MURDER AT THE PIER (A Sister Sleuths Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

found a willing accomplice
in Mary. Once she thought Don might finally have free time, she conspired with
her friend at the travel agency to put enough pressure on Don he would have
felt like a heel to refuse her any longer."
    "But the new arrangement didn't sit well with
you?"
    Ken cradled his mug. "I couldn't complain. I still had
my position as Construction Manager alright. But I felt Don was turning over
vital parts of the business to Neal, things he should have been keeping a
closer eye on. Things weren't the same."
    "Was Neal hard to work for?"
    "You could say that." Crossing his arms in front
of his chest, he looked Tom directly in the eyes. "Don't misunderstand me.
I'm not trying to speak ill of the dead. I'm only relating the facts as I saw
them. To answer your question, yes, Neal was a hard man for everyone to work
for."
    "Hard to work for as far as being demanding or in
other ways?"
    "Having a boss who's hard to work for isn't a lot of
fun, but I'm sure tough enough to do it to get the job done. But working for a
boss who’s dishonest and unethical, that's where I draw the line."
    Tom's head jerked. He'd heard from other people about Neal
being arrogant and pushy, but this was an entirely new slant. "Can you
clarify?"
    "Just what I said. I never had any proof to take to
Don, but I'd spent too many years knowing when projects begin to run off the
tracks. Like what was happening to Neal's projects. They were behind schedule
and over budget. The worst thing, I suspected he was substituting cheaper
materials than what the plans called for to make up for cost overruns. That
kind of foolhardy move can get you in a lot of trouble when the Building
Inspectors come around."
    "Did you ever confront Neal with those
allegations?"
    "Sure I did. I mean, I didn't like the arrogant son of
a gun, but I wanted him to succeed for Don's sake. Don thought of Neal as a
second son, and any man wants to be proud of a son. Besides, I didn't want him
to undermine Don's reputation."
    "How did Neal react?"
    "Not good by any definition. He ranted and raved about
my questioning his abilities because I was jealous. Told me I was over the
hill, out of touch with new trends in construction management. He finished by
laughing, saying I couldn't prove any of it, and if I was smart, I wouldn't go
around raising doubts, especially in Don's mind, about what kind of job he was
doing."
    Tom raised an eyebrow. "You mean he threatened
you?"
    "Not in so many words, but he made it clear he wasn't
going to let me stand in the way of his getting to the top."
    "You think he had plans to take over Don's business
someday?"
    "I think he saw it as a strong possibility, especially
if Don's son stayed on the East Coast."
    Tom peppered Don with more questions. "What happened
between you and Neal after the confrontation? Why did you end up leaving? Were
you fired or did you leave of your own volition?"
    "Oh, Neal could never have taken things to that
extreme. For one thing, Don would never have heard of me being fired." Ken
cupped his hands behind his head. "Instead, Neal did whatever he could to
make my job unpleasant. It got to the point where it wasn't fun anymore. So I
told Don I was ready to retire."
    "Was it true?"
    "Not hardly. Don was ready to semi-retire and start
traveling with Mary, but I would have worked another five years at least. I
lost my wife nine years ago of cancer. My job was what I got up for in the
morning." Don swallowed hard, turning his head to the side. "Like I
say, once it became work and not something I loved doing, it was time to
leave."
    "Were you bitter about how Neal forced you out?"
    "Nope. First of all, he didn't force me out. It was
totally a decision I made for my own peace of mind. Secondly, Don gave me a
generous retirement bonus in appreciation of all the years we'd worked
together. Something totally unexpected but enough to let me devote all my time
to a lifetime passion."
    "Which is?" Tom asked with interest.
    Ken smiled for