The Secret Staircase by Sheila Connolly

Author:Sheila Connolly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

15

I exited the house, puzzling over the mood I’d just walked in on in the kitchen after such a satisfying meeting with the larger group. Had they been arguing? Was I imagining the tension in the air? Carroll was standing out front, looking at the orange sun beginning to drift beyond the hill. Without speaking, we both began to walk and moved not toward my car but into the mansion’s backyard, admiring the tall grass and various native wildflowers taking over the lawn in absence of a caretaker. We reached the back of the house, and Carroll went on ahead, looking down at the ground where the rows of the old orchard might have been. I stood alone, breathing the cooler evening air, thinking over the day’s events. Then I heard a voice. Muffled from some distance, but a raised voice. A man’s voice. I looked around. No one was nearby. I realized it was coming from inside the house.

I turned and walked to the back entrance and stood just below the short stoop leading up to the kitchen door. I thought I could make out two voices, probably male. A white linen curtain over the back door’s glass panel kept me mostly out of view, even if someone happened to glance my way. I leaned in as far as I dared, hoping to catch the gist of the conversation without interrupting it.

Bethany’s higher-pitched voice cut through the rumblings, and I could make out most of what she was saying. I stepped closer.

“Get over yourself, Steve. Morgan’s in charge. If you don’t want to work under him, you can quit. I’m sure he can find someone to replace you.”

“You won’t get rid of me that easily,” the other voice growled. Steve, no doubt. I thought Bethany had a point: there were probably a few other plumbers in the area who would appreciate a substantial job for the coming weeks or months. Steve had no right to complain, I thought. Had he been mistreated somehow? Was there a history between them I hadn’t been informed of? I hadn’t seen Morgan behave toward anyone as a despot, or even a pedant, just an interested party charged with leading a small team. I’d hired Morgan based on our conversations, and Steve had mostly rubbed me the wrong way so far. If it came down to a choice between the two, I knew where my sympathies lay. The other male voice, which must have been Morgan’s, cut in. It was louder, angrier than before.

“Steve, I gave you an assignment. We need that ADA information if we’re going to open to the public—it’s basic consideration—and you didn’t even bother to look up the statute.”

“It’s a historic building, Wheeler,” Steve shot back. “Doesn’t matter. There’s an exception. We don’t need a wheelchair ramp anyway, so why bother?”

“That’s really nice, Steve,” Bethany replied. “Just because we don’t legally have to do it, you’re not going to make any effort at all?”

“Oh, Mr. High-and-Mighty Wheeler, you know so much better, do you?” Steve said, ignoring Bethany’s response.

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