CHAPTER 21
“Daisy.”
“You’re home,” Daisy replied as she walked into the kitchen to see Winnieford removing her scarf. “How is that man?”
Winnie smiled. “You really need to lighten up about Walker Jr. He is harmless, for now.”
“That man is never harmless.” Daisy put a tea pot on the stove. “And don’t you forget it.”
“Well, he is the last thing on my mind right now. I can tell you that.” Winnie giggled.
Daisy stared at her. “Have you been drinking?”
Winnie smiled. “I have had a cup of tea or two at a delightful little shop in Williamsburg.” She sat down at the island. “The owner has magical teas that wipe the stress away with one sip.”
Daisy raised an eyebrow at her. “Uh huh. Did she use bourbon or rum?”
Winnie rested her head on her hand as she leaned on the island, then closed her eyes. “Bourbon, I think. The tea was blissful. Oh!” She snapped up. “I met a woman there. Believe me, it was a welcome change from the conversation with Walker.”
Daisy nodded. “What did Walker Jr. have to say for himself?”
Winnie waved her hand. “A bunch of bull crap,” she laughed. “Do you know he had the nerve to insinuate I could not handle things. As if I was a broken child or something.”
“You know who you are, Winnie.” Daisy poured the hot water into the tea cup. “Walker Jr. can only wish he was half the woman you are.”
Winnie laughed. “Walker Jr. couldn’t handle being a woman. The first signs of a cramp, he would fall over crying like a baby.”
“Did you eat anything at the tea shop?” Daisy asked a little concerned about Winnie’s state of intoxication. And make no mistake, her friend was drunk.
“Yes, I did.” Winnie brightened. “The cutest little croissants, with honey butter. They were simply delightful.”
“Uh huh.” Daisy continued to eye Winnie as she brought the cup of tea to her lips.
“Oh and I met a woman there. Did I say that already? Oh well.” The cup clattered when she sat it back down, a little excited. “We had a heartfelt conversation about coping with losing the love of your life.”
“Is she drunk too?” Daisy asked as she sat on the opposite side of the island with her tea.
Winnie laughed. “I’m not drunk, Daisy. But after a visit to Walker Jr., as you can imagine, there is quite a bit to sort through. The tea simply helped to clear my mind.”
“And did it clear your mind or muddle it more?”
“Yes, I think. At least enough to know Walker Jr. is up to something.” Winnie shifted in her chair as she picked up the tea cup holding it with both hands.
Daisy leaned across the island with her chin resting in her hand. “How did he give himself away this time?”
“Oh, he said all the right things, talking about making amends, taking responsibility.” Winnie smirked. “He even brought up the day he attacked me and Grace appeared out of nowhere.” Then she mocked him. “‘I would like to think I would have come to my senses before anything really happened.’ Can you believe he went there?”
“You should have asked how it felt to have Grace holding a gun to his balls?”
Winnie laughed. “I don’t know about Walker, but it hurt me to see my little girl with a gun in her hand.”
“I was proud of her that day,” Daisy said. “She scared Walker shitless, that’s for damn sure.”
“Yes, she did.” Winnie smirked, then sobered, shaking her head. “But you know, I could not help but get the feeling that whatever Walker is up to has to do with Grace.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know. Each time he said her name a chill went down my spine.”
“Pay attention to those signs, Winnie,” Daisy cautioned. “Your gut won’t fool you.”
“I know.” Winnie sat her cup down. “Have you heard from Myles this morning?”
Daisy looked at the clock and laughed. “Morning left a few hours ago. It’s well after two. Myles had meetings all morning, but you did just miss Grace.”
“Oh, I did? Was she looking for me?”
“No, she had a meeting with Roark,” Daisy replied. “I’m not sure it went too well. She was in a mood when she left.”
“Hmm, I figured that relationship would change once Jonathan Michael arrived. Grace has been yearning for that man since forever. I wonder how she and Jonathan are doing?”
“I think they have kindled a few fires.”
“Really?” Winnie smiled. “Why do you say that?”
“She had that day after a good love making glow.” Daisy smiled. “And from the looks of it, that Jonathan fellow hit the mark.”
“Grace deserves that young man in her life. She’s had to deal with a lot since Hep’s death. And now, I fear she will not have peace of mind until she knows exactly what happened to her father.”
Daisy put her tea cup down. “What about you, Winnie?” She examined the woman she considered a friend. “How are you doing with the news?”
“I’m pissed.” Winnie turned to face her. “To the highest level of pissivity, that’s how pissed I am. If I wasn’t such a lady I would be working with Jerome and Mike on the investigation. Once we discovered who killed my Hep, I would whip their ass then try to stomp them into the ground until they were knocking on the door of hell.”
