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

fire those employees. Tenant Improvement Construction is a
whole separate department. They office in a different building next to the
equipment warehouse."
    "So how did Neal get involved?"
    "That department was experiencing minor thefts of
equipment at the time. Employee theft of small amounts of materials isn't
highly unusual in this business. It's like office workers taking pens, paper
clips, or notepads home with them at night. Neal told the head of the Tenant
Improvement Department he had received information on who might be responsible.
He told the Department Supervisor he lacked definite proof so preferred to
handle the matter discreetly himself. The next thing I knew he had fired one of
the employees."
    "Which one?"
    "Juan Martinez. That was one of the most surprising
things. Juan’s a great kid. Everyone liked him a lot. He was one of my personal
favorites. Whenever he was working in our building, he stopped in to give me a
wave and a big smile. Sort of a flirt, really, but in a cute way."
    "So what was given as the cause for termination?"
    "It went in his employee file as termination for lack
of work instead of firing. Neal actually dictated a letter of recommendation
for me to prepare for Juan. It was like he wanted Juan out of this company, but
he wanted to make sure he found employment somewhere else."
    "Seems like a generous thing for him to do considering
the circumstances."
    "Yes, it was, and completely out of character for him.
He avoided personnel issues like the plague. He rarely wrote a letter of
recommendation and never for someone at Juan's level of employment."
    "I've been informed Juan was not given a reason for
his termination and did not understand why it happened."
    Amanda hesitated. "That statement is probably not
entirely true on Juan's part. He had to have known the reason given for
dismissal wasn't a lack of work. The Tenant Improvement Department had more
work than they could handle at the time."
    "What did he think the real reason was?"
    "According to what Juan told me after his dismissal by
Neal, there was a vague reference to tools missing during their conversation. Neal
asked Juan if he had any idea who was responsible but Juan had no clue. Neal
didn't pursue the topic any further, but the implication had been made."
    "You mean Neal thought Juan was responsible?"
    "That's what Juan was afraid of. But next thing he
knew, Neal was thanking him for the work he had done for the company and
handing him a letter of recommendation. Juan didn't ask outright if Neal
thought he was guilty. He needed a job badly so he wasn't about to risk losing
a good reference."
    "You mean he might have been shooting himself in the
foot if he had attempted to learn the real cause for his termination."
    "Exactly. Besides giving him the reference, Neal
suggested another building company where Juan could apply for employment. He
told Juan to have the company call him and he would be happy to confirm the
reference he had given Juan."
    "Whole thing sounds pretty confusing for Juan."
    "It was. After Juan was dismissed, there were no more
occurrences of missing inventory. Juan's direct supervisor never felt Juan was
responsible and would have liked to clear any doubts about Juan. Unfortunately,
it was easier for everyone to let the matter drop rather than incur Neal's
displeasure by investigating further."
    "It sounds like Neal may have had an ulterior motive
in terminating Juan."
    "I thought so at the time. But if that was true, I
never figured out what Neal was up to."
    "Speaking of thefts, was your company ever hit by the
Construction Site Burglars?
    "Yes, but we were lucky. A forklift was stolen from
one of our sites. But Neal asked me to review the insurance coverage on all of
our equipment the week before the theft so our loss was fully covered when it
happened."
    "Fortuitous timing on Neal's part," Tom
suggested, skepticism registering in his voice. He didn't believe in anything
happening by accident or chance when