I could hear him through the thin walls of that tiny metal trailer Danny called an office. “The old bitch kicked me off the site. I never even got a chance to start. And you know I need the money, Dan. I’m telling you, she’s crazy.”
Sean Cleary hit me with that look of his when I walked in.
The construction trailer was barely an office. It was tidy, but small. The desk held a laptop, and some unrolled plans. The only other people in it were both red-faced. But I didn’t care. I squeezed in behind Sean and leaned against the closed door.
“Morning, boys.” I nodded at Danny first and then at his no-good kin. “If you’re gonna call someone a crazy bitch, you should check to make sure she’s not around.”
Danny, his shirt stained and strained, stood up from behind his desk. “Now, Miss Jesse, he didn’t mean anything by it. We can work this out.”
“Let me ask you this, Danny, was I unclear about how I wanted the bathrooms framed out?”
He shook his head. “No, Miss Jesse.”
“Did you understand that the old administration was going to be our living area and that we’d need windows roughed in?”
“Yes, Miss Jesse.”
“Was I unclear about what I needed done to the kitchen?”
“No, Miss Jesse.”
“So, was there a problem with my payment?”
“No, Miss Jesse.”
“What I know then is that I was very clear about who I wanted and who I did not want on my property. I know the kind of people these jobs can attract and I am not willing to give them access to my land or my family.”
Sean started in again. “It ain’t fair, Miss Jesse.”
“Oh no need to be so formal, Sean,” I smiled, “You don’t have to call me Miss Jesse. Sheriff will do just fine.”
Danny cleared his throat. “Sheriff McBride, my cousin was 18 when that girl’s parents pressed charges for dating their 16 year old daughter. He’s not some raging sex offender, just a victim of circumstance.”
I stopped looking at Danny and turned to watch Sean. His eyes darted from his cousin to me to the floor and he clenched his jaw.
“Is that what he told you? Where was he a couple of years ago, before he moved back to town?”
Danny had the decency to look confused before he answered. “Working offshore on the oil rigs.”
“Is that what he told you? Cause he did 13 months on a rape charge. I think she was 16 too.”
“Danny, Mr. Cleary, I don’t want to tell you how to run your business, but it might be time to clean house.”
I left Sean sputtering excuses and headed back towards home.
I made a note to fill in the potholes that dotted the driveway and swung the SUV into a spot in front of the former McBride Lower and Upper School. Kiera waved as I pulled in. She’d changed the letters in the marquis from CLOSED to OPEN FOR DINNER SOON.
Not soon enough. We bled money every day.