Daisy raised an eyebrow. “Tell me how you really feel, why don’t you?”
Winnie sighed. “On one hand I want to know who and why. But I don’t want the children spending their lives trying to find answers. I need them to be happy, find love, fill the house with babies and…..” She sighed again. “I just don’t want them to waste a day of living.”
“I know, Winnieford, I know.” Daisy covered Winnie’s hand with hers. “Myles is on his way. Jerome mentioned something about him and Chrystina talking about getting married. And now, Grace is settling down with Jonathan. Two down, three to go.”
Excited, Winnie’s eyes widened. “Did Myles ask Chrystina to marry him?”
“Not yet.” Daisy beamed. “But he did ask me to have a team to pack up her place and move her to his house by this weekend.”
“That is wonderful news.” Winnie smiled at her. “You really think Grace is ready for a one-on-one relationship with Jonathan?”
“I think Grace has been waiting for exactly that.” Daisy nodded.
“That would be wonderful too.”
“Is everything wonderful to you right now?”
“I tell you, Daisy, I’m feeling pretty freakin’ good right now. I was telling my new friend today, of all the things I wanted out of this life, now all I want is to see my children happy. Maybe I should send them to the tea shop.” Winnie began laughing uncontrollably.
“Okay, who is this friend and where is the tea shop?”
Winnie sat up straight staring at Daisy.
“You don’t know her name?” Daisy laughed with her.
“Wait, I’m sure she told me.”
Daisy stood collecting the tea cups from the island. “You have been gone all morning, drinking with a stranger and you don’t remember her name?” She chuckled. “That is sad.”
“It’s going to come to me,” Winnie laughed.
Daisy shook her head. “Maybe a hot shower will help you to remember. Upstairs, shower and a nap for you, Ms. Delightful tea drinker.”
Winnie laughed as she stood. “It’s someone I knew from before. I am sure of that.” She walked towards the back staircase talking to herself.
“Yeah, yeah,” Daisy said as she watched her shaking her head.
Winnie waved her hand in the air. “I will remember later. Right now, I need a nap.”
###
“Damn,” Mike exclaimed as he walked into the office. “You did an investigation on everyone?”
“Of course. I have a file on everyone connected to the bank and their family.”
“What?”
There was something in Mike’s tone that caused Jonathan to look up. “Did you not do one on me?”
“Of course I did. But not your family.”
“Why not? The most influential people in a person’s life are their family members. If my Mum advised me against joining your bank I would think twice.”
“And you ran an investigation on me?”
“Every Dunning and relative who is alive. I would be remiss in my duties if I had not.” Jonathan sat back then stared at Mike. It was becoming clear the trusting nature of the Dunning organization was as much a danger as it was a virtue. “How is Shannon?”
It was clear on Mike’s face that he was shocked by the question. “Your friend Shannon had a miscarriage a month ago. You electronically signed as the person handling her aftercare. I share this with you because you need to understand the depth of information gathered on you and anyone connected to you by outside entities. Simply because you are not intrusive does not mean that others work with the same integrity.”
“What you are describing is an invasion of privacy,” Mike stated. “We do not operate that way here at Dunning. Our investigations are within the boundaries allowed by the law.”
“Nothing I shared with you was acquired illegally. The document is a part of public records the minute it was printed out and handed to you.” Jonathan shook his head. “You really have no idea what you are up against with Phase. Thorough investigations to protect you and this bank are my top priority. Do you think for one minute Phase International does not have that information? They have that and more. It is imperative for the mindset of both of us at the executive level to change. My review of your procedures shows that your branch of security acts in a very reactive capacity. We need to change that mindset. We need to be proactive. To do that we have to know what enemies know in addition to what they think they know. My first priority is to identify the source of information within our own walls.”
“You think that there is an inside person working with Phase or America’s Bank to bring us down?”
“I do not think anything. I know it to be a fact.” Jonathan pulled out a remote then clicked it to turn on the monitor that was mounted on his wall. Mike turned to see what appeared. “This is my number one suspect.”
On the monitor appeared a picture of Elaine Jacobson.
“You believe that Elaine is a mole?”
“It is not a belief it is a fact and I know this because I was her contact at Phase."
Mike’s head snapped back around. “You were what?”
