Page 32 of Caught in the Crossfire

A soft whistle came over the speaker. “Brazen or desperate. You have someone watching over Dawn and Nicole today?”

“Linc. I’ll take over at 3:00.”

“I’ll be glad to lend a hand if you need someone else to take a shift. The other members of Bravo and Durango will be glad to help, too.”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime, Mason.” The medic ended the call.

Mason grabbed the bag of food from Perk along with the coffee. He sincerely hoped the extra-large coffee worked its magic on him. Although he didn’t regret staying awake all night to watch over Nicole, Mason was feeling the lack of sleep already.

He found Brian at one of the Oakdale apartment complex buildings and handed his boss breakfast.

Gene Patton, one of Mason’s co-workers, turned, nail gun in his hand. “Sucking up to the boss because you’re late, Kincaid?”

Mason’s friend, Dean Conner, caught his eye and shook his head slightly. Yeah, he was right. He couldn’t let Patton’s lousy attitude set him off over something so simple. The cantankerous worker would have plenty to rib Mason over before the day was out. Otter Creek’s grapevine was sure to carry news of Riva’s death and the police interest in Mason soon.

Brian frowned at Patton. “Knock it off.” He turned back to Mason. “Nicole and Dawn are taken care of for today?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Excellent. Let’s get moving. Take Dean to Building 10 and finish the punch out.” He handed Mason a clipboard with the checklists. “After that, go to Building 8 and do the same there. The inspector will be on site tomorrow morning at 7:00.”

“Who’s scheduled to do the inspection?”

“Noel Manning.”

Mason blew out a breath. Great. Manning was notorious for finding fault no matter how meticulous their work. Made Mason doubly glad he’d purchased the largest cup of coffee sold at Perk. “We’ll be ready.” He glanced at his friend. “Come on, Dean. We have a boatload of work to complete.”

Dean picked up his toolbox and followed Mason outside. “I’ll meet you at Building 10.” The dark-haired man climbed into his truck and cranked the engine.

Five minutes later, the two men carried their tools into the building and began to work down the list, checking off items as they completed each task. In the last unit, Mason noted several of the outlets weren’t working. “Who worked on this unit?”

“Patton and Fisher.”

Of course. Gene Patton and Ed Fisher were thick as thieves and lazy. “They missed a few things.”

Dean snorted. “They always do. I bet the nuts aren’t tightened enough on the pipes, either.”

“You want the outlets or the pipes?”

“I’ll take the outlets. You’re the plumbing king.”

Twenty minutes later, Mason found Dean still fixing the outlets. “Need a hand?”

“Yeah.” Disgust rang in his voice. “None of the outlets work. They slapped on the outlet covers before they connected the wires. Maybe it was a mistake.”

“More likely they did it deliberately to look good in front of Brian. Patton’s angling for a promotion.”

“If Brian can’t see the truth about him, I might have to look for another job. I don’t think I can work under him with his shoddy workmanship. Someone is going to get hurt if Patton keeps cutting corners.”

Between the two of them, they connected wires in the outlets and tested them before covering them again. When they secured the last screw, Mason and Dean continued with the checklist, finding more mistakes and fixing them.

Two hours beyond the time Mason had allotted for the punch list, he and his partner drove to their next assigned building to check the work and do the finishing touches. Manning would check everything. Mason and Dean were determined to make sure the picky inspector didn’t find anything to complain about.

They found more issues in Building 8. Mason scowled. “Let me guess. Patton and Fisher again?”

“Who else?” Dean sipped coffee from his to-go cup. “What are you going to do?”

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