Million Dollar Staircase: A Florida Thriller (Will Harper Mystery Series Book 1) by David Crosby

Author:David Crosby [Crosby, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crosby Stills
Published: 2015-12-22T23:00:00+00:00

A few minutes later, Curt Stoneham strolled into her office. “Hey baby,” he whispered.

Dawn’s eyes got big, and she shook her head to warn him. “Yes, Mr. Stoneham, the mayor is expecting you. Go right in.”

He licked his lips and leered at her. “Thank you, Miss Deluca.” He leaned in and tried to kiss her, and she swiveled her chair away in alarm just as the mayor stuck his head out the door.

“Curt! Quit bothering my secretary and get your ass in here. We’ve got problems.”

Stoneham entered the office, shut the door, and loud voices soon sounded behind it. Dawn knew it was a risk, but she opened the intercom circuit to the office and said “Sir, would either of you like coffee?”

“Not now, leave us alone.” The mayor turned back to Stoneham. “Damn woman doesn’t know when to stay out of my way sometimes.”

Her nerves made her hand shake as she put the voice recorder next to the phone. The mayor had complained for weeks about the lights on his phone being out, and she was counting on it now. Protecting herself meant knowing what was happening, and this seemed like the only way.

“Curt, what the hell is going on with this project? I’m getting clobbered in the media over the eminent domain case, and now the Bradenton paper is running stories about Mardy Jackson buying up properties. Did you tip him off before River Walk was announced?”

“Blackie, you know I’d never do anything like that.”

“Then how did he know to spend all that money on derelict properties? All of the land that development will be on was bought through shell companies just to avoid this kind of thing. It makes us all look bad, like we’re giving favors to our friends, dammit.”

Stoneham started to sweat. “Honestly sir, the only thing I can think of is that he saw the pattern of land purchases and figured it out. He watches the real estate transactions around here like a hawk.”

The mayor snorted. “More like a damn vulture, I’d say.” He paced the office, and said, “Explain to me again how this park and staircase plan came about. I mean really, why are we spending this much money on a green space in the middle of their $65 million dollar project? Seems like they could afford to do it themselves.”

“Mr. Mayor, you know we’ve been trying to get this kind of signature project built in Dolphin River for years. Manufacturing plants won’t come without big tax breaks, and the state wasn’t interested in helping us with those. When Dick Richmond showed up with the plans for the River Walk project, it was exactly what we’ve been hoping for.”

“Curt, that still doesn’t answer my question. Why should the city pay for it?”

Stoneham cleared his throat, and said, “We promised them new roads to the project and to cover all the utility construction, but it wasn’t enough to cinch the deal. Come on, Blackie, you know I asked you about it when they proposed the park and staircase.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.