A Firm Foundation

by Anne Marie Rodgers

  “Didn’t matter much. We both got full rides at the University of Tennessee. And the record was broken the very next year. Anyway,” he said with a shrug, “he’s changed. Hard to be real friendly with the man these days. I never saw anybody so obsessed with making money.”

  “What does he do?” Kate asked. “For a job, I mean.” She didn’t think she’d ever heard.

  “He’s part owner of a manufacturing business.”

  Kate glanced at the photos again. “Who’s Gerald Foxfield?”

  “He was a friend of Tosten’s from his church,” Lawton said. “He lives in McMinnville, and even though it’s not exactly on the other side of the country, I lost touch with him.” He paused a moment. “Haven’t thought of Gerald in years. I wonder if he’s still in McMinnville.”

  McMinnville! Ellis Hayer, the lawyer who’d addressed the council, was from McMinnville. Now wasn’t that a coincidence, Kate thought. It looked as if a trip to McMinnville was on her agenda.

  THERE WAS ONLY ONE COMPANY in the county that advertised asbestos abatement and removal, according to the phone book Kate had consulted before leaving home. Radon detection, testing, and mitigation apparently weren’t quite as specialized, because Kate had found three companies that advertised their services. All four of the companies were in or near Pine Ridge, so after her visit to the mayor concluded, Kate turned the Honda northwest toward the county seat.

  She had written down the addresses of the four places she wanted to stop. All of them were on main streets with which she was familiar, but she decided to go to the asbestos place first.

  She parked and walked into the building.

  “Hi, there.” A receptionist greeted her with a smile. “How can I help you?”

  “My name is Kate Hanlon. I’d like to speak to someone about an asbestos project,” Kate told the woman.

  “Then you want to speak to the owner,” the receptionist replied. “She’s in the office this morning. Have a seat, and I’ll see if she can talk to you now.”

  The woman reappeared moments after she had vanished down a hallway. Beckoning to Kate, she directed her through a door on the right. “This is Kate Hanlon, Lynn.”

  “Hello, Kate.” A pretty blonde, who looked somewhat younger than Kate, rose from behind a desk stacked with files. She walked toward Kate with her hand extended, and when Kate took it, shook as firmly as any man. “I’m Lynn Flasher. How can I help you?” Quickly, she added, “I’m not hiring right now.”

  Kate smiled. She perched on the edge of a visitor’s chair in front of the desk as Lynn returned to her seat. “I’m not here about a job,” she said. “I’m hoping you can give me some information.”

  Lynn’s eyebrows rose. “I will if I can. What are you looking for?”

  “I need information about asbestos abatement and radon testing. Can you tell me what’s involved in asbestos abatement and why it’s done?”

  “I know a little bit about radon too, so I’ll give you both,” Lynn said with a smile. “Asbestos abatement is nothing more than removing asbestos from a building. People have to be licensed to handle it, and any building being considered for construction, renovation, or demolition has to be inspected to see if asbestos is present and create a management plan for removal, if necessary,” Lynn said.

  The word demolition shocked Kate a bit. It certainly wasn’t something she’d considered until her conversation with Lawton.

  Lynn went on. “Harrington County property-transfer laws require that if the building is being sold, you have to have those kinds of inspections done, along with a survey of the property and some other things. Asbestos and radon are both known causes of cancer. Radon is an odorless, colorless gas released from underground sources. It can build up in a structure. No federal regulations require the testing, but there are federal guidelines in place. Most contractors follow those guidelines because not doing so is just an invitation for a lawsuit, you know?” The phone on her desk rang then, and she glanced at it. “Oops, I have to take this. Sorry.”

  “Just one more thing,” Kate said as she rose, tucking her handbag beneath her arm. “Have you been contacted by anyone in Copper Mill or contracted for any work at the Copper Mill Public Library?”

  The businesswoman shook her head. “No.”

