The Insiders Read online

  ALSO BY CRAIG HICKMAN

  Fiction:

  An Innovator’s Tale

  The Strategy Game

  The Organization Game

  The Productivity Game

  Starting Up

  Non-fiction:

  The Oz Principle

  Mind of a Manager, Soul of a Leader

  Creating Excellence

  The Workbook for Creating Excellence

  Management Malpractice

  The Fourth Dimension

  The Future 500

  Practical Business Genius

  This book is a work of fiction. Though some names, characters, incidents, and dialogues are based on historical record, the work as a whole is a product of the author’s imagination.

  Copyright © 2012 by Craig Hickman

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Cover art “The Beholder” by April Varner, used by permission.

  Author Photo by Steven Seelig, e2Photography, LLC

  ISBN: 1-4392-1604-5

  ISBN-9781439216040

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-62111-561-8

  Printed in the United States of America

  Contents

  Prologue

  1 Wilson – Sun Valley, ID

  2 Tate – New York City, NY

  3 Wilson – Sun Valley, ID

  4 Inflight – Air Ambulance MD-90

  5 Quinn – O’Hare Airport, Chicago, IL

  6 Vargas – Boeing 767, Inflight

  7 Wilson – Boston, MA

  8 Tate – St. Moritz, Switzerland

  9 Tate – St. Moritz, Switzerland

  10 Daniel – Boston, MA

  11 Wilson – Cambridge, MA

  12 Carter – Cambridge, MA

  13 Tate – St. Moritz, Switzerland

  14 Wilson – Cambridge, MA

  15 Wilson – Boston, MA

  16 Tate – New York City, NY

  17 Emily – New York City, NY

  18 Wilson – Cambridge, MA

  19 Emily – Logan Airport, Boston, MA

  20 Tate – Banff, Canada

  21 Wilson – Cambridge, MA

  22 Quinn – Chicago, IL

  23 Wilson – Cambridge, MA

  24 Tate – Sorrento, Italy

  25 Hap – Boston, MA

  26 Wilson – Boston, MA

  27 Quinn – Lake Forest, IL

  28 Wilson – Boston, MA

  29 Quinn – Lake Forest, IL

  30 Quinn – Lake Forest, IL

  31 Wilson – Boston, MA

  32 Tate – Sorrento, Italy

  33 Quinn – Lake Forest, IL

  34 Wilson – Charter Jet G650, Inflight

  35 Quinn – Hinsdale, IL

  36 Quinn – Hinsdale, IL

  37 Wilson – Charter Jet G650, Inflight

  38 Emily – Venice, Italy

  39 Tate – JFK Airport, NYC

  40 Emily – Learjet 60, Inflight

  41 Wilson – Boston, MA

  42 Emily – Learjet 60, Inflight

  43 Wilson – Boston, MA

  44 Emily – Eastern Seaboard, North America

  45 Wilson – Boston, MA

  46 Tate – Boston, MA

  47 Wilson – Boston, MA

  48 Carter – Cambridge, MA

  49 Hap – Boston, MA

  50 Wilson – Boston, MA

  51 Emily – Teterboro Airport, NJ

  52 Wilson – Boston, MA

  53 Wilson – Boston, MA

  54 Tate – Boston, MA

  55 Hap – Boston, MA

  56 Emily – Princeton, NJ

  57 Wilson – Boston, MA

  58 Wilson – Bailey Island, ME

  59 Emily – Boothbay Harbor, ME

  60 Rachel – Cambridge, MA

  61 Wilson – Bailey Island, ME

  62 Hap – Bailey Island, ME

  63 Wilson – Bailey Island, ME

  64 Wilson – Bailey Island, ME

  65 Tate – Venice, Italy

  66 Wilson – Bailey Island, ME

  67 Carter – Lake Geneva, Switzerland

  68 Wilson – Cambridge, MA

  69 Wilson – Cambridge, MA

  70 Wilson – Cambridge, MA

  71 Tate – Venice, Italy

  Epilogue Boston, MA

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  “This is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people no longer. It is a government of corporations, by corporations, and for corporations.”

