Read Online The Melody Lingers On by Mary Higgins Clark - Free Book Online
Authors: Mary Higgins Clark
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second wife, twenty-five years younger, wouldn’t
have taken it.
And so it had been with unmitigated pleasure that she tendered her resignation and went to work for Parker. The salary was much better. The Christmas bonus refurnished the living room of their
modest home in Yonkers. When her husband, Frank, became ill with diabetes, Parker had made her promise that any bills not covered by her insurance be sent to him.
I never was involved with the firm’s finances, believe it or not, she thought defensively. The two years Parker Bennett had been missing had been a constant nightmare. She knew the FBI
believed that she was involved in the scheme. They had questioned her for hours on end. And last week she had testified for several hours before the grand jury. She had been informed by the federal
prosecutor that she was a target of the grand jury investigation. The prosecutor had invited her to testify if she wished. She had spent hours with her attorney, Grover Johnson, going over the pros
and cons of appearing. He had warned her that he would not be permitted to be with her inside the grand jury room as she was being questioned. He was also very concerned that anything she said
could be used against her later on if she was indicted.
Eleanor had asked Grover what her chances were of not being indicted if she didn’t appear. He had been candid that she would almost certainly be indicted. “Then Grover, I really have
nothing to lose. I’m going to tell the truth and maybe they will realize that I am innocent. I am going to testify.”
The prosecutor had quizzed her relentlessly. In her mind she reviewed his questions and her answers.
“Mrs. Becker, isn’t it a fact that you helped to convince people to invest in the Parker Bennett Fund?”
“It’s not that I convinced them, it’s that Mr. Bennett would have me send out letters inviting people to come in for a visit and learn about the fund.”
“How did he select the names of those people?”
“Part of my job was to read a lot of newspapers and create a list of people with small businesses, or people who might have had some recognition from their community.”
“Exactly what kind of recognition?”
“Well, the story might be about a small business celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. I’d get the person’s name and background for Mr. Bennett.”
“How many of these would you give to him a day?”
“Some days as little as five, or as many as twenty.”
“What came next?”
“I had a form letter ready to send.”
“What kind of form letter?”
“Congratulating the person on whatever the reasons for choosing him or her, and inviting him or her to come to the office and have a cup of tea or coffee with Mr. Bennett.”
“How about lottery winners? Did he write to them?”
“If they won only a few million dollars, he did. The big winners he stayed away from. He said every big money manager would be after them, ‘like flies to honey.’ He said that
he was only interested in making money for the small investor.”
“When the small investor came to the office, what happened?”
“As you probably know, Mr. Bennett had a very large office. There was a grouping of a couch and comfortable chairs around a wide coffee table. I would bring in coffee and crumb cake or
doughnuts before lunch, and tea and little sandwiches in the afternoon.”
“Then what happened?”
“Mr. Bennett would sit down with the people and chat with them. Then he would ask me to bring out some account statements of people who were current investors. Of course he had me black
out their names.”
“But it showed that their accounts were making money?”
“Yes.”
“Was there a minimum that could be invested?”
“Ten thousand dollars.”
“What were the new investors told when they began investing in the Parker Bennett Fund?”
“If, for example, after one year their ten-thousand-dollar investment had not gone up ten percent, the investor could take
have taken it.
And so it had been with unmitigated pleasure that she tendered her resignation and went to work for Parker. The salary was much better. The Christmas bonus refurnished the living room of their
modest home in Yonkers. When her husband, Frank, became ill with diabetes, Parker had made her promise that any bills not covered by her insurance be sent to him.
I never was involved with the firm’s finances, believe it or not, she thought defensively. The two years Parker Bennett had been missing had been a constant nightmare. She knew the FBI
believed that she was involved in the scheme. They had questioned her for hours on end. And last week she had testified for several hours before the grand jury. She had been informed by the federal
prosecutor that she was a target of the grand jury investigation. The prosecutor had invited her to testify if she wished. She had spent hours with her attorney, Grover Johnson, going over the pros
and cons of appearing. He had warned her that he would not be permitted to be with her inside the grand jury room as she was being questioned. He was also very concerned that anything she said
could be used against her later on if she was indicted.
Eleanor had asked Grover what her chances were of not being indicted if she didn’t appear. He had been candid that she would almost certainly be indicted. “Then Grover, I really have
nothing to lose. I’m going to tell the truth and maybe they will realize that I am innocent. I am going to testify.”
The prosecutor had quizzed her relentlessly. In her mind she reviewed his questions and her answers.
“Mrs. Becker, isn’t it a fact that you helped to convince people to invest in the Parker Bennett Fund?”
“It’s not that I convinced them, it’s that Mr. Bennett would have me send out letters inviting people to come in for a visit and learn about the fund.”
“How did he select the names of those people?”
“Part of my job was to read a lot of newspapers and create a list of people with small businesses, or people who might have had some recognition from their community.”
“Exactly what kind of recognition?”
“Well, the story might be about a small business celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. I’d get the person’s name and background for Mr. Bennett.”
“How many of these would you give to him a day?”
“Some days as little as five, or as many as twenty.”
“What came next?”
“I had a form letter ready to send.”
“What kind of form letter?”
“Congratulating the person on whatever the reasons for choosing him or her, and inviting him or her to come to the office and have a cup of tea or coffee with Mr. Bennett.”
“How about lottery winners? Did he write to them?”
“If they won only a few million dollars, he did. The big winners he stayed away from. He said every big money manager would be after them, ‘like flies to honey.’ He said that
he was only interested in making money for the small investor.”
“When the small investor came to the office, what happened?”
“As you probably know, Mr. Bennett had a very large office. There was a grouping of a couch and comfortable chairs around a wide coffee table. I would bring in coffee and crumb cake or
doughnuts before lunch, and tea and little sandwiches in the afternoon.”
“Then what happened?”
“Mr. Bennett would sit down with the people and chat with them. Then he would ask me to bring out some account statements of people who were current investors. Of course he had me black
out their names.”
“But it showed that their accounts were making money?”
“Yes.”
“Was there a minimum that could be invested?”
“Ten thousand dollars.”
“What were the new investors told when they began investing in the Parker Bennett Fund?”
“If, for example, after one year their ten-thousand-dollar investment had not gone up ten percent, the investor could take
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