Rory: Hope City, Book 7 by Maryann Jordan (uplifting books for women txt) 📕

through the summers in college to be able to go undercover. Plus, what I didn’t know, I faked well enough with the help of the other condo contractor. He was brought into the investigation only to assist with my cover.”

“I had no idea!”

He chuckled. “That’s the whole concept of undercover, Sandy.”

She rolled her eyes, then winced again. A growl erupted from Rory, and she placed her hand on his leg. “It’s okay,” she whispered.

Dave looked toward Colm and smiled. “I never got to work with Agent McBride at the Bureau, but just met him in the ER lobby. He was a legend, and it’s an honor to meet him.”

Colm brushed aside the praise, but Sandy noticed Rory was watching carefully. She turned her attention back to Dave. “So, was it Perkins or Kovski arguing with Anthony?”

“It was Perkins. There’s inspection fraud going on in city hall and that investigation is still on-going. I’ve been following Kovski for a while, and through him, Perkins Electrical. He’s desperate to get back into the game with a big contract, so I wasn’t surprised when he underbid the others for the Partridge contract. Anthony hired him, and I was sure that Perkins would begin to cut corners, knowing he had an inspector in his back pocket. My investigation isn’t complete, but I can let you all know of this because my cover is no longer in place. I ran into Sean in the lobby, and with him being an Arson Detective, I thought I’d better let him know what was going on. The Tower caught on fire from faulty wiring but doesn’t fall under the category of arson. I was trying to keep an eye on everything and had followed Perkins to the gala.”

“What happens now?”

“I had already started the process of having the wiring re-inspected by a private organization and they were building a case, citing the various electrical systems that need to be replaced. We had made it through the condo floors and to the fifth floor of offices by yesterday. It was fuckin’ dumb luck that you were involved on one of the last floors that needed to be re-checked. It was on the schedule for tomorrow—well, today, now.”

“I didn’t even ask about the Tower! Is it okay? Did everyone get out? Did it burn—”

“Shhhhh, babe,” Rory admonished. “It’s good, it’s all good.”

“Rory is right,” Dave assured. “Everyone got out. Many of the attendees had left for the evening. The others were in the lobby—well, except for the couple who decided to sneak into the bedroom of the model condo—”

“Oh, my God, you’re kidding?”

Dave grinned, shaking his head before continuing. “The only thing that caught fire was the panel in the office you were in and it set fire to the wall right next to it. There was a lot of smoke, but mostly water damage. The fire alarm system was installed by a company that knew what they were doing and was set correctly. It did everything it was supposed to do. It was the fuse boxes that Perkins Electrical was taking shortcuts on. Not enough that would make everyone realize something was wrong, but the inspector certainly should have caught it.”

She held his gaze, then sucked in her lips before heaving a sigh. “Anthony knew something. I don’t know what, and I don’t know how much, but it was evident from their argument that he knew corners had been cut.”

Dave nodded his agreement. “While there’s no evidence that Anthony Partridge was actively seeking fraudulent inspections, his awareness of what was happening makes him a person of interest and perhaps an accessory.”

“I know this might sound like a stupid question in light of everything, but what’s going to happen to Partridge Tower? There are people that are going to be living there and working there. I’ve got a list of new clients that were going to have their offices there.”

“The investigation is still ongoing, but I can tell you that it’s moving rapidly. The entire building will have state inspectors come in and analyze every inch. There are no suspicions nor evidence that there were any problems with it structurally. From the architecture to the foundation, general contracting, concrete, steel—everything was done to code, but that’s to be looked at as well. The work that Perkins Electrical completed will be thoroughly inspected. Anything that is not up to code will have to be redone.”

“Anthony’s goal was to come in on time and under budget.”

Dave snorted. “That’s not gonna happen.” He tapped her knee and said, “I’ve got to go. There’s a lot to sort out. I’ll keep you posted on what I can, and until then, don’t worry about Partridge Towers.”

“Dave?”

He stopped at the door and turned back toward her.

“Thank you. For everything you’re doing… thank you.”

He chuckled and inclined his head toward Colm and Sean. “Don’t mention it. Hell, these men will tell you. Getting to the end of an investigation and catching the bad guy, it’s what we live for.” With a chin lift and wide grin, he turned and walked out.

A nurse popped her head into the doorway and said, “I’ll be back with your discharge papers in a few minutes.”

After she left, another noise sounded at the door, and the occupants swung their gazes to see Todd walking in, wearing a lab jacket with a stethoscope hanging around his neck. Sandy gawked at the sight, then burst out laughing. “What on earth are you doing?”

“I tried to tell them I was your husband, but they already said there were men back here. I almost told them that you had a harem of men and I was simply one of many, but I didn’t feel like the lady at the ER desk would believe me. Then I happen to see one of my friends who works in radiology or some such place here. He loaned me his lab coat, and I swiped a stethoscope that was lying on the edge of the nurses' station.” Tossing his hands