Best Laid Plans(37)
Lucy said, “Go back to something you said earlier, Jolene. That your father had been preoccupied for the last few weeks. Why don’t you think it was related to his business?”
“Because he would have told me. We talked business all the time. Maybe not so much last week, but … it’s hard to explain why. I just know my dad. I guess—we’d talk about HWI and what audits were pending, what clients we were taking on or dropping, things like that. We met officially, with the staff, once a week, but I used to talk to him nearly every day about this or that. Not just business, but about Scott, or the house Scott and I are building, or horses—I keep several show horses. We’d catch up on friends, my cousins—personal stuff. But that all stopped a couple weeks ago. Maybe a month? He seemed rushed every time we spoke, like he needed to get to something else, so we talked about business and then he’d find an excuse to hang up. HWI wasn’t having any problems—I would know. So whatever was bothering him wasn’t about HWI. If that makes sense.”
Lucy understood. It was subtle, but Jolene had the most intimate relationship with Harper, other than Adeline. She would know if something was occupying his mind. And her observations matched both Adeline’s comments about Harper visiting the doctor and seeming preoccupied, and Debbie Alexander’s comments about Harper acting out of character by canceling a meeting.
Barry asked, “Do you know a real estate developer named James Everett?”
“Of course. Everyone knows Everett,” Scott said. “But I don’t think we’ve ever met him.”
“I did, a couple times,” Jolene said. “He wanted Daddy to go in with him on this land purchase outside of McAllen, but Daddy said no. He felt it was a conflict of interest to get into a business deal with one of Adeline’s biggest supporters. Mr. Everett and Adeline were in business together, a real estate development company, before she ran for office. I was in the meeting where he pitched the idea to Daddy. Mr. Everett was not happy my dad refused, and suggested Daddy give me the money to go in on the deal to avoid a potential conflict, but that made my dad even more furious. He told him to leave.”
“Do you remember when this conversation took place?”
“A couple of years ago. Before Scott and I got married. I don’t even think we were engaged. If it’s important, I can find the exact date. We met at HWI, they keep permanent records of all scheduled appointments.”
“I’ll let you know,” Barry said. “Would you say that your father was friends with Mr. Everett?”
“No,” Jolene said. “Friendly, maybe, but not friends, especially after that meeting. Why?”
“His name came up during our investigation,” Barry said vaguely. “We’re doing everything we can to find out exactly what happened to your father. If you have any additional information about why he might have been in San Antonio Friday night, it would help.”
Jolene hesitated, then reached into her large purse and pulled out a computer tablet. “I wasn’t sure I should give this to you.”
“Jolene,” Scott said with a warning tone.
“Well, I wasn’t, Scott! Not after what Adeline said. I don’t want to give her any ammunition to destroy my daddy’s reputation. He was proud of his name, his business. And now it’s my business, and I’m going to carry on his legacy. He would want that.”
She slid the tablet across the table. “Saturday morning, when Adeline called me and said that Daddy was dead, I packed up his hotel room. I didn’t think anything of it then, because I was really upset, and I didn’t know how or when or anything. This tablet was in his briefcase, which he’d left in his hotel room. I’ve never seen it before. Last night, I turned it on, but it’s password protected. I tried all Daddy’s usual passwords, none of them worked, and it locked me out. I was going to give it to the security consultant HWI hired to assist with the forensic audit, but maybe you should have it.”
Barry said, “You did the right thing.” He rose and shook their hands. “Thank you for coming down, and we’ll be in touch.” He opened the door. “By the way, who did you hire?”
Lucy’s stomach fell. She should have told Barry immediately about Sean, but she didn’t think of it when she saw him.
“Sean Rogan. He came highly recommended, and Gregor—our security chief—says he’s the best in the business. I can give you his contact information if you need it.”
Barry glanced at Lucy. She couldn’t read his expression, but the blank face couldn’t be a good sign. “We have it.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
As soon as Jolene and Scott left, Barry pulled Lucy back into the conference room and closed the door. “You should have told me.”
“I didn’t know until yesterday when Sean told me. I didn’t suggest to Smith that he hire Sean. And I didn’t give Sean any direction. It’s his decision, not mine.”
“You should have told Sean to turn it down. This is a huge conflict.”
“It’s not a conflict. Sean is a security consultant. He has consulted with the FBI on numerous occasions. Having him on the inside will only help us. And honestly, it’s not my place to tell Sean what contracts he takes or doesn’t take. Besides, if they didn’t hire Sean, he would have recommended someone from RCK. They’re one of the top private security firms in the country with high government clearance. The ‘K’ stands for Kincaid.”