Chapter 3

S imon hadn't heard back from Kate after his panicked phone call earlier this morning. That didn't tell him a whole lot and made him uncomfortable. She didn't even call to ask him what his warning was all about either. That worried him most of all. Finally deciding that he needed to check on her, he sent her a text. Are you okay?

He got a thumbs-up emoji and a response. On a new case.

He smiled at that, not that it was anything worth smiling about. However, if ever anything could distract Kate, it was a new case. He sent her his own thumbs-up, happy that he'd gotten an answer from her at least and confirmation that she was okay.

He still didn't understand what the hell that warning from this morning had been all about. He wasn't at all sure that he even wanted to delve into it, but something wrong was going on in whatever house that was, but he didn't know what exactly. He couldn't tell whether it was a man-made danger or something completely different. He just knew that something was off.

Turning his attention back to his own job and his own work, he walked up to see Danny, a suicide survivor, working beside Joe, one of Simon's foremen, as the two unloaded lumber. Simon watched them, smiled, and then nodded. Danny had been a decent addition to the crew. As long as Joe could keep an eye on Danny, which Simon had to give Joe credit for, Danny seemed to be settling more into the reality of life. Then again, maybe it was just wishful thinking on Simon's part, but the last thing he wanted was a suicide on his plate, and something had been just so inherently good about this kid that it would be a damn shame if they couldn't get Danny to deal with his issues.

Simon knew Danny went to therapy because Simon was paying for it. Danny didn't know about that part, but, should it ever come up, Simon would be totally okay to tell Danny. Simon didn't believe he had any real need to keep these secrets, since secrets caused all these problems in the first place. Which brought him back to the warning for Kate this morning. Wishing he had answers now, yet he would wait, as they would surely discuss this later, when she got home.

Generally, whenever he got these psychic warnings, it had something to do with her and the cases she was involved in. Even if he tried to send out messages into the ether that he wasn't interested in being a psychic, that he refused to deal with all the woo-woo stuff, these telepathic messages bypassed any barriers or blocks or security systems he thought he had in place in his mind. Acknowledging this made him feel as if he had absolutely no control over any of it, which he didn't.

Just then Joe called out, "Hey, are you okay?"

Simon turned to face his property manager, who had seen Simon freeze on the way over to join them. Simon nodded. "Yeah, sorry, just a lot on my mind."

"Some days are worse than others apparently," Joe teased, with a big grin .

Simon nodded and addressed the two of them, "How are things today?"

Danny grinned at him. "They're just fine." He looked over at Joe and added, "I'll head back over to the guys."

"You do that," Joe replied, as Danny took off.

"How is he handling things?" Simon asked Joe.

"He's doing really well," Joe stated, a note of affection in his tone.

"Sounds as if you two are hitting it off."

"We are, and it's nice to see a kid who gets it. He's had some tough times, but he's pulling through, and we've got to give him credit for that."

"Absolutely. The last thing we want is a downward slide. Slides are… deadly."

"They are, indeed." Joe nodded. "That's all right. I'm keeping an eye on him."

"Good. Any problems with the project?"

"You mean, outside of the usual?" Joe gave Simon an eye roll. "We got shorted on our lumber today. The back-ordered roofing tiles still haven't come. Two of our guys didn't show up today, so we'll be a little shorthanded."

"Tradesmen?"

"No, in this case, general labor."

"It would be worse if our plumbers or electricians were absent, I guess." Simon groaned. "Yet we have a shortage of laborers overall as it is."

"True," Joe agreed, even with a smile, "but it's part of the deal in the construction industry. Still, we're holding steady overall. So it's all good." After going over a few other details, Joe waved him away. "Go on, go off, do something else," he suggested. "We're fine here."

Simon laughed. "I'm glad to hear that, since I don't want anything to hold back this project."

"We're on target, as much as we can be when we're talking about another six months," he clarified. "However, right now, we're moving along in the right direction. So go do something else, and, for God's sake, get that look off your face."

"What look is that?" Simon asked his friend curiously, even as he started to walk away.

"The one that says that you can't figure out something going on in your world."

Simon turned to him and frowned.

Joe replied in a low tone, so no one else could hear. "You never really talk about it, but I know that you get these feelings ."

"Yeah, I do," Simon admitted. "And you're right. I generally don't talk about it."

"And I'm not asking you to. I just know, from that expression on your face, that something is brewing."

