Read the first chapters of "The Woman Who Killed the President"

Solange met Dan Jager while he worked undercover in Operation Manhattan. She was an immigrant and he, her American friend, who ended up helping her stay in the US through a brief marriage in exchange for a green card.
With the conclusion of the operation, Solange discovers the true identity of her “friend” and they only talk again several years later, when he announces his candidacy for president of the United States.
The success of Operation Manhattan elevates Dan to celebrity status, due to the frequency that he appears on TV giving interviews and participating in late night talk shows, debating public safety and politics. It is during that time that Dan met Caroline.
Not long after, they marry and Dan accepts the invitation to start a political career. From there, the couple’s life and that of Solange, his ex-wife, become intertwined in a web of secrets, lies and death.



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Prologue

We interrupt your regular programming to bring you breaking news that will shake our nation. The president of the United States has been found dead. At the moment, we do not have any further...

....The possibility of a terrorist attack has not been ruled out at this moment, but authorities are working to find those responsible...

.... we will keep our audience updated throughout the day and in a few moments, at noon, the press secretary will give us more informations about the case. We will return live from the White House when...

.... Our hearts and deepest condolences go out to the first lady in this tragic moment.

She stops flipping through the channels. Putting the TV on mute, she observes the chaos on the reporters’ faces. At the same time, she asks herself if they might be enjoying themselves, all excited and exalted.


1
Dan fires and hits his mark. His face lights up while his campaign chief, Robert Cavandish, paces impatiently at the other end of the room, hands to his head.

“We are a month away from the elections, can’t you find a better, more suitable hobby, like visiting schools and reading to kids? What happened to that dummy you were always kicking around?”
“He’s no longer enough,” says Dan without looking away from the target. He just switched his weapon, now using his favorite, the shotgun.

“We need an extra something during this final stretch; are you sure Caroline’s father won’t change his mind and back us?”

“Affirmative, he only backs whoever is already at the top.”

“And Caroline? It’s high time you stopped playing the lone wolf, everything has its limit and you have to do something.”

“I know my wife well and she only does what she wants but, if she “thinks” she wants it, that’ll be enough. You can relax, that part is under control. Now leave me be. The sooner I finish this, the better, right?”

Robert shrugs and decides to give Dan the benefit of the doubt; if he says he will figure out a way to convince Caroline into participating more in the campaign, he must have something planned out. In any case, he already tried everything and she did not budge. “I don’t like the spotlight.” What a lame excuse. Why did she marry a politician then?

Now Dan, on the other hand, takes instructions well. Never could he have dreamed of a more malleable candidate, who accepted all his directives and followed protocol to the letter. Also, he had a hidden rage that worked well with the position. They were constantly bombarded by criticism and hate from all sides but Dan came out better off from any of these adverse situations, appearing calm and never wavering, at least not in from of the cameras, and responded firmly to provocations. That should be enough, thought Robert resignedly. Among the campaign team’s inner circle, Dan is known as the pit-bull. If trained, he will not bite, but you could sense the fierceness just under the surface. Robert disagreed. He had a pit-bull growing up and it was the sweetest thing he ever saw – although protective, he was not violent. To him, Dan is a pincher. Small and insignificant in the animal kingdom so he feels the need to bare his teeth. What about him, what would he be? A hungry lion, maybe? No, he never wanted for anything, his life had always been good but, even with a full stomach, he still hungered. He was insatiable. He wanted power and the more power he had, the more he craved it. That is why he receives a small fortune to make that idiot the next president of the United States. It is the biggest challenge he ever faced in his career in political marketing, but nothing excites him more than a little challenge.


2
“As soon as I heard my dad’s car coming into the garage, I scratched my legs vigorously and started to cry, alleging that my brother had done it. Not my actual brother, he was the son of my father’s second wife but the closest thing I had to a brother… I think I just had an epiphany, but I don’t know why this memory is still so alive within me; do I still keep trying to draw attention, victimizing myself?” says Caroline looking down, seeming bored.

