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Time to get to work. We haven’t seen everything yet, but we’ve seen all save the most important: our new home. That will be our treat at the end of what I expect will be a very long day.
As we cross through town, I get a look at the residences. In Rockton, there’d been a variety of them, and what you got depended on how essential—and difficult—a job you performed. In a town like this, everyone has a job, and there is nothing more valuable than quality of life. It also, however, led to endless envy and resentment, with residents—quite rightly sometimes—questioning housing decisions that could seem arbitrary or, worse, fueled by factors such as the resident’s friendship with core staff.
In Haven’s Rock, there are only two types of housing: that given to permanent staff and that given to everyone else. April, Kenny, and Isabel all get quarters over their place of business. Anders will have an apartment over the police station. Everyone else is in dormitory-style living, with tiny private bedrooms and communal kitchens, living rooms and bathrooms.
Are the new residents going to love that? Nope. But when they decide to come here, they’ll know what to expect. It’s this or nothing.
We continue past the block of residences to the police station. Yolanda has set up shop in it, and I rap, and then step in to find it empty.
“Quick look?” I say to Dalton.
He nods, and we bring Storm inside. This is one building that isn’t significantly different from the Rockton version, inthe spirit of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The second-floor apartment for Anders is new. He’d had a whole chalet before, but as he says, less living space is less space to keep clean. He pretty much just needs a bedroom anyway, not being the sort to cook his own meals or spend his free time alone in his quarters.
Our one stipulation was soundproofing between the station and his quarters. He usually takes the evening shift, and he’s not going to get much sleep if we’re dealing with a situation below.
Do we expect to have situations? I would dearly love to say no. In fact, I’d love to say that we don’t need a police department, much less a three-person one. We are hoping that our roles shift to be more managerial—looking after the daily running of the town—but there will always be a need for some law enforcement, even if it’s just to handle inter-resident disputes. To that end, though, what we call the “police station” will officially be known as the town hall. Are we going to keep referring to ourselves as sheriff, detective, and deputy? That part is still under review.
We poke about in the town hall for a few minutes. Then we head past the commissary, which is going to require a more appealing name. What was once two separate structures—one for dine-in and one for take-out—is now one big kitchen and food-storage area, set up for both dining in and taking out.
We head into the commissary, where we find Kendra hard at work on the septic system.
“That looks complicated,” I say as we walk over to her.
“You guys gave me a challenge,” she says, pulling her head from under a sink. “And I appreciate that. This is the real reason Yolanda hired me, despite the fact that she thinks I’m a pain in the ass. I cut my teeth on northern plumbing. Well, not literally.” She pauses. “Or possibly literally, since Mom says I lost two baby teeth trying to work a pump handle.”
Plumbing is another area where we’re very excited about innovations. When Rockton was first built, they used outhouses and hauled water. Seventy years later, we’d barely progressed from that, relying on chemical toilets and reservoir-and-pump systems. We can do better now. The nearby lake gives us fresh-water access, and between Kendra and our solar expert, we’re going to have a decent supply of running water. We’re also going to have a septic system, with Kendra’s use of cutting-edge technology insulating the system and eliminating the need for heating it. Lots of science involved, most of which I don’t pretend to understand. I only know that while we won’t have truly hot showers or a maintenance-free septic system, what we have will be a damn sight better and healthier than before.
“Can we talk about Penny and Bruno?” I ask Kendra.
“Sure can. Just give me a minute to tighten these screws. Grab a hot drink if you like. The kitchen’s open.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Dalton takes Storm for a walk while I talk to Kendra. That’s partly exercising the dog, but mostly that he wants another look at the perimeter, to see whether he can figure out where Bruno exited last night.
I make myself a hot chocolate and eye a package of store-bought cookies before opting for a piece of sponge cake instead. One bite of the cake tells me I made a mistake. I’m terribly spoiled, having spent two years in a town with a world-class baker.
I take my snack into the empty room that we’re calling the private dining room. The commissary has two main dining areas. One is cafeteria style, with long communal tables. Take-out food can be eaten in there. The other area is a more intimate dining room, with private tables and a server, where it’ll cost extra for the more “restaurant” experience.
When Kendra joins me, I’m dunking my sponge cake into my hot chocolate. That makes her laugh.
“Tastes like shit, doesn’t it?” she says as she sits. “I’m pretty sure it’s just our extra Styrofoam, painted to look like cake.”
“The hot chocolate’s not bad, though.” I take out Dalton’s phone to jot notes. “Do you want to grab something to eat before we start?”
“I’m good. So you want to know about Penny and Bruno. First, whether there’s any indication they may have run off together or left temporarily together for any reason. Second, in light of what you discovered, you’re going to want my opinion on whether they could have had anything to do with that.”
“Yes, but unless you have specific concerns regarding the second part, I don’t expect you to make a guess. That isn’t fair.”
She exhales dramatically. “Thank you. Okay, now, every crew member is required to have at least a brief session with me weekly. Like I told Yolanda, nothing that either Bruno or Penny said to me in that setting would lead me to conclude that they would leave town together for any purpose other than a professional one. That said, professionally, theydidwork closely, being the construction engineer and the architect.”
“Worked closely together well? Or not well?”
“That is the big question, isn’t it? And the answer doesn’t come from our sessions but from working with them, which isn’t privileged information. They butted heads. A lot. From my experience, though, that’s not unexpected. This was a complicated job, and I get the feeling Bruno was in over his head while Penny was in her element. Her brain was zipping at a hundred miles an hour, and Bruno was always reining her in.”
“They clashed.”
“Yep, but so did Bruno and Yolanda, and Penny and Yolanda, and pretty much everyone here above the general-crew level. Yolanda hired a freaking dream team of experts, and that means a lot of conflict. Even I’ve had a shouting match or two, and that is absolutely not my style.”
