Lust and Lies 04 - Pretty Maids in a Row

began with a phone call from the crowded lobby of the Kessler Hotel.
    "Hello?"
    "Is this the new HUD secretary, Timothy Ziegler?"
    With a smile in his voice, he answered, "Why, yes, it is. Who's this?"
    "Someone who knows more about your past than what came out in the hearing." Knowing how protective Ziegler had been about his wife's privacy during interviews throughout the hearing, the caller added, "If you hang up, the next call I make is to your wife." The gamble paid off. Ziegler stayed on the line.
    "I can't imagine what you're referring to, but if you're looking to blackmail me about something, you must not be aware of my bank balance."
    "I don't want your money, only a little conversation. Are you alone?"
    Ziegler hesitated long enough for the caller to wonder if his timing was off after all. "Yes, but I'm due downstairs soon. Can't this wait?"
    "No, it can't, and it won't take that long. What's your room number?" Ziegler muttered directions and soon his caller was ascending one of the lobby elevators and walking down the empty hallway toward his suite. A beige canvas tote bag concealed a number of essentials, including latex gloves, which were donned just before the caller knocked.
    As soon as Ziegler opened the door, his visitor pulled a gun out of the bag and motioned him back into the room.
    Ziegler's gaze briefly darted to the closed bedroom door, as though looking for an escape route. Keeping a wary eye on the deadly weapon pointed at his chest, he said, "I thought you wanted to talk."
    "I do. This will insure that you'll be attentive. And obedient. Go to the bar and pour yourself a glass of water, then back away." After he did as he was instructed, his visitor removed from the bag a plastic pill container partially filled with white powder. The contents were then emptied into the water and stirred with a swizzle stick. "Now, drink it."
    "No, thank you. I don't indulge."
    Although the senator tried to sound sarcastic, the perspiration dotting his forehead and upper lip revealed his fear. "It's only a truth inducer," the visitor lied. "It will make you more cooperative while we talk. I assure you it will be completely worn off in time for you to go to your party."
    "I don't need a drug to tell you the truth. Ask me whatever you want."
    The visitor's finger moved on the trigger of the gun. "You can drink it or you can die. Note how steady my hand is. I have no qualms about shooting you and I'm absolutely certain I could get away from here before anyone would come to investigate."
    Ziegler stared at the finger slowly tighten on the trigger, pulling it back a fraction of an inch closer to the grip. His gaze darted to the eyes of his visitor and what he saw there convinced him to obey. "All right. I'll drink it."
    Only when he lifted the glass to his mouth and drained it did the visitor allow the trigger to ease back into a somewhat less threatening position.
    Fear caused Ziegler's voice to crack. "What is it you want me to talk about?"
    "I'll tell you in due time but first I would suggest you choose a comfortable seat. The medication could make you a little dizzy."
    Tim sat down but the other remained standing with the gun pointed at him.
    "We'll give the drug ten minutes. You may want to use the time to contemplate your sins."
    When the allotted time passed, the visitor said, "Let's begin with something simple. Where did you go to college?"
    Tim arched an eyebrow. "After the past week, most of the country knows the answer to that."
    "Cut the sarcasm. Just answer the question. I assure you they'll get harder as we go along."
    "Dominion University."
    "Did you date Cheryl Wallace?"
    Tim frowned, but answered in the affirmative. When asked if he had set her up to be raped, however, he denied it as vehemently as he had during the hearing and insisted she had been a willing participant.
    As the sedative flooded Ziegler's system, he was questioned about details of his relationship with Cheryl, but he stuck to his public story. When he was asked about other women he had dated, he continued to deny that he had ever forced himself on a woman. Even when his inquisitor grew furious and waved the gun in his face, he refused to admit he had ever abused a woman in any manner. He fought the effects of the drug as long as he could but within half an hour, he began losing the battle.
    When he was barely able to hold up his head and his words became so slurred they were unintelligible, he was told who his visitor was and why