Mike and the rest of her guys nodded, and she turned back to follow Sparks into the trailer, Luke and the detective behind her.
“Aw, honey,” said Sparks, his face a gray mask.
She reached for him, giving his work roughened hand a squeeze.
“Someone has to tell Maria. Does she know?”
Sparks swallowed hard and nodded. “I gave Pete’s emergency contact information to the paramedics and the detectives.” He motioned with his head to the man climbing into the trailer behind them and to another man sitting on the stool in front of the drafting table. He wore jeans and a plain gray T-shirt with a jacket covering a bulge Claire was pretty sure was his gun.
“Ms. English, I’m Detective Benson,” he said, standing and offering her his hand.
“Detective.” She shook his hand and moved to stand behind Sparks’s paper covered desk, making room for Luke and the other detective in the narrow room.
Detective Benson shook Luke’s hand and motioned for them to sit. Luke pulled out the desk chair for her but stood behind her instead of sitting. He let his hands rest on her shoulders in a gesture which managed to be both possessive and reassuring.
“Are the two of you an item?” asked Benson.
“No,” said Claire at the same time Luke said, “Yes.”
“I see,” said the detective, the corner of his mouth curving slightly. “When was the last time you saw Mr. Lester?”
“This afternoon,” said Claire, thinking back the way Pete had talked to her, treating her more like a daughter than his employer. “We went over the lighting plans for the units on the sixth floor.”
“I guess that explains what Mr. Lester was doing on the sixth floor while everyone else was on five.”
“He was going to start moving some of the materials up to get ready for the rough-in,” said Claire.
“Any idea why he would have been near the window openings?”
Claire thought for a minute, but nothing about it made sense. The windows hadn’t been installed on six. There was no reason for Pete to even be close to the exterior wall. “I have no idea,” she said, finally. “Detective, can you tell me what happened, please? I need to get to the hospital. I’ve known Pete and his family since I was a girl. He’s been with the company since my dad started it.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know much more than you do. We know Mr. Lester fell from the sixth floor, but no one knows why he would have been working near the window or what he was doing that put him in harm’s way. At this point we haven’t ruled out foul play. Do you have any reason to believe he was unhappy or was there anyone he was having trouble with?”
Claire thought about Pete’s comments about the framers, but he hadn’t said anything concrete. Nothing she’d feel comfortable telling the detectives anyway.
“None that I know of. Can we please go?” She needed to get to the hospital to prove to herself that Pete would be okay and to reassure Maria that she didn’t have to worry. She’d make sure she was taken care of for as long a Pete was laid up.
“I don’t see why not. Until we know more, we’re going to have to treat the site as a crime scene. I’ll let you know when we’ve cleared the building for construction to resume.”
“Detective, do you really think it was a crime? Did someone do this to Pete?” she asked, ice flooding her veins at the thought.
“I don’t know, Ms. English, but I intend to find out.”
LUKE GLANCED OVER at Claire buckled in the passenger’s seat next to him. She hadn’t said ten words to him since they left the Ashton Court site, and he would give anything to know what was going on inside that gorgeous head of hers.
At first when the detective mentioned closing the jobsite Luke had thought it was just a precaution, but nothing about the story made any sense. He didn’t know Pete, but Claire did and she didn’t seem to think he had any reason to be near the window openings. He had a hard time imagining her keeping anyone deliberately reckless on her payroll. Which left the very real possibility of foul play.
An image of the vandalism at Claire’s flip house followed that thought, and Luke couldn’t help but wonder if they were related. The idea of someone who was willing to kill taking a special interest in Claire had him white knuckling the steering wheel. The incidents probably weren’t connected but he wasn’t taking any chances – not with Claire. He made a mental note to call the detective and tell him about the vandalism and to tell Jackson, his head of security, to do whatever he needed to do to keep both properties and Claire safe.
He stole a quick glance at her as he slowed for the exit to the hospital. Her eyes were closed, and she clutched her phone like a lifeline, mouthing what looked likeplease please pleaseover and over. It killed him to see her fighting so hard to hold on. After their fight at her flip house and everything else that had happened to them today, all he wanted to do was take care of her. All he’d ever wanted to do was make things easier for her.
In hindsight, he guessed he could see why she’d been so pissed. Watching her with her crew, she’d been so honest and vulnerable and at the same time so strong. They looked to her – all of them – to tell them what to expect. To lead them. No wonder she’d resented him stepping in and taking over. They’d have time to deal with all of that later. He’d apologize again, and they’d work through it. Right now, he had to get her to the hospital. He punched a button on the steering wheel and in a few seconds his PA answered.
“Yes, Mr. Masters?”
“Colin, I need you to call Triad General and find out what room Pete Lester is in and his condition if you can. Pull as many strings as you need to and call me right back. We’re about fifteen minutes out.”
“Of course,” he said, before disconnecting.