  PRESIDENT RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, 1888

  “Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics, is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.”

  PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT, 1912

  “The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the larger centers has owned the government of the U.S. ever since the days of Andrew Jackson.”

  PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, 1933

  “From time to time we’ve been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? … We as Americans have the capacity now, as we’ve had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.”

  PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN, 1981

  “Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as ‘internationalists’ and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure—one world, if you will. If that’s the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it.”

  DAVID ROCKEFELLER, 2002

  (Grandson of John D. Rockefeller and Senator Nelson W. Aldrich)

  “Let’s never forget: Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules deserve a government and financial system that do the same. It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom. No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody.”

  PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, 2012

  PROLOGUE

  THE NEW YORK TIMES

  Wall Street Billionaire Charged with Murder

  By CATHERINE ROGERS and GRAHAM NGUYEN Monday, February 21

  SUN VALLEY, ID – Charles Fielder, the billionaire whose consulting firm Fielder & Company is credited with launching more IPOs on Wall Street than any other firm, was found shot in the head in his private ski chalet at a family-owned resort in Sun Valley, ID, on Sunday afternoon. His unconscious body was found lying alongside two unidentified women with fatal gunshot wounds.

  The deaths of the two women were confirmed by the Sun Valley Police Department, which said the women were in their late twenties; both had been shot in the head at point-blank range. Mr. Fielder was taken to St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center in Ketchum, ID, where he is still in a coma. Police received an emergency call at 2:18 p.m., Sunday afternoon, from White Horse Resort management, informing them of the gruesome discovery. According to the Sun Valley PD, Mr. Fielder has been charged with murder in what is described as a double murder-suicide attempt.

  Daniel Redd, a lawyer for the Fi
elder family, said that Mr. Fielder was meeting with clients and associates at the White Horse Resort in a company retreat over President’s Day weekend. “This is a terrible tragedy, and the family expects Charles to be fully exonerated,” Mr. Redd said. “The family will be making no further statement at this time.”

  Assistant SVPD Chief John Zemke, who is in charge of the case, said that the investigation into the shootings and deaths would remain open for the foreseeable future, a routine course of action in cases where victims remain unidentified. “The Fielder chalet at White Horse has been secured and detectives are currently on the scene,” Zemke reported on Sunday evening.

  Mr. Fielder is founder and chairman of Fielder & Company, a respected management consulting firm with revenues over $1 billion and just under 1000 employees operating from offices in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, London, and Hong Kong. The company has over 500 active clients worldwide; the company’s fees per consulting engagement range from $1 to $10 million. Only McKinsey & Company exceeds Fielder & Company’s portfolio of management consulting services targeted toward senior executives of large multinational corporations.

  A native of Boston, Mr. Fielder sold his family’s business in agriculture and chemicals in 1985 to launch Fielder & Company, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, both prominent Boston business innovators who built thriving corporations. Forbes estimates Mr. Fielder’s fortune at $10 billion, putting him in the top 100 of the world’s richest people.

  Like many wealthy families, the Fielders are well known for their business success and philanthropy but tirelessly strive to avoid the limelight. According to friends and clients, Mr. Fielder took great pride in The Wall Street Journal’s designation of Fielder & Company as “the most secretive consulting firm in America.” Mr. Fielder’s wife Mary and children Wilson and Rachel were unavailable for comment on Sunday evening.

  1

  Wilson – Sun Valley, ID

  Wilson Fielder powered the SUV through drifting snow to Sun Valley’s city hall and police station, determined to confront the officer who’d charged his father with murder. An hour earlier, he had arrived at the airport and headed straight to the hospital, where his father was lying in a coma. After consulting with the neurosurgeon and attempting to comfort his mother and sister, Wilson had called the Sun Valley police, insisting on a meeting with whoever was in charge of his father’s case.

  Once inside the police station Wilson gave his name to a young female constable stationed behind the reception window. His tall athletic body, deep hazel-green eyes, and thick dark hair were the cause of girlish giggles and whispered comments between the young constable and two other women working behind the counter as he took a seat in the waiting area. He was oblivious.

