During a trip to New York, J. Howard waited in his hotel for several days only to have Vickie visit with him for thirty minutes. Just before he was scheduled to leave, Vickie asked that he meet her at an exclusive jewelry store, Harry Winston’s. When J. Howard arrived at the store and met with Vickie, he was not interested in shopping. Vickie gave him a valium, leaving him incoherent and drooling in his wheelchair. She then had him buy her a 16-carat diamond engagement ring. On the return trip to Houston, J. Howard had heart palpitations, and Harding was concerned that, as a result of the valium, J. Howard might have died.
During the summer of 1994, members of J. Howard’s staff learned that Vickie’s “bodyguard,” Pierre DeJean, had a record of multiple felony convictions. Just prior to her marriage to J. Howard, Vickie “lost” much of the jewelry that J. Howard had given to her, including her engagement ring. She filed a police report in Los Angeles, claiming the property had been stolen. Contradicting her claim, she also asserted that she had given the jewelry to DeJean. Further contradicting her claim, she asserted that she had left the jewelry in a bag in a cab. The jewelry has never been recovered. [FN15: The police did not believe Vickie’s story, stating that “the report of lost jewelry is unfounded.”]
It’s clear why ANS leaned on HK$ and turned her life over to him.
All the muscular, boy bodyguards she hired & dated were as dumb as she was. Only HOwie was clever enough (and unethical enough) to *rescue* her. He made no demands on her, let her date anyone and everyone, behaved like a *best friend* holding her hand through drug treatment and court hearings. Just biding his time and sucking her dry.
I also think HOwie saw some of her *boy-toys* as potential useful idiots. Mark Hatten’s comments about *offing* E. Pierce Marshall don’t seem so far-fetched.