“Elaine Jacobson contacted me while I was working at Phase with an offer to provide internal documentation on your bid for the BIT account. Not only did I know within minutes of your board meeting that Myles had been elected as the CEO, I was also aware of the conspiracy plan of William Mitchell and the Hershel automotive account. My source of the information was Elaine Jacobson. What I do not know is who the mastermind is behind both attempts to undermine Dunning.”
“Have you shared this information with Myles?”
“No, I have not. It is imperative that he is able to claim deniability if he is ever questioned by the banking commission.”
“So, I am to believe that as an employee with Phase International you did nothing with this information?"
“My resignation was my reaction.” Jonathan held the glare that he was receiving from Mike and he could not blame him for his reaction. He understood that the man needed reassurances as to where his loyalties lay. “I would be telling fabrications if I was to say that the decision was a difficult one to make, for it was not. Elaine is correct, the money and the title were huge incentives to stay and do what I was instructed, which was to destroy Dunning. I could not for two reasons. First and foremost, I am hopelessly in love with your sister. The second reason is that I respect the history of the first African American owned bank and as a Black man I could not destroy that legacy for it is a part of my own.” Jonathan sat forward. “Make no mistake, the moment I walked out of the door of Phase International the order to destroy Dunning was passed on to the next person. I am the only defense standing between Phase and the economic destruction of Dunning.”
The two men stared at each other for a long moment.
“If I find any of what you have shared with me to be a lie, I will not hesitate to take you out, Jonathan.”
Jonathan sat back, somewhat relieved that Mike was at least giving him a chance to prove himself. “I already know this. It is the reason I am sharing all that I know with you. Transparency is going to be paramount once every door is opened.” He pushed another button on the controller. “This is the family member I believe is connected with Richard Dewberry III, the CEO of Phase International.”
Mike turned back to the monitor. “Uncle Walker? He is in rehab,” Mike explained. “He can’t be much of a threat.”
“Walker Dunning Jr. is a threat. How much of a threat I do not know.” Jonathan sighed. “I believe his rehab stint is a sham on his part. A man of his nature cannot be rehabilitated,” Jonathan explained. “There is reason to believe a number of incidents are about to hit Dunning and the rehabilitation center is going to be his alibi.”
Mike turned back to him. “What do you think is happening?”
“It is difficult to understand all the chatter that is happening. However, it is my belief that William Mitchell, Elaine Jacobson, Walker Dunning and at least one other person are working in conjunction with Phase to block the BIT acquisition. But that is not my major concern. I believe there is something more happening.” He clicked another button. “Do you know this person?”
Mike glanced at the women on the monitor. He shook his head. “No. I can’t say that I do. Who is she?”
“I don’t know.” Jonathan clicked to another frame. “This is her loading some artwork into this van with Walker Dunning. The van was a rental.”
“That is the main family house. Uncle Walker inherited it when my grandfather passed away. Inside was a treasure of artwork collected over the years. We thought he had sold the pieces to pay off gambling debts. She might be the person he sold them to.”
“That would be a possibility if it was not for this man.” He clicked to another picture. It was a man standing in the foyer of Walker’s house talking. “This is Jack O’Donnell, the mediator who handles all stateside situations for Phase International. If he is in the United States, so is his team. Once a team is dispersed they have an assignment. We need to determine what that assignment is and who is the target?”
There was a light tap at the door before Sydney appeared. “Mr. Jerome Morgan is here to see you.”
“Please, show him in.” Jonathan stood and extended his hand. “Mr. Morgan, thank you for joining us.”
“Jerome,” Mike said as he stood. “You two have met?”
“Yes,” Jonathan answered. “Myles introduced us last week.”
“Mike,” Jerome said as he took a seat. “Mr. Michael filled me in on his security concerns. He is the reason I will be covering Myles until this situation reveals itself.”
“What about you, Jonathan?” Mike asked. “Phase will be targeting you more so than any of us.”
“There will be consequences to Phase operations if they come for me. The executives understand that move would be detrimental to them.”
“Phase is that afraid of you?” Jerome questioned.
“I only say that we have an understanding.” Jonathan smiled.
“It appears you have all the bases covered,” Mike acknowledged.
“I thought so until yesterday morning, Mike.” Jonathan sat back down.
“What happened yesterday?” Jerome asked.
“Myles named Grace as Deputy CEO. If anything happens to him, she gets the reins with no questions asked.”
“If Walker is trying to take over Dunning, he will have to eliminate both of them,” Jerome acknowledged.
“So you believe Uncle Walker is involved in this too?” Mike asked Jerome.
“I do. I also believe he had a hand in your father’s murder.”
Mike stood and began to pace the room. “Then we need to take his ass out.”
“We have to prove it first,” Jonathan stated. “Take a look at this.”
