On Monday, I left early for Wharton's estate. I'd been calling him Suki's client or patron for so long, I'd forgotten he must have a name.

"Hey, early bird. Suki may not be here for an hour. She's usually late anyway," Jackson said.

"I know. I thought it might give us more time to talk."

"No one to nag while the husband's out of town, hey?" Jackson said, smiling.

"Something like that."

"Well, if you need a stand in, you can nag me for the next hour," he teased. "I'm a big boy, I can take it."

"Actually, I understand we have mutual acquaintances. I wanted to talk about them...