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“We let her find us residents, Casey. We admitted that we have no idea how to go about that, and she does, so we turned it over to her. She’s done what we asked. Found people in serious need of refuge. Serious enough that they can’t wait a moment longer than necessary.”
I mutter under my breath.
“I can read you all the cases,” she says. “If that’s what you want.”
“Are they the same ones or new?”
“Some of both. There are three new extremely urgent ones. A couple and their teenage daughter. They need sanctuary now. Émilie is providing that while we scramble for the exit plans. She can manage two weeks tops. Of the rest, two are from the previous group, their situations more urgent. The remainder don’t need to be in there quite so quickly, but as long as we’re taking some…”
“Might as well take them all.”
“Would you like the case details?”
I glance at Dalton. Then I sigh. “No. I trust Émilie. I just don’t know how the hell we’re going to open in two weeks.”
A throat clearing. Then Phil comes on. “I have that covered.”
I manage a wry smile. “I’m sure you do.”
“The build cannot be completed sooner. However, it is possible to reprioritize tasks and keep on a very small crew of workers after the residents arrive.”
“A crew who think they’re building a town for research? And obvious civilians show up, including a family?”
“Yolanda will handle that. She will prioritize critical occupation needs but also tasks that require certain professionals, who can be sent home once those tasks are complete. In addition to the current crew, we will come up—those of us who planned to be there from the start.”
“Isabel and Kenny.”
“And myself. It is an urgent situation, and so I will assist.”
I glance at Dalton again. He rolls his eyes. Dalton thinks Phil is going to come to Haven’s Rock, and he’s just dragging his heels, telling himself he’s not joining us, when the truth is that there’s no way in hell he’s breaking up with Isabel.
Phil used to be our council liaison. A faceless voice on aradio that relayed their orders and suffered through our complaints. I always pictured a middle-aged guy, passed over for promotions, stuck in a dead-end corporate job and acting as officious as only such a middle-management drone can. Then he was exiled to Rockton to “help” us, and he turned out to be a couple of years younger than me, a brilliant strategist and consummate project manager, without whom I’m not sure there’d be a Haven’s Rock. He also ended up with Isabel, our fortysomething former-psychologist bar owner who controlled enough of Rockton’s money and secrets to make her the most powerful person in town.
They’re a formidable couple. They are also two of the most commitment-phobic people I’ve ever met. I don’t think managing Haven’s Rock is Phil’s idea of a permanent career move, but Isabel is making Haven’s Rock her home. They’ll work it out or they won’t, and I just hope neither gets hurt along the way—or gives up more than they’re willing to.
If Phil is coming, though, even just for now, that’s good. The only good thing I’ve heard in this conversation.
“So you’ll all come out and pitch in?” I say. “Iz? You’re going to wield a chain saw, right?”
“I’ll have you know that I have done several renovations in my time,” she says. “Yes, Kenny will be more help in that area, but I know the difference between a Phillips screwdriver and a Robertson. Now Phil might be another matter.”
“Which is why Phil will devote himself to administrative tasks,” Phil says.
“In other words, you’ll tell us all what to do,” Isabel says.
“I embrace my strengths.”
“I still don’t think we can be open in two weeks,” I say. “Eric and I are eyeball-deep in this investigation, with Will assisting.April might be able to help with something while she’s here, but she’s got as much experience wielding a hammer as Phil does.”
“April can focus on preparing the clinic,” Phil says. “But the other three of you need to start assisting Yolanda. Effective immediately.”
“Excuse me?” I say.
“Let me translate,” Isabel says. “We need you three pitching in as soon as humanly possible, which means you may need to rethink this investigation. You have a dead stranger and a missing woman who has been missing for days. I’m not saying you need to stop looking for her but…”
“You need to accept that it is unlikely she’ll be found,” Phil says.
“And the dead engineer who was trying to steal a mining claim?”