Jonathan, Mike and Jerome turned to the computer monitor as the security videos from the day Hepburn died appeared on the monitors.
“I spent the morning going through the security tapes from the elevators for that day,” Jerome stated. “Checking the early hours between six when the doors open until nine am. Every person who stepped onto that elevator was accounted for exiting on a floor.”
“The person could have gotten off on one floor, taken the stairwell to another, then take the elevator to the roof top,” Jonathan suggested.
“The only people with access to the building that time of morning would have been employees,” Mike stated. “The main doors do not open until nine.”
“Run me through that morning,” Jonathan requested. “What was the timeline of events?”
Watching the large monitor on the wall with the video from both elevators playing simultaneously, Mike pointed to video number one. “The timeline of events started at seven-fifteen here, when Dad entered the elevator. A minute later he is stepping out going into the gym.”
Jonathan stepped from behind his desk joining Mike at the monitor. He pointed. “Here is AnnieMarie entering elevator number two at half-past seven,” he added. “She enters the gym here. Jerome, fast forward to AnnieMarie getting back on the elevator.”
Jerome stood behind the desk then pushed a button. The video fast forwarded ahead.
“Stop here,” Jonathan ordered. The video stopped. “She is upset as she enters.”
“Yes, they had an argument while they were in the gym,” Mike explained.
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. “Really? What was the argument about?”
“Cainan Scott,” Jerome answered.
“Understandable.” Jonathan nodded. “Continue forward.”
Mike glanced at Jonathan, then at Jerome. “You know something we don’t?”
“The magnitude of what I know and you don’t is about as wide as the ocean that separates the states from the UK.”
Mike frowned as Jerome chuckled.
“Not suggesting that you are unintelligent,” Jonathan explained as he continued to watch the monitor. “I am a nerd. Gathering information and storing it for future use is what I do. Okay, stop.”
Jerome stopped the video. Jonathan looked at Mike, then at Jerome. “Do you see what I see?”
“No.” Jerome sat up. “Let’s go back.”
Jerome rewound the video then hit play again.
“Okay, stop,” Jonathan demanded.
“The time stamp indicates seven-fifty-two when AnnieMarie stepped into elevator number one. See.” He points. “The doors close. The time stamp on elevator number two reads seven-forty-two.” He sat back. “One of these recordings is off by ten minutes.”
Jerome and Mike glared at the monitor.
“Somebody turned off the recording in elevator number two,” Jerome observed.
“Either that or time stopped for ten minutes.” Jonathan looked up. “Which elevator did Myles find your father’s body by?”
Mike pointed. “Elevator number one.”
“Who would have access to the elevator security monitors?” Jonathan asked.
“My security team.” Mike pulled out his cell phone as he replied. “I will have the sign-in log brought up to see who was on duty that day.”
“Your security sign-in is not electronic?”
“No,” Mike replied. “We collect actual signatures for our security team members.”
Jonathan shook his head in disbelief. “When do you all plan to come into the twenty-first century?”
“We have fingerprint entrance in the vault,” Mike explained.
Mike spoke into his phone, “Larry, I am in Mr. Michael’s office. Will you bring me the sign in log book?” Mike hung up the phone then glanced at Jonathan. “What do you mean?”
“Your security team should have iris recognition or at the very least facial recognition security in place at the vault and the executive levels of the building. A fingerprint gives me the option of cutting off your finger to gain access to the vault or the building. It’s a little more difficult to cut out an eyeball. We are a financial institution. No one should be able to enter certain portions of this building without biometric security in place.” Jonathan glared at Jerome. “Please tell me you have better security at the house.”
Jerome nodded. “At the main house, yes. Here, Mr. Dunning believed in people. You would have never convinced him he needed sophisticated security in this building.”
Jonathan called out. “Grace two. Note to self. Secure new security features for the office.”
“Note entered,” the computer responded back.
Mike looked around. “What in the hell was that?”
“My computer taking notes.”
“You named your computer Grace?”
“Negative, it is a program I designed that works from voice recognition. The software name is Grace Two.”
“You are so damn gone when it comes to my sister.” Mike shook his head.
“Interesting,” Jerome stated. “If I were to give it a command, it would not activate?”
“No,” Jonathan replied. “Only to my voice. It can also detect distress at which time it would make the appropriate calls then secure any files marked sensitive.”
“You designed it?”
“Yes, I often design programs as needed.”
“How many programs have you designed?” Mike asked.
