The OSHA office is located on the fifth floor, and the elevator creaks as it lifts us up. It feels pretty shaky for the kind of office this is. On the other hand, if all the OSHA reps are as crooked as McAllister, it wouldn’t be that ironic if someone fell to their death because the elevator wasn’t up to code.
His cubby is located toward the back, and a light is on, one of few in the maze of cubicles. McAllister’s sitting at his desk, looking over paperwork, and a muted movie is streaming on his computer. He looks up, and the color drains from his face. “Fuck.”
Beau grins. “Indeed.”
“We have a few questions for you, McAllister,” I say, helping myself to a chair. I kick the other one out for Beau, and he sits on it backward, resting his arms on the backrest, casually propping his chin on his hands.
“We had the crane engineer tear apart the dashboard,” I start, and that’s all I need to say for McAllister to start panicking. Fear shoots through his eyes, and beads of sweat form along his temples. “I don’t think we need to tell you what he found.”
McAllister finds bravado from somewhere, and he says, “I cleared Anthony Kelly. The mud and the wind caused the crane to tip over. If you found anything wrong with the warning system, that happened prior to that particular lift.”
Beau clicks his tongue. “See, we didn’t say it was the warning system. We said he took the dashboard apart. We could have been talking about anything, yet you go straight to the warning system. You knew it had been disabled. Who disabled it?”
“Neil Simpson.” McAllister’s voice comes out in a whine.
“Why would he do that?” I ask, seriously confused. Simpson had been a good foreman. We worked together well, and I trusted him, depended on him. He brought several projects to completion with me. After the accident, I lost track of him, like so many others. Healing mentally, physically, and spiritually has been my number one priority since the hospital released me. I’ve made damned little headway.
“He made a deal with Declan Everett.”
Beau shoots me a look:See, I told you so.
“Regarding what?”
“Simpson’s addicted to Sweet. Everett said he’d give Simpson as much as he wanted if he could stop your project.”
I close my eyes. “Fuck. And of course he has an unlimited supply thanks to his new fiancée.”
“How do you know all this?” Beau asks. “You on Everett’s payroll, too? Is that why you cleared Kelly? Is that why you made OSHA write off the accident? A serious investigation would have led to this. Instead, two years later, a reporter starts digging because she didn’t like the way the crane tipped over... Who’s Devyn talking to tonight?” he asks me sharply.
“Mack didn’t give me a name,” I say uneasily, pulling out my phone. “Mack. Who’s Devyn talking to at the rehab facility?”
“I don’t know. She only gave me the address. Maybe Miss Scott does. Hold on. I’ll pass the phone to her.”
“Rick?” Talia asks.
“Yeah.” I pull my phone away from my ear and press Speaker allowing Beau and McAllister to hear what Talia has to say. “Who’s Devyn talking to tonight? Who’s in rehab?”
“A man named Neil Simpson. He gave Tony Kelly the manual for a different sized crane and told him the incorrect amount of counterweight to balance the boom. That’s why it tipped over.”
I glance at McAllister. He’s not looking very good. “You knew this, yes?”
Miserably, he nods.
“Is Devyn still talking to him?”
“Yeah. She’s been in there for a long time, though. Almost an hour.”
I don’t like the sound of that. “I’m going to hang up and call the front desk—”
“No. I’ll do it. Keep her on the line,” Beau says, already bringing the internet browser up on his cell. “Talia, what’s the name of the rehab facility?”
“Cedar Hill Restorative,” McAllister supplies in a strangled voice before Talia can answer.
“Yeah, that’s right,” she agrees.
Beau clears his throat. “Hang on for a second, love.”
He searches for the number online and presses the link to connect. Holding the phone out for the rest of us, he sets the phone on Speaker, and we listen to the line ring. A polite voice answers the phone, “Cedar Hill Restorative Center, how may I help you?”