Home Free - Fern Michaels [39]
“It is not a big nothing, Annie, so get that idea out of your head right now. We’re all on the same page, and if we all agree, then it has to mean it is a big something. We’re women. We’re smart. We should be able to figure this out. What’s not computing for us is that guy Maggie was hanging out with. Maybe if we take him out of the mix, it will make more sense to us. So, pffft,” Nikki said, snapping her fingers. “Jason Parker is out of the mix. Now what do we have?”
“Obviously, we need more brandy,” Annie answered, uncorking a fresh bottle from her newly built wine rack that lined one whole wall in her kitchen. “This is just so lovely,” she said, pointing to the intricate wine rack. “You pluck out a bottle and there’s another one right behind it. Just lovely. Alexis, dear, add some more wood to the fire, please. We need to be cozy and warm while we ponder the present circumstances.”
Yoko leaned forward. “Those financial people you say are at Camp David . . . they’re all public figures with titles, right?”
Annie and Myra nodded.
“If they’re public figures, and the public knows what they’re doing, they can’t be the ones in charge of secret funds. For one thing, there are too many of them. It has to be one person who oversees secret funds. And that one person is probably only accountable to one person. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any secret—what did you call them?—slush funds?”
“Yoko is absolutely right,” Myra said. “How on earth are we going to find out who that person is?”
Nellie decided it was time to voice her opinion. “Maybe that’s why the president invited Maggie to Camp David. Maybe she’s going to drop a hint, hoping Maggie picks up on it. If you girls are on the right track, it leads me to believe that the other money people there might know about the mystery fund but not know who the person is who maintains it. Did that person do something illegal? Did he or she abscond with the funds? Since the funds aren’t supposed to exist, you can run with any scenario you like.
“One other thing. Why do you think Fergus and his colleagues are there? I mean, he’s here, but he was supposed to go there, and he didn’t. To shed light on how they manage their mystery funds would be my guess. Or if those men and their countries ever had a problem similar to the one the president is experiencing. This is giving me a headache.”
“Drink some more brandy. It cures just about anything,” Annie said solicitously. “Maybe Maggie can contact her . . . that person who does all those illegal things when she returns. If he had the expertise to hack into the Witness Protection Program without anyone finding out, this should be . . . what’s that expression? Oh, yes, a walk in the park.”
Nikki, knowing the full story on Abner Tookus and Maggie’s love-hate relationship, shook her head. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Then how about Bert and Jack going to the director of the FBI? They saved his butt not too long ago, and Yantzy owes them. Yantzy should know who that person is if he heads up the FBI. For that matter, Bert might even know,” Kathryn said. She looked at Nellie and said, “Do you think Elias might know? He was Bert’s predecessor.”
Nellie shrugged. “I can ask, but I doubt it. I don’t think anyone except the president would know something like that. Maybe one other person on her staff or someone who used to be on her staff. Someone she trusts one hundred percent.”
As one, the girls said, “Lizzie!”
“But,” Myra said, holding up her hand, “doesn’t that come under the heading of attorney-client privilege or president-attorney privilege or something like that? Maybe national security?”
Myra’s words and tone of voice were so fretful, Annie took a swipe at her. “Earth to Myra. And if that is the case, do you think that will stop us from getting the information from Lizzie? Lizzie is one of us, or did you forget that?”
Sensing a revolt coming her way, Myra backpedaled. “All right, all right, I foolishly