Free JUDE: Book 2 The Justice Brothers Series by Taylor Lee Page B

most familiar with the financial aspects of your family’s fortune?”
    All of the Parkers seemed surprised at her question. They exchanged a questioning glance then Marion shrugged. “I am the only one of us who presently sits on the Parker Industries Board of Directors. But that is a rotating position. Each of us assumes the family representative position for one fiscal year and then it passes to the next sibling. While only one of us at a time is a voting member, we all attend the quarterly board meetings and are well-versed in the financial aspects of the corporation. Father thought it was important that all of us understand the family business.”
    She frowned at Sky then said dismissively, “You are new here, so it is unlikely that you know, but our family is wealthy. To be more specific, even though we are a privately held corporation, if we were publically traded, we would be among the top five hundred corporations on the NASDAQ.”
    Jude smothered a grin, knowing that Skylar knew to the penny the magnitude of the Parker family fortune and likely more than the Parkers or their raft of highly-paid lawyers and accountants knew. He watched in admiration as Sky asked one question after another, soliciting information in a non-threatening manner, never acknowledging their rude dismissal of her. After an hour of polite questions, even the Parker siblings seemed impressed by the studious woman questioning them. At least Jude hoped they were. He sure as hell was, and was looking forward to getting her alone so that he could pick her brain. Which he acknowledged would likely take a while.
    Ready to bring the discussion to a close, Jude decided to up the ante, challenge them at their core. Gazing at the four siblings, he said quietly, “Blake asked the right question earlier. If you recall he asked who could have hated your parents so much that they would do the terrible things that they did. I want to underscore Blake’s question. Your parents were brutally tortured. The wounds they suffered were personal, specific. I have a task for each of you. A challenging task. We are convinced that the perpetrators knew your parents. Not only that but we believe they were acting out of rage, and frankly, revenge.”
    He paused before making his request. “We need your help. I would like each one of you to come up with a short list of people who you know your parents wronged.”
    At their startled murmurs and surprised glances, he added, “Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that your parents in any way deserved the hideous deaths they suffered. But someone—or some people—believed that they did. This is what I want you do to. Without consulting one another, I want you to give Ms. Hughes the names of three people who believed they were harmed by your parents, or someone close to them. People who were wronged personally and in such a way that a deranged mind could believe they deserved to be tortured to death in the most horrific way possible.”
    Nodding to Skylar, he said, “I want you to give the names to Ms. Hughes. She is new in this community and doesn’t bring all of our shared biases and history. In addition, she is renowned for her analytical abilities. She will keep the names you give her in strictest confidence. Only when she has investigated them and thinks they warrant further examination will she turn the names over to me. Please know that this is not a finger pointing exercise. Someone and their partners hated your parents enough not just to kill them, but to torture them to death. You can help us discover who those people might be.”
    As they were leaving, Jude and Skylar stopped to say good-bye to the Judge.
    “How did it go, Jude?”
    Jude snorted. “Well let’s just say that the Parker siblings, at least the sisters, were unimpressed with the interrogation team. They mistakenly pegged Skylar as my secretary and then made it clear that rather than me, Jake, as the Commander of the DPD, should be leading