Robert B. Parker’s Damned If You Do

21

Jesse was in his office when Molly entered carrying a sheaf of papers that she dropped on his desk.

“What’s this,” he said.

“Faxes. Looks like some kind of violations reports.”

“Fire Department violations?”

“Yes.”

“At Golden Horizons?”

“Appears to be.”

“Wow,” Jesse said.

He began paging through the papers. There were more than fifty violations listed, ranging from smoke detector and sprinkler issues to safety concerns, such as the improper storage of hazardous materials.

Also cited were building code violations, fire alarm violations, faulty wiring, improper insulation, unclean furnaces, fire door violations, outdated boilers and stoves, and heating system violations.

He placed a call to Captain Mickey Kurtz.

“Thorough enough for you,” Kurtz said when he picked up the call.

“I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall for that inspection,” Jesse said.

“Dr. Morrow was none too happy.”

“Binky?”

“His closing remarks included the pronouncement, ‘Bugger off, shitbag.’”

Jesse smiled.

“How difficult will it be for him to rectify these violations,” he said.

“Difficult. He has forty-eight hours to correct the alarm and sprinkler conditions. He has five days after that until we inspect him again.”

“And?”

“If he fails that one, we can close him down.”

“How tragic,” Jesse said.

“Place is a mess,” Kurtz said. “Alan Hollett will have himself a field day out there.”

“He shows up tomorrow,” Jesse said. “As head of Buildings and Safety, he’s sure to rattle their cages.”

“We’ll keep the pressure on.”

“Thanks, Mick.”

“My pleasure,” Kurtz said, and hung up.