spot Jackie at the far end, nursing a tumbler.
“What are you doing here?" I ask, eyeing his drink and wondering what’s in it.
“I was visiting a girl a few blocks away and remembered that you were going to be here,” he says. When he finishes his drink, he orders another.
The bartender pours him tonic water into his glass and I let out a sigh of relief.
Dressed in a leather jacket and with his black hair slicked back, Jackie Peterson looks every bit like the PI that he is.
“I can confirm that there was an investigation into William Tate’s affairs and they were looking for evidence of insider trading and embezzlement. But as soon as Aurora agreed to marry Franklin Parks, all charges were dropped.”
“But how could they do that?” I ask. “I mean, they already arrested him. Didn’t they have to explain it to a judge?”
"What can I tell you?” Jackie asks. “Franklin and his family are very well connected.”
"His family?"
“Yes, his father knows everybody, and whoever he doesn't know Franklin knows.”
“William Tate did have a heart attack. I know that you had your suspicions, but there are hospital records to substantiate that. He really had no idea that he was getting arrested. Another thing that I found out is that he has been going to almost everybody he can think of to find a buyer for Tate Media. But he wanted too much. No one would value it as high and he refused to budge.”
“Why?” I ask.
“I suspect that he had taken so much money out of the company’s coffers that if he were to sell it for any less, there wouldn’t be much left.”
“Where does Franklin come in?” I ask.
“Franklin started OMS but his family has a lot of holdings in various oil fields as well as real estate companies. His father also owns a very profitable chain of storage units, the biggest one in the country. The storage industry is one of the biggest growth sectors right now with everyone buying way too much crap and needing space to store everything in.”
“What does this have to do with Aurora?” I ask.
“I'm not really sure,” he says. “But somehow she is part of the deal. I heard that her father had made a proposition to Franklin before about selling part of Tate Media to him, but he was never interested. And then suddenly, a month after your breakup, her father is arrested and they announce their engagement. One of the sources that I've talked to said that she was part of the deal.”
"Part of the deal?" I gasp.
“It’s the only reason why William Tate is out of jail right now and moving up the rungs of the richest men in the world.”
“Because she agreed to marry him?” I ask.
“Looks like it.” He nods.
“But why? Why does he want to marry her?”
"That I do not know.”
“No," I say, shaking my head. “This can't be happening. I mean, this can't be true.”
“It's the only thing that would explain why this is happening so quickly. Unless of course, you actually believe that they are in love.”
I want to believe that.
I want to believe that more than anything because then it would mean that she's not being forced to marry someone against her will.
“How do you know that the charges were dropped after they announced the engagement?” I ask.
"I have some connections in the justice department and the police and that's the rumor. No one will go on record, of course, but these things did not happen without some serious pull from the higher ups.”
"So, what do you think?" I ask, turning toward him.
“There's definitely something here,” Jackie says. “But if you want to investigate further, you have to know who you're dealing with. You have to be really careful about what you say and to whom, even Aurora. She doesn't seem to have much of a choice in any of this and she may be playing her own game, one that may require her to sacrifice you if it came right down to it.”
I shake my head and finish my whiskey.
“I know that you don't want to believe that,” Jackie says, “but I want you to really think about this. He's not just your boss, he's one of the most powerful men on earth. What you're talking about is investigating and exposing him for whatever it is that you may find. But in doing so, he will probably take down Aurora’s father as well. If she's doing this to protect him,