Page 44 of Tracking Safety

He pressed his lips together before starting. “I reached out to two people I trust, former colleagues who still have eyes on the Barone organization.”

“And?”

“Roderick is dead. That part is accurate.” He paused.

“I have a feeling there’s a ‘but’ in there . . .”

He blew out a breath. “There is. As you know, for the past several years, Vito was thought to be suffering from dementia.”

“That’s what Roderick told me. He seemed really concerned and sad about it.”

Wes tilted his head and offered a wry expression. “It was all an act. It actually appears he’s in his right mind . . . and he’s been calling all the shots this whole time.”

CHAPTER 17

Luke watched Kori Hutchins climb out of her SUV and scan the site. She was dressed for court rather than a construction visit—fitted blazer, dark slacks, heels that had no business on gravel.

She crossed toward them without slowing. “Where did Fenn go?”

“Left about twenty minutes ago.” Luke fell into step beside her as she moved toward the cottage frame. “Said his report would be ready Monday.”

“Of course, he did.” She stopped at the cottage and scowled. “Walk me through what he flagged.”

Luke kept his explanation concise—the setback claim, the foundation depth, the electrical rough-in. Kori listened without interrupting, her eyes moving over the build the whole time, missing nothing.

When he finished, Kori straightened and locked her gaze with his. “You asked him about Dale Harding.”

“I did.”

“Did he deny it?”

“He neither confirmed nor denied.”

Satisfaction moved across her face. “Good to know. I’ll need your survey documentation, the approved plans, and the electrical inspection sign-off.”

“I’ll make sure Caleb sends it.”

“I don’t like bullying, and I fully believe that’s what this is. Someone is purposefully making your life more difficult, just because you made someone mad. Politics is maddening when people take advantage of the system. I’m not going to let that happen.”

“Thank you.”

She glanced at her watch. “Right now, I’ve got to get back to work. But I’ll look for that information—as soon as possible.”

“You got it.”

Kori headed for her car. As Luke watched her go, some of the tightness across his shoulders eased.

He turned back to the construction site.

The framing crew had picked back up, and the sounds of the build returned to normal. Luke crouched near the nearest cottage and ran his hand along the foundation.

It was solid. He’d made sure of that.

Fenn knew this had been done properly. He just didn’t care.

Luke straightened and walked the row out of habit, the way he did at the end of every day—checking corners, checking his crew’s work, checking the thousand small things that added up to a building that wouldn’t fail the people inside it.

He almost missed it.