Simon winced. "I was hoping it wasn't noticeable."

"Maybe to somebody who doesn't know you as well as I do," Joe pointed out, with a grin. "Yet we've been working together for a lot of years. When shit happens, it's generally something I hear about, even if you don't tell me. And I've been hearing an awful lot of it lately."

And, with that, Simon nodded and headed to his usual coffee shop, where he picked up a coffee and walked to his next rehab project site. Joe was right though. Something was definitely coming down. The problem was, Simon had absolutely no way to know what it was among all the possible shit going around, and that thought had him on edge. In time, he noticed he had taken the wrong route.

Groaning, he turned and changed his route to the block that took him down and around to his project. As he approached, he heard shouting on the scaffolding. He looked up to see several of his men arguing. He let out a roaring whistle that stopped them all in their tracks.

Embarrassed, the men winced. "Now you're in for it," one of the workers yelled at the other. "That's the boss."

His foreman for this project rushed over to see him. "Hey, I know it sounds bad, but it's not as bad as it seems."

"If you say so." Simon glared up at the scaffold. "Fifty feet up is not the place for an argument."

"No, it sure as hell isn't," his foreman agreed. "Permission to fire one of them?"

"Why?" Simon asked, turning to face him.

"Because he keeps riling everybody up, just causing shit for no reason."

"Such as?" Simon asked, eyeing his foreman closer. "We are so short-staffed that he's got to be making real headaches for us to get rid of him."

"Yeah, he's already making real headaches," his foreman declared.

Simon sighed and then nodded. "Get rid of him then. Better we have people who know what getting along means than having to deal with this shit." He stared up at the scaffold, even now coming down to ground level.

"Done," Steven declared, as he walked over to the two guys on the scaffold. He pivoted to add, "And everything else is fine here, by the way."

"Are you sure?" Simon asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he confirmed, then shrugged. "I just need to get rid of a troublemaker."

The conversation with the terminated employee was short and swift, and the guy was removed rather quickly from the property. Simon watched the efficiency with which his foreman dealt with it.

When he rejoined Simon, a sense of satisfaction on his face, Simon noted, "You've been wanting to do that for a while, haven't you?"

"Sure have," he agreed, "but we're shorthanded, and that's why I kept him. Yet, if anybody caused us trouble, it was always him."

"What trouble though… and why? I don't understand that whole mentality."

"No, you and I don't.… I get that the guy's got some issues and that he's struggling with them, but that isn't our problem. I can't have that disobedience in the crew, especially up on the scaffolding."

"No, we sure as hell can't," Simon concurred, staring at Steven. "You never did tell me what trouble he causes."

He faced Simon and winced. "Trouble that makes people worry… as in threats, subtle little digs behind the back, saying that a strap might get cut one day, or he'll ensure that somebody doesn't come back down from being up top."

"Lord Jesus, we don't need that shit in our workplace."

"Exactly, and most of the time all these other guys are good. We've worked with them for quite a while, and I don't have any problems with them." Steven paused. "Then this guy comes along, and all of a sudden trust becomes a problem." With that, he launched into a rundown of all the rehab problems of the day.

Simon groaned. "It would be nice if, one time, we had a rundown of all the successes of the day."

" Right ," Steven murmured. "The nature of the business means that we generally have more problems, more scheduling conflicts, more supply issues, and, of course, more inspectors."

Simon listened to the litany of issues, as he nodded at times and asked the occasional question. Just when he was about finished and could walk away, his phone rang. He checked his cell phone screen and held up his hand. "Hang on. I'll be back in a minute." He stepped off to the side and answered the realtor's call. "What the hell are you doing calling me right now?" he asked in exasperation.

"I have another building for you," Ariel replied in a preemptory tone.

He hesitated. "I'm pretty full up at the moment."

"I'm sure you are," she agreed, "but it's one that's been on your list for a while."

"How would you know?" he asked, a sarcastic and lethal edge to his comment.

"Look," she began. "We don't always get along… but I do know the buildings you're looking for and the ones that you work on."

"Maybe," he conceded, "but it's very bold of you to assume to know what I'm after."

She laughed. "I could say something coy about you being male and what you're all after," she quipped, "but, in your case, you're a bit of an enigma."

"Why? Just because I keep turning you down for anything beyond business?" he asked in a mocking tone.

She snorted. "Okay, fine. I guess I deserved that. I thought maybe we could have a relationship beyond business, my bad."