Jonathan laughed. “Bloody hell, Mate, I have no idea. I do them for fun. Speaking of programs. Are you able to do facial recognition for the video?” Jonathan asked Jerome. “We need to identify every person who entered the elevators that day.”
Jerome nodded. “I will take a copy of the tape and run it against the Department of Motor Vehicles records.”
Mike glanced at Jerome. “You can do that?”
“I can.” Jerome nodded.
Mike turned to Jonathan. “We really need to discuss the security in the building.”
“Yes, we do,” Jonathan replied as he pointed to the monitor. “Take a look at this. There is nothing in elevator number one during the ten minutes after AnnieMarie left the gym. But we know for a fact that is when your father was attacked. Cutting that feed had to be timed just right. Someone had to be watching the elevator monitor to know when to cut the camera feed and when to turn it back on.”
“You’re talking a conspiracy.” Jerome walked over to the monitor next to them.
Jonathan nodded. “That’s right.”
“You mean someone in this building with access to the security system had to be a part of the conspiracy to kill my father?”
Jonathan looked up at Mike, then nodded. “We are looking for more than one person. There had to be someone in the elevator who delivered the deadly injection and someone watching the monitors in the elevators.”
There was a knock on the door. Larry Taylor walked in.
“Mr. Dunning, here’s the log book you asked for.” He gave Mike two large binders. “I wasn’t sure what day you needed so I brought the whole year.”
Mike smiled as he took the binders. “Thank you, Larry.”
“What is it with you guys and these binders?” Jonathan exhaled.
“I feel your pain.” Larry smirked. “Those books are heavy.”
“Larry, this is Jonathan Michael, he is going to be working with our security team on a number of projects. Jonathan, this is my new team member Larry Taylor.”
“I remember you being large and in charge the day of the shooting.” Larry held out his hand. “I remember the accent, you know.”
“Thank you, Larry. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Sure will appreciate it if you can find a way to get rid of those binders.”
“We are going to work on that, Larry.” Jonathan glanced at Mike.
“You need anything else, Mr. Dunning?”
“No, Larry, thank you.”
“Yes, sir.” They watched as Larry left the room.
“He was a pleasant chap.” Jonathan smiled. “One thing for certain, you have happy people working here. Now all we need to do is ensure they are working in a secure environment. Check your binders.” Jonathan sighed. “We need the name of the security team working that morning.”
“I’ll take a copy of the security tapes and run the program,” Jerome stated.
“I will question my team about that day,” Mike advised. “I can’t see one of my men cutting that feed.”
“It may not have been one of them, but it was certainly someone in this building. Let’s get the names.” Jonathan nodded. “That will give us a starting point of who in this building conspired to kill your father. Next we need to protect Dunning and all its assets.” He pulled up his computer. “I designed a program that will enhance the protection of our computer systems around the world.” He pulled up a map that illustrated how it would spread. “Once implemented it will take 24 hours to give full coverage. All branches on the east coast will be protected immediately, it will then spread into central computer systems, then eventually make its way across country to the west. That may take approximately 12 hours. Once there, it will make its way simultaneously to Canada, South America, Africa, Europe, Russia, Asia, China and eventually Australia. China may stagnate our efforts due to the computer infrastructure, however, the program will gradually work its way into our computer systems within our branch offices there.”
“You designed this program?” Jerome asked.
“I did.” Jonathan nodded.
“A program that will infiltrate other countries’ computer barriers?” Mike raised an eyebrow.
“Each country we have a branch in opens a channel to allow our banking systems to have ATM capability. I simply used that channel to communicate with our computers across the country.”
Mike and Jerome glanced at each other then back to Jonathan.
“How big is your brain?”
“When it comes to computer systems, it’s pretty big, Mate,” Jonathan replied. “Once Myles gives me the thumbs up, the process will begin. He is waiting on your approval. I have given access to the system to Myles, Grace, Gary, AnnieMarie and you. Only you are aware of it, the others have no idea.”
“How does this work?” Mike asked.
“It prohibits the success of outside sources hacking to take over our computer systems. It will block access then send an alert indicating an intrusion. You will then have the ability to increase the power of the shield, or to shut the system down completely. The decision on that will take three key personnel to implement. You, Myles and Grace.”
“What about you?”
“I do not hold a key. I have established a combination of Personal Identification Numbers for each of you. Once this system is approved you can change the PIN to something only each of you will know. I will have access to reset the numbers but will never know the combination of numbers it would take to shut the system down.”
“But you created this program,” Jerome stated. “I assume you would know backdoors to get in when desired.”
“True. The plan is to hire more big brains who are trusted employees to handle the administration of this program. For now you will have to trust me.”