  Within moments, Assistant Police Chief John Zemke leaned over the counter. “Fielder?” he said in a loud, brusque voice.

  Wilson’s body tensed as he stood up and walked toward the stocky, sunburned detective.

  “Come on in,” Zemke said, brushing back his thick, wiry gray-white hair. The fifty-something former LAPD homicide captain, turned Sun Valley detective and ski fanatic, wore elk-skin boots, navy-blue ski pants, and a red sweater. Zemke relished what he did for a living, but valued where he did it even more.

  Wilson followed Zemke through the western-style swinging doors into an empty office at the rear of the building. He sat down in front of the detective’s desk, attempting to control his emotions.

  “As far as we’re concerned, this case is murder and attempted suicide. We found powder burns on your father’s right hand. His fingerprints were on the murder weapon. A dozen witnesses put him and the two women together during the evening. What else do you want to know?”

  “Who were the two women?”

  “Probably high-end hookers. We get a lot of them this time of year. They look like sisters: same blood type, same physical features, same expensive jewelry. We don’t know their names yet. They were carrying phony IDs. But we’ll know soon enough.”

  Wilson decided to ignore the “hookers” comment for the moment. Zemke might be a jaded macho throwback, but he was nobody’s fool. Wilson could see that from his eyes. “What kind of gun was it?”

  Zemke leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. He didn’t care much for Wilson’s father, or any of the other wealthy landowners in the area who acted as if Sun Valley was their private playground. “Smith & Wesson Sportsman .22 LR caliber automatic, stainless steel, ten cartridge clip, six-inch barrel, thirty-nine ounces, designed for concealment. Five bullets were discharged. Each woman was shot in the back of the head while sitting in matching chairs in your father’s chalet. Both were fully clothed. Blood-soaked. They died instantly. No evidence of a struggle except for a few broken fingernails. These women obviously knew they were going to die. But they didn’t have time or were too scared to do anything but grab the arms of their chairs.”

  “And my father?”

  “We found his body lying on the floor next to where the women were executed. Blood from at least one of the women was on his hands and face. Bullet entered his head just below the right ear. Gun was lying next to his right hand. That’s about it,” Zemke said, anxious to end the interchange.

  “What about the other bullets?”

  “Embedded in the ceiling beams. Either threatening or torturing shots,” he said while turning his attention to a file he’d picked up from his desk.

  Wilson didn’t say anything. There was a momentary twinge of uncertainty about his father’s innocence, but he refused to believe that his father killed anyone. He knew his father. Of course he could never know all the details or secrets of his father’s life, but he was well acquainted with his father’s character—and it had nothing to do with corruption. His father’s life had been devoted to enlightenment and liberation, for himself, his family, his clients, and anyone else he could influence. Wilson had questioned and tested his father’s soul for long enough to know.

  Zemke looked up from the file, “Unless there’s something else, son, I’ve got work to do.”

  “A few things you should know, detective,” Wilson said with measured delivery as he stood up. “My father abhorred guns and he never used his right hand for anything requiring mechanical precision or applied pressure because of an old injury. He would never have used his right hand to pull the trigger of a gun. As to your explanation of the bullets in the ceiling beams—threatening or torturing shots is how you put it. Strikes me as predisposed, which brings me to my last point.” Wilson paused, his emotions rising. “The comment you made about the two women being hookers not only represents gross speculation on your part, but piss-poor police work. Seems the only whore here is you, detective. My father didn’t kill anyone.”

  At first, Zemke was stunned, his eyes blazing, but he held his tongue. He slowly surveyed Wilson with biting anger, then genuine curiosity. He hadn’t expected such a tongue-lashing from Charles Fielder’s privileged son. The open file on his desk was no longer a distraction.

  “I understand your point of view, Mr. Fielder,” he said in a calm, almost respectful voice. “We haven’t established a motive yet. Until we do, this case will remain open.”

  “Thank you,” Wilson said, feeling slightly better for having vented at least some of his anger. He needed Zemke, and anyone else who might get involved, including reporters, to seriously investigate the possibility that someone other than his father had murdered those women. Otherwise, I’ll be doing this on my own, he thought.