Free The Tail of the Tip-Off by Rita Mae Brown Page A

Saturdays and Sundays. They're paying time and a half. I figured I'd better make hay while the sun shines.” He slipped a screwdriver back into his tool belt. “Well, what do you think?”
    â€œIt's so well lit.”
    â€œJust putting on the finishing touches. I'm building shelves. This place will open its doors right on schedule despite everything. Poor guy. Keeling over of a heart attack like that. He's two years younger than I am. Makes you think.” Rob shook his head.
    â€œYes, it does,” Susan said.
    â€œRob, was H.H. a good contractor?”
    Rob nodded. “No cutting corners. Do it right the first time. No bull. He talked to everyone straight. Kept his cool, too. That creep—if you weren't ladies I'd say something worse—Fred Forrest would come by every single day or he'd send his assistant. Fred's got a hair across his ass.” Rob again shook his head, lowered his voice. “In fact she's here now.”
    â€œWhat would they fuss over?”
    â€œOh, Harry, you wouldn't believe it. That SOB would whip out his ruler, unfold it, and check stupid stuff like the gap between the doorjamb and the door. Anything. Fred lives to find fault and he couldn't find much. That's why H.H. would push everyone, ‘Do it right the first time.' ”
    Raised voices in the background drew their attention.
    A young African-American woman, late twenties, wearing a hard hat, armed with a clipboard, strode out the door, Peter Gianakos in hot pursuit. He was soon back in the building.
    He focused on Rob before focusing on the two women. “Bitch.” He then saw, really saw, Harry and Susan. “I'm sorry, ladies. I'm a little hot under the collar.”
    â€œWhat's the problem?”
    â€œMychelle Burns has decided that our handicapped access to the men's bathroom is one degree off in grade. First of all, it's not. Secondly, to shave a degree off costs time and money. Do you know what a handicapped access costs us? That one you see out there on the sidewalk is eight thousand dollars.” Peter let his arms flop against his sides.
    â€œWhy so much?” Susan was curious.
    â€œIt could be even more if it were a switchback but this one we could put in right off the curb. It cost so much because you have to taper the sides. You can't have ninety-degree sides. Let me tell you, concrete work ain't cheap. And the guardrails are heavy pipe. The stuff could hold back an elephant.”
    â€œI had no idea.”
    â€œNo one does, ma'am. Not until they have to build something the public will use. It's bad enough just building a house.”
    â€œWhat are you going to do?” Harry felt bad for Peter.
    â€œThe first thing I'm going to do is count to ten. Next, I'm bringing in the laser measurer and I am ninety-nine percent sure that grade will be perfect. Code perfect. Then I will call Fred Forrest and ask him to come out and use the laser measurer.” His voice was acidic. “If the high-and-mighty Fred doesn't want to come by, I guess I'll let Mychelle use it. Christ, she's a chip off the old block. And since neither one of them can even hammer a nail, I will hold my tongue although even an idiot can use a laser measurer.”
    â€œPeter,” a man called from the back.
    â€œSorry to dump on you. Harry, Susan, it's good to see you.”
    â€œGive my regards to your wife,” Susan said as he left.
    Harry waited a beat then whispered to Rob, “Maybe Mychelle wants a payoff?”
    Rob frowned. “Well, I'm here on the weekends and at night. I don't think that's going on. I could be wrong. I think Fred's drunk on power. She's a carbon copy.”
    As Susan and Harry cruised back down 29, Susan said, “Harry, I wouldn't have thought of under-the-table payoffs.”
    â€œI know. You're such a straight arrow.”
    â€œSo was H.H.”
    â€œI think he was.” Harry noticed that the snow piled on the side of the road was already