by Iris Bolling
“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 dispers
ed 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.”
