Page 14 of Spock’s Snare

"What happened?" Wildcard asks.

I lean back, replaying our meeting in my head.

"I knew that whoever won the bid was someone I’d have to spend a lot of time with,” I hear the knowing chuckles. “Shut it. I didn’t pick Chloe just because I wanted to spend time with her.” These are my brothers and sisters, so I probably shouldn’t lie to them. “Okay, that wasn’t the only reason I picked her. Anyway, back to Monroe. He bugged me. He was intense. Not only did he come across as desperate, but he was also arrogant. He kept telling me that I needed someone like him since I couldn’t possibly know what I was getting myself into. But then, his bid came in much higher than the others.”

Spark changes the slide to display a spreadsheet.

“Probably why he hasn’t won a major bid in four years. His latest projects have all been minor rebuilds and renovations. The bigger developers stopped using him. I have a few calls out to see if I can find out why they stopped hiring him. He’s laid off most of his workers. He only has a small crew now and barely earns enough to stay out of bankruptcy.”

Puma drums his fingers on the table.

"So losing Inferno Ridge could've been the final nail."

Spark nods once.

"That's my assessment."

"He loses that contract..." I say quietly, "...and he's watching his company die."

I study Monroe's photograph again. During our meeting, I'd sensed panic lurking behind every smile, every promise, every handshake. At the time, I'd trusted my gut without knowing why.

The monitor goes black before Spark displays another logo but no corresponding picture.

RED ROCK CONSTRUCTION

Spark zooms in on the chart.

"They're structured differently than the other companies. They're a corporation with a CEO, CFO, regional directors, project executives... the list goes on. Individual project managers handle day-to-day operations."

"Who's the boss?" Wildcard asks.

“That’s part of the mystery. They are a privately owned corporation. They don’t publish their organization chart, financial statements, or revenue. I’m still digging, but there isn’t much information out there. However, there is plenty of information about how they do business from their clients. It’s a mixed bag.”

“What do you mean?” Viper asks.

“They get glowing reviews and scathing complaints. It’s hard to tell what’s going on with them.”

“That’s why I didn’t choose them,” I chime in. “Every time I called, I’d end up talking to someone new. They could answer my questions well enough, but there was no relationship. I got the feeling that they wanted total control while just providing me with updates. That isn’t what I wanted.”

Puma nods in understanding.

“Anything to show that they needed the Inferno Ridge contract or that they were bothered by not getting it?” Dice asks.

I shake my head. “I called and left a message. They never got back to me.”

Spark closes the Red Rock Construction file and pulls up the final company.

DESERT STORM CONSTRUCTION

"Jake Morrison and Luis Ortega," Spark says. "These guys are Army veterans, hence the name. They served two deployments together. Once out, they moved here and started the company. This was about ten years ago.”

"I liked them,” I say. “They seemed like good men.”

Several heads turn toward me.

Spark nods. "Everything I found backs that up."

He advances to the next slide.