Abigail Davis-Powers (Mobile):
Elizabeth Kelly (Mobile):
When Abby got to Elizabeth’s house, she told her the news. Abby had been out in Manhattan with college friends the night before and one of them had a sister who used to work for CANstruct. She said Jack had been her sister’s boss before he was dismissed from the company—which was not what he’d told anyone in town. He’d been officially fired for performance issues, but that was widely rumored to be a cover for “inappropriate contact” with several females in India.
“While Jack worked at the company, he did have a fiancée die,” Abby said as they sipped tea in Elizabeth’s living room, “but then he supposedly took up with two married teachers who were employed by CANstruct. The first one’s husband found out about the affair. He nearly beat her to death before casting her out of his home, essentially ruining her life. To avoid something like it happening again, CANstruct implemented a strict policy about interactions between its American employees and those the charity helps, including its paid teachers. Within two months, Jack was sleeping with another married teacher. When word got out about it at work, CANstruct’s owner dismissed him for inappropriate behavior.”
“That’s a sleazy thing to do,” Elizabeth said.
“I know. Those women essentially worked for him, and it’s especially wrong given the cultural consequences for them. Funny how Jack neglected to tell me that part of the story.
“I really should have looked into his background,” Abby continued. “I would have before Colin died. I’m totally off my game.”
“Not totally,” Elizabeth soothed.
“See, this is what happens when you’re vulnerable,” Abby said, growing increasingly upset. “You fall for bullshit like having an infinite dormant energy in the body and it all goes downhill from there.”
“I think Jack does believe in kundalini,” Elizabeth said.
“He probably does,” Abby responded, “but he’s also screwed up. Has anyone you know been to India with him and met the women who make the clothing he sells through the charity? Is he manipulating and fucking them, too?”
“No one I know of has traveled with him there,” Elizabeth responded.
“Do we even know if his story about the charity is true?” Abby questioned. “That could be bullshit, too.”
“I guess not,” Elizabeth said. “Come to think of it, he could be conning everyone in town. The women are too mesmerized with him to notice, and the men are too busy to care as long as they get the donations’ tax write-off.”
“Do you still have access to his server?” Abby asked after a pause.
“I haven’t checked recently,” Elizabeth said, “and Adair is probably cut off from his system now, but there are a number of outstanding invoices from the benefit that I’m responsible for. I can talk to his assistant Leaha about getting access. And I still have the office key that Adair gave me.”
“Are you free tomorrow morning at ten o’clock?” Abby asked. “Jack has a sexcapade with one of the clients I brokered for him. He’ll be at the estate and should be gone for at least three hours given the number of participants. We can go through his office then. In the meantime, I’m going to run a criminal and financial background check on him.”
“What about Leaha?” Elizabeth asked. “Every time I’ve been in Jack’s office, she’s there.”
“Since she helped Adair with the benefit, she must have some free time coming,” Abby said. “Given that Jack will be gone most of the day, let’s see if she’ll agree to go to True Grace Spa for a day of beauty—our treat. You can tell her it’s a thank-you for being such a big help with the benefit. You’ve become friendly with her, haven’t you?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth said, grinning. “I’ve gotten to know her through Adair. I’ll call her and the spa to set it up.”