That ridiculous game. The way she tried to use it to create a power struggle among their staff and retain her dominance. Henry always hated it, and even more so now, after being in the hospital, fearing for his life, realizing what was important and what wasn’t. The mention of the White Elephant made him even more resolved to get out. No, it wouldn’t be easy to convince Claudine. But there was no choice. He would have to prove that to her. He grabbed his gift and left for the office. This would be his last year picking a number.

Zara

How had the Aspen murder of Spider Sabich at the hand of beautiful French pop starlet Claudine Longet been forgotten? There was no podcast. No Ryan Murphy series. Just that Power, Privilege and Justice episode, which I watched like five times. What a rich mess it all was, a town full of movie stars and moguls, pearls and parties. Traces of cocaine. A rumor of relationship problems. An inadmissible diary. Unreal. Let me set the scene.

It’s the 1970s. Spider Sabich (real name Vladimir) is a golden-boy pro skier with blond locks and a winning smile. Sexy, fast, fearless. Former world champion and Olympian. He falls in love with Claudine Longet, this beautiful Parisienne who had moved to America a decade or so earlier to become an actor but first was a Vegas showgirl. It was there in Sin City that she met Andy Williams. Andy was a really popular singer—sort of a more square Sinatra. He had like a TV variety show and was especially beloved for his Christmas albums. Andy and Claudine got hitched and her singing career took off. I know how this business works and there’s a lot of nepotism. But in Claudine’s case she deserved it. She released a few albums, some with these really melancholy, ethereal covers of songs by the Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, and the Beach Boys. Sounds a lot like what Nico was doing with the Velvet Underground or what Brigitte Bardot was doing with Serge Gainsbourg. Claudine was just as gorgeous and fashionable—short skirts, tall boots—but maybe because she was married to a more strait-laced guy like Andy she never got the same cool-kid cred.