Probable Claws

30

February 1, 2017

Wednesday

“Another month if there are no more delays.” Sean spoke to Tony as both men observed the work site now that Rankin Construction could resume operations.

“Overtime?” Tony asked his boss.

“No other way.”

The foreman folded his arms over his chest, his flannel-lined overall helping to keep him warm in the February cold. “You’ll have to hire more men. These guys aren’t going to work around the clock. They’ll pull some overtime but not a solid month.”

“I know. Fortunately, when we create a budget we try to factor in these things. I’m not worried…yet.” Sean grimaced. “Damnest thing finding Elkins.”

“You know what I remember? He was a whiner. ’ Course I wasn’t a foreman then. He was above me but nonstop bitching and moaning. I couldn’t stand the guy.”

Sean half smiled. “Obviously someone else couldn’t either.” He looked skyward, and it was getting darker at midday. “Well, it was a long time ago. We were both wet behind the ears. Dad made me work from the ground up, literally. Best thing he ever did. What I do remember is less the whining because Elkins was smart enough not to look like a candyass in front of the boss’s son. I remember he’d make trips to the library, books. Lots of books on Richmond, throughout history, this area. The falls, anyway, books on what it was like. Williamsburg men used to send their recalcitrant slaves here. Pretty rough, I guess.”

“Elkins always said Ali Asplundah was murdered.” Tony shook his head. “He’d whisper Ali knew too much.”

“Ali died of a heart attack, leaning up against the huge cat he was working. Amazing how much better equipment is today.”

“It’s easier to operate but all this computer chip stuff drives me crazy,” Tony responded.

“Might be right. But when I started in this business, if a track came off a giant Caterpillar, a new one cost ten thousand dollars. That would be dirt cheap today. Forgive the pun.” Sean smiled broadly.

“Yeah, nothing ever gets cheaper. Well, maybe computers.”

“The hell.” Sean spat. “Apple sells a phone now for one thousand dollars. It’s nuts and people are dumb enough to pay for it. As for equipment, it’s astronomical, but you know we can’t do what we do without it. And”—he paused—“the stuff does last longer, just like car engines last longer.”

“True.”

“So what or why did Elkins think Ali was killed? Never said anything to me. No one did.”

Tony felt a snowflake. “I don’t think anyone took him seriously. But even if they did, nothing to gain by that kind of talk around someone like you.”

“Jeez, Tony, now I wonder what else I missed back in the day.”

“Not too much. But finding his body makes me wonder about the complaining.”

“Whatever he did, it would have to be a lot worse than complaining for someone to shoot him,” Sean sensibly said. “Funny to think that years later that lead was still pressed into his ribcage.”

“I sure hope there are no more bodies under this ground or we’ll be way, way behind.” Sean also felt a snowflake on his nose, looked upward. “I swear February is the longest month in the year.”

“We’ve got at least six more feet to dig. That’s much deeper than the base for the Kushner Building. We’ll probably find pigeon bones, squirrels, and if we find more humans, I’m willing to bet the remains are much, much older than Elkins’s.”

“Yeah.”

“Any ideas?”

“About what?”

“About what to do if we find anything else?”

“Tony, for God’s sake, hide it if it’s human. We’ll never get this job done. And we can always put the bones in a box, put it on another site. Preferably one being dug by Franklin Bros.” Sean let out a loud laugh.

Tony shook his head, laughed. “Our biggest competitor is probably enjoying every minute of this.”

“Yeah, old man Frank Franklin was hot when they didn’t get the bid. But we knew this site a lot better. After all, Dad built the Kushner Building.” He then smiled at Tony. “We all did. By then you and I knew a little more.”

“Yeah, but times are different now. When we started out there was no Nature First, no Save the Bay, all the rest of it. Everyone has an ax to grind and yet everyone wants the city’s economy to tick up.”

“Doublethink.” Sean slapped Tony on the back. “Back to work.”

“What do you want to do if I find anything?”

“Hide it. I mean it. Whoever digs up whatever, you take over. Tell him not to worry about it and save the bones. I’m willing to bet if you find the remains of a homeless dog from 1810 the whole damned job will shut down again.”

Tony nodded, turned, and headed back to the men standing by their enormous machines.

Sean climbed into the Rankin truck to head back to the office. A review of the files as well as soil types was in order. The police made copies of Elkins’s employment record. He wanted to review what they were reviewing. So much had happened, including frantic calls from the bank, from Cloudcroft, he hadn’t had the time to check things himself. Rankin had taken no construction loans, of course, but Cloudcroft, for all their braying about their obscene profits with growth of 9.7 percent just last year, seemed reluctant to spend those profits, hence a large construction loan on their part. So the bank called Sean, who reassured them that Cloudcroft truly was good for the loan. They didn’t want to risk operating capital, which they had told the bank. Did he think they had lots of money? He did but he also figured they were all a nest of vipers.

Ronald Reagan’s quote of an old Russian proverb played in his mind. “Trust but verify.” He didn’t trust but he certainly verified.