  “Thanks for your time,” Kate said as she headed for the door. “I appreciate the information.”

  Back in her car, Kate headed for the first of the radon-mitigation companies. But to her chagrin, she received the same response from all three of them. No one from Copper Mill had contacted them or contracted any work at the library. No one had even heard any rumors about it.

  Yet. Had she jumped the gun? She had heard the two building inspectors speaking only the previous morning. The town council probably hadn’t contacted the companies yet. Kate made herself a mental note to call each company later in the week. Now that the owners had met her, a telephone call would probably net the information she needed. She knew she was taking a risk that word might get back to Tosten Glass that she’d been asking questions about contracted work, but she couldn’t see a way around it.

  She drove home, puzzling over the new information. If the library was being sold as she’d suspected, maybe the deal just hadn’t been completed yet. Then preliminary inspections would make sense. They’d also make sense if the building was going to be renovated for apartments.

  AT HOME AGAIN, Kate had an early lunch and decided to bake a strawberry-rhubarb pie. The strawberry season in Tennessee was long over for the summer, but she’d been given some hothouse strawberries that really needed to be used.

  Before she began, she checked the telephone book for Ellis Hayer’s listing. She’d forgotten that the lawyer lived in McMinnville, a small town on the other side of Pine Ridge.

  It was the second time that day that McMinnville had come up. Could it be a coincidence that the lawyer who addressed the council and Tosten Glass’ childhood buddy were both from McMinnville? Kate wondered if she was overly suspicious, because she really didn’t believe it was a coincidence.

  She wrote down the address for Ellis Hayer, Esquire. Then she looked for Gerald Foxfield, but there was no listing for that name in the entire directory for Harrington County. Kate felt her certainty that she was onto something deflate. She realized that his number could just have been unlisted.

  On the other hand, if the man had moved away, maybe there really was no connection. Maybe she was overthinking the whole thing.

  She needed to talk to Hayer today, if possible, but it would have to wait until her pie was done.

  She assembled her ingredients as the conversation she had with the asbestos-company owner kept rolling around in her brain. What had Lynn Flasher said? The first reason for asbestos abatement was construction. Not a possibility, since the library already existed.

  Reason two: renovation...a possibility, if she considered her theory that the building was being sold.

  Reason three: demolition. It was a horrible thought, and Kate hated even considering it. But Lynn Flasher had mentioned demolition. What if...surely the town council wouldn’t...would they? Who could help her? Who would know something about the process involved in demolishing a building?

  Maybe Eli Weston, she thought, as she suddenly remembered that Eli had worked in construction before opening his antique shop. A back injury had forced his change of career. She’d try to talk to him this afternoon as well.

  She put the pie in the oven, then she went into the office and got on the Internet to see if she could track down Gerald Foxfield. Their home computer had a slow-as-molasses connection, but she’d have to try it, because she couldn’t go to the library. Livvy knew Kate well enough to recognize that it would be nearly impossible for her to stop sleuthing now, but Kate didn’t want to upset her friend any more than she already was.

  Kate washed up her dishes and cleaned the counters while she waited for the computer to complete a search. When she checked back, the search was done, but it had
n’t come up with anything. Either Gerald Foxfield really had moved from McMinnville, or he was really good at keeping his personal information private.

  The moment the pie came out of the oven, she set it atop a cooling rack and rushed to the coat tree, where she grabbed her handbag and dug for her keys. Moments later, she was zipping into town again. Eli’s shop was on Smith Street, tucked between Smith Street Gifts and the Country Diner. Kate parked along the street and walked into the store.

  She stopped just inside the door, letting her eyes adjust to the dimmer light. The store was well lit, but the bright summer sun was enough to blind anyone temporarily.

  Eli was ringing up a customer as he turned to Kate, his brown eyes pleasant behind the lenses of his thick tortoiseshell glasses. “I’ll be with you in a minute, Kate.”

