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Laura frowned. “Estimates? Plural?”
Cade leaned forward and grabbed the paperwork. He flipped through the pages. A scowl deepened the V between his eyebrows. “Why do you have more than one?”
Brooke shrugged. “That’s what I was given.”
Laura glanced over Cade’s shoulder and studied the pages. Two separate estimates. All from the same paperwork with the Mountaintop Construction logo. All with Matthew’s signature on the bottom.
“This doesn’t make sense,” Cade muttered. “There’s no reason for multiple estimates unless you hired us for a separate project. One not quoted in the first estimate.”
As if sensing his anxiety, Wyatt placed his head in Cade’s lap and let out a little whine.
Cade continued to mutter but rested a hand on the dog’s head and scratched behind his floppy ears.
Brooke shook her head. “No added on or new projects. The lodge was a big build, but the only thing on the property I needed a construction crew to handle.”
“Do you remember the time span between being given the two separate estimates?” Laura asked.
“I’m sorry. No.” Brooke lifted her hands as if wishing she could offer something more then dropped them to her lap. “Thatwas a few years ago, and that time was so hectic. Between the new build, me working nonstop on the rest of the property, and the craziness that happened with the sex trafficking ring that was uncovered after Izzy’s abduction—I’m afraid I can’t recall the exact timeline of when I was given paperwork from your company.”
“Where do we go from here?” Cade gave the papers a frustrated shake.
Laura rested a hand on his knee, earning a wide-eyed stare from Brooke which she ignored. “You were new to town when you hired Cade and Matthew. How did you hear about their company?”
Brooke swished her lips to the side as if trying to recall specific details. “A lot of people in the community were interested in what I was doing here. Most people knew my grandpa and loved this place when it’d been a children’s camp. After I inherited the land and made plans to turn it into a retreat for injured law enforcement and veterans, word spread quick. A lot of folks stopped by to introduce themselves and get as many details from me as they could. Or offer tons of advice I didn’t really need.” She snorted out a small laugh. “Gotta love small towns.”
“So did Matthew come and introduce himself?” Cade asked. “Sounds like something he’d do. If rumblings reached him about a potential client, he wouldn’t hesitate to swing by to say hello. Hell, probably brought you a basket of muffins.”
Laura smiled. He was right. Matthew was kindhearted and always wanting to make people feel welcome, whether that benefited him or not was beside the point.
Which made his squirrelly behavior the past few days even more puzzling.
“Umm, no, actually. I met the mayor before I met Matthew. He introduced himself while I was in town one day. He gave meMountaintop Construction’s business card and mentioned you were local and did great work.”
Laura’s stomach dropped. “You also mentioned my dad talked to you about the pantry. About the fundraising.”
“That’s right. He took a big interest in rallying business owners around town to contribute funds for the renovation. I was more than happy to help in any way I could. Still am.”
Cade lifted his hand from Wyatt’s head and rubbed the back of his neck. “I had no idea Jenson was so invested in the company. I don’t like it.”
Neither did Laura. “The real question is what is my dad getting out of this?”
Brooke ping-ponged her gaze between the two of them. “You mean besides promoting his son’s work and helping to get community projects funded?”
Laura swallowed her response. There was so much the people of Pine Valley didn’t understand about Jenson Metcalf. If there was one thing she knew about her father, he never did anything out of the goodness of his heart. He always had an ulterior motive.
So the big question remained—what was that motive?
14
Acall from one of Cade’s suppliers added to the increasing tension consuming his entire body and sent him and Laura back into town. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with backordered supplies, but he still had a job to do.
Laura sat beside him on the bench seat of his truck. Tight lines on her pretty face showcased her confusion and worry. She studied the paperwork Brooke had let them take. “If I remember correctly, you received three payments from Brooke during the construction of the lodge. One when she hired you, one halfway through the build, the rest at completion of the project.”
He sighed, thinking back on what he remembered on the sea of numbers that had swum through his brain over the last couple days. “Sounds right.”
“Those payments add up to the first estimate given, which means we found no records of the second amount from the second statement. We need to figure out where that money is. Maybe another bank account you weren’t aware of?”
He lifted one shoulder. “Nothing that’d have my name on it, which means if there is another account, it’s one I don’t knowabout. And more importantly, one I’m notsupposedto know about.”
