Home Free - Fern Michaels [89]
They talked then in soft whispers so as not to disturb Charles. Lady Justice, who was still on the big screen, stared down at all of them.
Charles actually looked gleeful when he returned to take his position at the round table. “It seems that our friend Mr. Tookus was able to . . . ah, tap into Mr. Parker’s computer and view his day planner. Remember the picture taken of Mr. Tookus and Mr. Parker having lunch at the Occidental Restaurant? According to the notation in Mr. Parker’s planner, he was having lunch that day with one Joel Jessup. Now,” he said, tongue in cheek, “we have to ask ourselves, how is that possible since Mr. Jessup died nine years ago, and Mr. Tookus was kind enough to provide a death certificate issued by the Austrian authorities?”
Alexis leaned across the table and gaped at Charles. “Jason had lunch either with a dead man or with a man who assumed his identity. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Yes, dear. Remember now, we only have that one picture of Mr. OO, or someone we think is Mr. OO. The man having lunch with Mr. Parker might not even be Mr. Orzell. But then you have to ask yourselves why Mr. Parker would enter the name of Mr. Jessup in his day planner. His day planner was safe and secure in his computer—or at least he must have assumed that it was.”
All eyes turned to Maggie, as though she might have the answer. She shrugged. “I do not have a clue. I really didn’t know the man all that well. I can tell you that he is not shy about seeking publicity for his firm. Within a week of coming back from Camp David, he was sending out brochures with a picture of himself and President Connor. He even ran a tagline that read, ‘Does she or doesn’t she invest with Parker Investments? ’ ”
Harry Wong spoke for the first time since entering the war room. “I think he’s a clone of Bernie Madoff. Now that I’m opening my mail on a daily basis,” he said, looking pointedly at Jack, “I see those stupid brochures he sends out on a weekly basis. I didn’t think for a minute that the president would invest her funds with someone like him. I still can’t figure out why she allowed someone of his ilk to go to Camp David. He’s a charlatan.”
Ilk. Charlatan. Jack blinked, then blinked again. Good old Harry was on a roll. “And you know all this because you now open your mail. That is stupendous! You know what else, Harry? You are absolutely right. I agree with you one hundred percent.”
Harry flexed his fingers in Jack’s direction in a not-so-subtle threat.
“Okay, okay, I’ll quit while I’m ahead.” Jack turned to Charles. “Did Abner run Parker’s financials?”
“He certainly did. And we now have his client list. You might be surprised, Mr. Robinson, to find out you are on Mr. Parker’s client list.”
“Was. I bailed out,” Ted said defensively. “I made money, so I can’t complain.” Maggie glared at him as though he was a traitor. “Hey, Maggie, I wasn’t doing kissy poo with the guy like you were.” Maggie continued to glare at her star reporter.
“At least you had the good sense to get out,” Harry said generously.
Charles looked down at the papers he had printed out. “Mr. Parker has a very impressive client list. He appears to have considerable financial savvy. His biggest client is the aforementioned Joel Jessup. Said person appears to be very much alive, because he places orders on a regular basis. He’s making money at the speed of light, and Mr. Parker is racking up some very impressive commissions.”
“Did Abner do a due diligence on Parker?” Nikki asked.
“He did, and he also ran a Dun & Bradstreet check. He started his business eight years ago, slowly at first. It looks like Mr. Jessup was his first client, and he brought in more clients. Slowly. Our deceased Mr. Jessup’s initial investment was ten million.
“Now, Mr. Jessup’s net worth at death was four and a half million. Plus two properties, a car, and a pickup truck. The properties are worth less than five hundred thousand dollars combined, and it appears that Mr. Orzell