  Eli completed the transaction a few moments later. As soon as the customer left, he turned to her with raised eyebrows. “Hey, there. What can I do for you, Kate?”

  Kate smiled. “You used to be in construction. I’m hoping you can enlighten me a bit on something.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Eli said.

  “Tell me everything you know about asbestos abatement and radon mitigation.”

  Eli nodded. He told her much the same thing Lynn Flasher had. Then he asked, “What’s this about?”

  Kate shrugged. “I recently overheard two men discussing asbestos and radon. They were also talking about rodent and insect infestations, disconnecting utilities, and getting some kind of municipal permit. Could they have been talking about doing those things in preparation for selling a building?”

  Eli pushed his glasses up on his nose. “I guess the rodent and insect inspections might also be done before a sale, but I can’t imagine why they’d need to disconnect the utilities if all they’re doing is selling a building.”

  “What about renovation?” Kate nearly asked him about the possibility of demolition, but she wasn’t ready to voice it yet. It was just too incredible. Surely no one would tear down the library.

  Eli hesitated. “If significant renovations are done, yes, utilities might be turned off, but that’s usually done on-site for very short periods of time.”

  Kate’s concern increased. She had a very bad feeling about where this was going. “I wondered about that. Is a municipal permit needed to sell a property?”

  “Not in Copper Mill,” he said slowly, “although regulations might differ in other places. It’s not needed for renovations, either. All renovations are approved by the zoning commission, but that’s the only approval the town requires.”

  “Any other reasons a municipal permit would be required?” Kate pressed.

  Eli nodded. “I can only think of one. Municipal permits are always required for demolition.”

  Kate nodded and thanked Eli, trying to conceal her dismay. She didn’t want to say or do anything that might infer anything other than a passing interest, even to Eli. There was too much at stake. She clasped her hands tightly together. It sounded very much as if the town council was planning to tear down the library. And the secrecy surrounding the whole thing looked very, very suspicious. Why would the council hide something like that?

  Maybe, she thought, the council wanted to present it as a done deal, because people in Copper Mill would have a fit when they found out.

  Kate’s brain was racing. She could hardly bear to think of the word demolition in connection with the library. It couldn’t be, could it? Would the town council members do that?

  Not all of them, she was certain. But who else could be involved besides Tosten Glass and Ellis Hayer’s mystery client? And how could she find out for sure?

  As an idea occurred to her, she began to nod to herself. She couldn’t go barging into the library and tell Livvy the building was being torn down without getting solid proof first. Even though something in her heart told her she was right, she needed evidence, and she had to get it without anyone suspecting that Livvy had told her anything, or that she was continuing to investigate.

  Evidence. She might not be able to prove anything—yet. But there might be a way to get some confirmation.

  Chapter Twelve

  Paul tried to remind himself of the good they were doing as he sat back on his heels and wiped sweat from his eyes with the arm of his T-shirt. He laid down his hammer and reached for his water bottle. Drew had lectured them over and over again about staying hydrated. One story he’d told about a guy passing out and falling from a roof had impressed them all enough that they were being extracautious.

  To Paul’s left, the new guy mirrored his actions. Catching Paul’s eye as he screwed the cap back on his water bottle, Jerry winked. “Hot enough for you?”

  Paul smiled. “It’s a scorcher, isn’t it?”

  Jerry laughed. “Yeah.”

  He had been a good addition to the crew, Paul had to admit, even if the man’s somewhat cocky manner rubbed Paul the wrong way. He suspected he wasn’t the only one who felt that way, but the fact that Jerry had volunteered showed that his heart was in the right place, regardless of his attitude.

  “Which church do you go to, Jerry?” Paul asked.

  Jerry shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t have a church. Never saw much use for it.”

  “I assumed you were affiliated with one of the churches in our work crew,” Paul said. “How did you find out about the project?”

  “I saw the article in the Chronicle,” Jerry told him. “I know Louisa, and I thought it might be nice to help out.”

