Free MURDER AT THE PIER (A Sister Sleuths Mystery Book 1) by Rayna Morgan

Contractor out in front
of his crew. The Contractor said he'd had enough. Walked out and took his
entire crew with him."
    "Did Neal try to get him back?"
    "Sure he did. But as soon as the news got out, one of
the other builders got hold of the Contractor and put his crew to work the next
day. He gave an added enticement of a bonus if the project was completed before
the due date."
    "Are incentives unusual in the industry?"
    "Bonuses aren't standard. They're usually given for
exceptional jobs or when a contractor has put in extra effort. Neal never gave
a bonus. He sometimes implied a bonus would be given but he always found a
reason not to award it."
    "Did Neal get Final Permits on the projects?"
    "Yes, he worked it out. I'm not sure how he managed it,
but he came in one morning saying everything had been taken care of and we were
back on schedule. He seemed overly pleased with himself. Told us we could begin
leasing and pre-selling on both projects which meant the money would start
rolling in again."
    Tom took out his notepad. "Do you know the exact day Neal
told you the Permits were issued?"
    Amanda hesitated. "Let me check my computer. I
remember entering an item in my calendar to tell the Marketing Department about
the completion of the projects so they could schedule an advertising
campaign."
    She returned with her laptop, sitting next to Tom where
they could both view the screen. When she found the note to the Marketing
Department, the color drained out of her face.
    "What's wrong, Amanda?"
    "The morning Neal told me everything would be alright
again was the day he was murdered."
    "Anyone besides
contractors Neal fell out with?"
    Amanda narrowed her eyes. "There was one unusual
incident a couple of months ago. Neal fired one of our in-house construction
workers."
    "What do you mean in-house?"
    "The way the company is structured now, Neal as
Construction Manager supervises a Project Manager or contracts the work out to
a General Contractor. General Contractors bid on each project and the job is
awarded to the Contractor with the best bid. In Neal's mind, the best bid was
usually equivalent to the cheapest bid. Before he came, we only had a Project
Manager on the payroll of Carson Development Company who reported directly to
Mr. Carson."
    "Ken Crosby?"
    Amanda seemed surprised that Tom had that information.
"Yes. Ken managed projects for Mr. Carson for years. Neal consolidated the
title of Project Manager into his own job description since the company was
only doing a single project at a time. When business picked up and the company
started doing multiple projects again, Neal started hiring a General for each
individual project, leaving him in the position of supervising the Generals on
all the projects."
    "Sounds like a lot of work for one person."
    "It is, but believe me; Neal gets enough hard work from
everyone working under him to get the job done."
    "And make himself look good in the eyes of his
boss?"
    The young woman looked at the floor, displaying a reluctance
to agree with Tom's assessment of her former boss.
    "So where do in-house construction workers fit
in?"
    "We have a crew of five or six workers who do tenant
improvement work in our buildings. When a tenant negotiates a new lease, they typically
ask the landlord for an allowance to expand or improve their office space. The
tenant and landlord agree on an amount the landlord is willing to spend for the
improvements. Most tenants lack the experience to deal with the design and
construction process so they hire the landlord's Construction Department to do
the actual work. The landlord has a list of trades familiar with the building
and knows the ins and outs of local agencies involved in the Permit process.
The employee who was fired worked on Tenant Improvement construction. He was on
the payroll of Carson Development Company."
    "Did Neal supervise the in-house construction
workers?"
    "No, he didn't. That was the odd thing. It wasn't his
position to hire or