“It’s possible. But why do you think that, even now, all grown up, you keep repeating this behavior?”
“Because every time I talk to Dan I notice that he’s not paying attention and he doesn’t even try to hide it, and this memory springs to mind, along with an inexplicable rage, which flares instantaneously.”

“How can you tell that your husband is not paying attention? Does he do anything in particular? What, specifically, leads you to distrust him?”

“He looks me in the eyes and nods his head as if he agrees with what I just said. I talk and talk and he just nods his head, I’m sure he hasn’t heard a word. It’s almost imperceptible but I can see it’s all an act, that he is in his own world but pretending that he’s part of the conversation. Did you know that he worked undercover?”

The therapist assents. “Everyone in America knows it.” Caroline feels like an idiot siting in that room decorated with Persian rugs and walls covered with books. It seems like she’s attending therapy in a library. What had made her ask her best friend to be her therapist?

“You don’t believe in anything I’m saying, right? You think Dan is this saintly creature. I remember when he proposed and you said ‘lucky you’, remember?”

“Caroline,” Jemma puts down her notebook, takes Caroline’s hand and turns to her friend lovingly, “I shouldn’t even be here, I can be reprimanded for this, but I am, because we’re friends and I want what’s best for you, I want to help.”

Caroline apologizes. She knows that Jemma wants what’s best for her, she has always been that way, since college. Countless times she trusted her friend, when they went out to college parties and Jemma cared for her when she went overboard with her drinking, when her grandfather died, when she was almost expelled from college for being irresponsible, when she kept trying to have a relationship with her father over the holidays, only to return depressed and frustrated. In all these occasions, Jemma was present, consoled her, was patient, was her true friend.

Seeing Caroline calmer, Jemma re-assumes her therapist role, sitting with her back straight, notebook in hands, she adjusts her round glasses and formulates another question.

“If he isn’t a saint, what is he then?” Caroline takes a deep breath and realizes that she has no idea how to answer such a simple question, about her own husband.

“Our time is done for today, but I would like you to think about that question. OK?”
Caroline nods, rises and leaves.

The commercial building where she was having her session is also her place of work. That’s how she eludes the press. Jemma is her friend from college and it could have been just a friendly visit, nothing newsworthy about that. Imagine the headlines if they found out that the presidential candidate’s perfect marriage has issues? Caroline returns to work but cannot concentrate. She remains seated at her orderly and immaculately white desk, staring at a blank computer screen and asks herself: who is Dan Jager? Ringing from the phone brings her out of her thoughts.

“Your next patient is ready for you,” says the receptionist on the phone. She closes her eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted, then buzzes for the patient to come in.

She is being pressured into leaving work to prepare for her duties as first lady, but she loves what she does and will not stop living her own life simply because her husband might become president. Among the many disagreements the couple has, this is not one of them. Dan never pushes her into quitting or much of anything really. He seems content with what she does now and, now that she thinks about it, she notices that most of the misunderstandings are on her end. She thinks they have problems, especially communicating. He does not argue, talk back or seem affected in any way while she argues, talks back and generally flares her temper. Dan is calm. Too calm, she thinks.

She remembers that, even during the most heated political debates, he remained tranquil, only changing his tone when trying to demonstrate positivity and hope for the future of America, when explaining his proposals for better health and education in the country. Maybe she is being unjust in thinking that they have issues. They have sex every Sunday, religiously. He never complains about anything, so if there is something wrong, it is probably her.

“Good afternoon, how are you?” Caroline says to the mother of the chubby and smiling new-born. She loves when her patient is still a baby. Imagine if they knew that she, the pediatrician loved by babies, did not want to be a mother? When she told Dan this, while they were dating, he did not seem annoyed; much to the contrary, his face revealed something that might have been relief. Would things change if he won? The press spent a good time speculating about this aspect of their lives, but he responded with “we still have time” and added a paternal smile that satisfied them for a while. It is strange having your intimate life exposed in that way. When they met, there was already an invitation for Dan to become a politician. Curiously, both parties, patriotic and libertarian, had vetted him for a possible political career.