  “That’s great,” Paul said, impressed. “We really needed someone with your skills on the crew.” Jerry had turned out to be a fairly skillful carpenter whose capabilities had made the job of repairing the rafters go much faster than Paul had anticipated.

  “Yeah, the rest of you guys sure aren’t any great shakes as construction workers,” Jerry said, laughing.

  Paul laughed too, but inside he felt bad for Jerry. It was those types of comments that made the others dislike him.

  “Jerry, if you don’t have a church home,” Paul said, “I’d like to invite you to visit us at Faith Briar Church. We’re a small, welcoming congregation, and I’d be glad to introduce you around.”

  Jerry hefted his hammer and picked up one of the large roofing nails they were using. “Thanks, Rev, but I don’t think so. Church just isn’t my thing.”

  Paul made himself smile. “If you change your mind, don’t forget my invitation. Do you have any concerns you would like me to pray about for you?”

  Jerry snorted. “Nah. Pray away, Rev. I got no problems.”

  AN IDEA OCCURRED TO KATE. She needed a way to get information from Tosten Glass, but she needed to speak with him in person when she did it. After driving to a local gas station that still had a working pay telephone, Kate opened the phone book. Tosten’s number, along with all the council member’s personal numbers, was listed in the front of the book, and she quickly placed a call to the council president. Disguising her voice took little effort, since the booth was along a busy road with traffic roaring in the background. She asked him to explain the local noise ordinance to her.

  When Tosten had described the ordinance, Kate said, “I got a complaint. I wanna put it in writing and deliver it to you personally. Where you gonna be today?”

  Tosten chuckled in a tolerant manner, still not recognizing her voice. “I’m leaving the library now and I need to stop by the Mercantile, so I should be home in about half an hour.”

  Bingo! thought Kate. She intended to meet him at the store.

  The Mercantile was only half a block from Weston’s Antiques, so she decided to park near the antiques store again.

  Kate drove back to town and found, to her delight, that the same space in front of Eli’s that she’d vacated just minutes before was still available. Parking there, she got out of the car and headed toward the Mercantile, forcing herself to walk at a sedate pace as she neared the corner of Smith and Main Streets. She crossed to the library side of Main before
crossing again to the opposite side, where the Mercantile was located. Tosten had been at the library when she had called him. It was possible she would beat him to the Mercantile.

  She pulled open the door of the Mercantile and entered the cool interior, blessing Sam for installing central air in the old brick building. The bell above the door tinkled in greeting, and Sam looked up from the front counter, where he was tallying something on a clipboard.

  “Hi, Kate. How are you?”

  “Hot.” Her response was succinct. “Is there any chance of a cooldown coming our way?”

  “Next week I think it’s supposed to be a little better,” Sam said. “At least the ten-day forecast says so.”

  “Oh, I hope that forecaster knows what he’s talking about.” Kate grinned at Sam as she grabbed a basket and headed for the aisles. It was impossible to see who might be in the store because the shelves were too tall. And she was afraid to ask Sam if Tosten Glass was in the store for fear she might be overheard, so she listened carefully to see if she could hear him.

  He wasn’t in the first aisle or the second. She didn’t want to get too far from the front of the store in case he came in and then made a quick exit, so she took a quick peek down the third aisle, grabbing some snack crackers for her dinner guests. She also couldn’t resist grabbing a small bag of colored Goldfish, which she knew would be a big hit with the Pellman children.

  As she picked up the Goldfish, she spotted Tosten coming around the corner in her direction. Her pulse leaped, and her stomach felt jittery. She hoped she was a good enough actress to pull this off.

  “Hello, Tosten,” she said.

  “Why, hello, Kate.” He smiled widely, immediately slipping into politician persona. “Having crackers for dinner?” He chuckled as he indicated the contents of her basket.

  Kate forced herself to smile too. “Dinner guests,” she told him, “including children.”