
But I am willing to risk losing my election, because what I learned is more important than advancing my career. ”
“And what is this thing you learned?” the television host asked, trying so hard to keep her composure that Chad was certain that she knew what Horan was going to say.
“I learned that we are not alone in the universe, Marlys. Anyone who watched the House hearing on unidentified flying objects knows that I was the biggest skeptic on the committee, but I am a skeptic no longer.” Horan paused for dramatic effect. “Several days ago, I was abducted by aliens.”
Chad heard a gasp from the live studio audience.
“Were these aliens the ‘little green men’ we’ve heard so much about?” the host asked, trying successfully to keep a straight face.
“I don’t blame you for being skeptical, Marlys. I know that what I am saying is hard to believe. And no, they were huge and pale white, not green.”
Chad watched open-mouthed while Horan told the audience the tale of his abduction.
“Why is he doing this?” he asked Audrey.
“Damned if I know, but I’d love to see his polling numbers when he’s through spouting this cock-and-bull story.”
“I’m not so sure this hurts him,” Chad said. “You’re way more rational than the voting public. A lot of people will buy into this because they want to believe we’re not alone. Look at all the nonsense on social media that people think is real.”
“I think he’s shoring up his alibi, Chad. Horan must have been at Cogen’s house. Either he killed him or he knows who did.”
“Maybe so. But how do we prove it?”
“I think it’s time we talked to Millie Horan.”
Audrey Packer and Chad Remington found Millie at home in her seventh-floor condo in downtown Portland. The doorman had announced the detectives, and Millie was waiting at her door when they walked out of the elevator.
Millie Horan and her successor as Congressman Horan’s wife were a study in contrasts. Francine Horan was the tall, leggy, blond stereotype of a trophy wife. Millie was barely over five feet tall with frizzy black hair, plain features, and no noticeable curves.
“Ralph said you are detectives,” Millie said when Audrey and Chad reached her.
“Yes, ma’am,” Chad said. “We’re investigating a case in which Thomas Horan has a peripheral involvement.”
Millie sneered. “What has Tom done now?”
“Can we step inside where your neighbors can’t hear us?” Chad asked.
Millie ushered the detectives into her living room.
“Is Tom involved in a crime?” Millie asked when they were seated.
“We’re not able to say that right now. But we would like to know about the congressman’s relationship to Terrance Cogen.”
“Do you think Tom killed Terrance?” Millie asked.
“We have nothing that points that way, but we would appreciate anything you can tell us about their relationship.”
“It goes way back to high school. They were both on the chess team. That’s where they met. Then the three of us ended up at the same college. That’s where I met them.”
“How did that happen?”
“Politics. Tom decided to run for class president, and Terrance was his hit man. They used every dirty trick in the book and won. I’m embarrassed to say that I was an aider and abettor.”
Millie shook her head. “I was na?ve and not very popular. Tom was the first boy who showed a real interest in me. I suspect that was because he couldn’t get anyone else interested in him.
But we were caught up in the thrill of winning the election.
That’s when we slept together for the first time, the night he won. ”
Millie sighed. She looked sad. “He did care for me back then. We were both poli-sci majors, and we were in the same classes. We studied together and moved in together. Everything was good even after we graduated. I went to law school, and he got a job with our state senator. By the time I graduated, Tom was the nominee for the statehouse in our district. He lost by a hair. The next time, he won. I was a senior associate in the Fields, Diez law firm. Being the wife of a politician on the rise didn’t hurt.
Then he won his congressional seat, moved to DC for most of the year, fell into the clutches of that bitch Francine, and that was that. ”
“After all the support you gave him, it must have been tough when you learned he was cheating on you,” Audrey said sympathetically.
Millie looked directly at Audrey, her anger on display. “It was devastating at first, but I made Tom pay through the nose.”
“There’s a rumor that you forced his hand because you knew about financial improprieties that could have landed the congressman in hot water.”
Millie’s lips curled to form an evil smile. “When we divorced, I came out very well, but I also signed a nondisclosure agreement. If I breach it, I will take a massive hit financially, so I’m afraid I can’t discuss anything involving Tom’s finances.”
“Can you tell us more about Mr. Horan’s relationship to Terrance Cogen? Did it continue after college?”
“His legal contributions to Tom’s campaigns are public record.”
“Were there illegal contributions?” Audrey asked.
Millie’s evil smile widened. “Like I said, I can’t discuss my ex’s financial arrangements.”
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Audrey said.
Millie shrugged. “Take it any way you want to. Like they say, I can neither confirm nor deny.”
“What about nonfinancial arrangements? This is not for public consumption. Can you keep a confidence?” Chad asked.
“I’m a lawyer. I know all about confidentiality.”
“We found your husband’s fingerprints in the room where we found Mr. Cogen’s body.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. Terrance was one of Tom’s closest friends.”
“Was he involved in any shady business that had nothing to do with Mr. Horan?”
“I know he was being investigated for fraud. I was interviewed by a federal agent and an investigator from the district attorney’s office, but I couldn’t help them.”
“Did Mr. Horan know that Mr. Cogen drank milkshakes?” Chad asked.
“What a peculiar question.”
“It has a bearing on our investigation.”
“Everyone who knew Terrance knew that. It was one of his more disgusting habits. When we were in college, he was thin and rather handsome. The last time I saw him, he was unflatteringly overweight. But I haven’t seen Terrance since the divorce.”
“Can you think of anything else that would help us?” Audrey asked.
“Since I don’t know what you’re after, except for questions about Tom’s finances, I can’t.”
The detectives talked to Millie a little longer. Then they thanked her and left. Audrey and Chad waited until they were on the street to talk about the interview.
“What did you think about the ex–Mrs. Horan?” Audrey asked.
“I think that she is royally pissed at her ex and would have gladly told us anything negative about him, if she could.”
“Agreed. And I’m certain that she would gladly do her husband and the deceased a lot of damage if we could find a way to get around that nondisclosure agreement.”