Crowned and Moldering

Chapter Four

“That’s quite an accusation,” Eric said in a mild tone.

“If you knew him, you would agree it’s justified.” I lifted my shoulder in a half shrug. “Maybe it’s unfair of me to accuse him, but I told you what a toad he is. I kind of wish you’d arrest him on general principle.”

He met my gaze. “You said he was obnoxious, pushy. Give me some examples.”

I thought back to the months before Lily disappeared. “Even though he was dating Lily, it was a well-known ‘secret’ that he was always cheating on her. He liked to hit on other girls, including me. The thing is, he wouldn’t give up. And the more you said no to him, the more he pushed. Maybe he thought he was so ultracool that the girls would eventually give in and go out with him.” He couldn’t have been more wrong, I thought.

“Did you ever give in?”

“No, never. I kept telling him to buzz off. Everyone in school knew I was dating Tommy.”

“Right. High school sweethearts.”

“Yeah, that was us for a while.” I wasn’t about to go into the angsty history of my relationship with Eric’s second in command. “Anyway, back in those days, Cliff worked every summer for a local builder. Not my dad, by the way. And once he left for college, he didn’t return for more than a decade.” I frowned in thought. “You could probably get the precise dates from him. Because you’ll be talking to him, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. So, anyway, Cliff moved back recently, maybe two months ago. He was telling everyone he missed the California weather. I mean, given that he was living in Chicago, that story could be true. But I doubt that’s why he really came back. He’s been going around town, letting everyone know what a big-time successful businessman he is, after making millions in Chicago. I think he came back to rub everyone’s nose in the fact that he’s rich now.”

“From construction?”

“Not exactly. He made his money by flipping foreclosures. Which is a perfectly legitimate way to make money, as far as I’m concerned. But it wouldn’t surprise me to find out he was underhanded about it.”

“Have you seen him around town? How do you know he’s still the same person he was back then? Maybe he’s changed.”

I groaned. “Oh, please. He’s so much worse. I saw him less than an hour ago at the market and he acted like a complete psycho.” I took a breath and realized I was still reeling from the run-in. “Cliff doesn’t even try to hide the fact that he wants to screw over all the local contractors, especially me. He’s trying to move in on our jobs and steal our crew members.”

This had been bugging me since the day Cliff moved back to town. I mean, if things were so great in Chicago, why would he come back to a town as small as ours? He probably didn’t like being a little fish in a big pond like Chicago. In Lighthouse Cove, he could be a big fish in a little pond. Maybe some bigger Chicago fish chewed him up and spit him out, forcing him to swim back to my tiny pond. Something was definitely fishy about the whole situation. But okay, I told myself. Enough with the fish metaphors.

“He’s actually made offers to your guys?” Eric asked.

“Yes, in the begi

“Yeah, it is,” Eric said, staring thoughtfully at his notepad.

“And I can’t blame the guys on the crew. Like I said, my guys have always been pretty dedicated to working for me, but if they were offered a lot more money, why wouldn’t they take the job? That’s life, right? But it sucks.”

“It sure does,” Eric murmured.

“I have too much work to do every day without having to deal with a poacher in my territory.” On a roll now, I leaned forward, elbows on the table. “And not only that, but Cliff Hogarth is an arrogant sexist and, frankly, when he first started his business, I think he deliberately homed in on my job sites and my crew members in particular.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I’m going to sound paranoid, but I think it’s because I wouldn’t go out with him back in high school.”

Eric looked doubtful. “That does sound extreme.”

“I know. But every time I see him, he acts like a vicious bully. What other reason could there be?” I flopped back in my chair. “He’s vindictive and childish and he’s bugging me to death. I wish he would get over it and go away.”

“You sound frustrated.” Eric continued writing notes for another minute.

“I’m more than frustrated. He told one of my guys that it must be hard to work for a woman because everyone knows they can’t do the same work as a man, but then they expect to make all the same money.”

Eric wrote it down. “That’s sexist, all right.”

“You think?” I shoved a strand of hair back off my forehead. “Look, my father taught me to do every single job his men could do. He told me that power wasn’t the answer to everything, and showed me ways to finesse things when I couldn’t get it done through sheer brute strength.”

“Your dad’s a smart man.”

“And he’s a good man.” And then, because I knew Eric wouldn’t want to take my word for it when it came to Cliff’s attitude, I gave him the names of two other contractors who’d been having the same problems with Cliff that I’d had.

“Do you know where Hogarth is living right now?”

“He’s staying at the I

Eric kept writing. “You mentioned that you ran into him at the market earlier. Something happen?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” I said lightly. When he simply glared at me, I decided I’d better tell him the whole story. “Okay, in a nutshell, he threatened to put me out of business. He told me that by the time he was through with me, I’d be begging him for a job.”

Eric glanced up slowly. “You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was. He grabbed my arm and—”

“He grabbed you?”

“Yeah. I guess he thought I wasn’t paying enough attention to him. And that’s when he said all that stuff about destroying my business.”

“Has he threatened you before?”

“Yeah.” I told him about the time Cliff approached me at the pub and what he’d said.

Eric rubbed his jaw, clearly agitated. “He actually referred back to the way you treated him in high school?”

“Yes. And I swear I hardly ever said anything to him in high school. Just had to finally tell him to buzz off, or I’d tell Tommy.”

“And Hogarth said he could make life miserable for you. Did anyone hear him say it?”

“No. The bartender was too far away and there was music playing, too.”

“Those are some pretty ugly threats.”

I gazed at my hands, willing them not to shake. “I know.”

“Don’t get mad, but I’ve got to ask this.”

“Go ahead.” I had a feeling I knew what he wanted to ask.

“Did you threaten him in any way or say anything that would egg him on?” He held up his hand before I could speak. “It won’t condone what he did, but I want to have all the facts.”

“I understand.” I fiddled with a cracker. “I might’ve called him a few choice names, like jerk and clod. And when he followed me outside the pub and said what he said about walking home in the dark, I told him that if he didn’t want to be found dead in a ditch, he’d leave me alone.”