"I told you repeatedly that I'm already in a relationship and that I don't cheat," he stated calmly. "Now, if you've got something to say to me about a legitimate business matter, then speak away. "

"The Paragon building."

That made his eyebrows go up. She was right. It was on his list. "What's going on with it?" he asked.

"The original owner has passed away."

"I know," he stated, "but it's been caught up in a court case between the two brothers and is still pending investigation. Isn't that right?"

"One of the parties was killed in a car accident and left no issue behind, resulting in the remaining share of the building going to the last remaining brother in the court case."

Simon pondered that. "Are we sure the other brother's death was an accident? Was something done to knock off the family member?"

"Wow," she muttered, then laughed. "I guess that's always something that the cops would look at. I'm surprised to hear you consider it in that way."

"I'm not investing my time and money only to find out down the road that the last standing sibling doesn't have full legal rights to the property."

"It was a head-on car collision and has been listed as an accident, with absolutely no sign of anyone else's involvement. Therefore, not any connection or anything to do with the remaining heir."

"At least that you know of," Simon pointed out in a qualifying tone.

"Exactly, but regardless, it will be up for sale. He wants it settled smoothly, cleanly, and as fast as possible."

"And for as much money as possible, I'm sure," Simon added in a dry tone.

"I don't even think the biggest offer is necessarily an issue with him. I think it's more about his feeling incredibly guilty over the court case with his brother and wanting to find a way to get past it."

"Interesting," Simon murmured. "What figures are we talking about?" Simon was definitely surprised to hear the beginning price.

She added, "From your silence, I guess you weren't expecting that."

"I'll take a look at it," he replied.

"At least you're interested."

"Depends," he noted. "Are you planning to set up a bidding war?"

"I know, if I do, that you're out."

"Exactly. I won't do business that way."

"Yet you do realize that a lot of the world doesn't have a choice."

"That's a problem for the rest of the world," he pointed out. "I'm only prepared to do business one way. If you don't want to deal with it, that's fine."

"Hey, that's okay," she replied. "I didn't say I wasn't prepared to."

"No, but you were checking it out."

"Hey, you've got to understand that I'm representing the seller."

"You can't represent both of us," he stated, with an inward smile. "I'm sure that's an issue for you."

"It certainly makes my life more difficult, but we can run it through somebody else in my company."

"I have my own realtor," he reminded her, "which you are aware of too."

She sighed. "Every time I turn around and try to make things easy, you just get belligerent."

"Oh, this wasn't belligerence," he muttered. "Trust me that you do not want to see me getting belligerent."

"Nope, I sure don't," she agreed, with half a laugh. "Anyway, if you decide you want to see it, let me know, and I can show it to you anytime."

"Why? Is it locked up?" he asked.

She hesitated and then asked, "You really don't want anybody around when you go in, do you?"

"No, I sure don't," he declared, finality in his tone. "So find out if I can go in on my own. Otherwise we'll talk another time." And, with that, he deliberately ended the call. This realtor knew perfectly well that he only went into buildings alone, and still she always played these games, thinking he would change his mind one day and would take her with him, but that wouldn't happen.

She phoned him right back and said, "You know perfectly well you can go in or I wouldn't have called you."

He smiled. "Today?"

"Ooh, you are eager," she purred.

"No, not particularly," he clarified, realizing his own eagerness and tempering it. "I'm already plenty busy, but I do happen to be in the neighborhood." He pivoted, looking around. "As a matter of fact, I'm one block away."

"I can't even get there in that time."

"Which is a good thing," he shared, "since you know how I feel about that."

"Fine, fine. I'll arrange for it to be opened for you."

"What you really mean is that the derelict building has absolutely no security, and I can walk in as I wish, but now you'll give me permission." Silence came, and then she gave a snort, and he knew he was right.

"You're a real headache."

"Good," he stated. "So is that a yes then? "

"Yes, that's a yes," she muttered, "and get back to me whether you want it or not."

"And if I don't?"

"Believe me," she replied in a casual tone, "that I'll have it on the market so damn fast it'll make your head spin."

"So, you're not putting it on the market right now?" he asked, wondering just what she was up to.

"No, but that's only if you want it. I told the seller that I had somebody potentially interested. So he's willing to give you a chance at it first."

"Not at auction?"

"No, I told you that," she snapped. Without giving him any goodbye, she ended the call.

He smiled, turning in the direction of the Paragon building, picking up his pace.