However, no mention was made about becoming the US President. Dan believed it would be for local positions, such as mayor or maybe even governor. People seemed to love his humble beginnings, his heroics when he almost died as an undercover agent  and arrested one of the kingpins of the drug trade during Operation Manhattan. TV and the media love him for his angular face and his simple and direct way of speaking. He is sociable, almost handsome but not exaggeratedly seductive. One aspect that usually weighs against politicians, the lack of traditional education, now is in his favor. Dan never had the chance to attend university, he is a “man of the people,” like many like to call him, and being one of guys while also accepted by the elite, he needs to have something extra. And he does. A hidden beauty, a humble yet confident smile and, primarily, a contagious charisma, a charm that he confessed to his wife having learned from someone he investigated in the past.

Caroline, as much as she wants to lie to herself, has also been seduced by these characteristics so well employed by the marketing team. But now, after almost three years of marriage, she asks herself, without any idea of the answer: who is Dan Jager, beyond what he shows to the media, beyond his campaign profile?

She treats more babied until five in the afternoon and returns to her empty home. She thinks about ordering some food but she does not know when Dan would return from his duties and so decides to eat whatever is in the fridge. She opens a bottle of wine, goes to the living room, turns on the TV and searches for a movie to watch, but Jemma’s question keeps resurfacing. She grabs some photo albums that are on the shelf next to the TV and leafs through her wedding. She still had her hair dyed black and smiled at her husband, who returned it and she remembers precisely how she felt that day. It was a blend of fear and excitement. Fear because it happened too fast, but excited because she loved the challenge, the novelty. She never thought she would marry but, here she is, marrying a handsome “good catch” with a “stellar future ahead,” as the few guest who came to the ceremony said. Robert was there, and he was already a constant presence in Dan’s life at that time and was responsible for organizing the wedding and bringing the photographers. The following day, the photos plastered some newspapers and the press heralded the union. Soon after. Dan was announced as a candidate for presidency through the patriotic party and his speeches started to clash with the image of the hero policeman, who saved the country from the traffickers. At the time, he still felt the need to speak more honestly, his discourse was neither polished nor rehearsed to sound more like a candidate and less like an officer. Caroline, even though she did not agree with many of his opinions, liked Dan more during that period, when she felt he was more honest and genuine. Previously, she knew how to respond to Jemma’s question, but now she feels lost. Her husband has changed a bit, she admits it, but the change is nothing drastic or evident, he has always been quiet, seeming distant and, maybe, a little cold. Never very emotional, or at least he did not demonstrate it, was what Caroline thought, but now it seemed that the coldness has become ingrained, the political theater blurs with reality. Maybe he has simply lost himself and his political life became his reality, ponders Caroline while sipping her third glass of wine, a freedom she allows herself because her husband is not home. He hates drinking, has a surprisingly strong opinion about “the weak become slaves to alcohol,” but one glass of wine is not a reason for complaint, as long as it is in moderation and she does not exaggerate. When had she ever imagined herself in a relationship with a man as square as that? Never, but here she is and, no matter how much she tries, she cannot figure out how they got here, how they actually got together and, the more she thinks about it, the farther she feels from her husband. But now it seems a little late for such thoughts.   


3
It is late when Dan goes to Lisa’s cubicle, who works even on weekends, without a break, devoted to his candidacy and everything he represents. The headquarters of his political campaign are in a sprawling building with no inner walls, separated by meeting rooms and with a buffet at the end of the building. It is filled with tables with computers and phones, and Lisa is checking the last numbers for her electoral polls when Dan approaches. He asks if she has a minute, “I know it’s late,” but she does not mind the time.

“Certainly. What do you need?” Lisa smiles, she feels happy when he talks to her informally, calling her by name. He says it is confidential and asks her to accompany him to the smoking area, on the building’s terrace, where they can speak privately. Lisa accompanies him, carrying a notepad and a pencil, ready to jot down anything he might ask.

