Home Free - Fern Michaels [88]
“How did Abner get all this?” Bert asked, awe ringing in his voice.
“You don’t want to know, so don’t ask,” Isabelle snapped. “You wanted information, you paid for it—or, at least, you will pay for it, I trust—and here it is, so stop right there.”
“Okay, okay,” Bert said, looking at Kathryn, who was glaring at him as much as to say, “You’re here, but you have to keep quiet.” Bert’s lips snapped shut.
“Is that when Mr. OO went to ground and became a recluse?” Alexis asked.
“Yes,” Charles said, reading ahead.
“Maybe he wigged out at the loss of his best and only friend,” Nikki said.
“More than likely,” Myra said as she fingered the pearls at her neck. “Neither of them was married, is that right?”
“No, dear, neither man was married. Mr. Jessup ran a think tank in Washington. He was very wealthy, according to his financials,” Charles said.
“When he died, where did his money go?” Ted asked.
Charles smiled as he looked down at the papers he was holding. “To Mr. OO.”
“Do Mr. OO’s financials bear that out?” Annie asked.
Charles smiled again. “No, they do not. That has to mean Mr. OO has another bank or brokerage account somewhere else. Under another name would be my guess, or possibly a corporation offshore, which is more likely. The man is considered a financial genius, so bear that in mind.”
“I guess, then, we have to pay Mr. OO a visit and get our information firsthand,” Nikki said, her eyes sparking dangerously.
The Sisters hooted their approval of her suggestion.
“Uh-oh, what’s this on the next-to-the-last page?” Jack said, holding up a sheet of paper. “Oh, I see, it’s Abner’s personal note that he thinks the CIA is in danger of either being divided up, castrated, or put out to pasture. Can that be?” he asked, a dumbfounded look on his face.
“In this day and age, anything is possible,” Charles said. “The current administration has had nothing but trouble since Martine Connor took office. It’s almost as if her administration is out to get her and destroy her in the process. I’m going to take that one step further and say it’s because she is our first woman president. That should get you ladies all fired up,” he said quietly.
“I’m already all fired up,” Kathryn shot back.
“So are the rest of us,” Annie said.
“She’s not going to run again,” Ted blurted.
“And you know this . . . how?” Maggie barked.
“Hey, it’s my opinion, okay? I do cover the White House. My colleagues agree. We see and hear stuff. If you’re smart enough to put it together, that’s what you come up with. It’s all whispers and snide comments, but it’s out there. You know as well as I do, Maggie, when it’s out there, it’s out there!”
Maggie had the good grace to look sheepish. “Ted’s right. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Sorry about the cliché.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, no offense to you, Ted and Maggie. If she is thinking about not running again, why go through all this? Why set up a nonexistent agency? Why hire us? Why give us those gold shields? We must be missing something,” Annie blustered.
Myra had a death grip on her newly strung pearls. “I agree with Annie a hundred percent. This is not making sense.”
“This is Washington, Myra. It’s not supposed to make sense,” Nikki said.
“When something doesn’t make sense, it is usually a lie,” Isabelle said.
They all agreed with Isabelle. Ted and Maggie both pouted.
Isabelle’s phone took that moment to chirp. She looked at it and handed it to Charles,