“It’s a delicate subject, and I don’t trust many people to deal with it, which is why I ask, yet again, for you to trust me and be discreet.” Lisa nods without saying anything, like a good soldier called into action.

Then Dan reveals that he received an envelope with information about his past, something that he has not told even his wife and it might dash his presidential hopes.

“I was married to a woman for almost four years, yet, it was a brief marriage, months to be exact. Nevertheless, we only finalized the divorce when I proposed to Caroline. We had already been separated, there was no infidelity, nothing like that. But the fact that I never mentioned it could cause us problems. My opponent will try to use this against us… it’s almost a gift for them who are so desperate, especially in this final stretch of the campaign.”

Dan tells Lisa, who observes him with a curious look, to schedule a meeting with Solange, his ex-wife, in order to discuss what to tell the press and to come to an understanding.

“Caroline still does not know about this marriage, and I will speak to her later today about it. But her I can work with; Solange, on the other hand, Solange could be difficult. She is… how to put this… unpredictable.”

“Do you already have a strategy?” says the secretary, trying to appear impartial and collected, controlling her tone and expression, as if this news had not completely shocked her.

“I thought about sending flowers and a card explaining the situation, after all, she will be hounded by the press as soon as this news leaks, and it would be better if we’re ahead of this, having talked everything out. It will also be good if we’re on the same page. She is an entrepreneur who is ready to retire from her career in modeling, according to my research, so I believe it will be in her interest to resolve this situation sooner rather than later.”

She insists and asks if there is no way to prevent this information from leaking, but Dan says that no, they do not have nothing to counter with, nothing to use against Georgina, his opponent.

“This is her last chance to get me out of the running, and I know she will use everything at her disposal. It is better if we anticipate this. That’s my strategy. Tomorrow I want you to discover where Solange is and go to her with this note.” Dan hands her a small paper inside an envelope.

“Do you think you can do this for me, Lisa?” says Dan in a gentle yet firm way. He knows that out of all the people working for him, she is the only one who truly admires him, the others are only looking of for their own interests.

“Certainly, sir. No problems.”

Satisfied, Dan looks at his watch and says that it is too late even for her, his best and most faithful secretary.

“I will never forget your help, in such a delicate moment as this,” Dan says while holding, in an affectionate way, Lisa’s arm, who feels her body electrify with that touch. They say their goodbyes and Lisa leaves directly for her house.

On the subway, she thinks about how lucky she is to have someone to look up to, who trusts her to the point of giving her this mission. What would this wife from the past be like? Is she selfish like Caroline? How could she, with her husband poised to become this nation’s president, not be there, in the campaign headquarters, helping him? Worse yet, she still talks about keeping her job at the clinic instead of taking on the responsibilities of a worthy first lady. Marriages these days are so strange, so independent. She would never do that if she had a husband like Dan.

The train stops and she steps off quickly, anxious to return to her computer and research this ex-wife of Dan’s.

Lying down on the small single bed, Lisa eats microwave popcorn while typing the words “Solange da Silva Gomes – model” and voilà. Stunning pictures appear on her screen that leave her dumbstruck. So this was the woman who was had been married to Dan? A bombshell like that, poor Caroline when she finds out, thinks Lisa with a wicked smirk on her face. What could have happened for Dan to want this meeting? From what he said, they must have met during the time he was still a cop, while he was still undercover.

An ex-wife who is black and latina might help him get more votes from these groups. On the other hand, there is a risk of losing the more conservative votes, one of the biggest focuses of Dan’s campaign. But he is not that conservative, he is just someone who wanted to keep some good traditional principles. She was not that conservative either, but understood when he meant when he talked about Christian values. But people, in this day and age, distort everything that is said, understanding only what they want to understand. He is not a hypocrite, living what he says and believes, but it is strange that he has not told Caroline about this marriage to a model. Maybe he did not tell her everything about this marriage? Is he hiding something? No, she thinks, she is just being paranoid and letting her imagination run away with her. He is not like other men, he probably has a good reason for withholding this information. She turns off the computer and tries to sleep. Tomorrow this mystery will be solved.